What It's Like To Be Liked

18. Karma Sure Is An Ariana Webb

ll Dedicated to my philosphical buddy, IM_LIKE_AWESOME for her amazing idea ll

Chapter Eighteen- Karma Sure Is An Ariana Webb

Now I'm not a huge believer of karma - all that 'what goes around comes back around' crap. But I could say with surity that karma was making me repay an old debt, because being sort-of-stranded in an unfamiliar town was definitely not topping my Bucket List.

The blaring sound of the passing vehicles fuelled with the smoke-filled air and the scorching heat got my anger flowers blooming. Beads of sweat formed all over my body, slowly and excruciatingly dripping southward as my skin, due to the temperature, heated up like the laptop screen of a frequent Tumblr user. Now I know why Dad hated the city. With people rushing about clad in business attire, the polluted atmosphere and not a tingle of a laugh, the place was chaos. There would never be peace here.

I let my eyelids droop and tried to shut out all the noise and frustration built up inside me. Back in my own world, I let my mind wander to the letter Dad had sent me.

What could he have meant by 'there's a lot to explain'? There was nothing - absolutely nothing - left to explain. He had chosen her over us. End of story. Finito.

 After this whole series of events, I'd come to a realization: I forgave people too easily. May it be the greatest murder of all time or my favorite cookie stolen from a jar - I shrugged off everything without thinking twice. I guess that was my hamartia - my fatal flaw.

But this time was going to be different.

I was not going to meet Dad and that's final. He could beg me with all the amount of Chicken Popcorn and chocolate he had but the answer would still be a big fat no.

I felt a hesitant tap on my shoulder. Irritated to be interrupted from my thought, I looked up at the person with a frown. It was Jake. A very apologetic-looking Jake. None the less, the same Jake who got me stuck in this stupid mess.

"What do you want?" I hissed, "You got off the fieldtrip and screwed up my day. Aren't you satisfied?"

"I'm sorry, okay?" He sighed, exhausted, and sat down beside me, continuously running a hand through his hair. "I didn't know this would happen. I 'd forgotten about the fucked up bus frequency,"

"Well, maybe you should have had a plan B." I looked straight ahead at the ear-piercing traffic-jam on the busy road, "You could've taken your sweethearts, Lara and Bitch-Face-Brittany. They looked pretty eager to join you on your great adventure,"

'Is that burning jealousy I smell?" He chuckled, "Aw, Princess, we wouldn't want your tiara to catch fire now, would we?"

"Shut the hell up, South, I'm not in the mood." I muttered, "Go text your skanks and virtually cry on their strawberry-scented shoulders,"

Jake raised an eyebrow,  "I know Britt can be mean but, hey, they're humans too. I don't think you should call them that. Especially Lara, she's the sweetest person ever. She wouldn't hurt a fly,"

I glanced up at him, surprised. Jake didn't seem like the kind of person to stand up for someone. An admirable quality, sure, but it made me realize something. Something I should have realized days ago.

"You like Lara, don't you?" I said, trying to sound nonchalant, but even I could hear the crack in my voice.

Saying the words caused a bitter taste in my mouth. Like the smell of burning tires. Oh wait, that was probably my heart burning. Remember what I said about dumping my feelings for him? I didn't? Yeah, well, a stray car just delivered them back to me. And they were as fresh as a summer breeze.