Forever Crimson

Chapter 26

SIERRA OFFERED JAKE A handshake, which he accepted with a smile. Scarlet exhaled as they both got to know each other. Her best friend introduced herself, and Jake, kind as ever, greeted her with so much charm and respect that when he turned away Sierra gave Scarlet the thumbs up.

After Scarlet convinced Sierra to volunteer with her for the play, the week had gone in slow motion. She anxiously waited for Friday to come around to introduce Jake to her best friend. In the meantime, she busied herself to the point of exhaustion.

Gwenn came over every other day to tutor her, and her grades began to show progress. Her history paper came back with a nice A. The next English exam she took boosted her grade significantly. Even Ms. Stanford congratulated her in front of the class. Although she blamed the play for helping her learn the Shakespeare material, Scarlet knew it was all Gwenn.

Scarlet decided to apply to more colleges, not like she wanted to go to either of them, but just in case. She chose colleges if they had the program for occupational therapy assistant. And to her surprise, Lockfell U offered it. Her heart was set on going to LCC in the fall, and then transferring after a year to Lockfell U to get into the program her heart yearned for.

And after all of that, she made it to Friday, where she dragged Sierra into the double heavy doors of Zion Auditorium to meet the boy that had been in her mind since she first laid eyes on him: though she'd argue that her first thoughts weren't always positive.

"So you got your best friend involved with the play?" Jake asked, coming up behind her as he finished running his lines with Lindsey. Scarlet made one last brushstroke over a wooden panel and turned to him with a cheeky smile. His eyes glistened.

"I needed someone else to keep me company while you're rehearsing," she defended herself. "Plus, I have a feeling things will be a lot more interesting with the Sierra Jenkins in the house."

Jake paused, looking around to find Sierra. Scarlet shook her head, knowing well enough it was pointless. Sierra disappeared into the auditorium, and there was no one that could stop her from whatever she would pull out of her sleeve. Preppy and Rodent alike should be scared.

"Where'd she go?" he asked.

Scarlet let her eyes fall onto the stage where Lindsey and Flora rehearsed their same lines for Mr. Williams. The audience scattered across the seats, either paying attention to both Juliets or scrolling through their phones. The students working behind the scenes went around the stage, many feet away from the actors like Scarlet, either painting or moving set props around for visual purposes. The sound crew fumbled with their equipment backstage while the lighting crew was somewhere up in the controls. None of them had Sierra Jenkins around.

"I have no clue." She laughed, not really ready for whatever her best friend was planning. If she was planning anything. Maybe she wouldn't do something on her first day. But the danger lingered regardless.

"Well, she seems cool," Jake said. "And hopefully I get best friend brownie points, right?" He leaned his face closer to hers.

Scarlet grinned and rolled her eyes. "Why would you need brownie points?"

"Please." He took another step forward and placed a kiss over her cheek. The skin where his lips touched heated up, and she swallowed down a squeak.

"Jeez, get a room," Sierra teased. Jake jumped back, flushing as her friend walked towards them. Scarlet glared at her as she wore her signature shit-eating grin. "Who needs Romeo and Juliet when we got Jake and Scarlet for free right on the stage?"

"Man, shut up," Scarlet said. "You're annoying as hell." Sierra just laughed.

"Oh, excuse me for making it a big deal that Scarlet freakin' Turner—" she pointed back and forth between Jake and Scarlet "—is out here with a boy on her heels, and she's not stepping on him in the neck." Sierra narrowed her eyes and turned to Jake dramatically. "What the hell did you do to my best friend?"