Letting Go...

Chapter 10

It wasn't until the next day at lunch that things became interesting. It had already started out weird when Charlize was in a good mood all day, smiling at Greg and I and laughing at our jokes; not to mention that she didn't get mad or annoyed at us once. I was beginning to find it suspicious, however Greg was just pleased with the attention.

When she sat down at lunch with Serena Lakene by her side I knew that I had not been imagining it. She was setting us all up.

"Hey, guys!" She stared with way too much excitement. I was honestly beginning to believe that I liked her more when she was telling us to piss off with the way that she was being today. "This is my new friend, Serena, you guys know her right?" She said looking at Greg and I in expectation.

Greg was speechless and quivering in his seat, I had never seen him look more gobsmacked. His mouth was open and closing as he tried his best to answer the question. "N-nope, never seen her. Is she n-new?"

I stared at him incredulous that he would lie so badly. If he thought that this was the smooth approach then he was going to be sorely mistaken when he got a plate full of chili in his face. Charlize kept the smile on her face, however the look in her eyes could kill. She had gone through this whole charade and he had just ruined it all. Serena was giving her plate a bored look not the least bothered with his blatant lie.

Charlize gave Greg a tight lipped smile and asked, "No, silly. She's not new. You must've seen her before, don't you have Precalculus with her? I think I remember you telling me that you did." Her words were light but her voice was firm, the only giveaway that she was growing annoyed.

Greg cleared his throat and his eyes widened as he looked at Charlize- in fear- and then at me, pleading. He mouthed, "Help me." I rolled my eyes and tried to diffuse the situation, putting him out of his misery.

"Oh, yeah! That's right. You moved from Texas didn't you, Serena? Greg's always wanted to go there; maybe you could tell him a little about it. I'm sure he'd love to hear it. Right, Greg?"

He looked at me in confusion. "What are you even ta-" A bump sounded from under the table and Greg's face transformed from confusion to pain. He let out a small squeal and glared at  Charlize who had a small smirk on her face.

"Right, Greg?" She voiced looking at him in amusement.

Slowly realization dawned on him and his face brightened as he began to nod enthusiastically. "Yeah, of course. I would love to hear all about Texas, Serena. Did you live on a ranch and own a bunch of animals? Do they play football in Texas, I'd really love to see that? It must be so hot there right, you must be glad to be here in California."

Charlize slowly raised her hand to her eyes and shook her head; I could see her jaw clench and new that she had lost all patience. I could really say the same.

  Serena slowly raised her eyes to meet mine and I put on a smile despite being completely bored with this situation. Greg was such a ladies man but now he was being a total putz. I realized that this was the first conversation that they would ever have had and I empathized with his nerves but really he was taking this a bit too far.

Did he really ask if they played football in Texas?

She then looked at Charlize who was still sitting with a hand over her face but had since stopped shaking her head. She probably realized that trying to set this up was pointless and was most likely regretting trying to do something nice. It had completely backfired. Greg was better off staring at her from across the room then trying to converse like a normal human being.

Finally, Serena turned her face toward Greg who was watching her in excitement. The poor guy really thought that this was going well; I could see the pride in his eyes and knew that he was feeling pretty confident right about now. She pursed her lips, analyzing him and we all waited to see what would happen next.