"WAKE UP!!!" I bellowed.
A bleary-eyed Ethan sat up on the sofa in confusion. I continued to shove cereal into my mouth, perched cross-legged on the arm of the couch keeping my eyes on him. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and then focused on me, appearing puzzled.
I half smiled at him. "You snore real loud dude."
He coughed, clearing his throat and stood up still fully dressed. "What the hell happened last night?" He asked me as he stretched, lifting his arms above his head and letting out a loud yawn.
I chewed my cereal thoughtfully. "Before or after we kissed?" I asked him, smiling secretively.
Ethan's azure blue eyes bulged and he ran a hand through his blonde hair worriedly. "I, uh, well... um. What...?" He trailed off unsure of what to say.
I laughed. "I'm kidding," I assured him. "After some guy's party we got a lift to my house from Cole, and you slept down here and I slept in my bedroom. You were so drunk dude!"
Ethan's face turned grim when I mentioned Cole's name and he scowled. "That guy is such an asshole, Bianca." He muttered bitterly. "Promise me you'll stay clear of him?" He cast me a pleading look.
I stood up and got a glimpse of the clock in the corner. "Right now the only thing I can promise you is that we're passed being late for school," I told him, dodging his question. "C'mon get washed and find something to eat in the kitchen. My parents had an early meeting so we'll have to take my car."
Ethan and I left the sitting room swiftly. "You have a car?" Ethan asked me.
"Yeah," I replied. "I can't drive yet but I got a car for my sweet sixteen. I sure hope you can drive, otherwise we're fucked."
Ethan chuckled when I cursed but he nodded. "Yes, I'm seventeen- I got my license last year."
We went our separate ways- Ethan into the first floor bathroom to wash and me upstairs to get dressed. I had already showered the night before, so I was just going to put on my outfit for the day and I'd be ready. I ran up the stairs two at a time and entered my bedroom. I'd already missed all of first period and most of second- gee thanks for waking me up alarm. Not. I hurriedly pulled on the first outfit I could find: skinny light washed denim jeans, a white cami with a blue plaid shirt layered over it and red converse.
Then I ran a brush through my long dark hair which was straightened from the night before and put some make-up on. Just pencil eyeliner, mascara and some lipgloss. I flung my door open again, rushed downstairs and bumped straight into Ethan.
"Oof!" I said with a giggle as my head bashed into his chest. Man, he was tall up close. I pulled away laughing. "You ready?"
He nodded, unable to speak because of the croissant poking out of his mouth. I got my car keys and we left, getting into my dark purple coloured mini cooper. Ethan started the ignition and swerved precariously out of my driveway.
***
"I feel like a ninja," I whispered to Ethan as we crawled past the secretary's office because it had a little window so she could see out into the hallway.
He suppressed a laugh but immediately stopped and tugged urgently on my shirt. "Don't look now, but Cole Ryan's at four o'clock."
"Which way is four o'clock?" I hissed doing a U-turn to take in my surroundings.
He rolled his eyes. "Well that wasn't obvious at all." He mumbled sarcastically. "He must be really dumb though, cos I don't think he saw..."
At that moment I saw Cole leaning on his locker, texting. He wasn't paying much attention to the empty (apart from Ethan and me) hallway. He slid his phone into the pocket of his black chinos and opened his locker, rummaging around in it.
Beep, beep. Beep, beep.
"Is that your phone?" I whispered angrily to Ethan. "Could you not have put it on silent?" I flicked his head with my finger.
He looked at me guiltily and checked his messages. I kept an eye on Cole from our hiding spot in the alcove next to the guys toilets, but he didn't notice or hear us. "Well this is awkward..." Mumbled Ethan, leaning over to show me the message. "It's from Cole."
I read it quickly, a shiver going up my spine. It said, 'meet me @ lunch on the track. You owe me a hundred bucks, you piece of shit. You better have it or else.'
"What the hell??" I squeaked a little too loudly. Cole's head snapped in our direction. Slowly, a scowl appeared on his face and he walked over, like a cat stalking his prey.
"Shit. I'm out of here!" Ethan told me before legging it in the opposite direction. Thanks buddy. Thanks a bunch.
Cole just stood in front of me, an amused smirk on his face as I stood up, brushing my clothes down. "How dare you threaten Ethan!" I said in a hushed voice to Cole. "Why would he give you a hundred dollars?"
Cole laughed and looked me up and down. "Listen, Bianca." He lingered over my name. "Tell your little boyfriend to get me that money by lunch. Or else he might want to watch his back, aight?"
"First of all, he's not my boyfriend." I stated. "And secondly, why would Ethan do that?"
Cole glowered. His darkened eyes, like dark muscovado sugar sparkled slightly, almost as if willing me to challenge him. I folded my arms and waited for an answer. I stared up at him, feeling quite small even though I was quite an average height for a sixteen-year-old girl. Cole was just above average. Not taller than Ethan, but still alpine.
"Let's just say he's been a very bad boy," chuckled Cole. "You might wanna find somebody nicer to hang out with..."
I didn't believe a word that came out of Cole's mouth. I could tell that he was looking to get a reaction from me, so I simply shook my head and walked away. As I passed the girl's toilets, the bell rang for third period so I went to my locker to get my Algebra book- my least favourite subject.
"Bianca, there you are!"
I jerked my head up and saw Amy standing by her locker, taking a chemistry book out. "Hey." I said whilst taking out my own books.
"Where were you?"
"Oh, I woke up late." I told her. I had no intention of mentioning anything about Ethan staying over. "How was English? Did Mr Andrews say anything?"
"Yeah but I said you were at the dentist!" She replied. "Oh and he told me to remind you about writing that composition and also bringing in the short story that you wrote...?" She shrugged. "I don't really know. I've got to go, so I'll see you at lunch?"
"Eh, maybe. Yeah..."
"Okay, see you later." Amy strolled off to the science block for chemistry and I went to the room for algebra.
I slipped in the door just before the teacher and took a free seat at the back. No one I knew was in Algebra except for Adam, but I wasn't exactly friends with him. He was sitting in the middle of the class surrounded by his friends. Mr Walter, the young algebra teacher was fairly nice but I despised the subject nonetheless. My Mom had made me take the class against my will.
The class dragged on. I checked the clock every few minutes, willing it to end but it seemed to go by in slow motion. I payed no attention to Mr Walter who was scribbling things on the white board, but started doodling on my page instead. Just then the door opened and Cole strolled in, easygoing as ever. I had to keep my head down to avoid giving him daggers. Cole took the only free seat at the front of the class and Mr Walter didn't say a thing about him turning up late.
I held a pencil in my hand and started to sketch an eye. I had always loved drawing and I based it off Cole's eyes just because they were so rich and dark. I started with the outline, a simple oval shape, slightly pointed at the ends and sketched in the shape of the iris and the pupil. My complete attention turned to the drawing as I shaded on parts, drew a thick row of eyelashes and made the top right part of the brown iris glisten and sparkle. Then I rubbed out my construction lines softly and finished off by drawing an arched brow and shading the area underneath it for effect.
"Bianca?"
My eyes flickered upwards and I saw Mr Walter looking down at me. "Although that sketch is very good, there is a time and place for art. And it ain't in your Algebra class!" He chortled to himself, but then frowned. "Speak to me after class please."
I cursed under my breath when he walked away. I didn't want the class to end then because I was afraid that I might have gotten a detention but it flew by. Soon I was waiting by Mr Walter's desk as the last few students cleared out. Cole remained at his desk, putting things away slowly as if he wanted to hear my punishment. Typical.
But Mr Walter's words surprised me. He folded his arms and frowned to himself. "I think you're going to need an Algebra tutor, Bianca." He admitted.
Cole snickered as he slung his book bag over his shoulder. "What?" I said.
Mr Walter looked at Cole thoughtfully. "You know what, I think Cole would be a good tutor for you, Bianca." He said, "I think you'll both benefit from it."
"WHAT?!?" Cole and I demanded in sync. "No way!"