Prank War

Chapter 13: Girl's Night Out... Well...

The next day I'm up extra early. Actually, that's a lie, I didn't get up at all since I spent the entire night texting Julian and watching Netflix. 

So rephrasing that first sentence: I left my bed extra early.

After having my usual granola bar for breakfast, I showered briskly and placed my hair in a sloppy sidebraid before slipping on dark jeans and a plaid shirt. The weather was becoming colder after all, since it was fall. After slipping on my converses I exit the house, slamming the door behind me.

Sandy, Kai, Vanessa and I all had agreed to meet up at Jerry's Pizza for lunch. One look at the clock in my truck and I knew I was right on time as I pull out of my driveway.

As the small building enters my view I turn on my blinker and pull into a parking space near the entrance. I briskly leave my truck behind as I enter the cozy restaurant.

The bell rings lightly over my head as I pull open the door. I smile as I catch the eye of the chef on duty who is cutting up a freshly made pizza. The aroma of the doughy goodness tickles my nose and I have to shake my head to stop myself from salivating.

"Autumn!" a voice cuts in and my head turns. Away from the oven is a small booth occupied by three bodies. I immediately recognize them as Sandy, Kai and Vanessa. Sandy is smiling broadly at me while Vanessa is excitedly waving me over. Waving back, I make my way over to the trio.

"Hey Autumn, nice of you to join us. We already ordered a pizza, I hope plain is fine" Kai says.

I smile "That's fine." I say as I slide into the booth next to Sandy.

"You look exhausted. Did you not sleep last night?" Vanessa asks. I blush as I remember what I did last night. Sandy nudges me and shoots me a knowing look. I scowl.

"Yeah, something like that" I say, hoping to avoid questioning. 

Vanessa rais an eyebrow but doesn't say anything. Luckily, Kai steps in.

"Oh Au, you missed it yesterday! All the seniors were covered in the green gak you poured on them! It was hilarious, some boys had some of the goo and started throwing it around. Mickey accidentally hit our principal. Oh gosh, you should've seen his face!" Kai explains excitedly.

I smirk at my obvious success "Well obviously that'll rack up a bunch of Points. You should've seen Mr. Car though, pissed is an understatement. Me and Julian had to ditch school before he went all Queen of Hearts on me and had my head" I tease with a laugh.

Sandy smirks at me "Yeah, she would've been caught if Julian hadn't saved her from falling out of the vent" she says, egging me on to defend myself.

Vanessa gapes at me "Oh I heard about that! Gosh that would've been embarrassing if you fell on your face!" 

Kai snorts "More like hilarious"

I scowl at them "Shut up." I say moodily. I was supposed to come out and have fun with my friends, not talk about Julian and my embarrassing slip-up yesterday.

Sandy smiles and pinches my red cheeks "Aww is little baby Autumn embarrassed?" she coos.

I slap her hand away and glare at her "No, just annoyed. Can we please just stop talking about me?" I plead.

The group chuckles while I glower at them. Thankfully at that moment the long-awaited pizza arrives and the group seems to be distracted from their prying.

I bite into the cheesy treat and almost moan at the overwhelming taste that empowers me. Luckily I  keep my pleasure to myself. Better not to embarrass myself even more. Kai and Sandy will tease you about anything.

"If I could marry this restarant, I would. I forgot how amazing the food is" Kai mumbled through a mouthful of bread, sauce and cheese.

Vanessa giggles "I forgot how good this place was. I don't know how it's possible, but Jack hates this place." she says and wrinkles her nose.

Sandy splutters as she coughs up her Pepsi. "How can somebody hate a place as amazing as Jerry's?" she utters in disbelief.

I shrug "Maybe he was dropped on his head as a baby?" I suggest.

"More like dropped down three flights of stairs and off the roof of the Empire State Building" Kai offers. Sandy and I chortle in amusement while Vanessa rolls her eyes.

"Nothing's wrong with Jack. Well actually... not liking Jerry's is pretty bad. He hasn't been to it in years becase he doesn't like it. Maybe it was just a puberty thing or something" Vanessa urges, defending her boyfriend.

I shrug "I don't know, maybe brain parasites got to him or something." I say adamantly.

A hushed silent settles over us after this as we all engross ourselves in our triangular slices of heaven. As the sound of chewing meets my ears, I allow my thoughts to wander idly. Obviously the prank Julian and I had pulled would be a big hit to the board with how farfetched the idea had been. It would probably grasp more than the classroom tape prank would. My only worry was that Julius would catch up with such a short distance between the two of us. If I needed to pull ahead, I had to plan a prank that was both big and without any aid, especially from my biggest competitor. I had one prank up my sleeve, but I needed to keep ahead until I was ready to reveal it. 

"Yo, Earth to Autumn" Vanessa says, waving a slim hand in front of my face. I blink and pull away in surprise. Vanessa smiles at me "Just checking, you looked pretty spaced out" she explains.

I shrug "Not really, I was just thinking" I reply quickly, glancing around the booth. The trio raise their eyebrows in question but I ignore it as I reach for another slice.

The rest of lunch consists of kittenish banter, throwing wads of pizza slices and catching up. By the time we pay, it's 4 o'clock-- 3 hours since I first arrived.

"I'll call you when I get home" I promise Sandy and Vanessa as I slide into the ripped leather seat of my truck. The coolness of the seat seeps through the jeans and I suppress a shiver. Figures, it was mid-autumn and it was already getting cold, foreshadowing a chilling winter.

"Don't forget!" Sandy chastises as she walks away backwards and towards her own car.

I nod and smile at her "Yeah, yeah. I'll see you guys Monday" I say, waving to them as I close the car door. They wave at me as I start my car and pull out of my parking space.

When I'm driving down Main Street on my way home I let out a sigh, predicting the hectic day that was drawing near.

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I suck at titles.

I started writing this this morning then I played GTA all day and then decided to finish this. It's another filler chapter because I'm having too much Autumn and Julius time. and Vanessa needs some dialogue.

Too lazy to put up a pic and video tonight, but the song of the chapter is Over the Love by Florence and the Machine. I love the Great Gatsby.

I'll put a pic of Vanessa on the side tomorrow, I really just want to lay in bed and read. I almost cried when I realized one of my favorite books was updated after over 2 months of waiting. It was beautiful :P

I love granola bars.