Pretty Dumb

Chapter Nine- Lilah

       The rest of the day is a blur of classes, idle chitchat in the back of said classes, and gossip. Naturally, it took less than an hour for the little showdown at lunch to be spread around school.

      After last period, I bid my friends adieu and head off to the detention room. Sigh. My mom is gonna kill me. Detention on the first day of school.

      When I open the door, I see Nate already there, lounging in a chair with his feet up on the desk. He grins at me and I smile back. Wow. This is super awkward.

     Just then Mrs. Marks walks in. Thank god. She is the best possible detention supervisor. She just sits there and pretends we don't exist. She does just that today. After checking us off on her attendance list (apparently we are the only students to get detention on the first day) she sits in the front of the room and becomes immersed in her laptop.

     You would think that she was doing work, but from her small smile and the reflection in her glasses, I see that she is watching funny fail videos on Youtube. This is why I love her.

        Nate looks at me.

         "Soooo Lilah Green," He says, dragging out each syllable. In the past, we have met and talked briefly at sporting and social events, but we don't know each other too well. It may seem strange because we are probably the two most social people at school, but since sophomore year I have made a point of avoiding him.

       I look at Nate, smirking.

       "Nathaniel Callahan," I respond in the same exaggeratedly slow tone as him. He glares at me.

       "Only my mom calls me that," He informs me. "Call me Nate. That's what everyone else calls me." I just smirk at him.

      "B-b-but-  I thought I was  special to you. I thought we were special!" I mock sob. Nate looks at me fake-apologetically, continuing the act.

      "I'm sorry, honeybuns, but we're just not working out," he tells me. I burst into crocodile tears.

       "Please, don't leave me! You promised never to break my heart!" I cry. Nate makes a pained face, but I see the laughter threatening to break loose.

       "I'm sorry it had to be this way, but you know this never would have happened if you had never cheated on me" He says, acting serious. I see an opportunity and seize it.
   
      "WE WERE ON A BREAK!!" I wail. At this Nate can't hold back his laughter. He cracks up, doubling over and cackling. I stare at him like he is possessed, before breaking out into my own hearty chuckles.

       "Lilah," Nate tells me after his laughter subsides, "I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
 
       I grin appreciatively at his Casablanca reference. That movie is a classic and I will always love it.

     "Although," Nate adds, "I can't be friends with you if you agree with Ross, cause that shit isn't cool." I nod.

      "Trust me, that was only for theatrics. I hate Ross from the bottom of my heart. He is an asshole who doesn't deserve Rachel." I say.

       "I know, right!?" Nate exclaims. "He doesn't even treat Rachel well! Like seriously, that was so hypocritical when he got all jealous over Mark and then slept with Chloe! And how he acts all bball possessive over her when they aren't even dating, like just because she had his baby-" He realizes his mistake when I blanch. Mrs. Marks, however, was apparently listening to our conversation because she chimes in.

       "When he acts like he owns her is so annoying! In modern society, a woman should not have to commit to a man because she had his child!" After that little speech, Mrs. Marks goes back to her Youtube, oblivious to how I flinched and how my face dropped at her words. Nate notices though.
 
      "I'm sorry," he whispers. I nod.

       "It's okay. I should stop being so touchy anyway." I respond. "So I guess you know?" I add as an afterthought. His facial expression confirms it.

     "Not everything, but enough," he says somberly. "Just so you know, it wasn't your fault and I don't judge you at all and nobody else does either." I smile sadly, wishing that were true. I hurriedly change the topic.

      "So can we talk about the fact that Mrs. Marks got into our conversation about Friends?" I ask. Nate smiles.

        "Coolest teacher ever, am I right?" He responds, and we fill the rest of detention with meaningless chatter. By the end, we have exchanged numbers and I think of Nate as a friend, the real kind, not just the kind where we're in the same friend group but never actually talk.

A/N: So, whaddaya think? There was some tea in this chapter. More hints about Lilah's backstory. Any theories? Also, I want Mrs. Marks as a teacher, amirite? Who do you ship? Be sure to comment! Also, I just saw that Pretty dumb hit #122 in popular and #21 in satire. Yay!