𝑬𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝑴í𝒂 | ᴮᵒʸ ᴹᵉᵉᵗˢ ᵂᵒʳˡᵈ

33: One of Them

"So what's Hamlet supposed to do? His uncle offed his father. His mother's sleeping with his uncle. His girlfriend is completely schizoid and people are dropping left and right." Mr. Turner said.

"Sounds like Thanksgiving at my house." Shawn said. Mr. Turner went to say something but brushed it off. "So Hamlet is faced with a terrible dilemma, and he freezes like a bunny in the high beams." A girl passed a note back to Cory.

"For me?" He whispered.

"Shawn." She whispered back. "Oh, yeah, right. See, when you looked at me, I naturally thought—" "Just pass it." He grabbed the note and put it on Shawn's desk without even looking back.

♥

"October, nineteen-sixty two. Young president Kennedy is faced with a seemingly impossible dilemma." Mr. Feeny said. "Mr. Hunter, what were his options?"

"Marilyn Monroe or his wife?" Shawn replied. "You never disappoint, Mr. Hunter." "Thank you." A girl passed Cory a note.

"Cory." She said as she threw it onto his desk. "Ah, I knew it. For me. See, Shawn, you're not the only one—" "Pass it to Shawn." She said.

Cory crushed it slightly into his hand before slamming it down on Shawn's desk without even looking back. "Do I have an unlisted desk or something?" Cory said.

♥

"Stacey, Linda, Linda, Stacey. I've never been so depressed in my whole life." Shawn said as we sat down at lunch. "I know. I mean, two beautiful girls both want you, you poor guy. There's gotta be a hot line you can call." Cory said.

I groaned and picked up my tray and walked over to Eddie's table. I slammed it down as I sat across from him.

"Everything alright?" He asked, stabbing his apple slice with his fork.

"No, it's not alright, Eddie. You wanna know why?" I asked. "You sound upset, so it seems like I don't have a choice." "Shawn has two girls after him. Not one. Two. There are two girls who want to go out with Shawn." "So? That's his problem." Eddie said, taking a bite out of the apple slice on the end of his fork.

"It's not just his problem. It's mine too." "Why is that?" I went quiet for a moment. "Because I still like him." I said quietly.

"But at the same time, I'm mad at him." "Why are you mad?" "Because he made fun of New Kids On The Block." I said. "So, that's why you kicked him on Sunday." Eddie replied.

"I just— I love him, but at the same time, I'm mad and jealous. I wanna tell him, but I'll just be another option, and I don't want that." I mumbled.

"You should figure your feelings out first and put Shawn last." Eddie said. "Yeah, I guess." "There's no guessing. That's what you're gonna do." "Okay. I'll put myself first." I said.

♥

"You are a sick and twisted jerk, Shawn Hunter!" I said as we walked to the lockers. "To you. To me, I'm a visionary." He replied, opening his locker. "This isn't right!" I said.

"Yeah, it can't work." Cory told him. "It's bulletproof. I start dating one of the girls while you go out with the other one for me. That way, she's off the market until I'm ready to date her." He said, looking at Cory.

"So you want Cory to keep her fresh until you're ready for her?" I spoke. "Yeah, what am I? Tupperware?" Cory said. "What else do you have to do?" Shawn asked. "What else do I have to do? I'll have you know my calendar is chock-full." Cory replied.

"Of what?" Shawn asked as Cory pulled out his calendar. "Well, look, right here. I mean, I got— I got Lincoln's birthday, and after that, I got Lincoln's birthday traditional. And then there's uh, vernal equinox. And uh, Cinco de Mayo, and... reorder calendar pages." He said.

"See, I'm so busy that I can't even talk to you now." "So you're gonna do this for me?" Shawn asked. "Oh, obviously!" Cory said in defeat. I crossed my arms and shook my head.

"You're a lifesaver. I owe you." Shawn said. "Yeah, yeah. So, Shawn, just choose. Which one am I babysitting— meatloaf or chicken?" Comparing Shawn's options to lunch is crazy.

"Okay, look, whichever one comes up to me first, I'll go out with her because that means she likes me better than the other one." Shawn said.

"Hi, Shawn." The blonde said. He whipped around. "Linda." He said. "Linda, congratulations." I said. "For what?" She asked. "For looking very lindacious today. Isn't that enough?" Shawn covered. "Not for me. Call me." She said before walking away. "Call me." I mocked.

"What was that all about? I thought she was the one." Cory said. "I don't know. I panicked. I can't decide." Shawn replied. "Fine, you know what, you take Stacey. I'll take Linda." "No, I want Linda." "Fine, then I'll take Stacey." "No." I rolled my eyes.

"Shawn, you're being greedy." "No, I'm not." "Yeah, you're being stupid." I said. "Am not." "Fine, I'll go out with Debbie." Cory said. "I want Debbie." Shawn said. "There is no Debbie!" "Somewhere there's a Debbie."

♥

I sat on my bed, hugging a pillow and crying. Eddie knocked on my door. "Go away!" I yelled. "Too bad." He replied, entering.

"Why are you crying?" He asked. "I hate Shawn Hunter." I answered. "What'd he do?" Eddie asked, sitting next to me. "He's just a jerk! He's a stupid, stupid jerk!" I exclaimed.

"Care to elaborate?" "He was asked on a date by two different girls. He went out with one while Cory went out with the other like a stupid babysitter." I said.

"So that's why you're mad?" "Yes! There's two girls going after Shawn, and I'm not one of them." My voice got quieter with every word.

"I still like him, but now I hate him. I'm conflicted, Eddie." He nodded. "Well, whatever you chose, it'll end with me pounding him so I'll support you." I laughed lightly.

"You're not yelling at me for it." "That doesn't mean I want you to do it." "Fine, he gets the first week free. The next he'll pay." He said.

♥

"Young and inexperienced, he finds himself caught on the horns of an agonizing dilemma. And so young president Kennedy, charged with keeping the peace, fears that his inexperience may bring about the destruction of the entire world." Mr. Feeny said.

"Oh, give him a break! This was his first big crisis. It wasn't his fault he liked the girl." Cory exclaimed. "Mr. Matthews..." "Yes?" "Put your head down. It's nap time." Cory slowly lowered his head down onto his desk.