𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐒 [a rini au]

SEVENTEEN

          Ricky Bowen was never late, but he made it a point today to ensure that he was extra early.

          There wasn't a minute that passed last weekend that he didn't think about his Nina Salazar-Roberts encounter. The way he exposed his assumption of her, the good girl image imprinted in his brain handed to her on a silver platter; it made him cringe. He struggled with connecting what he had known about Nina with what he saw from Nina that night. It was all terribly confusing to him, so the last thing he wanted was Nina to be in class before him and allow her the chance to give him a heated stare as he sat down.

          Luckily, the girl strolled into class with only a minute to spare, and she looked everywhere but in his direction. There was something different about her today, though; Ricky picked up on it immediately. Her deep brown hair was secured in a high ponytail, that signature middle part seeming like a distance memory. He cocked his head subtly to absorb the new hairstyle of the mysterious girl that sat in front of him. It's not that deep, Ricky told himself as he snapped out of it. She's a cheerleader, after all. Aren't ponytails like their thing?

          "Good morning, class," Ms. Sampson burst through the wooden classroom door with joviality lacing her aura. She rushed straight to her desk, placing her purse on top and then reaching inside to grab something. It was a book, one that Ricky recognized immediately. His lips curled upward as she presented it to the class.

"The Catcher in the Rye," Ms. Sampson announced, confidently holding the book in front of her chest. "A classic tale of innocence, self-discovery, and perception. It'll be our book of the semester, and if you couldn't tell by context clues, we'll be reading a book each semester of this class. With that being said, I'm going to email you all a schedule with what chapters you should be reading each week, and every Friday, we will have a Socratic seminar to exchange ideas as well as miniature assignments throughout the week to practice techniques for the AP Exam. Sound good?"

It sounded better than good to Ricky. The boy nodded vibrantly as the rest of the class mumbled "yes." He had already read The Catcher in the Rye for his sophomore year Honors English class back home. It easily became one of his all time favorite novels, coning in a close second to almost everything by Shakespeare. He was looking forward to this, not just because he had already read the book, but because it radiated familiarity. That was something Ricky always needed – comfort.

          Ricky was thankful that The Catcher in the Rye was able to distract him from the paining embarrassment he had been reliving from Friday–well, early Saturday morning. By the end of class, Ricky's mind was clear enough for him to continue to AP Microeconomics and focus. He left the AP Literature classroom swiftly through the back door, aiming to turn right, head outside Davidson Hall, and to the science building. But, before he could take that turn, he felt someone grab his wrist and yank him around the opposite corner.

This is it, I'm getting kidnapped, Ricky screamed on the inside as he almost fell on his butt. He stumbled a bit before securing his balance again and whirling around to see his fate. It was a lot shorter than expected, it being the person that had been consuming his every thought the past two days.

"Did you rat?" Nina Salazar-Roberts scolded through a whisper, still maintaining her indestructible grip on Ricky's wrist. "Did you?"

Ricky's eyes bulged out of their sockets as he looked down at the fiery Nina. He noticed those olive traces in her eyes again, but he had no time to investigate them. Ricky shook his head rapidly. "Wha–I, what? No, what?" he spewed out random words that didn't even make sense, and Nina wasn't having it.

"I said, did you rat?" she seethed between clenched teeth, the girl slightly on the tips of her toes to get up in his face. "Did you tell administration about me sneaking into Kingston?"

The overdue light bulb went off in Ricky's head. His lips formed an o-shape. "Oh, no. Definitely not."

Nina released her hold on him, breathing a relieved sigh. "Good," she bluntly answered. tightening her ponytail. "You better not plan on it either."

The girl then marched past Ricky, hitting his shoulder lightly on the way out. But, Ricky's curiosity overtook him and the boy spoke, causing Nina to stop in her tracks. "Why did you think I'd tell on you?"

Nina halted, turning around slowly to see Ricky still facing the other direction. She walked back to where she stood, the boy gaping at her quizzically. "I don't know, dude," she shrugged, holding onto her backpack straps. "Everyone sneaks in and out of dorms and stuff, but it's different when you're me."

Ricky's face was still blank, but it wasn't the school disciplinary implication she made that puzzled him. "What does that mean?"

Nina's lips formed a straight line. "I've got a lot to lose," she admitted, clenching her jaw, "and people would love to see me lose it."

Then, Ricky allowed the petite brunette to strut past him and back into the main hallway. He wished that she had said something that would've untangled his conflicting thoughts about her, but her words only knotted them further.

___

After resorting to the bathroom quickly to post on her Twitter rant, Nini stormed out of the building with uncertainty plaguing her mind. He acted so naive, her conscience whispered, as if he had no idea what being ratted out would do to me. He literally said he knew who I was when he caught me, for God's sake. The girl broke through the front doors, fixing her posture for bystanders to appreciate.

"Good morning, my girl," Charlie greeted Nini outside Davidson following her AP Literature class. He planned to walk her to AP World History, since he had AP European History in the classroom right next to hers. He rose from the bench he sat on, brows knitting when Nini's frustrated expression came into clearer view. "What's wrong?"

Nini shook her head, cursing herself for adjusting her demeanor but not her facials. "Nothing!" she perked up, intertwining her fingers with Charlie's. "Monday mornings, you know?"

Charlie chuckled airily. "Oh, I know," he agreed, eyes soon landing on Nini's head. "Ponytail today?"

Nini's breath hitched as she looked up at her boyfriend. "I wanted to go for something new," she answered, Charlie at first bemused. He then nodded slowly.

"You look pretty," he complimented, some weight falling off of Nini's shoulders. Within seconds, though, that burden and then some crashed onto her tiny frame again as Charlie squeezed her hand.

"Although, you know how much I love the middle part."