The Rule Book

Rule No. 2~ Always be aware of your surroundings

Rule No. 2 ~ Always be aware of your surroundings (and hold onto your drink extra tight)

My next classes were a blur. A very painful blur. In Physics Honors, guess who sat in front of me? Axel King. In AP Research, guess who sat behind me? Axel King. In orchestra guess who sat beside me? Axel King. In lunch guess who sat next to me? Isabella. Sigh. It was getting very hard to follow rule number one, especially if said purring person is in every one of your morning classes! Honestly, he gave me the shivers.

"Axel King?" Izzy said, sipping her soda through the straw rather noisily, "He's not a new kid."

"What?"

"Chevy, he's been going to this school since first grade!"

I felt myself choke on my artichoke, "What?" I reached for my soda only to not find it. I gulped the chunk of vegetable and dip down painfully, and then reached for another chip. "Izzy, where's my soda?"

Izzy stopped sipping her soda, "I have no idea."

"Wait, that's my soda!" I pointed accusingly at my coca cola, now being guzzled down by my best friend. I rolled my eyes, "Fine I'll get a new one." I muttered, as Izzy looked between the two cups of sodas in surprise. I left my chips and spinach artichoke dip (a little unwillingly) to buy a new cup and fill it up with soda. The cafeteria lady smiled at me as she handed me an empty cup and I paid her the two dollars and headed out to the soda machine. Izzy doesn't even like coca cola I thought viciously as I closed the top of my now filled cup of soda. The top was a little loose but it didn't really matter (Rule No. 2 ~Always be aware of said surroundings while holding tightly onto said drink). Said drink will not spill if I hold onto it tightly enough, right?

Wrong.

I'd only turned around, turned some four inches around, when my shoulder knocked into someone and my newly bought soda went spraying all over that person. Maybe I held on a little too tight, I noticed, looking down at my crushed and dripping cup. Then I looked up. Standing before me, in all his dripping and fizzy glory, was- you guessed it- the one and only Axel King. His face was the perfect picture of shock, and when I leaned forward to peer into his cup, I noticed it held a small amount of my soda. When my eyes traveled back up to his face, the shock was over and he was now full on glaring at me. He opened his mouth to say something...

But I was already gone.

I full on sprinted out the side doors of the cafeteria with my sticky soda hands and my heart pounding. I ran halfway down a hallway and then leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. I stared at my sticky hands and I could almost see Axel standing there with a teacher and pointing at my hands "I've caught you red-handed!" Or no, it'd probably be like, "I've caught you sticky-handed!" I groaned out loud at my own pun and then stood up and strode into the girls bathroom - which was conveniently located by the cafeteria for such occasions. I twisted the tap and ran my hands under the water, humming under my breath. A paper towel later I was all cleaned up and sticky hands free! Wish I could say the same about Axel. I snorted and pushed open the door, walking leisurely out into the hallway.

I wrinkled my nose at the trash can by the water fountain but stopped and filled my thirsty stomach (since I had no soda) when my ears picked up on the sound of footsteps - and a second later, whistling. I gazed up lazily and my eyes widened at the sight of a drenched Axel, his clothes still sodden with soda as he turned the corner. Fudge fudge fudge fudge fudge.

I frantically turned my head from left to right to left to right again and again trying to clear my mind but all I could think was avoid at all cost - at all cost - all cost... And with that running through my brain like a mantra I jumped into the suddenly convenient trashcan. I hunkered down while grimacing deeper into the trash can, when it occurred to me that I could've just run back into the bathroom. Argh! My hand touched something wet-ish and I looked down to see a browning apple core. Oh ewww... My eyes suddenly started wandering around the trash even when I was so sure I didn't want to know what was in there. There were used napkins, (oh my god I'm definitely going to triple shower today) a classic banana peel, a crushed paper cup, some papers (Really? They couldn't recycle?), and gross, a wad of gum stuck to the side of the can. I waited in hushed silence for the whistling to disappear and soon enough it stopped- rather abruptly I thought. Seconds, maybe minutes ticked by, though it felt like hours. Surely he must be gone by now. I struggled to stand up but slipped (On what? The banana peel? You have got to be kidding me!) and me and the trash can crashed to the floor in all our beautiful magnificence.

Then it dawned on me that there were a pair of sneakers in front of me.

And laughing. Lots of laughing.

I crawled out of the trashcan pitifully while the sneakers took a step back, but the laughter continued, mind you. I pushed my hair aside and stood up, moving my eyes from the trash on the floor up - only to witness something equally trashy - Axel King's now chuckling face. "What?" I snapped, even though I perfectly knew why he was laughing.

"That was the perfectest payback I could ever ask for!" He said, holding his hands up like a prayer to the world. "Thank you God!"

I scowled, ready to retort, maybe something like I only did it because I felt bad so now we're matching, okay? Totally not because Rule Number One required it or anything... Or maybe just Your face is God! Wait, no- Thank god I didn't say that out loud. I hissed in disappointment at Rule Book No. 4 Rule No. 23 ~Whenever someone insults you or something you like, throw it right back at them with a "your face is _____!" (Ex. "That bird looks ugly" "Your face is ugly!") It usually worked... but then again, I made that rule in fourth grade.

"Uh, hello?" A hand (sticky I'm sure) waved in front of my face, "Did all that trash get into your head or something?" I blinked and looked up, and he smirked. I found myself at a sudden loss of words and then-

"Your face is trash!"