The Strange Life Of Felix Grant

Chapter 6: The wager

I stand in line and cut up with the guys while they get their lunch. After everyone has their lunch, we take our seat at our usual table in the courtyard. Sierra and Claire join us shortly after we sit down.

"So Danny it's your turn." Alex says as he takes a bite out of his pizza.

"Let's find her." I say looking around.

After a few minutes of looking, we see her with her back to a tree reading a book and eating an apple. She is thin, tall, and pixie-like. Her slanted eyebrows flowing into her short sharp nose, with wire thin reading glasses resting on the tip. Her bright green eyes angled downward focusing on the book with tight concentration.

She is facing towards us, but is paying no attention to what is happening outside her book.

"Great now I'm gonna be the guy who interrupted her reading." Danny says. Everyone is quiet for a minute, and an idea clicks in my head.

"What if you weren't?" I ask looking at him.

"Oh no whatever you're thinking, the answer is no." Danny says looking at my sideways smile.

"That smile usually gets us in a lot of trouble." Alex says to the confused looking Claire and Sierra. "What's your idea?" He asks looking at me.

"Why don't we play some hacky sack?" I ask. "I kick it right into her lap, and Danny can go get it, if he just so happens to ask her out then great."

"You're good, but you're not that good." Alex says in challenge.

"Care to put your money where your mouth is?" I ask pulling out a ten from my wallet.

"Oh yeah." Alex and Josh say together, and slap tens on the table.

"Oh no." Danny says sweeping the money back at them.

"Sorry buddy, but Fang is about to lose his money." Josh says putting the ten back in the middle, along with Alex's.

"Please you guys what if she gets hit in the face?" Danny pleads.

"You won't play, that way you can claim truthfully you didn't do anything." I say putting my money with the rest.

"I'm with Fang on this one." Sierra says slapping a ten on top of the rest.

"What makes you so confident?" Alex asks raising an eyebrow at her.

"Because I've played hacky sack with him before." Sierra says shrugging.

"Alright let's do this, are you playing Sierra?" I ask looking at her.

"Duh." She says laughing.

"You guys are crazy if she gets hit in the face she'll never say yes." Danny says pleadingly.

"Don't worry it's going in her lap, trust me." I say patting him on the shoulder as I dig my hacky sack out of my bag.

I find it and we move over to the side in the grass. I toss it to Alex, who bounces it off his chest and kicks it to Josh. Josh hits it with the tip of his toe sending it up towards his face. As it drops, he uses his knee to pass it to Sierra.

"Give me a good set up." I say stepping out to the side and looking at Miranda again.

"You got it." She says as she receives it. She bounces it twice on her toes and then flicks her foot sending it right at me, at about knee level.

I pull back my left leg and kick the sack towards Miranda. It sails through the air beginning to arc downward after about five feet. As it arcs downward, Miranda looks up and nearly jumps out of her skin as the hacky sack lands right in her lap. Alex and Josh groan as Sierra and I give high fives.

Danny stands and jogs over to her as we sit down. He stays over there for a few minutes, but soon he comes walking back looking triumphant. As he takes his seat he throws me the hacky sack and says.

"Miranda says nice shot, and that you could always take your hacky sack as a date, since you probably won't be able to find a girl." Everyone laughs and I look around to the tree. I give her a thumbs up and she laughs returning to her book.

"We'll be taking that." I say taking the forty dollars, giving twenty to Sierra.

"Why thank you." She says as she stuffs the money in her back pocket.

"You suck Fang." Josh says taking a bite of his lasagna. Sierra, Claire, Danny and I laugh as Alex and Josh sulk. After a few minutes, Miranda joins us at the table.

"So any idea who you're going to ask Fang, or are you just going to take your sack?" She asks sitting down. The table goes into another fit of laughter.

"Good one and yes I probably will seeing as it's attached." I say laughing. She gives me a dangerous look and says.

"It doesn't have to be."

The table erupts in laughter and high fives, while I grumble to myself.

They eventually calm down and the rest of lunch passes as we throw jokes and food back and forth. As the bell rings a memory of the first day of school, this year jumps into my head, and I remember we all have the same class next hour.

"Guys I just realized we all have almost three interrupted hours together." I say looking in disbelief at them.

"Holy crap you're right." Danny says enthusiastically.

"Great. What kind of shenanigans are we all going to be able to pull off in art?" Claire asks rhetorically.

"Aren't we starting the clay pots today?" Sierra asks gears visibly spinning.

"And so started the great clay war." Alex says grabbing his stuff.

"You guys go ahead I've got to find Eric real quick." I say grabbing my bag and getting up as I look for him.

"No need man." Eric says from behind me. I whip around and stare at him. "Scarlett already told me, I've got you." He says walking away.

"That was weird." I say trying to figure out how he'd snuck up on me.

"What did Scarlett tell him?" Danny asks narrowing his eyes at me.

Danny had never really liked that I dated Scarlett, and spends a good amount of time trying to make sure that we are never alone.

"Scarlett overheard me talking to Eric, about how Fang missed some notes. I told her to ask Eric to find them for Fang." Josh lies smoothly. I couldn't believe it Josh was covering for me.

"Oh really?" Danny asks giving Josh a quick glance.

"Does it really matter?" Alex asks quickly. "We'll be late if we don't hurry."

And with that, we all grabbed our bags and rushed to the art room.