My eyes were still heavy and my head foggy when I regained consciousness. The surface I was lying on was soft and comfortable. I felt the covers over me, which made me even more sleepy. I must be at the sickbay, I thought to myself.
Suddenly, I heard the voices of a few anxious people whispering somewhere near me, but I was too tired to open my eyes.
"How long would she be until she wakes up?" A girl's voice asked in a concerned tone.
"It depends, She should be up soon." A reassuring voice said.
"Aren't you gonna give her an electric shock if she doesn't wake up?" A husky male voice said, and I could almost see his smirk.
"Probably."
Crap. They can't be serious, can they? I would probably run home screaming like a baby should they carry out their plan.
Before anyone could do anything, I opened my eyes slowly and squinted from the light. I must be out for quite a while.
Several concerned faces peered up at me although there was one that looked smug.
"See? I told you that would work." Vince said in an indulgent tone.
He was waiting for me all the while I was out? Geez... The car, the cafeteria... It was so confusing. My head was still hurting from the netball incident, but thinking about Vince's behavior confused my brain even more.
My eyes scanned the room. It was a small room in the principal's office to hold sick students temporarily. It was a small room, but I was grateful for the privacy. Layla and Alex were there as well, along with a nurse.
"Finally! You were out for ages." Layla said, patting my back soothingly.
"Really?" It didn't feel that long to me.
"About an hour and a half," Alex said, looking at the digital clock at the bedside table which read 3 pm. "Your head is feeling better?"
"It's all right I guess, just a little dizzy." I managed to reply, but I still wasn't feeling too well and my quivering voice betrayed my words.
"I'll send her home then." Vince said curtly while looking at me, surprising everyone. He scanned my face and I saw that his expression was that of concern and even a little guilty.
There was a long pause as everyone contemplated his words. "If it doesn't trouble you." Finally, Layla said, resigned.
I wanted to cut in, at least to have a say but my mouth refused to cooperate. Way to go, Amanda. Like this isn't awkward at all. I was still pissed about Vince and Andrea in the cafeteria, and I knew that it was better to stay away from him so that I won't get hurt. He's not even yours, my subconscious voice quips in.
"Call me when you get back." Layla said then she, Alex and the nurse left me and Vince alone at the sick bay. I could only wave helplessly before facing Vince.
Vince turned to face me, his face close to mine. He leaned in, and without thinking, I inhaled his delicious scent. He smelt like his softener and himself, which was a good combination. I turned quickly away when I realized what I was doing, and blushed.
"Let's get you back." He said, locking eyes with mine and holding out his hand for me to hold.
I stared at his hand without speaking. "Can... I... go to the... Toilet... first?" I stuttered, words still unable to leave my mouth coherently.
I like how you sound so romantic here, my brain fired up.
Vince started laughing. Like really hard. He threw his head back and chuckled so much until everyone in the office turned around and stared at us in disbelief.
"After you're done, I'll be outside," I muttered and hopped off the bed, excusing myself to find the toilet. My head was wonky but no way I was going to show that I needed help from Vince.
He was still laughing and tears started appearing in his eyes. Shaking my head, I left in the direction of the restroom. Was I that funny? I thought, grimacing.
After I was done, Vince was standing outside, leaning against the wall, flicking a lighter on. I was alarmed. We weren't supposed to be smoking in school!
"Smoking is prohibited, player." I hissed and glanced nervously around me. Vince smirked at my comment and continued to flick the lighter.
"I know, kitten," Vince replied in a bored tone and ruffled my hair slightly. My head was tingling from the sensation and I had to admit it felt good.
"Do you have a cigarette?" He asked casually.
"No, why the hell would I have one?" I answered back, confused. I was no bad girl.
"You don't need to have one, I just need something to light up the conversation," Vince smirked and winked sideways at me.
I rolled my eyes. Pick up lines were so last year.
As we were walking, I started swaying and he held out his hand. I hesitated at first but took it in the end. His hand felt warm and reassuring to me. So far, he has been okay, but that does not mean I forgave him yet.
In no time, we arrived at his car and drive off. We were sitting in the car in silence, and I was trying to find something to say. Perhaps I could ask him about Andrea.
"Are you and Andrea a thing?" I asked Vince casually, maybe too casually.
"Why, kitten, are you jealous?" Vince was still staring ahead into the road, but I could see his eyes giving me a teasing look.
"Of course not," I said loudly, and coughed to hde my embarassment. Maybe it was a bad idea after all.
There was silence for a long while before he opened his mouth to speak. "You should stay away from me, I'm not a good boy." His words sounded familiar and I felt as though I had heard it before somewhere.
"If you're hurt, don't say I didn't warn ya," Vince said, as the car gradually came to a halt. I glanced up, expecting to see Vince's house but it was Layla's house instead.
"Layla told me to send you here." He said, reading my thoughts. "Oh alright ." I said, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice. I thought we were going to his house.
"Bye, kitten." Vince waved as I got out of the car at my side.
"Aren't you coming in?" As much as I won't want to admit it, I was a tiny bit disappointed.
"I have things to settle," Vince said briskly and gave me a secret smile.
"See you then." I said, waving a small wave then turned towards the house.
Using my spare key, I unlocked Layla's house door.
Her mom was at home. "Hi Amanda, what brings you here today?" She said kindly.
After greeting and explaining briefly what happened, I went into Layla's room and fell asleep almost immediately. It was a tough day for me today at school, in more ways than one.
Finally, after a long while, the room light was switched on. I covered my eyes and groaned loudly.
"Hi!" Layla greeted me.
"Oh no, I haven't said anything to Liz about my staying at your place!" I scrambled out, disheveled.
"Don't worry, I already told her," Layla said reassuringly, coming to the bed and sitting beside me.
"Aren't you excited for homecoming? It's only in three weeks time!" Layla practically squealed. "Extremely," I replied with sarcasm.
"C'mon, It'll be fun for once. Ryker will ask you out." Layla smirked, and I threw a penguin at her. Not a real one, of course. It was a plushie she had since she was little.
"What makes you think that Ryker will ask me out?" I asked sardonically, and a little resentful, remembering Vince and Andrea together.
"But wait...That means that you want him to ask you out! You guys will make the cutest babies together." Layla teased and I covered my face under the covers.
"Not as cute as you and Alex's." I smirked as her cheeks turned red. Honestly, it was kind of weird that my two best friends were dating each other, but I was quite touched that even though they had other...activities together, they still made time for me.
"Let's watch a movie," Layla suggested. I nodded as she rummaged through my room. "Found it!" She said in triumph, holding up The Tourist. We were both suckers for clichés and that film was a classic.
After having a simple dinner together and saying hi to Layla's little sister, Trixie, I went back home to rest. Hopefully, tomorrow would be better, I said to myself.
The next day was bright and cheery. Layla went to school with me in her car and this time Ryder did not appear. I felt a tinge of disappointment but I brushed it away. Probably still settling whatever business he had.
However, when I got to school, Vince was still nowhere to be seen. Where could he have went? I wondered. I said bye to Layla when she went to her science class. Walking to the history classroom alone, I sat down at my usual seat. Instead of the usual Chloe sitting beside me, a blond-haired boy whom I've never spoken to before sat beside me.
He looked cute, in that geeky sort of way, with freckles and a dimpled smile.
"Hi... It's Amanda right?" He coughed. "Yep, you are?" I replied.
He was quite good looking actually, in a boyish sort of way. He was wearing a checkered red shirt and some blue jeans. "I'm Jerry, nice to meet you." He said formally and offered me his hand. I laughed and shook it. Just then, Ms Raymond entered the class after Alex walked in and waved at me.
I sighed. Another boring lesson. Jerry shook his head in sympathy, glancing sideways at me. I decided he was friendly then and that I should try to be friends with him.
"Class, please get into pairs and do up this table together." Ms Raymond called out in a booming voice and passing out sheets of paper to the class.
"Let's do it together?" I asked Jerry.
"Sure. Although I have no idea what we need to do." Jerry said nervously.
I scanned the worksheet. It was something that Vince and I went through during our tuition session. "I can handle it, don't worry." I said, and quickly filled in some boxes using a pen.
When I was done, Jerry looked at my work, impressed. "Wow, you know your stuff. Thanks for helping so much."
After we handed in the work, Jerry smiled and said," I'll see you around" before heading out of the door. Alex was there, waiting for me.
"Seems like you've been friendly with that Jerry guy," Alex commented, glancing at Jerry at the corner of his eye.
"Jealous?" I teased him. "Not at all. He seems nice, but I haven't talked to him before." Alex replied. I nodded, but I was distracted by the noise outside the classrooms. My blood froze when I recognized a voice. What was going on?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~cliffhanger :D
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-Solaireeee