Survive

Chapter Twelve

Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.

August 13, 2022.

Andrey Butler's Point Of View.

"Um... sorry if I got in the way of anything. It's just that Ryan said you were here and wanted to see me," Madison says and interchanges her gaze between me and Sarah.

"I guess Ryan got it wrong, so..." Sarah starts to speak and I interrupt her.

"No, he got it right.. Sarah, we'll talk later, okay?" I say, stepping away from her so she doesn't try to stop me, and she glares at Madison angrily. "Mad, let's go get a drink," I say and put my arm around her neck, causing her to not even have time to say anything and walk with me.

"Um... did I get in the way of something?" She asks when we have already entered the inner part of the school and I deny it on the spot.

"No, no. We were just talking. I have nothing, absolutely nothing with her.. okay?" I say as I look deep into her eyes so she can see that I really am telling the truth and she smiles, as if she is thinking the situation funny.

"Okay.. I believe in you. You don't have to get all desperate." She speaks and gives a cute little laugh, making me smile and see that this is my chance to change the subject.

"Where's Ashley?"

"Oh, while we were looking for you, David and Ryan, we came across Ryan going to get a drink, so he mentioned where you were and called Ashley to go get the drink with him."

"Those two..." I speak and she looks at me curiously.

"Does Ryan like her?"

"Why the question? Ashley told you that she's liking him?"

"Yes." And I get surprised.

"Wow, she really liked you, because for Ashley to tell someone something about her life, she has to trust the person a lot." I say and she seems to like what she hears.

"Oh, I'm glad to hear that. I really liked her, too." She says smiling. "But you didn't answer my question. Does Ryan like her?"

"Yes. He likes her too."

"That's great, because if they want to, they can try to have something, since they like each other." And I agree, but then a doubt comes to my mind.

"Have you ever dated?" And she agrees with her head. "How many times?" I ask and she takes my arm off her shoulder.

"Only one time." She speaks as we enter the basketball court, where the dance is taking place, and then looks at me. "And you? Have you ever dated?"

"Do those childhood flirtations count?"  And she laughs with a shocked expression.

"You're kidding, right?" And I deny it, so she stops walking and looks at me as if she is analyzing me. "Yeah.. you don't really seem like the type who wants something serious with anyone." And now I deny it. That is not the image I wanted to convey to her.

"It's not that I don't want anything serious with anyone, it's just that until a while ago I hadn't found a person who made me want to have something with her." And I stare at her realizing that she is a bit taken aback by what I say.

"So now you found it?"

"I think so." And silence settles between us after I answer. I think she understood what I meant by "I think so". And to be honest I am happy about that, because if you like a person, it is right that you let that person know.

"You look very handsome today, Andrey," she stops in front of me and I feel my heart speeds up. She makes me nervous and I can't understand why.

"Thank you, you look beautiful and stunning too, my cheerleader," I say after a few seconds, because I was so nervous that I left her in a vacuum.

"Thank you." She smiles and we ran out of things to say. "Um.. weren't you going to get a drink?" She asks, moving out of my way and stopping beside me again.

"Oh yeah, right.. but I think I don't want to anymore."

"Oh, so.. do you wanna go to the mall and get something to eat?" She suggests.

"Now?"

"Yes. Why not?" And I agree, why not? The only reason I came to this dance was to see her, although I for some reason didn't have the courage to ask her to come with me. So if she wants to go, I will go with her.

"Okay then. Let's go." I hold out my hand for her to take, and she does it, so we leave the court and start walking toward the school exit.

"Where are you guys going?" And we turn back to see who is talking, seeing Teacher Alexander standing in the middle of the hallway, staring at us seriously with his arms crossed. Madison and I look at each other in confusion.

"Umm.. we're going to the mall to get something to eat." Mad says and he looks at her as if in disgust. This man is crazy.

"And do your parents know that you are leaving the dance to go to the mall?" Madison looks at me and then looks at him again.

"Yes, you don't have to worry. My mother called us to go get something to eat at her bakery, which is in the mall. And by the way, I told her I was on my way, so if you'll excuse us, teacher, we'll be on our way, because otherwise she'll be worried." And I am impressed with her capacity to lie.

"Sure Madison? You know I worry about you."

"Sure!" She pulls me by the hand and starts walking quickly backwards, making me walk as well. "Bye teacher, good dance to you, Sir!" And she turns us around, not even waiting for the teacher to answer.

"Have you ever done theater?" I ask as soon as we leave the school and she looks at me confused.

"No. Why?"

"Because you lied so well, even your facial expressions looked great. You're ready to be an actress," I say and she laughs, letting go of my hand.

"Thank you, but I wasn't lying completely. My mom really has a confectionery shop at the mall and she told me that if I wanted to go there with any friends after the dance, I could."

"Does she work there too or is she just the owner?"

"She's just the owner. She is actually an architect."

"What's her name?"

"Barbara Stone."

"Oh yeah.. but anyway, you lied very well." And she laughs again.

"I had to say something convincing, because otherwise he wasn't going to let us out."

"I didn't understand the fact that he said to you "I worry about you". Does he think that by any chance I was forcing you out of the dance and was going to commit a crime against you? He's crazy," I say ironically, but angrily, as we walk across the parking lot.

"Yeah, it really looks like he thought that. By the way, yesterday my last schedule was history and he spent the whole class asking me if I was okay, staring at me.. I don't know if I'm happy for his concern or if I'm worried." And now I look at her seriously.

"Be careful, okay? He might have fallen in love with you, or he might be one of those perverted teachers," she laughs at what I say, but I don't see it as funny. "I'm serious Mad. I've already read several cases where the teacher pretends to be nice to students so that they trust him and then, the first chance he gets, he harasses them. Be careful." And now she stops laughing and stares at me seriously as we pull up in front of my car.

"Yeah... you're right. I'll be careful."

"Great," I speak and open the car door for her to get in.

"Thank you," she gets in and I close the door, turn around and get in the car too, sitting in the driver's seat and starting the car right away.