FRIENDS

ZAILIE (3:03 p.m.)

            I had done it I had asked Alex to go to the dance together, he had dropped his History book straight out of his lap and mumbled the word yes. He was adorable, he was nerdy, funny, snarky, and perfect. Of course I'd gotten an evil snicker from Cece after telling her but I didn't care.

     I didn't want to take Tyler; not because he was in love with me but because he wasn't. Tyler had been just another drunk jock at another high school party, he had faded into a cliché and even I couldn't dig him out. The jock who fell deeply in love with the popular girl, the kid who was in no way of the word unique. I did love Tyler, in the sense of I loved the way that he thought he loved me.

       I had the song burn break crash by Aansya on loop in my ear buds as I helped the dance committee set up the gym into 'a starry night' type themed dance. Glowing star shaped lights littered the gym. And although it had its same rubber and sweaty athelete smell it looked pretty damn good if I were to say so myself. We were just about done with the setting up part. It was just the cleaning up part. We had to indivually rip open and take out each star from its package leaving the gym littered with wrappers.
     I wheeled the barrel around letting people drop their stuff in it. I wheeled up to Tyler who had only joined the committee to get a chance to be closer to me originally, but was stuck here when he and his friends were caught skipping classes. This was their punishment, to stay on the committee and do as the head leader said. I was starting to wonder if it was a punishment for them or for us. The jocks started wheeling each other around on the dolly we used to bring in some props to hypen up the gym. The head leader Ms. Gunther pointed at them and started yelling, I finally took out my earplugs. They stopped running around and started cleaning once more.

      "Uh hi." Tyler waved at me scratching the back of his neck. I waved and started to go back to cleaning. "Listen.. um.." I stopped, realizing that he had something to say. "I just wanted to make sure that we were cool? I mean we haven't talked in a while."

       "That's because you've been avoiding me." I said pushing the barrel and scooping up another wrapper.

      "Well its because, after I told you I loved you, you didn't have much to say." He said. I turned my head and realized that Alex was standing right next to us. He had a strange look on his face again, almost like he had to pee but a lot more hurt emotionally.

       "Is there something you want little dude?" Tyler asked him.

      "Yeah, I wanna talk to my girlfriend." He pointed at me. Tyler checked my face to see if he wasn't bullshitting, after seeing that this was legit he said oh and hung his head and walked away.

      "Hey, I wanted to talk about tonight." He said.

       "Yeah I know I'm so excited, we'll walk in and all eyes will be on us. Matching suit and dress." I jumped a little out of excitement.

       "Well that's the thing Zailie. Tonights the Science fair, and I tried to get out of it but my partners are counting on me." He said.

       "Science fair? Oh my god that's right the fair!" I put a hand on his shoulder, he was pretty buff for a guy so wrapped up in his studies. "I'm sorry that you're gonna miss it, but let's talk about when you'll pick me up." I smiled.

      He scrunched his face up, which he did when he was thinking. "Don't do that."

      "What?"

      "That thing where you assume something and bat your eyes and lick your lips for it to actually happen."  His face was so scrunched up it looked too small for his head.

       "What! Well excuse me for just wanting to have a nice night with my boyfriend." Even mad the word felt like velvet to the skin or sugar to the tastebuds.

       "Nice night? All you wanna do is parade me around like some cute purse puppy. Look out for Zailie and her nerdie boyfriend. This isn't starting some weird trend."

       "Weird trend? Oh and you mean to tell me that you don't enjoy the benefits of having a girlfriend that's out of your league." I was referring to the boys that he hangs with on the mathletes team who just so happen to walk past me giggling like little school girls as if they knew the biggest secret about me.

       He gave me another strange face like he was going to cry but this time, he fixed his face and looked me in the eyes. I'm not gonna lie it was intimidating, and I never thought Alex of all people would have this affect on me. "I guess it is true, pretty girls seem to have the ugliest insides. And I don't know if you've forgotten, but you used to be just like me."
     I gave Alex a face, but the thing is, it wasn't Alex anymore, I had transported myself to a new world. But this time, I was looking into my own eyes. But it wasn't the me now it was  the girl I had left in seventh grade. I was looking at a girl who was pretty but didn't feel like it; my chestnut brown hair hung wildly in spiraled curls, my pink braces that were popular in the orthodontist room, and my tall frame. I've come a long way. And then I realized that he was right. I was just like him.
     I was pulled back into reality.

    But it was too late, Alex had already spun on his heel and stormed out of the gymnasium. I wiped the damp area under my eyes. My phone started  to bleep it was Aneika, she was video calling me.

        "Hey Aneika, I'm kinda busy right now..." I said annoyed as she was sitting in the back seat of a car.

       "I just need to tell you about Cece. She-"

      I rolled my eyes. "Oh my gosh will you shut up about Cece, I'm busy with something else." I ended the video call.

        "Woah aren't you a little ticked off." I spun around ready to set off on someone else.

       "Oh Khari what're you doing here?"

     "I came to talk with Mr. Breuer about something but, he wasn't there."

     "I thought he was fired." I said snatching up a piece of trash," they said it was because he hit a student or whateve-" I got a good look at him, seeing that he had a black eye. "Oh my gosh, wait he hit you?"

     "Yeah, but not on purpose though, its complicated." He said looking at the ground.

     "Complicated nothing, next time I see him I'm whooping his ass." I said nonchalantly. I wheeled the barrel to the corner of the room being that the wrappers had been picked up.

      "If we see him..." He whispered.

     I ignored that and changed the subject. "Hey do you mind telling Aneika to chill, she keeps calling about Cece. One more time and I'm gonna chop my head off."

The principal came in making the jocks hop off the Dolly's and pick up a broom, to show they were still cleaning. Idiots. He came over to us. "Hello Zailie." He said, I waved back. He turned to Khari. "Khari I need to see you in my office."

       "Maybe its about BSTA." He smiled and followed the principal out of the gym.

     I looked around the gym at the amazing gym decorations, and it really was a night under the stars. But would it be a night with Alex?