Miss Grande

Chapter 3: Round 2?

   I wiped my sweaty palms against my sides and rushed back to the showers. I hopped up onto the bench before moving the ceiling tiles over. I turned around to check that Ms. Grande had come up behind me. Sure enough, she was there with curiosity displayed across her perfectly sculpted face.

   I smiled and stepped down. "You should probably take off your shoes. Ya know, so you don't fall and break yourself."

   She laughed lightly before mumbling, "I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet." We both chuckled. She sat on the bench and took off both of her heels before stepping up onto the bench. I held onto her back while guiding her where to step so that she wouldn't fall.

  As she climbed towards the ceiling, my hand was still attempting to stabilize her until I accidently brushed her butt. My face immediately turned red as I stumbled back. As if the situation could get an worse (or better), she lost her balance and fell back onto me. My first reaction was to wrap my arms around her waist to make sure she was safe. Of course, my face was coated in a red brighter than a stop sign.

   "Miss Grande? Are you okay?" I asked, seriously concerned as she had not yet moved or said anything. Her laughter abruptly filled the locker room, frightening me momentarily before I joined her. She rolled off of me, and we were on the floor laughing for a few minutes.

   She stood up and offered me her hand. I shook my head, not sure if I could handle the rush I got when we touched, especially after what just happened. "I got it, but thanks." I continued to laugh slightly before standing up and brushing off my backside.

   "Round two?" She asked, biting her lip. I nodded my head while helping her back onto the bench.

   "Only if you promise not to fall on me again. I think you broke a few of my ribs."

   She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "I am not that heavy!" She laughed, once again hiding that beautiful smile.

   "Heavy enough to break my ribs."

   "Your ribs must break easier than chopsticks." She playfully hit my arm causing me to go stiff momentarily.

   I sat on the bench and leaned against the wall, trying to come up with a good comeback to avoid any awkward silence. "Honestly you're like two pounds. My leg weighs more than your entire body!"

   "I'm not sure if that was a compliment or an insult?"

   I shrugged and quickly hopped up. "Ready to get up?" I asked.

   "As ready as I'll ever be." She smiled and once again I helped her up.

   Once we were both in the dark ceiling, I turned on my phone and guided her to the couch. I quickly walked over to the light switch and flipped it on.

   "I have a few questions. Firstly, how are we not falling back to the locker room. Secondly, how do the lights work. And lastly, how does nobody know about this place? It's pretty cool up here!"

   "Well," I began. "This used to be a whole different floor-" I was cut off.

"Wait. You mean this is a total floor? It completely covers the school?"

   I laugh and continue. "A couple of kids kept falling down the steps and getting injured, so they sealed it off. Plus, as you may have noticed, there aren't many people here. Nobody really needed it, and people just forgot about it over the years. As you also may have noticed, some people around here have more money than you could imagine. Not only that, but some of them definitely have the brains to get them completely through any college they wanted to go to without them having to pay a cent. Camila, one of my best friends, checks off both boxes. She built a few solar panels to place on the roof, so the school doesn't pay for any extra electricity. Her brother got a helicopter and a few of his buddies to move this stuff in here through the door on the roof as a surprise for us on our first day of freshmen year. I'm really not sure how people didn't see any of that. But yeah, we basically have a little apartment up here. We have couches, a pantry, a fridge, a little microwave, and a tv."

   Once I realized I was rambling I stopped to look at her. Her jaw was dropped. I laughed and she shut her mouth, slightly embarrassed. Her blush gave her such a beautiful glow.

   "That is not at all what I was expecting." She laughed at herself before looking at her phone. "Oh shiii-" she dragged out the 'i' and went completely red. I held in my laugh and bit my lip.

   "I don't really care what you say. We're pretty chill; you can cuss around me." I smiled and she nodded.

   I checked my phone and hopped up. "Next class starts in eights minutes and you still need to get lunch!" I held her hand, showing her to the food. "Take what you like and feel free to come here if you forget your lunch. We keep the pantry stocked."

"Thank you," she said before grabbing a cereal bar and a water along with a small bag of plain chips.

   I smiled and helped her down before moving the ceiling tile back. "I'll see you tomorrow Miss Grande."

"Ariana," she said, gaining my attention.

"Hmm?" I asked, slightly confused.

"Call me Ariana."

"See you tomorrow, Ariana." I smiled to myself.

   After lunch we only had another class. I was completely distracted and hadn't even noticed the day was over until there were only a few people still in class. I packed up my things and pulled out my phone.

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Y/n- Italics
Camila- bold
Selena- Underlined
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so I did a thing

what thing?

spill

you guys coming home with me today?

yes we both are now spill

spill right now

I'll tell you when we get to my house
we can have brownies and sodas and chips
plus my dad won't be home until eight so we will be there alone

fine but if those brownies aren't good im going to beat you

you're lucky we love junk food

meet me at my car in 5