There’s a song called I Don’t Like Mondays, but I will maintain until the day I die that someone should write a follow up song called I Hate Tuesdays because I will totally buy that. There’s nothing redeeming about Tuesdays; Monday is an ok day because it’s the start of a new week, and Wednesday is midweek, and Thursdays and Fridays are practically the weekend. Which leaves sucky Tuesday.
Did I not mention that Tuesday is my gym day?
“You look miserable,” TJ mutters from where he sits on the window ledge next to my locker. He’s busy checking his Facebook newsfeed and only looks up at me when I don’t answer him. “Why are you depressed?”
“It’s Tuesday,” I reply.
“It’s gonna be Tuesday all day,” he laughs, and then suddenly becomes serious. “Are you gonna be in a funk all day?”
I shrug. “Just until lunch time.”
“That’s a very specific time frame, Cate,” he leans his head to one side and surveys me. “Why until lunch time?”
“Because I have gym class fourth period,” I sigh. I take out the large History text book that’s been weighing down my satchel and throw it haphazardly into my locker. I hated History and just my luck it fell on the same day as gym. In fact, it came right before gym class. “I hate sports.”
That’s an understatement, by the way. I don’t just hate sport, I loathe it. I didn’t mind watching other people play, because at least they could actually play. Me, I was like Bambi on ice when it came to anything physical and it was a constant embarrassment how inept I was. In the three and a half years I’ve been at Capshaw, I’ve been in about ten sporting incidents. Either I’ve ended up in the nurse’s office, or I’ve put someone in there in my place. I cannot be trusted when it comes to gym.
I had arrived at school earlier than usual. I have a license and I have my own car, but I wasn’t much of a driver and preferred when other people drove instead. Today, Libby and Mom were headed up to San Francisco to scour the bridal stores up there and meet with Anna, so they dropped me off at school on the way.
My middle sister was a jewelry designer and David had commissioned Anna to design and make his and Libby’s wedding bands. Libby was very specific when it came to what she wanted as her ring and had been fussing all night over drawings of designs she liked. Eventually, she opted for a simple, slim platinum ring to match her engagement ring with three small colored stones on the band. There would be an emerald stone to represent David’s birthstone, an sapphire for Libby’s birthstone and a ruby to represent the month that their child was due to make his or her arrival. It was sentimental, and totally Libby.
The trip up to the city also gave Libby a chance to force Anna into trying on more bridesmaid dresses and for once I thanked God that I was in school, even if it was Tuesday. In the grand scheme of things, I think I preferred being in gym class than in a bridal fitting room wearing even more pink chiffon or taffeta.
“What are you pulling that face for?” TJ smiled bemusedly at me.
“What face?” I ask, suddenly aware of how I looked.
“You look smug,” TJ says with a questioning inflection in his voice.
“My sister is getting married,” I tell him, although I’m not sure why. I get that TJ and I are trying to be friends, but why am I opening up this much to him? “She’s going crazy over bridesmaid’s dresses and while I’m here, my other sister, Anna, is playing dress up.”
“And that’s why you’re happy?” TJ laughs with a shake of his head.
“Gym class,” I say as I create a balance with my hands. “Or dress shopping with my sister? This will be the only time gym class ever wins.”
I finish placing my books in the locker and close it, taking a seat next to TJ on the window ledge. TJ, being a muscular jock, took up most of the space but he’d left an opening for me. It meant having to sit with my arm touching his, but surprisingly I wasn’t freaking out. Instead, I felt my body relax and gravitate towards him. I rested my head on his shoulder and sighed contentedly.
“Comfortable?” He mused but didn’t move. I nod against him and feel his body shaking with a quiet laugh. “Glad I could be of some use to you.”
Now it was my turn to laugh. Eventually, we fell in to a comfortable silence. TJ continued to play on his cell and I watched as he scrolled through a girl’s profile. I couldn’t see her name, but whoever she was, she was really pretty in a stereotypical way. You know the type- blonde hair, blue eyes, wore a cheer leading uniform. Of course that’s the type of girl TJ likes.
I roll my eyes at the screen of his cell and start to look around us as the hallway fills. A few people shoot us bemused glances but they don’t say anything. TJ’s friends converged at my locker for some reason and they were all talking animatedly about things I had no interest in. Something about a party this weekend was mentioned, but it went over my head.
I spotted Georgie arriving with Greyson and held up my hand to wave at her. She beamed at me and waved back, but instead of rushing towards me like she usually would, Georgie went to her locker. She and Grey stayed there, pawing each other until I got too nauseated to look anymore.
“They need to get a room,” someone else spoke my thoughts. I turn towards the voice and see Landon Harris from my gym class rolling his eyes at the public display of over affection. “I think I preferred it when they weren’t dating.”
I cleared my throat and held up my hand to show that I had something to say. “That’s my friend you’re talking about.”
Landon stuttered, searching for an apology, but in the end he gave up with a shrug. “They still need to get a room, though.”
Actually, I couldn’t argue with that. If they were going to make out and try to give each other an endoscopy with their tongues, then they really should get a room. A sound proofed one wouldn’t go amiss, either.
“Psyched for gym, Cate?” Landon asked. I groaned and buried my face into TJ’s shoulder. It’s a good thing I don’t wear make-up, otherwise TJ’s white shirt would be looking a little orange streaked about now. “I’ll take that as a ‘no.’”
I wanted to make a comment but the bell rang and I knew I had better get to the art building. I had double period photography this morning and while I loved every other period photography, I hated todays. It felt like a false promise, or the school buttering me up because I had two of my worst classes right after. I think I’d prefer photography in the afternoon, because at least then it would feel like compensation for the disaster that was about to go down.
I’d survived History, but only just. Then it was time for gym. We had one of those ultra-modern gyms with high-tech, state of the art equipment that no one really knew how to use. There was a basement level with an exercise room and a dance studio, and the ground level housed the school’s basketball court. The locker rooms were on the first floor, adjoining the ridiculous amount of offices that belonged to way too many coaches of way too many sports. Capshaw had a football team, boys and girls soccer teams, basketball, baseball, cross country, lacrosse, volleyball, track… you get the point. Too many sports for a sport-phobic.
I changed out of my trusted jeans and t-shirt combo and begrudgingly put on the only athletic wear I own. The leggings were form fitting and hugged my spindly legs, while the royal blue tank top showcased my chest for the whole world to see. Not that there was much up top to see, of course.
Walking out into the gym, an overwhelming feeling of dread came over me. Instinct kicked in and I searched out the nearest exits, ready to run if I had to. Mrs. Greene arrived shortly after and blew on her whistle to get our attention. I jumped at the shrill sound and wondered what it would take for me to get out of gym class.
“You’re in my gym class, too, huh?” Chris muttered from my side. His gaze was on Mrs. Greene, but his attention focused on me. “We’re playing dodgeball today and I’m team captain. The question is, do I put you on my team or not?”
“Not,” I say with a playful smile. Chris frowned down at me, his dark hair covering his brown eyes. “Not because I don’t want to be on your team, but I’m kinda hoping you’d do me a favor and take me out first. Please?”
Chris laughed, but before he could answer, Mrs. Greene called him forward. I saw that Landon was the other captain, which meant that either way I had pretty good odds at being knocked out in the first minute. I had just begged Chris, and Landon knew how much I hated gym class. It was win-win.
Or it should have been.
Who knew I was surrounded by this many traitors.
Chris hadn’t selected me in the first round, but Landon had. As Landon’s side got ready for the game, Chris took his team aside and gave them a pep talk. Every now and then I could see him look across the gym to me and wink. When the game started, I finally realized what their plan was.
Chris’ team took out everyone else on my team until it was just me and Landon left. We had two balls on our side of the line, but Chris had more players. Chris took aim at Landon and threw the ball. Instead of taking it like a man, Landon did the most ungentlemanly thing ever. He reached over and grabbed me by the arm, pulled me towards him and used me as a human shield.
That would have been ok, if it weren’t for the fact that Chris had taken aim at Landon’s stomach. Being shorter than Landon, this meant that the ball came straight for me.
And hit me in the face.
*~*~*
I ran for the nurse’s office at a speed that I usually reserved for games only. Students saw me making my way quickly through the crowds and had the good sense to get out of my way, their terrified shrieks echoing off the hallway walls as I went past them. When I finally arrived at the nurse’s office, I knocked on the door and entered without hesitating. The room was filled with people, all of whom were shouting over each other to be heard.
“No, this is your fault.”
“How is it my fault? You used her as a human shield!”
“How could you hurt my best friend like this?”
“Georgie, calm down. Shouting isn’t the answer.”
“I don’t care, Grey. Have you seen Cate’s face?”
“While I appreciate your dedication to Miss Westbrook, could you all please vacate the room? Cate needs to be lying down and resting. Ah, Mr. Rushing. What are you doing here?”
Everyone turns towards the door where I stand, but the only face I see is Cate’s. She’s lying on the bed in the corner of the room, staring at the ceiling as she holds an arm over her eyes. The right side of her face looks red and swollen, and there’s a spot of dried blood on her cheek.
“What the hell happened?” I roared louder than I’d ever shouted before. “Which one of you did this to her?”
Landon stood in front of me in his gym uniform and a ridiculously built guy stood next to him, his arms crossed across his chest as his muscles flexed. They both pointed at each other and started blaming the other guy, their noise quickly giving me a headache.
“You know what? I don’t care,” I finally say, exasperated by their quarrelling. “Everyone out. You heard the nurse. Out.”
Landon was the first to leave, his head hung in shame as he passed me. Grey dragged Georgie, kicking and screaming, from the nurse’s office and they were followed by the guy who I didn’t know. He leveled a look on me that wasn’t entirely friendly, and then turned to Cate.
“I’m really sorry, Cate,” the guy said, his voice conveying the apology. “I’ll call you later to see how you’re doing.”
“You don’t have my number,” Cate mumbled from her bed. She pulled away the arm that had been covering her eyes and motioned the boy back into the room. She held out her hand. “Give me your cell.”
I watched as Cate entered her digits into the phone and handed it back to its owner. She smiled at the guy, and he flirtily smiled back. He bent down to kiss her forehead and brush away the strands of hair that covered her face.
“See you tomorrow,” he said before disappearing out the door.
I watched his retreating back and pictured myself throwing daggers into him. I’m pretty sure it’s his fault Cate fell and hit her head, and I wasn’t about to let him worm his way into her good books just because he could be charming with a girl who has concussion.
Once the guy had rounded the corner, I stepped back inside the room and slammed the door shut. I heard Cate groan from behind me as she lifted herself up into a sitting position. Her clothes seemed a little out of place, and it wasn’t until I saw the black sports bra peeking out of her tank top that I realized why. She was in her gym gear, her hair had been pulled into a high knot and she wore orange Nike’s on her feet.
“How did you end up here?” I ask as I walk towards her and place my hand on her shoulders to balance her.
“It’s Tuesday,” she says with a lopsided grin.
“You know that doesn’t make sense, right?” I say with a touch of humor in my voice. Cate leans forward and lets her forehead rest against my chest. “How much pain meds did they give you?”
“A few,” she mumbles. “I hit my head pretty hard. Stung worse than the dodgeball that whacked my face.”
“I bet,” I laugh as I lower my hand to her back and move them in a circular, soothing motion. “Are you free to leave?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. Gotta stay here until one of my parents come and get me, which won’t be anytime soon. Mom’s in San Fran and Dad is down at CalTech. So, this is me for the afternoon. Yay me.”
She pulls her head up and smiles at me, before she flops back down on the bed, narrowly missing the wall as her head hits the pillow. She brings her legs up onto the bed and pulls her knees up to her chest until she’s in the fetal position.
I take the seat from the opposite wall and position it near the bed. I sit with my elbows balanced on my knees and my chin in my hands. I stare at Cate as intensely as she stares at me before pulling a funny face to make her smile.
“You’re goofy,” she says with a grin on her face. “I like that about you. You’re not at all what I thought you’d be like.”
Oh, this I’d like to hear. “I’m not?”
She shakes her head. “You look like you could be a jerk,” she says honestly, and for a second I consider leaving, but that would just prove her right. “But you’re not. You’re actually very nice, even if you can’t move a cupboard.”
“You just had to bring that up,” I groan, leaning back in my chair with my arms petulantly crossed over my torso. “How was I to know there were wheels on the thing?”
“Because I told you,” she answers in that ‘duh’ tone of voice.
I stick my tongue out at her. “So, if I’m not the jerk you though I would be, what type of guy am I?”
It always amused me to hear what people thought of me. I’d heard most of it before- jerk, player, asshole, Rich Boy, jock… Nothing that Cate could say would surprise me. And, if I’m being honest, in her spaced out state, I wouldn’t really believe a word that passes her pert lips.
“You’re just so…” She trails off as she looks closely at me. “Sexy. Like, really, you are good looking. And your shoulder is really comfortable. You’re eyes are nice. And the way you say my name is kinda cute.”
I blink at her. “Are you high?”
“Maybe,” she admits with a giggle. She brings up her index finger to her lip and lowers her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “But, shh… don’t tell anyone. This will be our little secret, ok?”
“Ok, Cate,” I whisper back to her. “You think I’m sexy, huh?”
Cate giggles again and repositions herself on the bed so that she’s lying on her back. Her legs are bent and her feet flat against the bed as she starts to sway her knees sideways. She starts humming to herself.
“I’m not usually like this, you know,” she suddenly says, never once taking her attention from the ceiling. “I hate making new friends and I am so beyond awkward with people that there isn’t an adequate word that could begin to describe how I am with them. But you’re different.”
“Because you think I’m sexy?” I tease.
“No,” she scoffs. “Jeez, who boosted your ego by calling you sexy? I meant different in a good way. In a I-can-trust-you kind of way, and that, my new bestie, is the biggest compliment you will ever get from me.”
I laugh at how drugged up and concussed she is. The last person I had seen this out of it was Brewer after he accidentally ate some of his brother’s hash brownies last year. Cate had probably said more words in the last ten minutes to me than she had in the six days I’ve known her, and each utterance had me wanting to hear more.
I got that she wasn’t the most social kind of person, but I could work with that. So what if she was awkward around other people, with me she seemed like she could be her real self and that was a better than the girl she was either trying to be, or the girl she was trying to hide behind.
The real Cate Westbrook was the kind of girl I could like, and the kind of girl that I could do with in my life. She didn’t seem to care about my name, or my status, and seemed like the type of girl that could keep me grounded. If the best compliment I was ever going to get from Cate was the fact that she could trust me, then she was a keeper.
But she wasn’t Catherine.
“I think I like Chris,” Cate suddenly says from the bed. I whip my head around to see her pensive face under the redness and swelling. “He’s tall, did you notice? And he’s very muscular. Did you see? He plays rugby. I’m not sure what that is, but I think I’d like to find out. Do you think he’d take me to a game?”
She turns to face me and waits for me to answer, but I just shrug.
“I think he will,” she announces. “He likes me. He asked for my number.”
“No, he didn’t,” I grunt. I’m not sure why I’m behaving all protective of her, but Cate is too vulnerable to get mixed up with guys like this Chris. “You gave it to him. And he isn’t that tall, or muscular, if you ask me.”
“You’re just jealous,” she sing songs.
“Why would I be jealous?” I scoff unceremoniously.
“Because…”
“That’s not a valid reason, Cate,” I forcefully tell her.
“Why are you mad at me?” She glares at me. “Don’t say my name like that. It’s not nice.”
I sigh. “How do you want me to say your name?”
“Nicer. Like earlier when it was cute.”
“How does someone say a name in a nicer, cuter way?” I demand, my voice rising in irritation.
“Cate,” she says her name, and I’m pretty sure it’s said in the exact same tone that I had just used. “See? Cate.”
“Cate,” I say her name again. “Better?”
She huffs. “No.”
We sit in silence, both ignoring the other as our mutual annoyance makes us too stubborn to break the tension. I wasn’t the type to hold grudges, but I wasn’t the type to back down in an argument either. Until Cate admitted that she snapped at me without any real reason, I wasn’t going to play nice.
I’m guessing that’s how she sees it, too. She sits up and clumsily gets to her feet. She’s a little dizzy on her legs and she leans against the bed to stop her from falling over. I feel like I should help her, but if she’s crazy enough to be going against medical advice, then more fool her if she faints and hits her head all over again.
You don’t mean that, Theo. I tell myself.
“Where are you going?” I ask Cate as she shuffles towards the door.
“Away from you,” she says as she opens the door. Everyone that had been in the room earlier, minus Chris, was sat out in the admin office waiting room, and stood at seeing Cate. She made a beeline for Georgie and wrapped her arms around friend. “Look, it’s my bestie!”
“I thought I was your bestie?” I ask from the doorway.
Cate scoffs. “Was, being the operative word, Thomas Jefferson.”
I snigger. “What did you just call me?”
“What did I call you out loud, or what did I call you silently in my mind?” She asks with a straight face.
“Cate,” I sigh out her name. “Are you deliberately being evasive?”
She shrugs. “Are you deliberately being a jealous jerk?”
“I am not jealous,” I growl out, hopefully for the final time. I see the look Grey gives me and I just brush it off. I’ll explain it all to him later, but first, I needed to sort Cate out. “You’re being irrational.”
“Maybe,” she concedes. “But you did not deny that you’re being a jerk.”
“If I’m being a jerk,” I say slowly, “It’s only because you are testing my patience.”
“Am not,” she pouts, and throws herself to sit in one of the chairs in the waiting area. “I need to sit down.”
I walk over to her and crouch down before her, brushing her hair from her face so I can see her better. “You are sitting down, Cate.”
“Good,” she nods, lolling her head backwards and closing her eyes. She smiles to herself. “You said my name in that cute way again.”
“Cute?” I hear Grey snort. “We left you two alone in a room for half an hour. What did you do to her?”
“I did nothing,” I said, the same time that Cate said, “He said my name all sexy.”
Georgie steps forward and pushes me out of the way as she reaches out her hand and pulls Cate to her feet. Cate loops her arm through Georgie’s and leans against her friend for balance as the girls make their way out of the office.
“I’m taking her home,” Georgie announces from the doorway. “She’s obviously out of it and has no idea what she’s saying.”
“Need me to come?” Grey asks.
“No,” Georgie said at the same time Cate emphatically shakes her head. “We’ll be fine, won’t we, Cate?”
Cate nods. “Fine. Can I sleep now?”
“If you sleep, you’ll die,” Georgie tells her friend.
“Oh,” Cate suddenly seems wide awake. She spots me standing in the middle of the office and she waves at me. “Hey, bestie.”
“Now I’m your ‘bestie?’” I smirk at her, her stupid drugged out adorableness winning me over.
“Yeah,” she smiles. “By the way, I’ve been meaning to ask you something. What does TJ stand for?”
“Thomas Jefferson,” I joke to her, using the name she gave me earlier.
“That makes sense,” Cate nods slightly as she turns to Georgie. “Are we going home now?”
“Yeah, we are.”
“Bye, Thomas Jefferson,” Cate smiles to me.
“Bye, Cate,” I laugh along with Grey and Landon. When she’s finally rounded the corner with Georgie, I turn to Grey and Landon and grin. “I really like her.”
*~*~*
How are you finding it so far? Have you spotted tonight's reference to what was said in the closet?
Sarah, xx