All Bets Are Off

Chapter Twenty-Four - Ella Fordman: State of Recklessness

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            Dedicated to CreamedLatte for the amazing banner to the side! Thanks so much, lovely! x

 

 

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            ~Chapter Twenty-Four: Ella Fordman: State of Recklessness~

 

 

            The next week consisted of me avoiding Phoenix like the plague. Neither my mother nor Aunt Annie mentioned the fight, so I was assuming that the road trip and Alessandro competition would go ahead as planned. I was going to trust that as long as he didn’t mention it, it was still going to happen. Surely he wouldn’t stand me up, despite everything.

            The night of the fight, I’d gone on another date with one of Carter’s cronies, Colin McIntosh. He was your average guy, nothing in particular that set him apart from a crowd, besides the serpent tattoo that twined all up his arm. He was nice enough, albeit a little quiet, and the date had been awkward. But I’d prevailed, and chalked off another point on the scale. Meaning I still tallied above Phoenix by one point, though it hardly seemed to matter now.

            I sighed as I shut my locker, and Leslie appeared by my side on Monday, her blue eyes cautious, as if afraid I’d rip her head off at the slightest provocation. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”

            I shuffled my heavy geometry textbook to my other arm, blinking uncomprehendingly at her. “Huh?”

            She gestured to my demeanor, which did admittedly look frazzled. My white blouse hadn’t been ironed, my hair was in a messy bun, and the only makeup I had was a small slick of lip balm to keep them from drying out and chapping. The only accessory decorating me was a small white watch, and it was nothing flashy. A letdown from my usual outfits. “This whole thing going on with you. What happened this weekend? Last I saw you, you were disappearing in the crowd at Thea’s masquerade ball. Now you’re back at school looking like a truck hit you.”

            “At least I know what to put on your gravestone now,” I muttered, rubbing my temple where a stress headache throbbed. “Leslie Carlisle: The Inspirer of Confidence.”

            She smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes, which held worry. “Seriously, Ella. What’s going on with you? I just passed Phoenix earlier and he looked the same way. Did something happen between you two that I should know about?”

            I sighed and leant against the locker. “It’s nothing, Les,” I lied, not wanting to talk about it now. “It’s just stress about Alessandro, and the road trip. And Phoenix and I have never been the best of friends. Just average stress.”

            I could tell in her expression that she didn’t believe me, but she didn’t push it. She pursed her lips at me, probably deliberating whether or not she should pursue the topic, before she dropped it with a sigh. “All right. Because it’s the week of the big competition, I’ll let it slide. But I expect in-depth details next week, okay?”