Company

Chapter Seven

David's cousin came to town, and it was all everyone talked about.

I couldn't walk down the halls without girls giggling about him and boys wondering who he was. Apparently, he was shipped down from England. I didn't give a shit, naturally, so it was hard to deal with people around me. During free period, Drew and I decided it would be fun to hang out with the yearbook people.

Big mistake.

The second we walked in, we stumbled upon a girl gossip session, full of squealing and laughter. Ugh.

The yearbook editor, Tammy, was trying to get the attention of a few giggling girls. She was a no-nonsense, uptight girl who had uncanny leadership abilities. From a Polynesian family that immegrated to The US, Tammy kicked ass in all of her classes, nothing seemed to distract her from being the best. Last year, she became the first person at our school to come out as a lesbian, and my respect for her grew even more. She's one of the few people I can have intelligent discussions with. It was so weird to see her so giggly.

"Tammy!" I said, waving. "Hey! Drew and I have free period, and we're wondering if you need help or anything."

She looked over at me, smiled, and walked over.

"Hey!" she said. "I don't think we need any help, but you can hang out with us. They won't stop talking about David's cousin."

"Why is he such a big deal again?" I asked.

Tammy paused, searching for the right words. "I think it's just the fact that he's the very English cousin of a famous author. I feel really bad for him, actually. I wonder if he's found any sort of privacy." She pulled out her phone and showed us a photo of him. "He also looks like this."

Drew and I stared at the screen in disbelief. No fucking way could someone look that perfect.

"It looks like he went through puberty in fifth grade," Drew murmured. "Is he for real?"

"He looks like those twenty year olds who play freshmen in television dramas," I whispered.

"I know, right?" Tammy replied. "He was in here earlier and Kate was all over him. She wouldn't let him shut up."

"He's going to school in New York!" Kate yelled from across the room, her red hair whipping around her face. "New York University!"

"He's smart, cultured, attractive, and a gentleman. What's not to like?" Morgan, one of the photographers, murmured. She let out a sigh.

"Everyone is smitten with him," Tammy explained. "Well, there's the handful of us who actually see him as a person and not as a god. But he's really cool, unlike David."

Tammy despised David Cunningham. Another reason to be like her.

"What's he doing here?" Drew asked, sitting on top of a desk.

"He's visiting David and vacationing around the area." Tammy finally put her phone away and began to engage in conversation.

"He's vacationing around Sacramento?" I asked, slightly confused. No one vacationed in Sacramento. It was a bus stop, a layover, it wasn't that cool of a place. It was like the evil twin of Portland. No wonder everyone was so excited.

"No one will shut up about him. He has a fan club stalking him on Twitter. He's attractive and nice and stuff, but really?" Tammy said, annoyed.

"He's just a normal person. A very attractive, very British, very normal person," Drew agreed, pulling out a copy of Persuasion, beginning to read where he left off.

"Is he still here?" I asked.

"I don't know. I have his number, if you want it," Tammy said. I rolled my eyes and laughed.