The Art of Being a Gentleman

CHAPTER TWO

David was tired.

He had been up all night trying to figure out why anyone in their right mind would agree to Ricky's insane idea. His only conclusion was that he must have secretly gotten a concussion, and therefore his head wasn't in the right place to be making these kinds of decisions. It was the only explanation for such stupid behavior.

Or it could've been a moment of weakness. After all, Ricky had cornered him after his ego had been bruised (See also: stomped on, maliciously attacked, or emotionally pantsed) once again, and he hadn't had time to recover.

It was kind of cruel of Ricky to take advantage of him like that, really.

So David wasn't going to go. He didn't need Ricky's help. He knew how to get a girl, he was David Potosky for crying out loud. Girls liked him. He could be smooth when he wanted to be. He wasn't going.

Not even two seconds after the final bell of the day rang, a hand was on David's shoulder. "About time. C'mon, we've got to go!"

"Is everybody heading straight there?" David asked, gathering up his stuff and tucking it under his arm, moving his way into the busy hallway.

"Yeah," Mack nodded, slipping his baseball cap over his messy hair. "We have to be there early otherwise we lose the field."

"Cool, I'll just...uh...I'll...um..."

"...you okay?"

David had to shake himself out of his thoughts, trying to ignore the way his stomach had twisted just by seeing her walk past him.

"David? You g--"

"My aunt's dying."

Mack looked taken aback from the sudden information. (So was David, to be honest.) "Whoa... really? Dang. I'm sorry, man. You alright?"

"Yeah... I have to um, go visit her. Right now."

"Totally get it," Mack assured him. "I'll let the guys know. Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks..." David nodded as his friend disappeared down the hallway, and as soon as Mack was out of eyesight, he did a full turn and sped off in the opposite direction.

This was Alyssa Harvard we were talking about. She was unlike any girl he had ever met. He couldn't use the same approach he had used before. Everything he had done was tacky and overused, lame and unworthy of someone like Alyssa. He needed a new plan of attack. So maybe working with Ricky would be a good idea, after all.

Leaving the front doors of the school, he went and stood casually beside a tree that was off of the main path, strategically planned to avoid any and all contact from people who might start asking questions.

After it seemed as though every single student had poured out from the building, David spotted a certain someone making his way down the sidewalk. Ricky glanced towards David, who sent him an awkward half-wave, and did a double-take before rushing towards him with a frown on his face.

"Hey," David mumbled once he was closer, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking into the distance over Ricky's head. "Can we do this quickly? I kinda told my best friend that my aunt is in the hospital, so I need to go home and watch a doctor show to make me feel like a good person."

"Fine. Go do whatever you want."

David blinked, finally lowering his gaze to look Ricky in the face. "What?"

"I'm not wasting my time if you're not going to bother taking this seriously," he shrugged, starting to turn.

Okay, never mind. This was stupid again.