Million Dollar Smile

Chapter 7: Atomic Bomb

The girl, who sits in the fourth row, third from the left, lied to me.

This morning, before chemistry class, she walked up to me. I had practiced a million times in my head what I was going to say if either she:

1. Apologised and explained a thousand words worth of a story or

2. Told me that she and Jacob were broken up for real

And well, I guess my plan of practicing my response came to an epic failure, because I had to mix both of those points up. It sort of went like this.

"Chase!" She had been running up the stairs, with a purple folder in her left hand, her backpack jiggling up and down with the content inside, and her hair swaying behind her back. I turned back, and walked on leisurely until she caught up. I didn't stop, but I didn't take off, either.

"Chase!" She repeated again, thinking I hadn't heard her the first time. The entire time we spoke led me to my locker.

"Chase. I've heard what's happen-... and I can see it too. My God, are you okay?" She was finally in line with me, and I could hear her trying to reach her breath again.

"It's okay, Andy. You don't need to act all sympathetic now. I'm fine. Jacob wasn't that frightening. Or should I say, your boyfriend?"

She dropped her folder down from her chest and to the side of her leg, and cocked her head at me.

"I'm sorry. Really, I-"

"There's a few things I want to ask you," I butted in, "one, is are you two actually still together, and two, if you are, why did you lie to me?"

She walked a little slower this time, as if walking faster would make people around us hear.

"I figured you'd ask", She whispered, "truth is, no. We weren't broken up yet-"

"Yet?"

"Well - no. We were still together when you and I went out, and when I told you that Jacob and I were done. We really are done now, though. After I heard what he did to you, I coul-"

"How am I supposed to believe you now? For all I know you could still be together in secret". I brushed past a couple students as I nearly reached my locker, with Andy tailgating behind me half of the time.

"I know, I stuffed up. I get it", she tugged onto a hairpiece by her eye, "The reason why I told you we were done was so we could actually go out. I felt guilty, but Jacob is way too protective, and wouldn't let me go out with another friend that was a guy other than himself. So I had to lie to you so we could go, because I really like you, Chase. I do."

She tugged onto my arm now, and I stopped walking. We stood in front of my locker, and I looked into her beautiful eyes. They looked sad, but still somehow, they lured me in, and filled me with bliss.

"Because", she continued, "If I told you I was still with him, you wouldn't have come out with me, which now I see would be pretty understandable on your part".

Before I could ask anything else, she looked at the ground and continued.

"When we were out, he rang me a couple of times, but I ignored his calls. He rang home, and mum told him I was out with my 'new friend Chase'. That's how he heard of you, and that's why he went to beat you up."

She looked like she was on the verge of crying, but she didn't.

"Andy-"

"And I didn't think that he was going to be that protective over me that he would bash other people just to keep me. So when he told me about it, I broke up with him for real." She paused to get her breath back, and took another step closer to me, as if I couldn't hear her.