Bittersweet (Jenna Ortega)

chapter seventeen.

MONDAY

"Guess who passed history with a B!" I hand my paper to Keli. Her eyes go wide and she jumps up to give me a big hug.

"I'm so proud of you!"

"We should celebrate!" Liv exclaims, up from her seat with visible excitement.

"Not with a party. You lost your wallet, drivers licence and insanity at the last one."

Liv sits back down, visibly deflating with a heavy pout.

Keli and I laugh.

"We're both very proud of you, Maise. Maybe we could celebrate with your favourite meal?"

"Fried dumplings and hot pot?"

It's almost the perfect coincidence that our friend group likes the same food, so we never argue on where to eat.

"Yes!" Keli grins. "Alright, let's all go out after practice. I'll invite Robin and Angie if that's cool?"

"Yeah, invite all our friends. I'm a intellectual now, that's perfect reason to go all out on a celebratory meal."

"Alright, I'll get the numbers and make a booking before five o'clock."

"Cool, cool," I notice Jenna from across the cafeteria and hear a stutter in my breathing pattern. "Uh, I'll catch you guys at practice."

Liv waves goofily with a carrot stick hanging out of her mouth. Keli seems to read me and smirks. "Have fun talking to the girlfriend."

I shoot her a glare, but run to catch up with Jenna. I find her grabbing books from her locker. "Hey."

She shuts her locker, flashing me a small smile. "Hi, you're creepier than usual."

"Good news, I passed my history test. I got a B."

She widens her eyes and before I know it, she's hugging me. At first, I'm stiffer than cardboard, lost on where to put my hands. I never thought I'd ever be so frozen recovering a hug.

She laughs against my neck, my skin tingles where her breath hovers. "You're so tense. Are you not used to the physical contact of a girl?"

I snort. "I'm not used to the touch of Satan, I can feel my skin beginning to melt."

"You know how to ruin a good moment, don't you?" She pushes me away. "Isn't this what acquaintances do?"

"The fact that you even had to ask that just proves you've never had an acquaintance." I chuckle. "This is more like what friends do."

She thinks it over, perplexed by the idea of using an official label. "So we're friends?"

"If you-"

Interrupted by Robin's hand on my back and Angie's giggle in my ear, I don't get to answer Jenna's question. I feel like my eyes spoke enough anyway, with how much they widened.

"Heard you passed history with flying colours?" Robin smirks. "Welcome to the scholars club."

I shrug off her hand. "The only person belonging to that club is Angie and Keli."

Robin gasps in fake offence. "How dare you indirectly call me dumb!"

I roll my eyes, turning my attention to the red haired girl. "Hey, Angie."

She gives me a dimpled smile when I greet her. "Congratulations on passing your test. I'm sure you had a wonderful tutor."

"Oh yeah," I glance at Jenna, who rolls her eyes back at me. "I couldn't have done it without her."