Aces [#NANOWRIMO2017]

Seraphine Lies, Gets Pooped On, & Finds that her Not-Boyfriend is A Fire Hazard

"Thanks again!" I called as Rafael drove off. I put the ballpoint pen that I'd been click-click-clicking back into my bag as I ran into the rink, down the steps, to the area just outside the change room doors to wait for Lynne.

As literary master Suzanne Collins once wrote, to say I made it in the nick of time would be an understatement. I had literally just stopped in my tracks when the door opened and Lynne came out, rolling her bag behind her. She passed me her stick almost subconsciously and the two of us walked to her car, Lynne talking all the way.

"...and then -- can you believe it!? -- she told me that she loved Undertale, too!"

"Wow, really?" I said after an awkward lull, pretending I'd been listening. "That's so cool!"

Lynne looked at me suspiciously, but didn't say anything. "Yeah, it was pretty cool. Oh, and by the way! This is going to blow your mind, but..."

I breathed a sigh of relief; I'd managed to fool her for now. That was when I noticed that Lynne was staring at me expectantly.

I hadn't been listening at all, but Lynne was typically a cheerful person, so I decided to grasp at that. "Uh, awesome!" I said enthusiastically.

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Sera, are you sure you're listening to me?"

Awwwwww friiiiiick.

"Well, uh, of course I was..." I bluffed. "But, um..."

Lynne cut me off. "Nope. Don't want to hear it. You're not listening, are you?"

"What... what makes you say that?" I stuttered.

"I was testing to see if you were actually listening, so I said, 'By the way, my pet dog died yesterday.' Why would you say awesome to something like that? Besides, I don't even have a dog. Your head's always in the clouds, Sera, but today it's worse than usual. What's gotten into you?"
"I don't know, I just can't really focus today." I lied. "Maybe I'm just tired; Mr. Hallman gave a crazy amount of homework. You know how he is. I dunno, I'm not sure what's behind it..."

Of course, it was a lie. I knew exactly why I couldn't focus. There was one very specific reason for it, and it began with an A and ended with a Ce Renshaw.

That's right.

I'd made an awful mistake in going to see Ace. Now he was even more prominently in my thoughts.

But I looked Lynne dead in the eyes, and I lied. "I stayed up late finishing all the homework Mr. Hallman gave us. It was crazy." Uh-oh. Stayed up late?

Lynne's voice mirrored my thoughts. "Stayed up late when? The game was just after school, and you seemed totally awake and aware at school... except for at the beginning of the day, but that was just because you'd spent the day yesterday with -- " Realization dawned upon her face. Here it comes, I thought, bracing myself. "You'd spent the day yesterday with Ace. Don't tell me that you did it again? Even after that entire conversation I had with you this morning?!"
"No! No, I didn't!"

"Is that why you were so out of breath when I came out of the changeroom? Because you'd just come back from chatting with him?" she asked accusatorily.

"No, of course not; I was watching you play the whole time, I swear! I... I..." I scrambled to find an excuse. "I was out of breath because I left to go to the washroom but I didn't want you to think I'd abandoned you so I had to rush back before you finished changing."

Well, it was only half a lie.

Lynne didn't seem to buy into it. "Then what's with all the daydreaming?"
"I told you. Lots of homework. I stayed up late yesterday evening, I just drank a lot of coffee in the morning but it wore off really quickly..." That's a ridiculous excuse. It'll never work.

It worked.

Lynne's expression softened. "I'm sorry. This is the second time today that I've gotten mad at you when you didn't deserve it. I don't know what's gotten into me today."

I breathed a sigh of relief as we approached Lynne's car. I helped her load her bag and stick into the trunk, and then the two of us rode in an awkward silence back home. Lynne dropped me off at my house along the way.

"Bye," I said when we got there. It was the first word that we spoke to each other all car ride. Perhaps Lynne hadn't really believed me after all.

"See you tomorrow, Sera," was all Lynne said to me.

I crouched down so I was eye-to-eye -- or should I say, eye-to-cute-little-furry-body -- with Sugar and Spice. "What on earth am I going to do, cuties? Ace Renshaw is turning my life upside-down," I sighed, sticking my finger into the cage.

Spice -- a brown mouse with plenty of sass, true to his name -- squeaked, turned around, and promptly pooped on my hand.

"Gee, thanks. I love you too, Spice."

It was crazy. I'd only really started talking to him two days ago, and already he was taking up all my thoughts.

I knew one thing: Lynne was right. Ace Renshaw was trouble.

Not that that stopped me. If I'd known what was in store for me, would I have turned back? Would I have done things differently? Maybe not.

My mind says yes, but my heart tells me that in a way, I'd known all along; I just didn't want to face it. I knew that Ace was a troublemaker, but I'd pursued him anyway.

Besides, I'm not sure if I'd ever really believed that I would be able to be "just friends" with Ace. With Ace, you're either all in or you're all out. Why on earth did I think that I'd be an exception?

My English teacher Mrs. Thomas absolutely loves metaphors and similes. Bearing her in mind, I guess you could compare Ace with a flickering fire; mesmerizing and hypnotizing, warm and inviting, but don't get too close or you'll get burnt to a crisp.

But the sparks?

They're almost worth the pain.