Beep. Beep. Beep.
I woke up to the annoying sound of the alarm clock. Oh, well. At least that's better than waking up with cold water dripping down your back.
I stretched my body until I heard the satisfying crack. I was never a morning person.
I quickly get ready and put on a comfortable pair of pants and a clean shirt since I didn't really care how I looked as long as I was presentable. After brushing my hair, I headed downstairs for breakfast.
When I reached the kitchen, I was suprised to find Marcus sitting there, eating cereal. Uh-oh. That's never a good sign. Marcus always comes to my house and eats comfort food whenever he's troubled about something.
I approach Marcus and give him a comforting hug that made me feel all warm and tingly inside.
"Are you okay, Marc?"
He doesn't respond. He seemed to be lost in thought. Wow. Whatever he's thinking about must be serious.
"Marc?" I snapped my fingers in front of his face to get his attention.
"Huh?" He looked up from his bowl of cereal. "Hey, Monnie. Sorry for stealing your cereal."
"It's fine, Marc. You know you're always welcome here." I smiled at him. "Now, what's wrong?"
"I broke up with Tina last night.."
I frowned at this. "I'm guessing she didn't take it well?"
"Oh no. She was fine with it. She even said that she felt the same way. It was a mutual break up."
"Then why are you so upset?" I asked.
"I'm not upset. I'm just thinking about... Stuff."
"Penny for your thoughts?"
"It's complicated, Monnie. I'll tell you when I'm ready because I'm a bit confused right now. But when I do tell you, I hope it doesn't ruin our friendship."
I was curious now. What secret did Marcus have? It had to be big if he thought it could ruin our friendship.. I shrugged it off. He said he would tell me when he was ready. I can respect that. So, for now I just ate my breakfast.
We walked to school in silence since he seemed to be deep in thought and Anna was absent today. When we arrived at school, he went straight to his locker without another word.
I frowned. I don't like seeing Marcus that way. He's usually so lively and energetic.
"Turn that frown upside down, Monabon. You look like a dying fish."
"Your comment is unnecessary, Brandon." I said, rolling my eyes.
"What's got you in such a frown-y mood?" He inquired.
"Nothing that concerns you. Now if you excuse me, I've got to get to class." I said, pushing past him to head to Math. Oh how I hate math.
The day passed quickly and soon I found myself seated next to Brandon in the auditorium, awaiting for the cast list to be released.
"Good afternoon, class!" Ms. Rodriguez said as she entered the room. "I heard the cast list is going to be out today."
"Yes, ma'am they are." Bianca said while she approached the teacher.
"Go ahead and announce them, dear."
Bianca beamed at everyone. "Okay. Let's start with the female roles. Beatrice will be played by Monica Cartwright. Patricia will be played by....."
I kind of tuned out after that. I got the part! I actually got the part! I felt ecstatic!
I tuned back in just in time to hear who plays Javier.
"And the lead male role, Javier, will be played by Brandon Phillips."
Hold on. Pause and rewind. Did she just say Brandon Phillips will be playing Javier? Well, he was really good at his audition. And he is a good actor so I should have expected it.
It would be a bit awkward if I kissed my brothers best friend. It's even more awkward because Aaron, along with other friends and family will be watching this play.
Oh my gosh. My family is going to watch this. Meaning, my mom will watch Brandon and I kiss. Knowing her, she's going to make a big deal out of this. She's always believed that Brandon and I would end up together and I quote, 'make me many beautiful grandchildren.'
I mean, come on! Gross! Why Brandon? I've been friends with Marcus for even longer but she never thought that I would end up with him. Well, I'll prove her wrong. I will end up with the love of my life, Marcus, before graduation day.
I was startled out of my musings when I heard the bell ring. Wow, that was fast. I must have been thinking harder than I thought.
I exited the room, grabbed my stuff from my locker and headed outside to meet Marcus. He was outside spacing out again.
"Hey, ready to go?" I asked him.
"Yeah." He replied in a distracted voice.
We started walking home quietly together. What's on his mind? It looks like it's eating him up! I wish Anna were here. Why did she have to be sick and absent? With her here, at least it wouldn't have been as quiet..
We reached home and I said my goodbye to Marcus. I entered my home to see Aaron standing there, arms crossed.
"We need to talk." Aaron told me.
I raised my eyebrow at this, as I made my way to the living room couch and sat down. Aaron followed suit.
"About?"
"Did you kiss any boys today?"
"No.."
"How about girls?"
"I don't swing that way, Aaron."
"Animals?"
"Um, no...."
"Did you do anything remotely out of character?"
"No! What's with the sudden interrogation?" I asked.
He ignored my question and continued. "Do you have a secret boyfriend that I don't know about?"
"No."
"LIES!!!!"
"I'm not lying, Aaron. I don't have a boyfriend." yet.. I wanted to add. Marcus will be my boyfriend once he realizes his undying love for me.
"Stop pretending, Monica. I heard you had a boyfriend."
I'm pretty sure my eyeballs grew considerably. "What? I don't have a boyfriend! What are you talking about?"
"Well, I heard from Bianca. She was gushing about how cute it was that my best friend and my little sister are dating! Care to explain why I wasn't the first to hear about this?"
"Well, we're not--" I started to explain when he interrupted me.
"So, he finally had the guts! How did he tell you?" He asked me excitedly, looking like a puppy about to pee itself.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean he finally had the guts? Guts to do what?" I asked, genuinely confused.
He looked confused as well. "Wait, you're not dating Brandon?"
"Yeah, I'm not. It was all just a big misunderstanding. Anyways, answer my question. What do you mean Brandon finally had the guts?"
"Never mind. Ignore everything I said. Why was there a misunderstanding in the first place?"
"Well, it's your fault. We auditioned together so that no 'slimy guy' would get to kiss me. Brandon said he was just following your orders."
"My orders?" He looked confused again.
"Didn't you tell him to do that?"
It seemed like a lightbulb went off in his head. "Oh yeah! Yeah I did. No one touches my little sister!"
I raised my eyebrow. He seemed to be unsure of himself. I didn't think much of it and said "Okay, are we done with our talk?"
"Yeah, you can go. I just wanted to confirm some things. Besides, I need to have a little chat with Brandon."
"Okay, whatever." I said as I made my way upstairs to my room.
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:)