Not the Same

Chapter four

"He said what?!" Hailie shrieks as I toss her some candy.

"He told me I should date him," I laugh while taking a seat on my bed and opening a bag of m&ms.

"So what did you say?" she questions, leaning forward as she stuffs her mouth with more candy.

"Obviously I said no" I respond. "It was funny because he didn't expect me to turn him down. Seriously his face was priceless." Thinking back to it makes me laugh. He looked so shocked and confused.

"Did he say why he wanted to date you? I mean no offense or anything, but you're not really his type" Hailie comments, a look of confusion plastered on her face.

I always find it funny that people say no offense before they say something offensive. Like just because you say it doesn't mean I feel less offended.

"He said it would drive my brother crazy to see his sister dating someone he can't stand, but personally I don't think he'd care that much. I mean, he hates me so why would he care who I date?"

"I don't know" Haile adds, "Adam did get very nervous and freaked when he talked to you to about whether you spoke to Cameron or not. Maybe Cameron's right, it would piss him off."

"Am I hearing you correctly right now?" I question, the shock and bewilderment clear on my face. "Are you telling me that I should date Cameron Ownes?"

"I don't see why not" she responds. "Just think about it. You'll be pissing off your brother and you'll be dating a very attractive guy. It sounds like a win-win."

"Well it's too late, I already turned him down." When I walked away from him, I heard him say over his shoulder that his offer still stands, but I don't think I have the will to go up to him and tell him I changed my mind; that's if I even change my mind, I'm still not sure what to do.

As I settle down in my bed and press play to the movie, I can't help but question if she's right.

---

As if Monday mornings are already painful enough, starting my day in class with my obnoxious brother only adds to the torture. I try to focus on the lesson in front us: marine life mating patterns, how exciting. I mean, yay for them that they're having a good time and all, but it's not the easiest topic to sit through, especially when all I can really pay attention to is Adam's immature comments.

"Different animals choose different locations for the different stages of life including developmental phases and mating" our professor says. All I retained from what he said was the word different. Seriously, how can someone say the word "different" so many times in one sentence?

As I'm lost in my thoughts of questioning his word choices, I don't notice Adam shoot his hand up.

"Yes, you in the back. Sorry what is your name?" he asks. I turn around to look in the direction the professor was staring to see Adam raising his hand with a cocky look on his face.

"Adam" he replies smugly. "Yeah so I was wondering what the mating ritual for manatees is? My sister, Avery sitting in the fourth row on the left over there, resembles a manatee and also she hasn't mated yet and most likely won't for quite some time, but it's still good to be prepared."

It takes a few seconds for what my brother said to sink it. I'm left in complete shock and terror. I know we say harsh things to each other most of the time, but this was crossing the line. And he said it so publically.

I don't even notice right away, but tears start flowing down my face. Quickly, I gather my things and dart towards the door.

"Avery, wait-" Adam calls out, but I don't hear the rest of what he wants to say, I'm already out of the room.

I'm not paying attention to where I'm going and I don't even care. I can't believe he would do that to me. He knows that I don't do well will attention on me, especially negative attention. Who would?

Absentmindedly, I ended up running to my favorite spot on campus, an old redwood tree towards the back of campus. I come here whenever I need to think or just want to be alone. It's my safe place on this campus; the place where no one can find me and I can just let myself think or not think.

I press my back against the tree and slide down while bringing my knees to my chest. I rest on head on my knees and let out all the built up feelings; the painful feelings that come from thinking about the past. Thinking about my relationship with my brother just hurts. We used to be so close, basically inseparable. Sometimes I wish we never got to where we are now; making each other miserable and voicing our bitter feelings towards one another.

I don't even notice, but a couple of hours pass by. I would have continued to sit under my tree for longer, but Hailie's frantic text asking me if I got eaten by a bear brings me back to reality.

I make my way back towards the main part of campus. I just want this day to be over. As I'm walking towards my dorm, I see Adam hanging with a bunch of his teammates. They all look so happy, especially Adam, which aggravates me. How can he be so happy when I've been feeling extremely hurt and unhappy for the past couple of hours? My sadness quickly is replaced with frustration and I find myself doing what I should have done from the beginning.

I've decided to be Cameron Owen's fake girlfriend.