Friendzoned

Chapter 6

Rae

            Two long and painfully months later, nothing has changed. Eighth grade sucks so far. I was walking to lunch with my head down. No surprise. I didn’t have many friends, so I almost always sat alone. The second I opened the door, one of my “friends” Samantha, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me all the way across the cafeteria to her table. She pulled out a chair and slammed me onto it.

            “Look, you are friends with Ryder right?” Samantha asked me.

            “Um, not really. We haven’t really talked since 5th grade…” I stuttered.

            “But you know him really well though, right?” she asked nervously. Why is this girl so curious about whether I know Ryder or not? He has many other fans walking around all day looking for some reason to bring him up in a conversation.

            “Uhhh sure. Why do you ask?” I asked.

            “Well, he is in my math class and he sits in front of me. Every time he needs help with homework, he always turns around to ask me. Anyway, over the last few weeks, I have started to like him. A lot. This is where you come in. How do you get Ryder Young to like you? What does he like in a girl? I want you to ask him if he likes me next time you see him. Tell him you think he should ask me to the dance. I would absolutely love to go with him! So…? What do you think?” she asked. Wow. Why is everyone so interested in Ryder anyway? I mean sure he is good looking, popular, funny, tall, tan, and strong. But I just don’t see why everyone falls in love with him.

            “I will see what I can do.” I answered. I definitely did not want to make this girl mad. Besides, this is one of the only times anyone has ever asked me to sit with them. Well I wouldn’t call this asking by the way I was forced over here. My thoughts were interrupted by my stomach growling. Oh, right! Lunch! She smiled as I got up to get some food. They followed right behind me. They were serving chili, cinnamon rolls, and steamed vegetables for lunch today. Gross.  As I was walking out of the kitchen, Ryder was walking in.

            Just as I was walking by him, he stuck out his leg and tripped me. I don’t know what I did to deserve that, but I guess something because the next thing I knew, my lunch was soaring through the air behind me. This won’t end well. I heard a splat, so I turned around to see where it landed. Standing there under all of my nasty lunch was Ryder. Oh my god!!! I can’t believe I just did that! As he was wiping the chili from his eyes, his girlfriend walked up behind him and poured milk all over his head. I guess she is an ex – girlfriend now. Part of me doesn’t even feel bad for him because none of this would have happened if he didn’t trip me in the first place.

            “Well I guess I chose a good day to wear my old jeans.” Ryder exclaimed while laughing.

            “YOU’RE A DICK!” His ex – girlfriend yelled for the whole cafeteria to hear.

            “And you’re a whore.” Ryder said smiling. The girl stormed out of the cafeteria without saying another word.

            “Hey Rae, do you think this look suits me?!” Ryder asked with confidence. I rolled my

eyes and walked away to get a bag of Chex Mix from the vending machine. After I grabbed a

snack I walked to Algebra 2.

Ryder has already hooked up with the new girl and he has only been single for two days! I shouldn’t be jealous though. After all, I have been dating Brandon for 7 months now. He doesn’t go to school with me, but I don’t mind. He is kind, caring, and smart. Everything Ryder isn’t. He also knows how to treat a girl correctly. He is very tall and blonde. He is a total cutie! Another good thing about him is that my parents like him as well. Tonight is the first high school football game of the season and he is taking me to the game. I really hope some people from school are there so they can see Brandon and me together. I feel like some of them think I make him up.

            “Ms. Zecker, are you listening?” my math teacher asked me.

            “Yes ma’am. What was the question again?”

            “What did you get on question number 28?” she asked

            “Umm, I got 7x+2.” I answered.

            “Very good Rae! Just make sure you are listening at all times. It’s not usual for an eighth grader to be taking algebra 2.” She announced right as the bell rang. Yes! The day is finally over! It seems like it has lasted forever. I really need to stop thinking about Brandon in class. When I got off the bus, I started to get ready for the game. Even though I had a few hours before it started, I didn’t want to be unprepared for when Brandon picks me up. Brandon is a sophomore this year but he got held back in 3rd grade. I put on the clothes I was going to wear for tonight and decided how I was going to wear my hair. I decided to go with just leaving my hair down and curling it.

            When my mom got home, she asked me if I wanted her to make me a snack. She makes the best homemade caramel corn! I sat on the couch and watched TV while eating my snack when there was a honk outside. I jumped up and ran to the kitchen. I dropped my bowl in the sink and kissed my mom goodbye. As I ran outside I waved to Brandon.

            “You look pretty tonight” he said as I got in the car. I smiled because he always knew what to say. We just listened to music the whole way there. When we got there, I couldn’t believe how many people were there. There was an overwhelming smell of popcorn and hotdogs though. It made me hungry. As we walked in, Brandon said hi to a few of his friends and introduced me to them. We found our seats just in time to see kickoff.

“Today we learned about our end of the year dance.” I said hinting to him.

“Yeah dances aren’t really my thing.” He said while looking around. He seemed distracted.

“Is something wrong?” I asked looking at him. Still looking around.

“What? Oh no I am fine I was just thinking about something.” He answered. I could have asked more about it but I didn’t want to seem like a little annoying girlfriend so I left it at that.   It was a really close game. 24-26. Just as we were walking out of the gates, I saw Ryder. He looked at Brandon and me from head to toe. I could have sworn he was staring at our hands that were intertwined when Brandon pulled me in for a kiss. I got lost in the kiss and by the time I pulled back, Ryder was gone.

            Brandon took me out for ice cream after the game and we sat and talked for hours. When he dropped me off at home, I noticed it was way past curfew. I gave him a quick kiss goodbye and thanked him for the wonderful night. Then I ran inside. When I explained to my parents that I just lost track of time, they understood and kissed me goodnight. I collapsed into bed as soon as I walked into my room and didn’t even bother changing before I fell asleep.

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