Chapter Sixteen.
I stare at my phone which I have been doing for a long time.
I have it.
Asher’s number.
His number!!
Avery is snoring in the sleeping bag next to me. It’s past midnight and there is school tomorrow. I know I will regret staying up this late tomorrow morning but I just can’t help staring at my newest contact.
Asher Corbett. The amazing picture of me and him arm-in-arm which had been taken at the beach. The smiley face next to his name.
I just feel like texting him.
I glance at my clock, 54 minutes past midnight. Not too late. Next to me, Avery grunts and tosses. I decide to go for it.
Me: hey :)
Almost immediately, I get a response.
Asher Corbett: ooh, someone couldn’t resist talking to me ;)
Me: *rolls eyes* whatever
Asher Corbett: what are you doing up at this time?
Me: what are you?
Asher Corbett: texting you
Me: thank you, captain obvious
Asher Corbett: so what are you doing huh?:P
Me: couldn’t sleep ...
Asher Corbett: i never knew ms rosario had given us homework
Me: oh i had done it. come early and meet me in the library tomorrow and you can copy
Asher Corbett: really? oh youre a lifesaver. i love you! <3 natalie’ll be mad though but who gives a shit... ;)
Me: um, why, does she mind?
Asher Corbett: oh she’s just a bit nerdy, no ones perfect! ;)
Me: i would expect that kind of comment from Logan, not you
Asher Corbett: ya, ya. ok, gonna call it a day, see you tomorrow?
Me: at the library, seven thirty. bye!
Asher Corbett: ok bye!
I smile into the thin air. I decide to sleep, then the time will pass fast and before I know it, I will be with Asher again.
Now I have something to look forward to.
*
“Flo? Is that you?”
Damn.
I had been trying to sneak out of the house and leaving a note to explain my absence but no such luck.
“Oh, hey Aunt Lyra...”
“Where are you going?” she asks, yawning.
I wince, glancing upstairs, hoping no one had heard Aunt Lyra since she is speaking very loudly, “Oh, um... Did my mom mention that I am part of Ashwood High math club?”
Aunt Lyra frowns, “Oh, maybe...”
“Well we have morning meetings, you see, and...”
“Math club?” Interrupts Aunt Lyra, “at seven fifteen AM? Wish my Gabriella was as keen as you...”
I smile weakly, “Well, you’ll let my mom know, since I didn’t want to wake her.”
Aunt Lyra nods, still looking mildly confused. “Alright. Have a good day at school, Flo.”
“Thanks, you too,” I say before escaping. I lock the door behind me and sigh, examining my clothes. Denim skirt, red checkered shirt, ballet flats, hair loose. I hope I don’t look too cheesy.
Anyway, whatever. I remind myself that this is more for studying than a date.
Hardly any cars are on the street so I walk on the road, knowing that my mom would get mad and not caring. I finally reach the school, and our receptionist nods at me, smiling slightly.
“Florence Emerald, I believe.”
“Esmond, uh...” I glance at her nametag, “Ms Carlyle.”
“Oh, yes, so sorry. There was this boy, wanting to see you,” she says dismissively, “Ashton Corinth or something like that...”
“Oh, good,” I conceal my excitement, “Did he say where?”
“Um, the library.”
“Okay, thank-you.”
“And you will have to show your school card to the librarian since you’re here before hours!” Ms Carlyle calls after me.
Crap!! My school card?? I didn’t have it. At least, I thought not. I turned a corner and fumbled in my bag. Shit!
I decide to go to the Lost and found. Usually there are lots of lost cards there. I can take on and pretend it’s me.
I see a lone figure rummaging around who I don’t look at until he says:
“Hi.”
I turn my head and see Jason Furber. Instantly, heat washes through me.
Relax, relax, relax.
“Oh, hey,” I say casually, “What are you doing here at this time?”
“Same as you, looking for a school card. I’m trying to get in some early basketball practice before school, the whole team’s already out.”
So he plays basketball. No wonder he has all those defined muscles, and somehow I can really imagine hi at it, he’s so tall.
I am so lost in thought that I don’t realize he has asked me a question til he repeats, “You?”
“Um, sorry?”
“What are you doing here this early?”
If I say I’m meeting Asher, he’ll think that it’s a date and go back to thinking I’m a slut: cheating on my boyfriend. If I say I’m meeting Katia, he’ll want to meet her.
That leaves Logan or Leslie and I decide, “I’m meeting Logan for a early morning study date,” I say, shrugging.
“Cute,” He comments, “Now while we’re talking about dates, I want to clarify something. Katia and you are best friends right?”
“Yes,” I say, examining someone’s lost Gucci bracelet and wondering what comes next.
“I wanted to ask you a favor.”
“Ask away.”
“Do you think you could help me...” He trails off, hesitantly,”Getherback.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, finally looking up from the Gucci bracelet.
“I... look, I know you’re gonna think I’m an asshole, but just hear me out first, okay? I’m tired of Mel.”
“Understandable,” I agree.
“Good.” He looks relieved. “And lately, whenever I look at Katia, I think of when I was dating her, not Mel.”
“Also understandable.”
“And, since you’re her best friend, maybe you could help me... get her back?” He asks, hopefully.
I smile, not yet wanting to tell him that she wants him back too. “Definitely.”
His eyes light up. “Oh, thank-you!” And he pulls me into a hug, spontaneously.
I laugh, and pull away.
“Oh, and here’s a school card... it’s a blurry photo, the girl looks like she could be you.” He hands me a card. The girl is named Lanna Creek and does look a lot like me.
“Thanks Jason. First step: sit at our table today, with Katia.”
“Wonderful. See you at lunch, then!”
“Bye,” I say, waving.
Mr George , the librarian looks at me through oversized glasses.
“Morning, Miss. I’ll need your school card since you’re here before hours.”
“Um, yes, no problem,” I say, nervously. If this works, yay. If it doesn’t... well, I’ll think about that later.
I hand him Lanna’s school card. Lanna is pretty popular, so she would never come to the library. With luck, Mr. George would never know.
“Your name?”
“Lanna Creek.”
“Okay, Lanna, you’re free to go. Did you see anyone named Florence on the way? This boy here keeps looking for one,” He says, jerking his head to where Asher is sitting, alone.
“Oh, yes,” I say, hurriedly turning my head before Asher can recognize me, “Um, Florence couldn’t come, so I came instead, hah. I’ll be going now, right now,” I finish, before escaping.
“Hey Flo, what kept you?” Asher asks me.
“I’m Lanna.” I remind him.
“What?”
“I took a girl called Lanna Creek’s school card,” I explain, lowering my voice. “So if Mr. George comes over here, I’m Lanna. Okay?”
“Whatever you say, princess,” he replies resignedly.
“Here’s the homework,” I say, handing him a sheet of paper.
“You’re awesome.”
“I know,” I agree as he begins to scribble. “I’m gonna go find a book, okay? Be back.”
“Take your time, princess,” He repeats, still scribbling furiously.
I roll my eyes at the offensive nickname and pick out a large book at random without bothering to look at the title. I come back to our table, sit down and quickly slip my iPhone in some random page of the book.
“What ya doing?” Asher asks innocently.
I shoot him a meaningful look, “Reading.”
Since we all know that I am a very -sarcasm- lucky -sarcasm- person -sarcasm-, Mr. George passes by.
“What are you reading, Lanna?” He asks, obviously trying to sound kind.
I vividly snap the book shut, realizing I have no idea what I am reading, and chancing a glance at the cover would be too much to hope for.
“Oh, Lanna’s reading The Complete Works of Plato,” Asher enlightens Mr. George and I heave a sigh of relief.
“Hmm, very good choice, you have good taste,” Mr. George comments as I smile weakly. “You, boy... what are you doing?”
“Homework,” Asher replies smoothly while deftly sliding my paper under his.
“Carry on, carry on. Don’t disturb this young lady too much, or detention, Ashton.”
“Asher.”
“Whatever. Lanna, if Asher is bothering you, don’t hesitate,” He notifies me, while depositing his sweaty palm on my hand covering the book and winking.
I slide my hand out from under his, disgusted. “The opposite is more likely to happen. But thanks anyway.”
Mr. George’s face forms a puzzled frown, I don’t think he noticed the rude remark which is all the better, I guess. He then removes his hand from the book and walks away.
“What a perv,” I say not bothering to keep my voice down.
Mr. George turns and Asher smirks. “Teachers these days...”
I laugh. “Yeah, maybe we should complain,” I suggest loudly. I have no intention of ever returning to the library, nor of complaining but it’s worth it to see the terrified look on Mr. George’s face.
“Yeah. Good idea.”
He then goes back to copying and me to texting.
It’s fun.
Leslie Valetta’s POV
Lately, life has been boring me. I don’t mean boring as in the depressing ‘fuck my life’ way, but boring like... well, like I’m not doing the right thing.
My phone rings. Hoping that it’s wither Flo or Logan, I answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hey babe,” Casper’s voice sounds out.
Somehow, I am disappointed. Not Flo, or Logan. Get a fucking grip , Les, he’s your boyfriend, I sternly instruct myself.
“Hey Casper,” I reply.
“Hanging out together after school?” he suggests.
For some reason, I feel like declining. This is why I earlier stated that life was boring me.
“Um, no... I have a party planned with Flo.” I lie, actually it was just Flo, Kat, Logan, Jason and Asher coming to hang out.
“A party I wasn’t invited to?” He pouts, while I glance at the time: seven forty. School is at nine. I have time, since the drive is only about five minutes. If I walked every day like Flo, of course, it would take my longer.
“It’s a girls only thing,” I say before realizing how snobby that must have sounded. “Makeup and nail painting and stuff. But hey, why don’t you stop by for dinner?” I amend. “My parents are out, and Lena is horseback riding anyway.”
“I’m in,” He responds and I feel my heart sinking. I wish he had declined.
Shut the fuck up, you didn’t. I lie to myself. You love Casper, he’s your boyfriend.
“Uhm, actually, you know what, tomorrow I’m free, so instead of coming today, you can come and we’ll eat alone,” I giggle.
“Even better. Bye, love you.”
“Love you too. See you at school.”
I hang up and sigh with relief. Now that Logan is dating Flo, I haven’t been spending much time with him, and bizarrely I miss him. He is my best friend. We’ve been that way since forever.
You’re acting really fucking weird lately. Go back to normal, ‘kay?
I sigh, resist the impulse to call Logan and sit up in bed. Last year, we had three or four hours of phone conversations at a time. Whenever I had a sad day at school, Logan called me and we talked. I always hung up smiling and feeling better.
I looked forward to his calls.
Now, we are both busy, me with Casper, him with Flo and we haven’t been spending much time together.
Logan, if we can somehow communicate by telepathy (remember the thing in second grade) I miss you, really fucking much.
I shake my head at my stupidity, and get up. After my shower, I pick out a red sundress, a leather jacket, knee length leather boots, and my charm bracelet. I attach my hair into a messy bun, leaving a few of the dirty blonde strands out and rapidly apply some makeup. Then, sitting down on my bed I text Flo.
Me: heyyyyyyyyyyy :)
Flo replies almost immediately.
Flo: hi :)
Me: where are you?
Flo: school
Me: what, already? O.o
Flo: i’m helping asher in the library
Asher! Oh yes. Flo claims to be in love with him...
I reply with a, ok i’ll leave you guys <3
And she answers with a: shut up but you’re right <3
I walk downstairs where Lena my sister is sitting and eating.
“Thats’s for you,” she informs me, nodding at the plate of cold eggs on the table and returning her gaze to Doctor Who on the TV. I never really liked Doctor Who, all those monsters and explanations for little things make my head hurt.
But Lena, however, loves it. That can give you an idea how different we were. I am popular with billions of friends, she is your average nerd with three best friends. At times, I envy her, at others, I scoff at her.
“Thanks Len.” I microwave the eggs and watch the british guy in the screen yelling at some brunette chick. Rolling my eyes, I return my eyes to the microwave pour myself a glass of milk and settle down on the table. Lena is already dressed, in an old hand-me-down black with red writing ‘Aero 87’ t-shirt and simple black jeans with black Converse, her blonde hair loose. That’s how she always goes unnoticed.
“Why do you always watch this crap?” I complain.
She turns for a second, “Hey, it’s not crap. You learn stuff. Not like your stupid Bitchy Stupid Liars thing.”
“It’s Pretty Little Liars!” I defend, knowing she has said this on purpose.
“Whatever.” She averts her eyes back to the screen.
Rolling my eyes, I gobble down my eggs. “Okay, I’m ready. If you hurry, I can give you a ride?”
Lena is only fourteen, so she can’t drive.
“Yes!” Lena pauses Doctor Who, jumps up and turns off the TV. Smirking, I jingle my car keys, knowing that she hates walking.
“Lazyass.”
She throws the remote at me and I duck.
With a smile, we walk to my car. I am ready for this day of school.
Florence Esmond’s POV
The bell rings and I gather all my books into my bag, slinging it over my shoulder.
“What class do you have?” I ask Asher.
“Math, and you?”
“Same!” I chirp, delighted.
“Cool, come on then!”
Asher and I sit together at the last row. Katia and Asher’s other friend, Jonathan join us and sit next to us.
“Alright, well, I was very disappointed at the results on the last math quiz,” states our math teacher looking around the room. “So ten people will go to remedial maths for four wednesdays in a row.”
I groan, crossing my arms on the table and letting my head drop into the space between my arms. I hadn’t studied for that test, and I was probably going to be wasting four Wednesdays.
The teacher, Mr. Richter calls on Desiree Johnson, a girl in in the front row to distribute the papers. When Desiree comes my way, I groan inwardly but she deposits Asher’s paper in front of him with a smirk. “Better luck next time, Asher.”
As soon as Desiree’s back is turned, Asher sticks out his middle finger in her direction.
“Bitch,” he mutters looking at his paper. I see more red then black on it, and he has achieved a 1.5/10.
In big red marker, underlined several times, is written REMEDIAL MATHS: WEDNESDAY AT 4:30 PM. Asher groans, setting his head on the table and covering it with his arms, while I grab his test to review his errors.
Desiree is again coming our way, and I stare at her with the most challenging look I can muster. Her gaze drops to the ground as she hands me my paper.
“Here you go,” she mumbles.
I see that my test is along the same lines at Asher’s: more red than black and REMEDIAL MATHS: WEDNESDAY AT 4:30 PM. written and underlined. 2/10.
“What d’you get?” Asher asks, grabbing my paper and scrutinizing it. “Ah, well... at least we’ll be together...”
I see that both Jonathan and Katia have received their tests from Desiree and are coming to remedial maths.
Strangely, I resent Katia and Jonathan coming to to Remedial Maths with me and Asher, even though they are both my friends. I would’ve liked to be alone with Asher.
*
Wednesday arrives, faster than ever. I find that I have been anticipating it.
“Remedial Maths, huh?” Avery asks, bouncing o the bed.
“Yeah...” I say, pulling on a cream colored cardigan and vigorously toweling my hair dry.
“You’ll live.”
I smile dryly, “It’s not so bad. Asher and Katia will be with me.”
Avery chuckles. “You’re right. When you come back we can have dinner together.”
“Sounds good,” I say, now running a brush through my now-dry hair.
“Shouldn’t you be getting going?” Avery asks. Easy for her to say, on vacation since she went to a different school system and still in her pyjamas.
“Yes, I am running a bit late,” I say, tying my hair into a ponytail and grabbing my red Jansport bag. “Bye!”
“Bye!”
*
The whole day, I kept looking at my -or rather, Leslie’s- watch, waiting for four thirty to come. When three thirty came, class was over and I had an hour to wait. I decide to run to the library with Katia. Luckily, Mr. George is not on duty, and a pleasant looking lady in a grey suit greets us with a smile.
I sit at a table with Katia, occasionally glancing at the door. Although, if Asher did come, I would never have the nerve to ask him to sit with us.
“Why do you keep looking there?” Katia inquires as my eyes drift to the door once more.
“No reason,” I quickly respond, letting my eyes drop to the book where my phone is hidden.
Just then, Asher and Jonathan come into sight, the level of their voices dropping to whispers as they enter the quiet of the room. I keep my eyes fixed on my phone, not even noticing that the Angry Bird that I was launching rockets backwards instead of forwards.
But I hear footsteps and Katia’s hushed greeting and look up. I see Jonathan... where’s Asher? Just as I look down I see a finger pulling an Angry Bird backwards and launching it with perfect aim: destroying all the pigs and earning me a perfect score. I turn and look grumpily at Asher.
“What? You got a three star score,” He reminds me. “That’s the biggest favor I’ve done you yet.”
“Whatever,” I say and cannot stop the corners of my lips curving.
“You know you love me.” Asher winks.
“Hey guys, I don’t want to whisper,” whines Jonathan. “Let’s go into a study group room.”
A study group room is a room of two to six students who go sit in a soundproof door room with a table, six chairs and a whiteboard.
“If we do, I’m not the one asking permission,” I state firmly. “You go, Katia.”
Katia makes a face at me and goes to the librarian. A minute later, she comes back and we are all sitting except for Jonathan who is standing at the whiteboard.
“So, children. Let’s do class. Tell Teacher Jonathan the first word that comes to your mind, okay?” he jokes.
“Sex,” blurts out Asher.
My eyes widen until they are probably the size of a fish’s. I smack Asher on the top of the head.
“And I always thought Jonathan was the pervert,” Katia says, shaking her head.
“That’s not very nice,” Asher pouts.
Jonathan, unfazed, is writing S-E-X in big block letters on the whiteboard.
“Jonathan! No!” I hiss, hurrying over to the whiteboard.
I attempt to knock the pen out of his hand (since he is now drawing a picture), he hits me back. Katia and Asher get involved and before we know it the librarian is knocking on our door.
That’s when I knew we were goners.
Katia opens it, looking guilty.
“Oh, hello, Mrs Newman,” Katia greets the librarian cheerily.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Hisses Mrs. Newman.
I quickly move to hide the offending letters on the board and Asher automatically moves to cover the other half.
I see a crowd gathering around us, Evan Lamore and his friend Matthew Danielson are at the front, wide-eyed. A few other nerds and kids who hang out in the library are all looking.
“You are disturbing the quiet of the library!” spits Mrs. Newman as if we had just hit her baby.
“Sorry, Mrs. Won’t happen again,” Jonathan assures brightly.
Mrs. Newton’s eyes narrow, then her head turns abruptly to look at Asher and I.
I can see Katia gulp.
“You two!” She says sharply. “Move!”
I feel Asher stiffen besides me, and I continue to smile blandly.
“Uh... um...” I mumble, grabbing the whiteboard eraser for support.
“I suggest you move now before I send you to Mrs. Quincy!” Threatens Mrs. Newman.
Katia looks as if she is about to faint.
I remain silent. And then the weirdest thing comes: Asher’s hand envelops mine, gives it a quick squeeze and then returns to it’s original position.
I cannot breathe.
It’s almost as if he was telling me ‘It’s okay, Flo, it’s gonna be alright.’
But I feel a lot braver.
Mrs Newman marches up to us and wrenches us from the board. I watch, helpless as her eyes narrow dangerously at the three letters. Her face then reddens and she takes a step backwards, crashing in to the table as I see a flash in the crowd, meaning that someone has taken a picture. It would’ve been funny if someone else had been in my place.
And that is how Asher, Katia, Jonathan and I got kicked out of the library.
*
Five minutes later, sitting safely in a janitor’s closet (after having agreed that we would find a better place next week) it was much easier to laugh about the matter. Jonathan, especially laughed his ass off.
“Man, she must hate us now,” I state, wiping my tears of laughter.
“Don’t worry, everyone does,” Asher jokes. “Even Evan Lamore.”
“Nothing new there,” I reply dryly.
“Don’t worry, we’ll find a better place to hang out next week,” Jonathan laughs, putting an arm around me which I shake off almost immediately.
“No moves of Flo-Flo, she’s taken,” Asher warns Jonathan.
“Yeah... by you!” Jonathan teases as my face instantly heats up.
“Shut up, man. Her boyfriend is one of those scary guys who’ll beat up your sorry ass,” Asher notifies Jonathan. Asher, unlike me has regained his composure after Jonathan’s little joke.
“Whatever man. Cool. Hey-”
He never got to finish the sentence, for someone has just knocked on the door.
Hahaha the library scene was word-for-word a scene in my life with three friends, and let me tell you, it was awkward ;)
Updating will be a lot slower since school is starting soon, sorry. But this was a longish chapter so I hope you enjoyed it :)
Thanks so much for the 800 + reads guys! Love you <3
-Val