✅She's my best friend (CADE)

11

‘There might have been a few clues’ Jade said. She sat on her bed and invited Beck to do the same.

‘She’s always loved Rhianna… But I mean like, really loved’

‘And’ Beck said, ‘she might be the only girl you ever allowed me to spend time with.’

‘I let you spend time with the ugly ones’ Jade argued.

Beck chuckled.

‘So Cat’s ugly?’

‘No, she’s gorgeous’ Jade said. Her eyes widened in realisation of what she had said. ‘Uh, If you’re into those sickly-sweet types I mean.’

Beck looked amused.

‘I mean… I didn’t let her spend time with you cause she’s gay’ Jade said, ‘I let her spend time with you cause she’s Cat. She would never even think to do anything with you. She’s loyal.’

‘You just said she’s gay’ Beck said.

‘I… well…’ Jade shook her head.

‘Why are you finding this so hard to believe anyway?’ Beck asked. ‘Why would she lie about this?’

‘I don’t know’ Jade said. ‘Why would she date a new guy every month if she didn’t even have a taste for man meat?’

‘Man meat?’ Beck chuckled. ‘Can’t imagine why. That sounds so appetising’

Jade shoved him smiling. ‘You know what I mean.’

‘How do you like yours Jade? Medium rare, or well done?’

‘Oh shut up’ Jade smothered Beck with a pillow to quiet him, but her grip was weak compared to his. With little effort, Beck overturned the pillow and pulled Jade into a headlock. Jade flailed helplessly trying to escape his grasp, but it was no use.

‘Beck let me out’

‘Tap out if you surrender.’

‘Beck, if you don’t let me out this second, I swear I’ll…’ Jade struggled to find an appropriate threat.

‘I will let you go if you tap out.’ Jade sighed and sat limply.

‘Fine.’ Jade tapped on the bed three times until Beck released her.

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Not having much else to do, Jade got into the habit of staring at walls. She’d been particularly attentive to the one in her bedroom. It looked yellow on the first day. On the second day, it seemed cream. It had splotches mustard in the centre, and cracks around the corners. Jade liked imagining different shapes and characters living in the stained images. Most of them died horrible bloody deaths. By day three, Jade’s wall became the same colour as most other things in her life, grey.

A knock on Jade’s door interrupted her new favourite activity.

‘Are you getting up today?’ Helen asked. Jade turned round to face the other side of the wall to see if it was any different.

‘Jade, you’ve missed almost a week now’ Helen said. ‘I have three meetings today, and you know Gabriella is gunning for me, can you just…’

Helen lifted the corner of Jade’s blanket to look at her but Jade forcefully pulled it back over her head. Helen sighed and turned to leave.

Jade spent her time differently these days. When she wasn’t staring at walls, Jade liked to think about all the reasons she didn’t have to get up. School certainly wasn’t motivation; she’d burned enough bridges there to know what kind of a welcome she’d receive.