Walrus Chain (Walrus Hut Series Book 3)

Chapter 5 (Bridget)

After the meeting ends, I help myself to a cookie and listen to this tall, black guy, who always wears a fedora named Alexander West, brag about his life. Alexander initially worked at Pizza Mart, so I've only known him for a few months. So far, I've noticed that he has a pretty serious problem with boasting.

"Are you coming to my graduation party, Alexander?" Asks Lilla.

"In fact, I am. Do you have musical entertainment?" He replies.

"Yeah, Chet, Jason, and Ryan's band is playing." She tells him.

"Not so fast, smart stuff! I happen to be one of the coolest cats around town, and I and my peeps have a band." Alexander declares.

"Since when do you have a band?" Jason asks incredulously.

"Since thirty minutes ago!" Alexander responds.

"How, how did you do that? We were in the middle of a meeting!" Ryan blurts out and wipes some sweat off of his forehead. Gross.

"That's for me to know and for you not to." Says Alexander.

"Come on, Alexander. Quit fooling around. We all know that you don't have a band." Jason says confidently.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that!" Says Alexander, and he winks at everybody. Jason turns to look at Alexander and goes,

"Boy!"

"Boy yourself, short stuff!" Alexander retorts. Evening walks by and interrupts,

"Hey Alexander, you kind of look like Kanye West!"

"NO. HE. DOESN'T!" Jason tells his cousin. I wholeheartedly agree. Alexander looks remarkably nothing like the famous rapper.

"Suit yourself! I'll see you guys in the battle of the bands tonight." Alexander replies, grips his jacket briefly with a smug look on his face, lets go, and dramatically exits the building. Ryan is sweating like there's no tomorrow.

"Oh, it's on!" Says Jason, flipping his baseball cap on backward. "Follow me, boys."

Jason and his band members, including a very nervous Ryan, strut out the door with pretty much everyone else following. JJ approaches me,

"Are you ready to go?" He asks me, and I nod.

"No! You guys can't leave yet!" Lilla says to us, "I need you to take me to Lowe's so I can fix up the stage for the battle of the bands."

"Lilla, you have no idea how to do that," JJ tells her calmly.

"Why? Because I'm a girl?"

"No, that's not what I meant!" JJ says, holding up his hands.

"Then what do you mean?" Lilla asks him suspiciously. Justin walks over to us.

"Lilla, what he means is that you barely know how to boil water, much less fix up a stage with tools. I doubt that you've ever held a hammer in your life."

"I fired you once before, and I'll do it again," Lilla says to him sharply.

"No, you love me too much to fire me." He replies.

"Wha- love you!? I don't even like you!" She yells at him.

"OKAY!" JJ intercedes, "we are leaving now!" JJ and I escort Lilla to her car. Lilla is a mess.

"Are you all right if we cancel our plans for tonight?" I ask JJ as we drive over to Lilla's house. "I feel like Lilla needs me right now."

"I agree," says JJ, and he drops me off with Lilla.

                                                                                            ***

"So, Lilla," I say cautiously as I sit on the couch in her library with two cups of tea I made for us.

"How have you been since you and  Mitchell ended things?" I hand her a cup, and she gives me a pint of ice cream and a spoon.

"I've been fine." She answers flatly and sips her tea. "I deal with the pain by watching romantic comedies, like Clueless and 13 Going On 30."

"And that helps the pain?" I ask, not convinced.

"Yep." She shovels the ice cream into her mouth.

"You do know that those movies aren't realistic at all, right?" I ask her.

"Yes, they are! Have you seen How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days?"

"No, but-"

"Well, then you have to watch it!" Lilla turns the TV on.

                                                                                          ***

An hour and fifty-five minutes later, I'm still not convinced.

"Lilla, that wasn't realistic at all," I tell her slowly.

"Why? Because Matthew McConaughey is obviously not from New York? Who are you to judge?" She responds defensively.

"No, because-" I start.

"Well, Spiderman is the opposite of realistic, and that's how you dealt with your breakup!" She interrupts.

"That's different,"

"No, it isn't!"

"You know what? I give up, Lilla! If this is how you want to face reality, then I won't try to stop you." I say to her.

"I'm sorry, Bridget! I haven't had a breakup like this since I was like thirteen. I've never really been dumped, and the one with Jack doesn't really count because I was planning to break up with him anyway." She confesses to me. "Mitchell's a jerk."

"Yes, he is. Well, when it comes to ending relationships." I reply.

"How did you get over him?" She asks me.

"Um, it took me a while, but we talked it out and became friends, and I moved on with someone else," I say, and Lilla's eyes light up.

"That's it!"

"What?"

"That's it! To get over Mitchell, I need to get a rebound!" She says excitedly. Oh no.

"That's not what I-"

"I need to get a new boyfriend as soon as possible." She says. Oh great. What have I done?

"Oh! Do you know that guy in our French class? Kyle Blandford? He's pretty cute." Lilla says and continues to name random guys. This isn't good. Well, at least I know not to attempt this again.