Rivals and Jeers

Chapter 17

   Dan: We can't go together

   Phil: But we can go together, right? Like not drive there together but like we can hang out there and stuff?

   Dan: As long as nobody sees us

   Phil: Okay <3

Phil walked up to the entrance of Westbrooke with his hands in his pockets. He felt intimidated even by the building. But, if it was Dan's school, how scary could it be?

In the front entrance sat 2 girls at a table. They had two boxes in front of them. Phil approached the table and one of the girls greeted him in a very perky way.

"Hi!" She boomed. She must be a cheerleader Phil thought. "Welcome to Westbrooke! You must be from Northglenn!" She opened one of the boxes and pulled out a blue pin. She handed it to Phil.

"Um... thanks. What's this for?" He asked, fiddling with the small object.

"I'm so glad you asked! Principal Jonathan had the idea that everyone would wear a pin of their school's color so people could see who goes where and make friends!" Phil reluctantly placed the pin on his t-shirt. That sounded like a bad idea to him.

"The gym is right down the hall, make a left and then it's the two double doors at the end of the hallway. Have fun." She waved at Phil as he started walking down the hallway. Once she though he was out of hearing range, she turned to her friend.

"I cant believe we have to be the fucking welcoming committee for these losers."

"You're the one who got caught smoking in the bathroom. It's your punishment and your own damn fault." Her friend replied.

"Well at least I didn't cheat on a test cause I don't have have a pea for a brain!" The two girls continued bickering and Phil walked faster to the gym.

The gym was lit up by thousands of fairy lights. They covered all of the walls. They looped around tables. It was beautiful. What wasn't beautiful, was the tension in the room that you could cut like a knife. People with blue pins on one side of the room. People with red on the other. The dj trying to get people to dance instead of angrily glare at each other.

Among the red pinned crowd, he spotted Dan. He was trying to search the faces of the Northglenn students, looking for Phil. He couldn't find him.

In a final attempt to break the ice, the dj began to play line dances. A few people made their way to the middle and began dancing. There was still a clear divide, but at least people were dancing.

Phil watched as Dan slumped into a chair. He leaned his head on his hand and sighed. He looked like someone who had been stood up. He was constantly glancing at his phone, waiting for Phil to text him.

Phil: Meet me outside the gym.