Alvin who is NOT a chipmunk

The Real History

The day did not get any better. Got detention for late coming, together with Steve. Double detention for street fighting, with Steve. God he looked so awful I cannot even look at him, with his nose black and blue like that. I did not know if it was me, but I kept hearing people whispering behind my back. I imagine they were saying things like "poor Alvin shut up with a lunatic", "sweetheart Alvin fought for his rights, so brave!" 

During History, when old Mr Moon explained how that Alexander the Great died of alleged poisoning was a total and complete myth, I received a note, "Meet me after class." My heart started pounding. It must be Beth. Was she angry that I took it out on Steve? Would she be kissing his clown face in the hallway in front of the entire school again? Did she want me back? Which part of Steve is better than me anyway? A million problems irrelevant to history occupied my head while Mr Moon drone on and on and on. 

Finally the school bells rang and I was the first to rushed out the door. Students pushed pass me in waves but I could not see Beth. Just when I was about to give up waiting and rush for the next period thinking it was a trick Steve played on me, someone tapped my shoulder. My face fell when Cassie's white skirt flashed in front of me. "What's with the long face?" Cassie taunted. "I am NOT joining the cheerleading team for the record," I said coldly, "save your recruitment effort for the freshies." Cassie jabbed a finger to my forehead: "Listen carefully: Everything I said is off record, you cannot tell Beth or anyone it came from me." My eyebrows shot to the sky.

 Cassie drew a long breath and said—all in one sentence—"Steve had his eyes on Beth ever since freshman year but Beth fell for your dumb head Steve cried every night and sent Beth long letters which were never returned until Steve began to send Beth loads and loads of strawberry ice cream Beth started seeing him last semester been meaning to break it off but "could never find the right time" since you were always whining about how awesome Steve is." Cassie sucked in another much needed shaky breath and continued, "Don't hate on Steve, Alvin. He wanted to tell you if not for Beth's insistence that she be the one who reveal the truth. He is good to Beth though. He helped Beth copied page 136 ten times and still writes her love letters till this day." Then she closed the lower half of my half opened mouth and sashayed away, leaving me rooted to the ground, speechless.

Overloading one's brain with information is never good. I smashed 5 beakers at chemistry lab, dreamed all the way through geography and almost dissected my own finger at biology. Steve was avoiding eye contact during detention—not that I was looking anyway.

Beth was waiting for the two of us when detention ended. She has tears in her eyes when she stood in front of me, held up my hand and said, "Alvin I'm so sorry. I did not mean for this to happen. I was so happy that I thought we could just all be friends and maybe things will cool down between us and then..." 

"Do you love me?" I stared into her eyes, willing myself not to fall into the blue of her eyes. 

"I don't know.." 

I wrangled my hand out from hers and marched in long strides outside into the hallway, tears brimming, jaw shaking, head held high.