"So. . . what's up with this room?"
"A fancy room," Phillip answered. he sat on the couch next time mine as he played his video game. Marge was in the dining room, protecting her snack bar.
"Yeah, what's up with it?"
"It's fancy."
I am clearly asking the wrong question. I should've just asked why we were here.
"Hey, aren't you supposed to be in school? Maven said there's a student council meeting." I changed the subject.
"Well, Marge is sick so she couldn't come. And I have a dentist appointment so I couldn't come either. And, Maven is the president so he has no choice." Phillip explained.
"But, Marge isn't sick and you don't have a dentist appointment."
"Good job, Ange." He said, sarcastically. "You figured it out."
I stood up from the couch and turned to walk to the dining room to where Marge was. I thought that maybe I could have a decent conversation with her instead. While on my way there, I texted Maven because he told me to text him when I got here.
"Take one step closer and I will ban you from this area forever!" Marge threatened as I got closer to her and the snacks. I raised my hands up in the air like surrendering to the cops.
"I come in peace!"
"What do you want?"
I shrugged. "Nothing. Just wanted someone to talk to. I promise I won't steal anymore MnM's."
Marge examined my face to see if I was lying. Which, I wasn't.
"Okay." she gave in.
I walked to her and leaned against a table. "So, nice room you got here."
Marge looked around the place. She hesitated before saying, "Yeah.."
"Where have you been the past few days? I'm sure everyone misses you at school."
"I've been here."
Like, here here? On this hotel in this room? I'm sure a one night stay in a regular room was already expensive enough.
"Wow." I just said. I tried to be careful. "Are you on a vacation? Or, like, did you run away from home?"
She laughed. "Run away from home? No. No. This is my home."
I nodded as I processed her words. Then it sunk in. "I'm sorry, what now?"
Marge laughed more. which made me feel dumb and out of place.
"Angel, don't be surprised, but my family kinda owns this place."
"Are you serious?"
"I thought everyone at the school knew!"
"Well, I didn't!"
When I was in middle school, Eve and I used to plan everything about our future. We said that we would go to a good college here in our state then go to Med school after graduating in a different one. We planned that we would be roommates and that we would share everything from food, car, money, those things. But, I also thought that we wouldn't have enough money to pay for an out of state college.
Yeah, sure, maybe we'd get a scholarship. But still, maybe we wouldn't.
So I thought that we should befriend someone rich that could help us study in a different state. It's not that we were going to use this person. I mean, we won't force him or her to pay for our tuition. But, eventually, the thought fade away because we thought that no one in Carmela High was the daughter of a CEO or a politician. I never removed it from my bucket list, though.
"Marge, that's so cool."
"Yeah, it can be."
In my mind, I was crossing off Be friends with a good wealthy person from my imaginary bucket list.
A few hours later, Maven finally came.
"Mavey!" I called just to annoy him.
"And I thought we all forgot about that already," Maven muttered.
"Mavey."
"What?"
"Nothing," I laughed.
He just shook his head, smiling. I caught Phillip shot us a quick glance, then went back to his video game. Marge came running to us when Maven arrived. Phillip finally died on his game and passed Maven a controller.
Marge called reception to bring us up dinner even though it was only 5:30.
We all sat there on the couches. Phillip and Maven were laughing their heads off as they played. Marge was reading while eating marshmallows. I was on my phone.
When suddenly, I felt a marshmallow hit me on my head. Marge hid her face behind her book.
"I know it was you, Marge."
"What? What happened?" She said, her voice muffled behind the book.
"Stop lying. You're the only one with a bowl of marshmallows."
I reached up to her and grabbed a couple of marshmallows. Then I sat back on my seat.
I popped a marshmallow in my mouth.
Suddenly, I felt a marshmallow hit me right in my face.
"Marge!"
"What are you doing?!" Marge said with marshmallows in her hand.
"I'm clearly eating a marshmallow," I threw one at her.
Then it started. The marshmallow war. The 4 of us started throwing marshmallows at each other. And not in a good way, but in a war way. It was like the marshmallows were bullets that we had to dodge. Phillip and Maven ran to the kitchen and brought back a pack more of giant marshmallows.
"Phillip has a rubber band!!" Maven warned. Phillip was shooting marshmallows at me with his rubber band when one actually entered my mouth.
"Where did you even get that?" Marge asked Phillip, referring to the rubber band.
"I don't even remember." Phillip answered.
"Okay. Enough." Maven stopped the war.
"Killjoy." I murmured under my breath. We were having so much fun. He can't just stop it.
But, we did for some reasons.
"I heard that, Angel," Maven glared at me.
"I wasn't trying to keep it a secret."
"Anyway," Phillip said, "There's a family skate night tomorrow."
"Yeah," I said, interested. I go skate everytime I can. "You guys should go for once. I go there everytime and not a single time did I see you guys there."
"That's because Marge doesn't know how to roller skate." Phillip glared at Marge.
"Are you serious?" I asked her.
She shrugged. I'll take that as a yes.
Three year old kids, maybe even younger, were better skaters than me. So I was sure that Marge could learn it really easily and quickly.
I leaned back to the couch. "Then we should go!"
"Yeah, we should. Finally teach Princess Marge how to roller skate."
"I'm not princess." Said Marge.
Phillip scoffed. "Then what do you call this castle room we are in right now? A hotel room?"
"Well, technically it is a hotel room--" I said but Phillip cut me off.
"-Ange! It's a castle room!"
"Fine. Geez."
"Don't geez me." He said. My eyes lit up. "Don't you dare."
I said slowly, devouring the first word, "Geez, Phillip."
"She did it. She actually did it."
I checked my watch. It was six. And it was a Friday night. And all these three were doing is, nothing. Nothing at all. They're, well I should say we're all just scattered around the hotel room like slackers.
"I should probably go," I said as I stood up.
"What? But what about dinner?" Marge asked. Right. I forgot she ordered some. But no! I'll leave for now. I was getting a little uncomfortable being in a hotel room with two great guys and one girl who was probably richer than I could ever be.
"My mom probably made some. I'm sure she'll want me to be home by now too anyway." I lied. I honestly had no idea how her schedule worked.
"Okay.." Marge said. "You need a ride?"
I caught Phillip opened his mouth as if he was gonna say something but he didn't.
Maven stood up. "I'll drive her!"
We shared a smile. I'll have to email Phillip later.
Not that I didn't want Maven to drive me, I'd love it. But, I almost never got to spend time with Phillip. Who also happened to be Zero. I feel like our only interactions was through emails. Then we'd talk here and there but they were always short and small.
And I didn't want that. I wanted us to be comfortable around each other in person. Not just in email.
We're all becoming really good friends here anyway.
To: Zero
From: Seventh
You. Person.
Why are you so awkward?
-Seventh
.
To: Seventh
From: Zero
It's because I'm a teenager.
-Zero
.
To: Zero
From: Seventh
You didn't deny it. Weird.
Anyway, do you think I'm just using you? Or like do the other kids think that I'm just using you guys?
-Seventh
.
To: Seventh
From: Zero
Use us for what?
-Zero
.
To: Zero
From: Seventh
I don't know. To become popular or something.
-Seventh
.
To: Seventh
From: Zero
No. You don't care about those things. I know you're perfectly fine where you are now. If you weren't, then I'm sure you could've done something about that years ago. I mean, Ross is a good friend of yours. And yet you didn't 'use him' to climb your way up.
So yeah, I don't.
Who said that anyway?
-Zero
.
To: Zero
From: Seventh
Nobody. Just, you know, heard it around.
-Seventh
.
To: Seventh
From: Zero
It was Lexi huh? Don't lie.
I know her. She's someone who would think something like that. She can be a little rude sometimes. But she's like that. She has multiple personalities.
Maybe that was why Maven turned her down when she 'confessed her love for him.'
-Zero
.
To: Zero
From: Seventh
She did?! Well that was brave of hers.
-Seventh
.
I knew Lexi liked him. Even when she still wasn't popular. Maven was the boy who talked to her when she was still just a nobody with me. That's how she liked him.
I never told her I did like him because she was once my best friend and I didn't want her to think that someday I would try to steal Maven or something.
But, I guess now in her eyes I kind of did.
Which I didn't. One, they came to me. Not the other way around. And two, it's not like they were dating so she had no right to stop me from being friends with Maven.
Or maybe, even more.
"Hey, you know what rhymes with Mavey?" I asked Maven as he parked on our vacant driveway.
"I honestly don't want to know."
"Gravy." I told him anyway.
There it was again. That smile. That smile that kept my heart beating. But, there's something missing. It's not like those times before.
Was it because I've seen it too much and I've had enough of it to be used to it? But, no, my heart still raced. Just not as much as before.
"You're cute." He said.
My face flushed.
He caught himself. "I mean, the joke. That joke was cute. It was funny. Cause you know, I love gravy. Especially with chicken. Because chicken is really good with mash potato and gravy-- Why am I still talking?"
He was panicking.
"Thanks Maven. For the ride home. I should go in." I said as I tried to hide my blush and walked out of his car. I walked to my front door and wave good bye before finally walking in. Only until I closed the door did he finally leave and I was able to relax.
I didn't want to get my hopes us but, does Maven Knight like me?
>>>>><<<<<
I have successfully written a chapter. I will be editing this later when I get a chance to use my laptop but I'll publish it anyway since it's Sunday and I won't break my promise to publish a chapter every Sunday.
I hope that you like this chapter! I'm dedicating this to Simon_say and notaverysaneperson for making my notifications explode and made me laugh hard as well! I wish I could make the dedication for the both of you but I can't. So I'll just give it to Simon_say because you started it all.
Anyway, please tell me how you found this book. Did I request for you to read it or did a friend recommend it to you? I'm really curious.
Tell me what you think.
Edit: The marshmallow fight though. That was my favorite part of this chapter. Maybe I had that fight with some certain people. Maybe I didn't. But you should know, after I read To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han (really good book, you should read it if you haven't already), I realized something. Lara Jean wrote letters to the boys she used to love to get over them, or something like that. While I write stories about those boys I've. . .you know, grew fond of.
Thanks everyone! Almost 20k!