Drama Club

5. Destiny's POV

In Homeroom, the rest of the world was just background noise, a static hum that didn't matter. My entire universe had narrowed down to the boy sitting three rows over. I watched Julian fidget with a mechanical pencil, his tan fingers spinning it with a practiced, absent minded rhythm while he laughed at something one of his friends said. Every time he threw his head back to laugh, I felt a physical tug in my chest.

Then, it happened. He glanced back, catching my eye for a split second, and flashed a smile that made my stomach do a literal, dizzying backflip.

*God, I wish he would just talk to me already,* I thought, my hands gripping the edge of my cold metal desk so hard my knuckles turned white. I felt like I was vibrating, like if I didn't speak to him soon, I'd just spontaneously combust right there in front of Mrs. Frank.

As if he'd read my mind, Julian stood up. My heart skipped a beat, then started hammering against my ribs like a trapped bird. He strolled down the row of desks, his shadow stretching across my open notebook, blocking out the harsh fluorescent light. "Yo, Destiny," he said, his voice low, gravelly, and way too casual for how much I was panicking. "What are you doing tonight? You coming to my game?"

I froze. My brain turned into a pile of useless, lukewarm mush. For a second, I was terrified that if I opened my mouth, only gibberish would come out. I forced the words past my dry throat, trying to sound like a normal, cool human being. "Yes. Of course I'm going. I wouldn't miss it for anything."

He grinned, the kind of slow, confident grin that told me he knew exactly what he was doing to me. He started to turn back toward his seat, but then he paused, leaning in just a fraction closer. "That's great. We should get something to eat afterward... you know? Just us."

"Like... a d-date?" I stammered, the word "date" feeling huge and heavy in the air, vibrating between us.

He let out a quiet, breathy giggle that made my face heat up until I felt like I was glowing. "Yeah, Destiny. A date."

He sat back down, leaving me breathless and dizzy. The morning announcements blared over the speakers-a distorted, metallic screech that forced us all to stand for the pledge-but I was completely out of it. I stared at the red and white stripes of the flag hanging limp in the corner, but I didn't see them; I only saw the way Julian's eyes crinkled when he smiled. *Why me? Is this actually happening? Is he actually picking me?*

The second I sank back into my chair, I whipped out my phone, hiding it behind the thick sleeve of my oversized sweatshirt. My fingers flew as I messaged Alicia:

Destiny: OMG Julian asked me on a date EEEEE! I'm literally dying right now.

I tried to catch Audrianna's eye to tell her the news-I wanted to scream it until my lungs hurt-but she was buried so deep in her book she looked like she was in another dimension. Her face was pale, and she looked miles away, her eyes scanning lines of text like they were the only thing keeping her grounded. I didn't want to bother her; her energy felt too heavy for my current high. I just kept my head down, trading frantic, emoji-filled texts with Alicia until the bell finally shrieked, signaling the end of the period.

The walk to Biology was a total blur of neon lockers and moving bodies. I was a whirlwind of manic energy, my mouth moving a mile a minute as I recounted every single syllable of that two-minute conversation to Alicia and Kendalynn. By the time I sat down at my black-topped lab desk, the "boredom" of school hit me like a physical wall. The teacher's voice was just a dull, rhythmic drone in the background as she went over notes about cellular respiration-notes that felt totally pointless compared to the tectonic shift in my personal life.

I was staring off into space, tracing Julian's initials into the margin of my paper with a highlighter, when my phone buzzed in my lap. I peeked down, my breath catching in my throat.

JULIAN: Meet me at the Cafe after 9th so we can plan our date. I'll be waiting outside of ELA for you 😚.

I gasped, a sharp, audible sound that made a few people in the front row turn around. My hands were shaking so hard I lost my grip, and the phone tumbled toward the floor. I lunged, catching it an inch from the tile, but the sudden, violent movement was like a flare gun for the teacher.

"DESTINY! GET OFF YOUR PHONE!" she barked, her voice echoing off the glass beakers and lab tables. "You know the rules. I don't want to have to take it from you, so put it away. Now!"

I felt every eye in the room on me. My face burned with a mix of embarrassment and secret triumph. I rolled my eyes, playing it off as coolly as I could while I shoved the phone into the deepest, most hidden pocket of my bag. I didn't care about the lecture or the dirty looks from the front row; I was too busy counting down the literal seconds until I could see him again.

When Biology finally ended, the air in the hallway felt... different. It was thicker, colder, like a storm was rolling in through the vents. I was walking out with Alicia and Kendalynn, still riding the high of Julian's text, when I saw her.

Faith.

She was standing by the lockers, her arms crossed tight over her chest, a look of pure, concentrated venom on her face. She looked furious-like she wanted to set the entire hallway on fire with a single glance. I knew exactly why. Her ex-boyfriend was finally mine, and the realization was clearly eating her alive from the inside out.

I felt a surge of reckless, dangerous confidence. She could be as jealous as she wanted; she could stare until her eyes fell out. It wasn't going to stop me from meeting Julian at that cafe. I gave her a small, tight smile as we walked past, a silent "I won" that I immediately regretted when I saw the way her jaw clenched.

I didn't realize then that Faith didn't just get mad. She got even.