Shout

Chapter Five - Fishing Trips are for Fifty Year Old Men

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I repeated as I waited outside of Avery's biology class that I had just ditched. I bought her a cookie as an apology and held it with outstretched hands hoping for forgiveness.

Avery huffed as she saw me. "Oh great, you're alive. Not that I would have known because you failed to answer my 200 texts." She glared at me, folding her arms. One could always tell the level of Avery's anger by the amount that she used her hands. Considering the fact that they were folded, I think I was in the clear. When they were flailing - run for your life.

I really did feel awful though. After Alexander had dropped me off, I finally remembered that I had actual classes to attend and that I had just skipped on and a friend that had completely slipped my mind. Avery did send me an insane amount of texts. I wouldn't have been surprised if she had counted two hundred of them to make her point.

"I'm so sorry, Avery! So beyond sorry that sorry doesn't even begin to cover the sorry that I feel about being sorry!" I gabbed on before she snatched the cookie from my hands.

"What happened?" She asked curiously as she bit into the chocolate chip cookie.

"It was such a shit day. Aaron came up to me." I explained.

"You know there's nothing going on in his head when not even a punch can spark brain activity." Avery rolled her eyes and took another bite.

I laughed. "Alexander was actually kind of amazing and took me out for lunch."

"Nathan's Alexander?" She asked as her eyebrows shot up. I nodded in return.

She grabbed my arm and began dragging me outside and next to her car. She opened the passenger side and shoved me in, "Ow! I'm still attached to the arm, Avery!" She motioned for me to move my legs inside the vehicle before she slammed the door shut for me.

She jogged around and hopped into the driver's seat before turning to face me. "We left it at Alexander taking you out?" She said before turning the car on and beginning to drive home.

"Not out, I just had a very minor meltdown and he suggested we take a breather. It turns out the guy that I tripped on in class was actually Alexander." I explained.

"Aww, Olivia! Are you guys going out again?" She squealed.

"Oh my God, no. We're not dating. He just saved me from making an ass of myself in front of Aaron. There's nothing romantic there. I'd say there's barely a friendship there."

"But how amazing would it be to go out on double dates with someone who isn't a colossal  asshole like Aaron?" Avery placed both her hands on her cheeks in excitement. She had never liked Aaron and it was for this reason that she refused to introduce Nathan to Aaron when we were dating. I suppose looking back, she was a good judge of character.

"Hands on the wheel." She placed her hands back. "There's nothing romantic happening. In what world am I ready for that? I still need to drive thirty minutes away to get food."

"That's true," Avery nodded her head in agreement.

"Thanks, Avery." I stated dryly. She lifted her hands in surrender before placing them back on the steering wheel. "Stacey came up to me today." I said softly.

"When you got a name like Stacey, there's only so far you can go in life. You're destined to be a bitch." Avery explained, "What did she want?"

"She told me I should hang out with the group again and that Aaron and the guys went on a fishing trip to the cabin." I looked at my hands.

"A fishing trip? What are they, fifty year old men?"

"I don't know, it had something to do with fish." I waved my hand nonchalantly.