Alvin who is NOT a chipmunk

An Uninvited Visitor

The school bell rang. I was doodling a cartoon version of Beth when Jessie hit me on the head with a Greek dictionary. 

"Alvin, you need new hobbies." she remarked resolutely.

"This is my new hobby—" I said with a big smile, flipping the page over to reveal formulae in RLDUs, "teaching myself how to solve mirror cubes."

She sat down in the plastic chair beside me and edged closer, "D*amn it, how come I have never seen a three part formulae before?"

"Trade secret." I was about to close my notebook when she grabbed my hand in hers and flipped my notebook back to the Beth's caricature with another hand. "We all know you need new friends, Alvin. The whole godd*amn school knows it."

I shook my hand away from her grip and asked boldly, "Why aren't you at theatre 2 watching Romeo and Juliet getting it on?" 

Jessie rolled her eyes ruthfully, "It is the most overrated cliche in history. Plus," she licked her lips, "haven't you heard, lover boy, Steve and Bethany are both absent at the play and were substituted by Bobby and Bridget? In my opinion, this is a good turn of events for the show given that the kissing scene was always agonisingly long and unnecessarily sensual with Steve and Beth."

I cocked my head to one side thoughtfully, "What do you mean 'absent'?"

"Beth came down with a fever yesterday and Steve is with her at her house right now." Jessie said ruffling my hair and making a bird's nest out of it, her voice dripped with glee at her arch enemy Beth's downfall.

"Thanks for the news!" I stood up and made a run for the door, escaping Jessie's banana flavoured perfume. "And Romeo and Juliet is the mother of all cliche!"

I peddled as fast as possible to the drug store for panadol extra, the flower store for white carnations and cycled a good 4 miles to Beth's house. 

Beth's mother was not surprised to see me at all, "They are at the basement watching Wrack it Ralph." 

"Thank you. Mrs Carpenter." I walked towards the basement, imagining myself confronting Steve and taking back Beth with magical panadol extra. 

I stop deadly in my tracks. On the couch, Beth's hands twisted Steve's black curls and trace all the way down to his abs; Steve grabbed Beth's waist and wildly kissed her lips, their noses touching. "I am gonna fix it all!" Fix-it Flix declared confidently on television.

I almost puked.

"Leaving so early?" Mrs Carpenter asked cordially.

"I need to do my homework. Oh, and Beth said she needs some water." I smiled sweetly, putting down the flowers and medicine on the table.

"Thanks for visiting, Alvin." Mrs Carpenter turned towards the basement, a glass full of water in hand.