The Bad Boy and The Tomboy

Chapter 3: SMALL WORLD

On a cloudy day, I sat at the diner near school with my friends, who were crowded around two tables. It was rare to get all of us together on a Saturday morning, and this was one of the few chances we got. Next to me sat Jasmine's older brother, Drake. He went to university in Willowridge, a town not too far from Port Meadow, and had driven back this morning for reading week. "It's good having you here, man," Andrew said to Drake.

Drake had been on the soccer team before he graduated from our high school two years ago. "Tournament time, right?" Drake asked.

"And we're going to win," Austin promised.

The boys chorused their agreement and I turned to Drake. "Where's your sister?"

"She needs to hurry up." Jacob's knee bounced up and down next to me, his eyes leering at the bright screen listing all the food. "I'm starving."

"You're always starving," Brandon said. "Just order."

"I'm here," Jasmine announced, plopping down next to her brother and hugging him. "Sorry, my alarm didn't go off. Was your drive here okay?" Before Drake could answer, Jasmine's eyes caught a figure at the door, and she frowned. All of our eyes turned to see Beatrice, her big group of friends surrounding her.

"Look away," Jacob warned, and our eyes went back to each other before any of them could catch us looking.

"Ignore them and Beatrice." Andrew sighed.

"Are you guys going to postsecondary? Working?" Drake asked.

A few days ago, I'd flicked through pictures of all of us— knowing that I wasn't going to be in the same place as my friends next year at this time had made my stomach twist.

"Mace, did you pick a university yet?"

"I've still got time. I'm waiting to see what happens with soccer later this season."

Beatrice slowed down to greet the boys before shooting Jasmine and me a dirty look. Her face contorted into a conceited smile that I wanted to wipe off her face.

She could put that smile up her—

"I hate her," Jasmine muttered.

"You and me both," I added as my phone buzzed in my pocket. Opening it up as Jacob told the server what he would be ordering, I read:

Cedric: Next Friday there's a party. I better see you there

Jasmine seized my phone. "He wants you to go to the party?"

"Cahill?" Jon Ming leaned in, intrigued.

Drake looked taken aback by the last name rather than being confused about what was going on. "Cahill?"

"Cedric," Andrew informed him, turning back to me. "Answer back."

"You answer back," I retorted. Jasmine took charge, typing on the screen of my phone. I read her response as she clicked Send.

Me: Pick me up then

"Jasmine."

"If he wants you there, he should do it himself." Three floating dots appeared on my phone. He was responding.

Cedric: Count on it

My phone was snatched out of my hand and Jon Ming and Austin read the text. "Count on it," Austin mocked in a deeper voice. The two proceeded to make kissy faces, which was highly annoying. A lot of things could change regarding our lives, but the way they all acted definitely wouldn't.

~

Later that day, I stood by the side of the indoor soccer field at the rec center, watching the kids on the field doing the drills I'd assigned to them. I volunteered here every Saturday as a house league coach.