Prove It

Chapter 1 Part 4

Sierra was sitting at a table by herself for lunch, playing with the remaining half of her sandwich. She had so much on her mind, she didn’t even notice that Tia sat down next to her until she spoke.

“So…..what happened with you and Reggie?” Tia asked.

Sierra gave her a sad smile and said, “I kinda don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay.”

Tia just sat next to her friend and ate in silence.

Then, Sierra blurted out, “Tia, it was so stupid.”

“I know, girl.” Tia moved over and placed an arm around Sierra. “What happened?” she asked.

“Reggie was walking me to class and we had to stop at my locker. Tristan was there and he asked me to go to the swim meet on Saturday. Reggie heard the whole thing and thought it was a date and just went off on me.”

“What? He went off on you? I didn’t know he was that mad. He’s usually mad cool.”

“I know. I can’t believe he’s acting like this.”

“He’ll get over it. You know he can’t stay mad at you,” Tia said, giving her an encouraging squeeze.

She was probably right, but that didn’t mean that Sierra wasn’t going to still mad at him. She used to think that Reggie was being cute and just playing around, but maybe he was more serious about her than she realized. It was probably for the best if he stopped focusing on her and moved on to a girl that deserved him.

“I’m so tired of having to remind him that we’re not together.”

“Don’t be like that, Sierra. Reggie’s just hurt. Pretty soon he’ll realize that he’s being a jerk, then he’ll apologize and everything will be back to normal.”

“That’s the thing. I don’t know if I want things to go back to the way they were.”

“You don’t mean that.”

“I think I do.”

Sierra felt that if Reggie could just turn on her like that over something so stupid, then maybe things don’t need to go back to the way they were. It’s time they both move on.

“Reggie’s your friend,” Tia told her.

“I used to think he was.”

Tia gave her a look that made Sierra feel like she was ten years younger and that she was the one who did something wrong. Tia never looked at her like that before.

Tia looked Sierra in the eye and told her, “You’re overreacting. Reggie was always there for you. He used to walk you home when you told him about that creepy guy down the street from your house that used to stalk you and try to get you to go to his place. He would always ask about you when you weren’t at school and then he would lend you his notes from the classes you missed. He makes sure everyone treats you with respect and you know he would do anything for you. It’s okay to be mad at him when he’s being an asshole, but if he apologizes, you should forgive him.”

Sierra looked at her best friend in the world, who knew her better than anybody and began to second guess herself. Was she overreacting? Sierra was just so mad at him, but maybe this just need to run its course. Reggie was there whenever she needed him. He was there even when she didn’t know she needed him, and maybe she took that for granted, but that still doesn’t make it okay for him to yell at her whenever he feels like it.

“Tia, I have to let him know that it’s not cool for him to act like that. I’m not his girlfriend and after today, I’ll probably never be.”

“But that doesn’t mean you guys can’t be friends.”

“You should tell him that.”

Tia moved away from her, and removed her arm from Sierra’s shoulder.

“What’s happened to you, Sierra? Tristan starts talking to you and all of a sudden you just drop your friends?”

“What? No! It’s not like that. Reggie walked away from me, remember? Not the other way around. Why are you on his side anyway? It's like you think this is my fault.”

“I’m not on anybody’s side. Reggie is wrong. End of story. But you’re not helping the situation either.”

“It was just a matter of time before this happened. I wasn’t going to just wait around and not get a boyfriend because Reggie liked me. I just thought you would be there for me when that time came.”

“So, you think Tristan’s your boyfriend now? Did you forget he’s already taken?”

“You know that’s not what I meant. I'm not dating Tristan. But even if I was, you're supposed to have my back, no matter what.”

Sierra took a deep breath. She didn’t want to fight. She couldn’t believe that Tia was being like this. Sierra couldn't help but feel hurt. Tia was treating Sierra like she's the one who messed up, when all Sierra needed was some support from her best friend.

“You know, I think I’ve had enough of being yelled at for one day.”

Sierra grabbed her stuff and what was left of her lunch and stood up from the table.

“Sierra, wait …” Tia called out.

“I’ll see you later.” She put her bag on her shoulder, threw her food in the trash and walked out. She wasn’t that hungry anyway.

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Tristan walked with his friends, Chris and Jason, to the cafeteria for lunch. His friends chatted idly in the background, but he didn’t participate in the conversation, he couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything lately.

“Tristan.”

“What?”

“I asked you if you’re ready for this weekend?” Jason repeated.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” Tristan responded, his voice somewhat dazed.

“You don't have anything to be worried about,Tristan. You know you’re going to take us to the state finals, right?”

Tristan really wished that people would stop saying that.

“Hey, man. Where’s your head at? I don’t think you’ve heard a single word we’ve said this entire time,” Chris told him.

“I just have a lot on my mind,” Tristan told them.

Just then, someone bumped right into him as he walked through the cafeteria doors. The body collided with his and he reached out with firm, sure hands to steady the person.

“Sierra?” Tristan said when he recognized her.

Her head popped up, and he couldn’t take his eyes off of her when she finally looked at him. He’d never seen eyes look as sad as hers did at that moment.

“I’m sorry. Excuse me,” she whispered quietly and stormed off, but not before he saw the that there were tears in her eyes.

Tristan and his friends turned to look at her retreating form.

“Was that, Sierra?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, I think she was crying,” Jason responded.

What the hell would make her start crying in the middle of the school day?

“Hey, I’ll catch up with you guys later.” Tristan said. He turned to chase after Sierra, eager to get away from the guys for a while and a little curious about what was going on with her.

He caught up to her in the abandoned music classroom. He watched her walk in and only paused for a second before deciding to follow her inside.