𝑬𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝑴í𝒂 | ᴮᵒʸ ᴹᵉᵉᵗˢ ᵂᵒʳˡᵈ

41: The Curse of Shadriana

Cory and I walked around the corner and found Shawn by the lockers with some girl.

"Yes, Shawn, I'd love to go out with you." She said. He looked at her, waiting for her to say something else. "Shawn." She repeated his name.

"Well, who's Shawn?" He asked her. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms, hoping it would hide my cracking heart.

"Well, you are." She said. "I know." He replied. She walked away with a smile.

"Jill Howager." Cory said, sounding impressed. "Whoa, this is a whole new type of girl for you." I mocked him under my breath.

"I know. She's got style. She's got elegance. She's got... parents." I began to envy the girl.

"Look, baby geeks, discovering the female of the species." Eric said.

"I say we tag them and return next spring." His friend, Jason, spoke. "Why don't you return never?" Cory replied. "They attempted to protect themselves by puffing up." Eric said.

"Trying to look tough in the presence of a lovely lady." Jason said, looking at me. I didn't want to believe him, but it made me feel a little bit better about myself.

"I don't see you guys with any girls." Shawn said. "Oh, please. We only hunt when we need to hunt." Eric said. A girl walked by, catching their attention. "Ha, ha, ha, ha. Wabbit season." Jason said.

They walked behind us, Jason patting us on the top of our heads and shoulders like we were bongos. Eric began talking to the girl, and we walked away.

♥

"Hey, Topanga. You're writing your biography on who?" Mr. Turner asked.

"Someone I really admire— Katie Couric." She answered. "Oh, please." Cory said. "I'm so perky! I have such a big smile!" He mocked. "She's a phony. At least pick someone real."

"Okay, Cory, who are you picking?" She asked. "Captain James T. Kirk of the USS Enterprise." He said. "Come on, Matthews. Real people." Mr. Turner said, walking down the aisle of desks.

"The assignment is biography, not fiction. Captain Kirk—" Cory cut Mr. Turner off by covering his ears and making weird noises. "Captain Kirk is a made-up TV character." Mr. Turner shouted over Cory's noise.

Topanga pulled one of Cory's hands off his ear. "It's the truth." She said. "No, it's not." He replied.

"Matthews, come on. The guy's like sixty-three years old. He wears a tribble on his head." Mr. Turner told him.

"He doesn't have to be somebody famous. Just somebody real. Anybody you like." He walked back to the front. "Anybody?" Cory asked.

"Anybody." "Absolutely anybody?" "Absolutely anybody." Cory pointed behind him. "I pick Shawn." "I pick Cory." Shawn said.

"You walked right into that, you know?" I said. "I did, didn't I?" Mr. Turner muttered.

♥

While Shawn was being interviewed by Cory at lunch, I went over to Eric's friend Jason to pay a visit.

"I know I've known you for like a few months, but I need help with something." I said, sitting across from him at the lunch table.

"What is it, Powerpuff?" He asked. "First, don't call me that. Second, how do you make a guy jealous?" I said. "Who's the lucky guy?" He asked, leaning forward on his forearms.

"Just answer the question, please." "Well, I need to know who it is first." I sighed. "Shawn." "Figures. You always have that look in your eye when he's around." He said, picking at his food with his fork.