"Miss. Hilton, you're actually early for my class!" Mr. Santiago looks from me to the clock and back again, incredulously. "The world must be ending sooner than expected." He rubs the back of his neck and sits down on the edge of his desk.
"I'm surprised that desk hasn't broken yet," I mutter lowly to the two boys, as we take our seats up at the front of the class.
"Francesca, be nice," Carpenter nudges me with his arm slightly and glances sideways at me.
"I am just saying there is no way that desk is sturdy. This school is prehistoric and Bridget's mom runs the show. Who knows what they are really up to," slouching back in my seat, I begin to doodle on the side of my desk with a random pen I had just discovered on the ground beside me.
"Francesca," Carpenter snatches the pen out of my hand along with the cap. I watch as he snaps the cap back onto the pen and passes it back behind him to Jake- all the while keeping his eyes on me. "Graffiti is not the way to go about life. I don't care whether or not you are good at drawing; I would hate for you to get into any trouble."
"A little late for the graffiti lecture," stifling a yawn, I reply. The mention of graffiti makes me remember that Reggie is in the class too, but I know he hasn't arrived yet.
Carpenter opens his mouth to reply (no doubt to inquire more about what I am talking about), but the bell gloriously rings announcing the start of the class period. He shuts his mouth again and glares up at the intercom.
"All right, class has officially started! So, everyone put their phones away, shut your traps, and try not to fall asleep," Mr. Santiago says from his position on the edge of his desk. He reaches over to the white piece of paper sitting right beside him on the desk and picks it up. "We will officially kick off Economics with Supply and Demand. Can anyone tell me what they know about Supply and Demand?"
Without thinking too much about the next rumor that will start, my hand shoots up in the air.
Mr. Santiago's eyes land on me with a weary look in them, and he seems to be preparing himself mentally for an off-topic remark. "Yes, Miss. Hilton?"
"The relationship between the two is inverse. If you were to sell us all ice cream-"
"I am lactose intolerant, so that really won't be a problem," Aliana interjects from somewhere in the row behind me.
"No one asked," twisting around in my seat to look her directly in the eyes, I state.
"Please finish what you were about to say, Miss Hilton. Miss. Zaidan, please remain quiet and respectful when another student is talking." Mr. Santiago says sternly.
"Sorry, but I forgot what I was going to say," turning back to the front of the class with a serious face, I reply. "My train of thought just left the station and is currently on its way to anywhere but the point."
"All righty," he moves his attention away from me and scans the room. His eyes focus on something in the back of the class. "Mr. Benoist, can you please tell me what you know about supply and demand?"
As if this was some planned out stage direction, everyone turns in their seat to look at the guy. The Benoist dude looks up at Mr. Santiago with a startled expression on his face, and he subtly tries to turn his phone off.
"The person supplies what I demand?" he asks with an unsure look on his face.
"Oh, please," Maryland rolls her eyes at the guy's answer. "You have clearly been spending way too much time messaging your boyfriend and not enough time going shopping."
"How do you know I have a boyfriend?" knitting his eyebrows together in confusion, the guy asks.
"We know more than you think, Blaze," Nessa answers with a creepy grin on her lips. "Mary and I know that you just moved here from boring old Nebraska last year. We also know that your boyfriend is secretly cheating on you with another guy, but, shhh, it's a secret. Oh, and, your family-"
"That will be enough, Miss. Townsend," Mr. Santiago cuts her off and flips the paper in his hand to the blank back. "Mr. Benoist, please put your phone away for the remainder of the class. Next time I catch you on your phone, you will be losing your phone privileges for the remainder of the semester."
"The price of gas is inverse to the quantity. If the quantity of gas is low, then the price of gas will increase. If the price of gas increases, then the demand will be less since no one wants to spend a high amount per gallon," I say and then decide to finish my sentence from earlier. "If you were to sell us all ice cream at $5 per individual ice cream, then the demand for the ice cream you are selling to us won't be that great. Chances are, we would all find another ice cream seller who charges less for the item."
"Did I walk into the wrong room?" Reggie walks into the room only to pause at my words and turns to walk back out into the hallway.
"Mr. Day, please come take a seat," leaning back a little to look out in the hallway, Mr. Santiago says.
When it becomes clear to Mr. Santiago that Reggie has no intention of walking back into the classroom, he sits up straight and shakes his head.
"You are correct, Miss. Hilton. Supply and demand are inverse in the sense of price and quantity. However, quantity is completely dependent on the price. As you said, no one wants to pay a high amount for an item," getting back on what we were originally talking about, Mr. Santiago says. "Now, we have different factors that go into supply and demand. Does anyone know what factors can change the demand or the supply of whatever is being sold?"
"Demand can be changed by income, tastes and preferences, expectations, substitutes, number of consumers, and the price of complements," Jake answers automatically and goes into further explanation. "Let's pretend like you just got laid off from a job that made you fall into the middle-class group and have trouble finding employment right away. Well, you would start having to spend your money wisely since you aren't currently working. Some of the top name-brand items you could afford to spend your money on- when you were working- may no longer be in your spending range. This would result in you finding a substitute item which would be a lot cheaper and save money.
"Actually, all of those reasons for the change in demand tie into one another if you were to really think about it. When people are buying products, they usually expect the item to be functional. I'm fairly certain no one wants to buy a new refrigerator that looks nice only to find that the door falls off every time they open the fridge. People who save money will likely want to opt for a product that is off-brand but still meets their expectations. Complements are obviously products that go together. For example, a tennis player couldn't play tennis if they forgot their tennis racket at home."
"Very good, Mr. Morrison!" Mr. Santiago nods approvingly with a smile on his face. "Can anyone tell me about what causes a change in supply?"
Before anyone has the chance to answer his question, the bell rings to signal the end of the class period. I have never seen people gather their things and rush right on out the door at the same time. Granted, I usually don't stick around for the whole class period.
"So, how did you like sitting through an entire class of economics?" Carpenter asks as we walk out into the hallway.
"I find much better use in not attending class or school. Supply and demand are relatively boring topics in economics. Anyone could tell you that lack of supply drives prices up which can result in change of demand for various reasons," I explain and look over at Jake. "How did you know so much about the change factors?"
"It just seemed like common sense," he gives a slight shrug and re-adjusts his backpack strap.
"Hey, Hilton," tapping my shoulder roughly, Reggie says from behind me.
Stopping to see what he wants from me, I turn around and face Reggie. Jake and Carpenter stop as well but only turn their heads to glance back over their shoulders.
"I guess you need these back," moving my backpack to the front of me, I unzip my bag and rummage through it. I pull out the copies Reggie had made of Santiago's notes and hand them over. "Thanks for going the extra mile and stealing Santiago's notes. Not to mention, thanks for pretending to be impressed with how much I knew."
"I was more so impressed that you took the time to actually read the notes ahead of time," shoving the papers haphazardly into his backpack, Reggie admits. "I'll see you at lunch or whatever." He turns around and starts to walk off in the direction of the electives wing.
"You're actually going to sit with us at lunch?" I call after him in surprise.
"Don't be that surprised, Hilton!" he calls back not even bothering to turn around.
I wait until he's out of sight before turning my attention to the two boys. Carpenter is looking off in the direction Reggie had disappeared in with a disapproving look on his face. Jake, on the other hand, is looking at me with raised eyebrows.
"I thought you said anyone could tell you about what happens with supply and demand?" Jake asks. "Was that just a lie?"
"I have a bad feeling about Reginaldo, Francesca," Carpenter says without bothering to look at me.
"I only read the first four words of Santiago's notes and lost interest. So, everything that I said was my own way of thinking," I reply to Jake and then look over to Carpenter. "I don't recall asking for your opinion on my friends."
"It's not an opinion," shaking his head, Carpenter looks down at me. "Just a mere feeling as a result of personal experience and observation."
"Whatever you say," brushing his words off, I walk past them and towards the stairwell.
Neither of the boys follow after me, as if already knowing that I have no intention of showing up to my next class on time. Well, neither of them will get to class on time- since they had chosen to stick around to see what Reggie had wanted. That was their choice; this is my choice.
* * * * * * *
By lunchtime, as per usual, there was a new rumor circulating courtesy of Bridget's mouth. However, this rumor was not that much of a rumor since I had heard various people backing up the rumor. What could this new rumor possibly be about? Capri Esperanza Hilton now attends Val Dez High- the absolute least surprising news of the day.
If Carpenter had seen Capri the other day, then it was only a matter of time before Capri showed up here. I just hope that I won't have to encounter her anytime soon, and I definitely hope we don't have any classes together. And, in even less surprising news, Bridget had automatically moved Capri to Bria's former second in command status. I mean, good on Bridget for keeping her friend group fresh and toxic at the same exact time. Not that I am allowed to judge my sister since I have not seen her in years. But, I can't seem to shake the feeling that Capri isn't here to be my friend either.
"I knew we would find you out here," Reggie says, walking over to where I am sat on the bleachers. Ansel is walking behind him with Spencer right by his side. To say I am surprised that the three boys are walking somewhat close to each other would be a complete understatement. I know Ansel has his ways when it comes to getting people to not fight, but Reggie doesn't always listen to what Ansel has to say.
"Where else would I be?" I ask as Reggie takes a seat beside me and angles his body towards the bench behind us.
"I hope you don't mind, but I invited Spencer to come have lunch with us," climbing up to the next row and taking a seat right across from me, Ansel says. He then proceeds to add onto his sentence. " Well, I know Reggie does mind since he practically threw a fit at the idea. But, Reggie's feelings don't matter since he nearly got us sent to jail yesterday."
"No, I don't mind that you invited Spencer to come sit with us," watching Spencer climbing up the steps of the bleachers, I say.
"Good 'cause I wasn't going to leave regardless of your answer," he takes a seat next to Ansel and opens the brown paper bag he had brought with him.
"How bold of you," I say sarcastically and ask. "Does your brother know you are hanging out with us?"
"Oh, you would know if Ocean knew Spencer was hanging out with us," there's a grin forming on Ansel's face as he takes a bite out of his sandwich. "Ocean would be here in a heartbeat with Jake in tow."
"Speaking of which, how did you two almost end up in jail yesterday?" going back to the conversation we were having before Spencer had finally joined, I ask.
"Nothing major happened, Ansel is just being overdramatic," waving my question off, Reggie replies. "You ought to know that Ansel is the one that would get us thrown into jail. The only difference is Ansel would get out of jail easily since they would feel sympathy for him. I, on the other hand, would remain in jail since I don't have a clean record."
"I would ask what you two were doing, but, at the same time, I don't want to know."
"We snuck into the capitol building and-"
"I still don't want to know," cutting Ansel off from his explanation as to how the two of them nearly found themselves in jail, I say.
"Is this all you guys talk about at lunch? Nearly getting in trouble with the law or with other people in the community?" Spencer asks already finished eating his sandwich. Either he's a really fast eater, or I was just really focused on Ansel and Reggie's drama.
Reggie and I exchange a quick look, and I nod my head in approval of his silent question. He turns his attention to Spencer with a casual look on his face.
"We go around the group and confess our feelings for each other," his lie comes out so smoothly that even I would have fallen for it. I just hope Ansel keeps his mouth shut and not spoil the fun. "Since you are new here and haven't had the privilege of joining the main group for lunch, Carpenter, why don't you start us off."
Spencer gives Reggie a skeptical look and looks over at Ansel for confirmation that this isn't something we actually talk about. Misinterpreting Spencer's look, Ansel gives him two thumbs up and an enthusiastic smile.
"You got this, buddy!" Ansel exclaims encouragingly.
"Are you not finding any of this odd?" Spencer asks.
"Just tell Reggie you have been planning to ask Storm to homecoming since last week. Love at first sight, am I right?" Ansel nudges me with his arm and starts to wink his right eye more times than necessary. "Did you know Spencer has had a secret crush on you since sophomore year? He only started liking you because-"
"I figured it was time to take chances and make mistakes and whatever that lady on that cartoon says," Spencer finishes, cutting Ansel off from whatever he was about to say next.
"Uh-huh, sure," rolling his eyes at Spencer's words, Reggie says disbelievingly. "What were you going to say, Ans?"
"Spence Spence has competition now," Ansel quickly puts his hands over his mouth. "Oops."
"Ansel!" Spencer practically shouts. "You promised not to twist my words around!"
"You decided now was the best time to make your move, because you have some competition?!" Reggie asks only to start laughing at his own words. "Wow, that is a lame way to get the motivation you need to go after someone."
As previously mentioned, making Ansel promise to keep a secret is a pretty stupid thing to do. I believe Ansel's words over Spencer's words at the moment, even though Ansel can get different things mixed up from time to time. Maybe, if Spencer hadn't cut Ansel off as quickly as he had, I would take Spencer's side.
I glance over at Spencer only to see him glaring right at Ansel. "You know what, it doesn't even matter what the motivation is or was or whatever. Who is your crush, Reg?"
"Bridget Valdez," he says jokingly. "That girl knows what is going on, and I like to know the daily tea. Well, I like to know if she has any good rumors about me."
"Real answers only, Reg," I say.
"No," Reggie shakes his head. "That is not how this game works. Ansel has to go next since he is sitting beside Spencer."
"We are going clockwise," I argue and point to him. "You are next up to confess who your crush is."
"Fine," Reggie rolls his eyes but answers anyway. "I don't have a crush. You're up, Hilton."
"Too many options just to name one single person. Female crush would be Edith Carlton, and male crush would have to remain unknown to everyone."
"You still have a chance, Spence," Ansel whisper shouts excitedly, nudging Spencer in the side repeatedly.
"Would you cut it out," Spencer swats Ansel's hand away from him with an annoyed expression on his face. "The last thing I want to do is get my hopes up over something that is not likely to happen."
"Way to bum me out with your optimism," Ansel grumbles sarcastically to himself.
"Your turn, Ans," I say.
"Do I have to tell you who my crush is?" Ansel glances over to Reggie and leans a bit closer to me, covering the side of his mouth and lowering his voice to a whisper. "Reggie judges harder than Santa Clause judges who gets on the naughty or nice list."
"Come on, Ans-"
Luckily for Ansel, the bell rings and cuts Reggie off from finishing his sentence. Ansel throws his backpack over his shoulder and quickly runs down the bleachers- he slightly trips in the process but keeps going. Reggie and I watch Ansel run across the field like it's just a normal school day, but Spencer furrows his eyebrows in confusion at Ansel's reaction.
"Well, you heard the bell," grabbing my backpack and standing up to stretch out my legs, I say. "We should all get a move on before the next lunch group takes over."
"I'm going to go track Ansel down," Reggie announces before getting up and heading down the bleachers. "Who knows what all trouble he has gotten himself into by now."
Spencer hangs back and doesn't seem to be in any hurry to get to his next class. Not to be rude or anything, but, if I do recall correctly, this is the same guy who had to get to his next class on time last week. So, why does he all of a sudden not seem to care much about his potential tardiness?
We start to both make our way down the bleachers in sync but keep some distance between us. Some of the cheerleaders had come out onto the track and started on their pre-practice stretching, all the while talking about some Hollywood flop that just came out. Personally, I think Hollywood flops are much than the Hollywood praises. The only thing people remember Hollywood flops for are for... well... their ability to be terrible. Now, Hollywood praises are like the popular people in a school. They are great at starting trends and keeping the audience entertained, but they overshadow everyone else.
"I just wanted to apologize to you for being so... absent. I have just been so wrapped up in drama at home between my mother and Ocean," he gives me a sheepish look, but his words sound sincere. "Sharing this next part would be a mistake- if you were anyone else- but I know I can trust you not to say anything."
"Uh, okay?" Do I really want to know where this conversation is going to end up?
"Oce is looking to move back to Australia as soon as possible," keeping his voice low to avoid any gossip vulture ears, Spencer informs me. "Mum told him that letting him move back on his own is out of the question. She said that she couldn't risk him ending up in any legal trouble and going back to Australia would only trigger his old habits. Of course, Ocean has his ways of talking Mum into agreeing to things."
"I'm sorry, but why exactly are you telling me this?" feeling taken aback by the news of Carpenter possibly moving back to Australia, I ask.
"I guess I'm just trying to be a good friend and looking out for you. My brother is the absolute worse at telling people goodbye. When I asked him if he was going to bother telling you about his plan, he simply told me that you wouldn't even notice his absence and to keep my mouth shut."
"I see," nodding my head- even though I would like to tell him the doubts I had towards his words- I say.
Carpenter just doesn't seem like the kind of guy to leave his friends without giving them some sort of heads up in advance. Granted, what do I really know about Carpenter? He could be a spy sent from outer space that is disguised to look like us tiny humans. Or, perhaps, Carpenter is actually the clone of Spencer that is... nope, I'm not even going to go there.
"Are you planning on attending class?" moving the conversation away from his brother's supposed plans to leave the United States, Spencer asks.
"At the moment? No, I don't plan on attending class. I have far more important things to do than sit through boring class. For example, I could be working on a project that could help my career take off. Listening to a teacher ramble on and on about a subject that will long be forgotten in the near future will not help my career to take off." I explain and ask a question that I already know the answer to. "Are you planning on attending class?"
"This may come as a shock, but I enjoy learning about whatever the teacher has to say," a smile appears on his lips as he says the last thing I was expecting to come out of his mouth. "If you have any better suggestions that don't pertain to learning, then I am open to hearing them."
I am about to tell him that I don't have any ideas at the moment, but a thought does pop into my head. "I'll message you the details, once I get Reggie and Ansel on board."
"All right, I'm going to go crash Ocean and Jake's lunch party. I'll catch up with you later," Spencer heads off in the direction of the cafeteria and automatically gets lost in the crowd of people still getting to their destination.
My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I pull it out to see that Reggie had messaged the original group chat. I guess Reggie didn't end up catching up to Ansel after all. Or, maybe Reggie had caught up with Ansel, but Ansel had already gotten into some sort of trouble. Either way, Reggie had sent us his current location if we needed him and didn't say anything further. Knowing the plan I had would get his approval, I reply back with my own instructions. And, just like I said I would, I messaged Spencer with the same exact instructions.
Let's just hope today isn't the day we get caught.