Park and Ani

Annoying Parrot

After the encounter with Imani and Blake, Wes and I decided to actually head to class. Looking over to him I still see him grumbling about being called a goblin. "Lighten up man it was just a joke." I chuckle causing his scowl to deepen.

Sighing I run a hand through my hair and ignore my pouting best friend. Wouldn't be the first time. Mumbling out a goodbye he left to head to Math while I walked into my History class. Grinning at Ms. Powell I strolled over to my seat in the back corner of the room. Imani had this class with me but I'm not sure if she noticed. I actually make an effort to learn and not watch the back of her head like the creep I am.

5 minutes pass and she still hasn't appeared. Chewing on my lip my eyebrows crease in worry and guilt. It's my fault she's late anyways I have to be sure to apologize to her later. That is if I get a chance to talk to her later. Right before the bell rings Imani burst through the doors panting heavily. She gives a apologetic smile towards the teacher and walks to her seat with her head angled down. As the lesson begins to start, a constant rustling pulls me from my concentration and again my eyes are drawn to Imani who is currently searching her bag while mumbling something.
A look of defeat passes over her face when I realize she forgot her textbook. Again. 
Chuckling slightly I get the idea to switch seats to share a textbook. That idea is squashed the second Eli Maxwell slides into the seat next to her.

The look on her face almost breaks my heart. Almost.
Distracted by their encounter my jaw clenched when I see her lean on his shoulder and him kiss the crown of her head.

He must be her boyfriend.

The second that crosses my mind my mood deflates and my attention is once again on the lesson.

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When the bell rings I rush out of the class eager to get away from Imani and Eli. As I round the corner I stop when I hear someone calling my name. Turning back around I see the last person I wanted to see at the moment. "Carly hey," I say with fake enthusiasm. If there's one person who gets in my very last nerve it's Carly. Her squeaky high pitch voice makes my ears bleed and to top it all off she's obsessed with everything I do.

"Oh mah gosh! Parky I haven't seen you all day!" She squeals attempting to latch onto my arm. Offering a half smile I subtly move out of her grasp. "Um. Carly. School just started an hour ago." Face flushing red she attempts to distract from that clingy mistake. "Anywho I was wondering if you wanted to go to Mitch's after school with me for some burgers," she asked twirling her brown hair around her finger.

Her fingers look like grasshopper legs. Cringing slightly at her request I rack my brain to a polite way to decline. No need to be rude to her, right? As I continue to scramble for an answer and arm slithers around my shoulder. Looking over I see no one, but when I look down I see Imani in all her glory smiling over at Carly.

"Sorry Jane but Park and I have plans after school." She lies effortlessly giving Carly a blank stare. Carly's face crumbles with disappointment which I immediately feel bad for, but just as quick as it came her face lit up with a smile. "That's okay. Just let me know when your done with that and we can hang out another day." She smiles sweetly turning on her heel and strutting away.
Looking down to Imani I see her jaw tick as she digs through her bag. Then faster than I could process she throws a pencil hitting Carly in the back of the head. Turning in shock Imani then flicks her off with a sugary sweet grin causing Carly to scowl and stomp away.

Biting my cheek to keep from laughing I look at Imani corners of my eyes pricking with tears. Giving me a dry look she begins marching towards her next class. Which is science, another class she shares with me. Chasing after her I ask "What made you come over and help with the Carly situation anyways?" Glancing over at me she rolls her eyes "Anyone could see you were trying to weasel out of a date with that annoying parrot. So I did what any good friend would do and got you out of that predicament."

Friend. She thinks we're friends.

A smile spread across my face at the word and I thanked her. Shrugging her shoulders she continued her trek to science. "So. What are we going to do after school since you were the one who brought it up?" I question teasingly. Cringing slightly Imani looks up at my with an apologetic gleam in her eyes. Crap. I was being a forward idiot again.
"Sorry Park, can I raincheck that?" She smiles apologetically. Disappointment rushes through me but I make sure it doesn't show. "No it's totally okay. What are you planning on doing today?"

At the mention of her having plans a dreamy look overtakes her features and curiosity rises in me. "Eli is taking me out somewhere as a surprise tonight." She stares into the distance with a soft smile on her lips unaware that she just jabbed my heart.
I forgot about Eli. "Oh. Eli in our history class? I didn't know you guys were dating." I manage a fake smile even though the thought of her with him makes me want to rip my hair out. It's not that he's a bad guy. Quite the opposite. It's just that if he's in the picture then what chance do I have with her. "No we aren't....well kinda.. not yet. Um it's hard to explain. We've just been on the fence of a relationship for a while. This will be our first date." She giggles "I'm really excited for it."

Smiling slightly I muster up a "I hope you have a great date," while she continues daydreaming about her plans. My smile immediately falls when her eyes light with recognition as she sees Eli walking towards us. "See ya later Park," she shouts as she jogs over to Eli smiling brightly as he wraps and arm around her shoulders kissing the top of her head. Snuggling into his side she wraps her arm around his waist and they continue walking to class.
"Yeah. See you. Imani," I whisper as I shuffle to class alone.

I never did get to apologize to her.