The Vituperator (NaNoWriMo 2015)

four \\ house

I'M NO EXPERT, but that sounds like an awfully shitty start to a relationship. I feel kind of bad for Alona, she expected it to last a week, tops, but then it goes on for months. Maybe she grew into it? I couldn't really analyze the state of their relationship while they were dating because I never paid attention to the group back then (since I never even spoke to the group). Like the rest of the school, I just knew they were dating. I didn't really tend to the grapevine of gossip that seems to be the backbone of every high school. Gossip — I hate that word. It just sounds like something to be looked down on, I wish there was a better word for "teenagers overreacting."

A familiar engine perks my ears — the dodge, it sounds like. I tuck Alona's diary back into bag and slip out the other book I brought. The diary isn't that compelling a read at the moment, and skipping ahead just isn't how I go about books. Hearing the dodge's engine get closer, I frown down at the book in focus. If I read hard enough, I can ignore the fact that it might be Nick driving down this way.

I like Nick, in that way where him and Tae are the only ones in the group I probably don't hate. They're just — not... as intolerable. That doesn't mean I want to hang out with them, though. No way, people are still a no-fly zone for me.

The engine goes soft, still running, but like the car is no longer moving. The car honks. Repeatedly.

Please don't be the dodge please don't be the dodge please don't be the dodge

"Hey! Olivia!" Pretty common name, could be anyone.

"We're talking to you, Villanueva! Over here!" A second voice from the car shouts. I turn my head to see that Nick's muscle car is in fact right by the sidewalk near my tree. I would glare at them, but my resting face is already quite the scowl.

"Villanueeeva!" Nick calls out, peering at me from the window.

"You're really botching the pronunciation there!" I say.

"You can tell us all about it on the way to my place, come on."

"Bryson'll have our asses if you don't come with. He actually behaves around you!" Tae pleads from the passenger seat.

I don't move, giving no sign of wanting to come with. "Sounds like a real boys' club."

Sasha pokes her head in from the back, speaking from between the two front seats. "Exactly. Don't leave me with them."

"But you love us," Nick says, kissing her cheek. She rolls her eyes and disappears back into the car.

"If you don't like us, you can read at my place away from us," Nick negotiates, "Come on, it's gonna get dark soon."

I ponder this for a moment. I have no other options, home isn't good to go to until later...

I slam my book shut. "Fine."

Whoops chorus as I make my way towards the shiny white car. It's got a red and black line running across the side, which apparently all the models of this car have. How do I know this? I've been stuck with these people for a while. The boys talk about this car quite a bit, but everyone just calls it "the dodge," something to do with the kind of car. There's only one door, these expensive cars are so weird. The scuffle to get into the back takes a minute or two.

"Where is Bryson anyway?" Tae asks me once the car's moving. I shrug, but realize he can't see me from the front seat.

"I'm not his babysitter."

"He texted me earlier, he's coming by on his new bike, and said Alona isn't replying to his texts either," Sasha says, typing away on her phone next to me. I glanced at her curiously, I always wondered how people could actually get to their touch screens with those talon-like fake nails stuck on their fingers.