Young But Real (5 YA Short Stories)

Make-believe

It's been a week since the successful fundraising concert by Rainbow and six days since Riley called me a cheater. I wish I didn't have a photographic memory. The scene at the Brooks Guitars' shop feels like it just happened six minutes ago.

"Did you just call me a cheater?" I asked Riley calmly.

"No, why would I?" He said with a blank expression in his face, telling me in silence that I was wasting his time asking a trivial question.

"Hey, cheater." I mimicked his voice. "I heard you loud and clear." My ear was healthy enough not to miss a word being uttered clearly.

"I said, Hey Archer."

Liar.

I knew he saw the video that was why I didn't press him for more. He's not the only one who called me a cheater. The comments on the FB video were nasty. They made us look like Selena and I, apparently, were cheating behind Finn's back. Him being away, gave us the opportunity to confront our feelings for each other and that I was all over her.

It's appalling how social media can turn a made-up story into a fact. The truth. Wow, half of the students in the school know us better than ourselves. While everyone is loving social media, I'm not.

Riley gestures to hand over his guitar. He wanted to get out of the place asap, but I was holding him. As soon as the guitar case is in his hands, he never wastes a second to turn around and leave.

"Wait!"

He stops and peers over his shoulder with an impatient expression. I never force someone to talk to me. If he thinks I'm a cheater, so be it. "Aren't you going to check it?" I ask instead of a lengthy explanation.

"I trust Mr. Brooks," he says and walks towards the door As quickly as possible.

Did you know I was the one who did most of the job because I want a part of me in your most valued possession?

Clutching my heart, I release a hefty sigh as I watch his back. Where was the Riley I met months ago, whose face was lighting up whenever we talked?

Where was the cute Riley who bargained that I tutored him on his assignments in exchange for playing on Eloise's birthday? While I'm acing the academics, Riley is failing. His focus is solely towards the band performances and creating songs.

The Riley Scott I met that day was cold and distant.

"Arch! It's starting!"

Eloise shouting from the living room pulls me back to the present. Shaking my head, I grab the three bottles of Kombucha and the two boxes of Cheesy Garlic with Creme Fraiche pizza. I called them to watch the opening of the Melbourne Cup with me. Since we're neighbors, they show up in less than twenty minutes, both wearing shorts and crop tops.

The live-streaming is showing the runners with their jockeys on their way to the starting point when I join the two girls on the couch.

"Why are we watching the Melbourne Cup?" Selena asks before grabbing a slice of pizza. "We didn't give a damn about it before?" She glances at me, "Are you a punter?"

Eloise ignores her and reaches out for the kombucha instead.

"No. I didn't bet." The camera is now zooming in to the stage and the Rainbow band appears on the TV. All of them are wearing black jeans, white button up shirts, dark gray suit jackets, and black Converse shoes. Toni greets the punters before telling Riley to strum his baby. My heart swells upon seeing the electric guitar I mostly assembled.

"Rainbow is performing?!" The two girls exclaim in chorus, standing abruptly from their seats.

Last night, my phone lit up with a Whatsapp message from Riley telling me that they're going to perform at the Melbourne Cup. Upon opening the message, in less than a second, he deleted it. Whether it was a wrong-sent or intended but he changed his mind, I got the message. I'll be damned if I miss this life-changing event for Riley. The whole nation and probably the world will know about them.