Shifting Greer's

Chapter 5//

Song: Stupid Girls by Pink

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I can't even remember the last time I've laughed this hard. Adam makes me forget about my messed up situation for a little bit. I'm sitting in a plastic chair watching him try to bowl. He raises the bowling ball in his hand, squints his eyes, and lets the ball roll down the lane. It only hits the pins on the right side. He cheers any way. I laugh so hard my stomach aches. I've never been any good at bowling either, but I'm winning this game. 

"Why don't you step out of the lanes and let winners take over?" Comes a voice dripping with attitude. 

I turn to my right and see a girl scowling down at us. Her hair is so blonde that it almost hurts my eyes to stare at it. Her lips are redder than a cherry and her eyes are lined in charcoal black. She's wearing a mini skirt that I'm sure would show just about everything if she bent forward. She has a flannel on that she's tied up by her belly button. I'm not sure who she's trying to impress, but I suddenly feel sorry for the poor soul. 

Adam stops bowling and stares at the girl. He instantly looks anger, "Hi, Olivia." 

The blonde Barbie, Olivia, gives Adam a bright smile, "Adam." 

I cross my arms over my chest, "What's your last name?" 

She purses her lips, "Not that it's any of your business, but its Connors." 

"Great, then last time I checked this place didn't belong to you." I pointed to the sign above her head that had the owners name on it. "Unless you have a second last name and it's Edwards." 

The two girls flanking her look shocked as I speak. 

Olivia's mouth opens and closes like a fish before she forms a coherent thought, "Who do you think you are?" 

"I think I'm a human being and deserve to be talked to like one." I snap. "So does Adam." 

She takes a step closer to me and leans down to stare me straight in the eye, "Listen here, I can make your life a living hell, so you better watch your mouth!" 

Too late. 

I was pretty sure my life couldn't get any worse than it already was. 

I stand to my feet, making her stumble back a few steps. Her eyes go wide with anger. "I'll make sure to remember that."

I notice now the crowd our little fight has gathered. One face catches my eye: Kaleb Nixon. He stands at the back of the crowd with his arms crossed over his chest. He has two of his friends by his side. I remember both from the pizzeria earlier. He has a slight smirk on his face and I don't know why it frustrates me so much. 

"Don't say I didn't warn you, nerd." She snaps in my face, pure anger crosses her made up features. 

"Do your worse." I smile at her. "Now, if you and your Barbie dolls could run along, Adam and I are trying to bowl." 

I don't think she knows how to handle this situation. I'm not sure anyone has ever stood up to her like I have. Once she turns around and leaves, flipping me off as she goes, I instantly regret the confrontation. I'd promised myself that I'd become nonexistent, but that wasn't really going so well. I would have to try harder. 

"You really do have a death wish, Greer, I swear." Adam shakes his head and sits in the plastic chair beside me. "First Kaleb Nixon and now Olivia Connors."

"Let me guess, she's the queen bee of Arden Prep?" I question, still pissed off. 

"Her father basically owns the school. He donates so much money. He just donated all new computers last year." He explains to me.

"Naturally." I roll my eyes. "There's always that girl." I take the last swig of my coke and stand back to my feet. "I'm going to get a refill really quick." 

He nods and watches me walk away. I wait in line at the bar with my empty cup in hand. Someone clears their throat behind me. I spin around quickly to stare into dark blue eyes. My frustration grows. 

"I announced myself this time." He tells me in his usual lazy drawl.

"What do you want, Kaleb?" I ask in a clearly frustrated voice.

"Kale, actually. No one calls me Kaleb anymore." He informs. 

"Like I said, Kaleb, what do you want?" I think we both enjoy annoying each other.

He takes a calculated breath to keep himself calm. I don't miss how his jaw clenches. "I find you interesting, Greer Evans."

I instantly wonder how he knows my full name. I only have two classes with him and the teachers hadn't introduced me in those classes. I wondered if he'd asked around about me. 

"Why? Trust me, I'm not that interesting." I tell him, moving up in line. It made me increasingly nervous that he was asking questions about me. That was bad. 

"I think you are." He muses. 

"Again, why?" I ask, refusing to meet his eyes. 

"Because you're not afraid of me." He stands close to me, so close I can feel his arm brushing against mine. I don't like it. 

"I don't even know you." I say back. 

"Any normal person would be afraid of me by now. Especially after our little fight in the hallway." He towers over me, making me feel infuriatingly small. There's only one person left in front of me and I'm counting down the seconds until they're done. 

I take a deep breath, "Look, Kaleb, honestly I think you're an insecure boy who thrives off people thinking he's all bad and scary. And I don't want anything to do with that. I've got enough drama in my life without adding yours to it. So, I'd appreciate it if you'd take your interest someplace else."

The cashier called next right at that moment and I've never been happier. I step up to her and ask for a refill. She nods and steps over to the soda machine. "I'll be watching you, dork." Kaleb whispers in my ear, causing goosebumps to form over my neck. I listen to him leave before letting out a shaky breath. 

This was not good, not good at all.

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