The Chemistry Test

15. drama and cryptic texts

Day Eight

The metal bleachers were icicles against my legs.

Even cloaked in the ginormous mass of Mark's Varsity jacket, Gwyn seemed cold.  Her teeth chattered beneath her smile as she giggled with the group of her friends surrounding her. 

"Foul!"  Mark hollered beside me.  He chucked a cluster of popcorn toward the field.  "Springfield assholes."

I grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bag between us and popped a couple pieces into my mouth. "Why didn't the ref call it?"

"No blood no foul." He rolled his eyes. "Except it was, you biased s.o.b."

We'd flocked with a group of people from West Burrow, mostly friends of Hunter's and Gwyn's. Kyle and Miranda from Theatre had joined us a couple minutes earlier, expanding the group to an approximate population of 20.

While Mark swore at Kyle for snatching his popcorn, my eyes found Zak's body on the field. From this distance, it was difficult to distinct one player from another, but his number 4 jersey made him stand out from his teammates. He slapped the back of jersey number 13 and jogged toward the center of the field.

I only vaguely understood the fundamentals of lacrosse, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Mark's knowledge of the sport was far greater than mine, so he made sure to clue me in whenever I didn't understand what was going on. 

My eyes trailed down to Kyle, situated in the row just below us, whispering something into Mark's ear. The exchange was brief and a moment later Mark nodded and rose to his feet.

"Sweetie pie, where are you going?" Gwyn cocked her head as she looked between the boys.

"Getting more popcorn." He smiled, eyes darting to the left and back. Gwyn extended her empty popcorn bag and puckered her lip. Mark grabbed the bag from her perfectly manicured fingers. "Do you want me to get you more?"

"Yes, please." She smiled, shimmying underneath the Varsity jacket. "But light on the butter. I'm trying to lose a pound."

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. Gwyn was a twig already, the fact she was trying to lose weight she didn't have to begin with was pointless.

"I'll be right back." He muttered. As they weaved out of our row down the bleachers, a couple of Gwyn's friends reassured her that she didn't need to lose any weight. Gwyn made a sour expression as they enveloped her in a superficial embrace.

Speaking of Gwyn's friends...

Just a half an hour later, they showed up. 

Melanie's familiar golden locks and Andrea's alarmingly ginger hair danced in the breeze as the pair paraded up the bleachers toward our group.  Melanie flashed a smile in my direction and wiggled her fingers in greeting.

I raised my hand to wave before realizing she wasn't gesturing to me, but to Hunter behind me. I combed the hand through my hair in an attempt to mask my embarrassment.

The girls were still clad in Creamie's attire when they reached the group. The atmosphere seemed to warp as they settled in, Melanie plopping herself directly next to Hunter as Andrea weaseled through the flock of girls surrounding Gwyn.