Simply Audrey

Chapter 2

I bound happily into the cafeteria,  glad to finally be spending time with Craig. Craig waits for me in the food line, his expression tense. Everyone moves out of the way so that he and I are at the front. They know by now to respect us as definite future school monarchy.

"Are you okay?" I ask, worried by his tense expression.

"Ya." He says unconvincingly, but I decide it's probably best if I give him space and don't pry for information. 

Craig stays uncharacteristically quiet and irritable as we pick our lunches go up to our table on the ramp. He must just be in a mood, he probably stood on gum. Again.

We are the first in our group to take our seats.

"So Craig, what are you doing tonight?" I ask him, trying to make conversation. I pull the fake IDs out of my bag but keep them out of his eye-sight so I can surprise him when he says 'I have nothing planned'. 

"Dunno," he says, seemingly fixated on chasing peas around his plate without actually eating them.

"Well, I had an idea," I say, overly cheerfully, trying to brighten the mood at our table and make it less awkward. By now more members of our group are slowly filling the seats up on the ramp.

"Let's hear it." He say's, clearly uninterested in what I have to say.

"Well, Jenna gave me these fake IDs," I say, slipping his onto the table in front of him, "and we are wanting to go clubbing tonight, we got one for you too  and it would be so great if you could join us–"

"I can't go out." He says, cutting me off mid-sentence.

"Why not babe?" I ask, smiling sympathetically and grabbing his hand which had been resting on the table.

He rips his hand away from my reach and everyone on the ramp has turned to watch us. A few people make 'oohing' noises.

"Because, Principle Parker kicked me off the football team until I get my grades up." He says, the volume of his voice rising with each word. His words escape him like poison from a snakes mouth. 

"Ah babe, I'm so sorry to hear that-"

He holds up his hand cutting me off. Now he's standing and the every single head in the cafeteria is turned towards us. I try communicate to him with my eyes to sit down so we can discuss this quietly or go somewhere private to talk. 

"But it's not football that's messed up my grades. It's you! And because of you I now have to actually work to get into Penn State because I'm not getting a scholarship there for football because I'm not the captain of team anymore! Because of you!" He repeats, practically yelling and I'm distantly surprised that steam isn't fuming from his ears like what happens in cartoons.

"Babe," I say softly, trying to be rational and reason with him. "How have I messed up your grades?" 

"Oh, oh? so now you ask. Ever since we started dating, everything's been all 'Oh you and I must go to prom together, we will for sure win prom king and queen, next year you can come to my prom and we can win again'. You make everything about you and everything's just been 'Audrey this, Audrey that' you have never actually stopped thinking about yourself, not for even a second, to ask me how I've been doing. And to answer the question I know you're going to ask – I've been crap."

I take a deep breath, "Babe, where are you going with this?"

"Don't 'Babe' me Audrey." He says, nearly spitting with rage. "I'm breaking up with you. I don't know how I didn't realize how poisonous and awful you truly are until this morning in The Shark's tank."