The Only Exception

Chapter 3: Part 4

The moment that this Caleb guy opens his mouth, I can feel my heart thaw into my stomach. And from the looks of it, Hilary feels the equivalent. His voice is inexplicable for the most part, and nothing that I would've imagined myself to appreciate; low and soothing almost as if it will put me to slumber. Yet, it is stimulating in some sense, like you never would want him to stop talking. But all I can think is, he is perfect for Hilary. "Caleb!" I finally muster, "Welcome Caleb. And uhm, where are you from?"

                He looks at us in deep thought, as if the question requires a lot of effort to answer. There's something else that he has in common with Hilary. Who of which, continues to look like she's seen a ghost.  "Went to a boarding school before this." He replies dully. 

                "A boarding school? Like in England?" Hilary finally speaks up. The mere idea of a pretty foreign boy, thrills her to no end. "No, not that elaborate. Illinois, to be exact. Nothing special, really." If Hilary is disappointed, she sure doesn't show it. "The Prairie State, huh?"  I'm surprised that she even knows that, considering that we had never even learned about it in class. I really do underestimate her intellect sometimes. Hilary is about to say something else when she is insolently interrupted by the strident bell, ringing away. "See you guys later, I presume." And with that, Caleb abandons us and makes his way to the swarm of student trying to get to class. And as soon as he does, I feel Hilary's death grip on my arm again. This is going to be a long day.

                                                                  ...

                It actually proves to be not so much of a long day. Not that Hilary doesn't continuously drone on about her affection for Caleb. She does do a whole lot of that, actually. But nothing else really happens that day. As a matter of fact, nothing else really happens that entire week. Not until Friday at least.

                Whereas, I can already sense the buzz in the hallway, even before I enter my first period class. Not many people are in the hallways at such an early time, but the ones who are seem particularly ecstatic about who knows what. I take a long swig of Tropicana, and watch silently as people swarm past me, and I manage to catch some of their words; "Of course I'm going, but my dad has work that night so I need Devon's mom to drive us."

                Not that it is any of my business anyways, but I am kind of curious. I assume that they are talking about some party, but it must be big if everybody knows about it, or at least, I think everybody knows about it. I spot Hilary at the end of the hall speaking to a mob of dirty blonde hair, almost identical to hers. I begin to walk towards them, and as soon as I do, Julian whips around to face me. Despite being Hilary's twin brother, facial features and abnormally tall builds are the only thing they have in common. For one thing, Julian is completely repelling even with good intentions. "Hey beautiful, heard of this major rave that's going on next Friday?" I sigh irritatingly at Hilary and she rolls her eyes in response, knowing her brothers antics. Julian has been trying to get with me since the first day that we met in freshman year. And I mean of course he's a good guy, and I would have surely given him a chance, if he wasn't so...Julian. "Uhm no, is that what all this is about?" I ask, tucking my juice back into my bag. "Seems so, don't know who's it is, or what it's for, though." Hilary replies, "But I'm hoping that Caleb is there!"

"Ugh, you're such a f*****t, Hilary." Julian says, as if it's a proper insult; one of many reasons why I won't go out with Julian. "Okay, Julian. Not only was that so stupid that I cannot even put into words, but also extremely homophobic and you need to learn to shut the fuck up."

                "Oh babe, if you weren't so cute, I would maybe be the least bit insulted. Too bad, huh?" Julian shoves his hands into the pockets of his cut off khaki shorts, and gives me a discomforting smile. I dismiss this and turn my attention back to Hilary, "Okay, well on a more consoling note, where is Andrew?" I glance around at my surroundings, but there is no siting of Drew's navy Westbank Athletics sweater. "He's probably still in practice." I say, but Hilary and Julian give me almost exact disapproving faces, and I can't help but laugh, "What's with the twin temper?"

                "Look Amanda, Drew is a great guy. And I'm not saying this because I'm jealous—even though I am—but he's been flirting with lots of other girls, lately." Hilary looks genuinely concerned for me, which makes me want to believe her, but I know Drew better than that. He can flirt all he wants. I tell myself, but if he goes any further he knows exactly what will happen. My thoughts comfort me, and I shake off any remaining of Drew being unfaithful. But sure enough, I spot Drew turning the corner, his trail of soccer teammates falling behind him. Disturbingly he is in fact, doing what seems to be flirting with a doubtful redhead. I watch as she throws her head back laughing at something he had said. I didn't let it get to me though, Drew is a funny guy, it's not like he can't make a joke, for god's sake.  I try to catch his attention by waving towards him, but he doesn't notice. Instead he stops at the girl's locker and waits patiently as she opens it. I can already hear what Hilary has to say, "He's allowed to have friends you know." I reassure us both; before she can even open her mouth.

                "Yeah, nobody is just friends with that girl." Hilary spits out the last word as if the female species is a revolting concept. "That's Katie Hanson. She's in my math class, I would watch out if I were you."

                I sigh, maybe Hilary is right. I always give Drew the benefit of the doubt. But I should, shouldn't I? He's my boyfriend after all. "Hey!" I hear Drew call, my eyes perk up immediately. I watch as he ambles towards us, flashing a bright smile and waving. I don't know what drives me, but I immediately run towards him and ambush him in a hug. I feel his hands wrap around my waist in response, and I make sure to glare at Katie Hanson from across the hall. She watches curiously, but avoids making eye contact with me. Maybe, I'm not making it obvious enough that we're together. I pull away briefly, to lock eyes with Drew. His hair is still damp from the showers, his green eyes flicker with temptation. Before I know it we're kissing. It's quick and reserved but it's enough to establish a relationship. My eyes are closed but I can feel her eyes still glued on us. I am the first to pull away, Drew sneaks in a kiss on my forehead before he loosens his grip on my waist. It's a good touch and seems to work because when I turn around once again, Katie Hanson locks eyes with me just before walking the opposite direction. I can't help but to smirk, it was nice knowing that Drew was mine.