Head Over Sneakers | on hold

[ 10 ]

   I HAD CAM  in a choke hold. My fist rubbed against his head, ultimately messing up his hair which he was so proudly showing off this morning. I hysterically laughed like a maniac as I ignored his protests.
   He deserved it, though. The second I sat down he teased me unfairly as he happened to be listening to the previous conversation Devon and I had the other day at the beginning of class.
   "Serves you right." I snapped and gave him one last squeeze before loosening my grip and allowing him to escape from my side.
   Cam pouted and I merely rolled my eyes. He nudged Byron who hadn't looked up from his book since he was used to such antics from the two of us. Mike on the other hand, watched with boredom.
   "You gonna fill me in then or not?" He mused and I shot Cam a glare.
   "Oh come on, it's not like you guys were discussing sex or anything!" Cam replied.
   Jumping from my seat, I was close to leaping over the table to mess his hair up some more; maybe his face, this time.
   "Gross." Mike uttered, shivering at the thought of discussing his little sisters sex life.
   I was a virgin, Mike would pleased to know; well, actually, I think he'd rather not know anything about my sex life.
   "That's my sister, dude." This time Mike had Cam in a choke hold and I grinned.
   "Come on!" Cam groaned and Mike chuckled, letting him go.
   "She looked so cute and shy and she got all awkward." Cam spoke out, matching my glare as he spoke of the conversation Devon and I had previously had.
   "Asshole." I muttered and Cam merely stuck his middle finger up at me and continued.
   A sudden burst of giggles erupted and a crowd of girls entered the cafeteria, I looked over Mike's shoulder and watched as they scanned the room and their eyes settled on our table. A groan escaped my lips as I remembered that today marked the beginning of 'Valentine's Week'
   It was a tradition at St. George's that the week before Valentine's Day, you would hint to your crush that you would be giving them a Valentine's card or gift and 'warning' others about who you had your eye on and if you accepted, it had meant you would be each other's dates to the Valentine's Day dance.
   If you received more than one, well then you had a selection of choices for a date to the dance. It was a weird, and completely cringe tradition but a tradition nonetheless, which meant it was happening and if you didn't join in, you were going against tradition and that made you an outcast. Nobody wanted to be an outcast.
   If you gave a Valentine to someone but didn't get one back, you were going alone to the dance. It wasn't breaking tradition, actually, you were adhering to it, more than anything.
   Every year, I'd give one to my brother and he'd give one to someone else. I was following the rules and yet not taking part in the cliché tradition. It's what worked for me. I know the kind of thoughts people had of me because of it but I didn't care...at least that what I had told myself.
   Cam began spilling the details of the conversation Devon and I had, I listened in, realising no matter how much I protested, he was going to talk about it. "-and then Devon was all like do you like Jay ba-.."
   A new presence made itself known. "What are we discussing?"
   Byron's book shut with a snap and Cam's sentence was suddenly cut off as Byron reached over the table for a piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth. Cam began chocking and Byron merely rolled his eyes, picking his book up again and continuing from where he left off.
   My heart began to rapidly thump against my chest at the sudden presence of Jay. I was so relieved that Byron had managed to intervene and shut Cam up before he could hear. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Jay. I knew he liked me, but how much? I wasn't sure, though, I didn't want to take any risks.
   He was a good friend to me and I thought that maybe the best way to keep him from getting hurt would be to make it clear that we were friends and friends only. I hoped he had only a small crush on me, the kind that can be mistaken for a crush, when really it was only adoration or comfort for being in each others company for years.
   Cam had finally composed himself, I threw a bottle of water at him which he caught, flicked off the lid and began to chug as Byron hit him on the back with one hand, the other, holding his book down, his eyes not peeling away from the contents.
   "Cam's just being a dork. Nothing interesting about that." I shook the awkward feeling that dared to surface and I shouted at myself to remain calm and act normal. It's just Jay. He's one of your best friends and you shouldn't act any different around him. I hoped I would pay heed to my words and strung a small, causal smile upon my lips.
   Jay laughed, his pearly whites shimmered and he settled down next to me, his tray bumping into my own.
   "How many approached you today?" Mike asked with an amused look. Jay, Mike and I began our own conversation, forgetting about the recovering Cam and Byron who was half helping him out and half engrossed in his book.
   Jay was extremely popular with the girls and we all knew it. I nudged him, feeling the thoughts of his crush on me vanish like a puff of smoke as I began to tease him. "Yeah, Jay, tell us!" I grinned and Jay cooly shrugged his shoulders.
   "A couple, I guess." He picked up his fork and began pushing the food in his plate around. He didn't seem interesting in discussing it at all.
   "Mikaela." He uttered my name and I turned to face him, my brow rising. "
   "Can we ta-.." Before he could finish his sentence off, my phone began to ring and I shot him an apologetic look. Fumbling for the device that buzzed on the table, I picked it up and stared at the screen.
   Holding it next to my ear, I answered. "Devon?" I could feel Jay's eyes on me and I wondered wether it would have been better for me to excuse myself from the table to answer the phone call.
   "Help me." He whispered and I screwed my eyes, looking around for him in the cafeteria, but failing to spot him.
   "What?"
   "It's an emergency, I need your help. I'm under the bleachers, come quick." He muttered and suddenly, the call had ended, Devon had hung up.
   I met Mike's amused eyes, Cam was grinning and Byron; he didn't seem to care, he was still busy reading. But then, I felt Jay's eyes on me and felt a rush of guiltiness overcome me.
   "Devon has some emergency." I answered and I collected my things and moved. "See you later!" I heard different forms of goodbye as I left but I didn't hear Jay's voice, I could only feel his eyes on me as I walked away to go and find Devon.

-