Spade

Fake is My Middle Name

This morning I did feel extremely better. With all the extra sleep I'd gotten, the circles under my eyes had faded and my skin tone had returned to its natural color.

The morning seemed to rush by so fast, and I was surprised that I had rarely seen Jason. He seemed to have really gotten a new guide.

Finally the lunch bell rang and I joined Liz at her locker.

" Hey Mel, feeling better?" Liz asked me as soon as she caught sight of her friend walking towards her.

"Right as rain," I said, feeling in a good mood.

"Maybe it's because you finally got enough sleep," Liz guessed.

"Probably,"  I chuckled. Suddenly I smelled food coming from the cafeteria. My stomach growled in protest.

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat!" I said.

"Let's stop at your locker first so you can put all that stuff away," she said, noticing my load.

"Sounds good," I said, already starting to walk down the hall.

"Is that Jason kid still bothering you? Want me to ruin that Jason kid's life?" Liz asked, a wicked grin on her face.

"Nah," I said, shaking my head slightly."It's okay, he didn't know."

"Okayyy," she dragged out. "Hey we still on for tomorrow?"

Every other Friday, Liz and I slept over at each others house to re run some of our favorite movies and hang out. It was my turn to have it and it had completely slipped my mind.

"Oh, yeah! Totally. What's on our list this time?" I said, trying to cover up my mistake.

"Hmm. I was thinking a nice Grown Ups marathon? Followed by some Pitch Perfect action!" she said enthusiastically, sounding like a TV show host.

"Haha! sounds good," I said, reaching forward to spin the dial on my lock.

"Oh, am I not invited? That's too bad. Like I would want to hang out with you nerds anyway," Gigi said behind us. I groaned internally as my good mood evaporated. No one knew how to better ruin ones mood like Gigi and the other G's. How had I not heard her coming? Reluctantly I turned, but soon had to take a double look. Jason, who had last been staring in the doorway as I passed out, was now standing right next to Gigi as she practically hung from his arm!

"Sorry Gigi. My mom said only Liz could come. Maybe next time," I said sarcastically, trying to push past her. Gianna and Gabby blocked our path, causing us to stay where we were.

"No worries. But rumor has it, someone had a little accident during second period yesterday. When I heard it was you I just had to know why. Did someone finally get under that thick skin of yours? Because how I heard it, it was none other than Jasey. So what did he say nerd?" Gigi's voice was practically dripping with poison. Her face was a mask of calm intent. I wanted nothing other than to knock her "perfect" teeth out of her over lipsticked mouth but only remained silent. Jason, who was still watching, flinched at the use of Gigi's nickname for him. He looked like he was about to cut in but Gigi had already continued.

"What'd he say, Melissa?-" but Gigi couldn't finish because just then Mrs. Pinesmith turned the corner.

"What's going on here?" she asked, curious about the sight before her.

Immediately Gigi's whole demeanor changed. Her fake cheery smile was once again plastered on.

"Oh, nothing Mrs. Pinesmith! I was just chatting with my friends," she said, spinning to look at her. But you could tell Mrs. Pinesmith didn't exactly believe her, noticing how she practically ground out the last word.

"Well, I certainly hope you don't talk your whole lunch period. After all, people need to eat, too. Not always socialize," she said with meaning. I breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that Mrs. Pinesmith knew the real side of Gigi.

"I so agree!" Liz cut in, starting to drag me away by my arm. "We'll see you later Gigi. By Mrs. Pinesmith!"

And for the second time that day, I found myself running away.

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Crap, crap, crap! Jason kept ruining all his chances with her. It was the first day of his assignment and he had already burned almost all his bridges with Melissa. He felt so ashamed. He knew he was taking a chance when he brought up her dad but never expected her to react in that way. And now that she saw him with Gigi she probably thought they had planned it.

He felt like hitting something.

He and the G's were heading in the direction Melissa and Lisa had just gone and he could only guess it as the direction of the cafeteria.

You have to fix this, he told himself. You have to fix this.

He knew he had to make a fresh start with Melissa, and the only way to do that?

Burn one last bridge.

Before the G's knew what he was doing, he passed them up without a word.

"What are you doing?" Gigi asked, suspicion in her voice.

"Sorry," he said, not turning around.

"But I'd rather hang out with girls that are more real than the knock off purses they wear."

Their outraged cries followed him down the hall but for the first time all day, he had no regrets.

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