Foreign Love

II - Andrew Collins

Chapter two: Andrew Collins

After the most unnecessary statement of the year thus far, I headed back to the school's main hallway, now crowded as usual. I passed through some people and local groups, some of which I knew, but didn't bother to greet. I only really had three good friends at school: Mylène, Mabel and Elena. I was not unpopular or against the idea of socialising and making new friends, but there were some people at school I just couldn't care less about. I loved my three friends; they were more than enough to fulfil my social needs, so I was happy with it.

Our school is, overall, united, but there are a few groups who believe they are "too special to join the others", such as the baseball team, our school's biggest pride. I have already lost count of how many times they did shit and walked out of it virtually unscathed.

I walked to my locker, the one by the chemistry lab, and found Elena opening hers.

I stood behind her locker door, waiting for her to close it.

I didn't mean to scare her — it was just supposed to be a surprise —, but she screamed when she saw me. It attracted a few unwanted looks, but they soon turned to their activities.

"Thomas, you asshole!"

She punched my arm. She is pretty strong, and I should have remembered that before I tried to surprise her.

"Ouch!" I cried, rubbing my arm where she hit it. "It hurt!"

"I'm sorry, but you deserved it. You scared the crap out of me"

"Yeah, I can't say I didn't" I whispered. "Anyway, how was your holiday?" I asked her while I opened my locker to check the first class of the day. French.

Perfect.

"Terrible!" She said, leaning against her locker. "I broke up with James."

"Oh, no, that's awful" I hugged her. She was very emotional about these things. Part of being a Cancer, I guess. "What happened? You two were so close."

"I caught him making out with Amanda Jackson underneath the mistletoe by Joe's on Christmas' Eve," she looked at me, and I knew she was about to cry. "I was supposed to be the one kissed underneath the mistletoe! Not that thirsty ass hoe!"

"I know, sweetheart. But you know he doesn't deserve you. You're too good for him," I ran my hands through her hair as she buried her face in my chest. She was sobbing. Mylène soon showed up with Mabel.

"What happened?" She asked me, concerned, taking a glance at Mabel, who shrugged. Apparently, I was the first person to know and, therefore, the first one to deal with the aftermath.

"She caught James with Mandy," I whispered, just loud enough to be understandable without being audible. Admitting it out loud could be painful, and Elena was already raining tears on my chest.

"Oh, hell no!" Mylène said, pushing her away from me, gently. "Look at me, Elena." She obeyed. "Amanda is a slut, we all know that," Mabel nodded "but James is no better! He cheated on you with her and if he did this, it's because he did not pay attention to the gem that was in front of him. You're amazing, and you definitely do not need a man on your side to prove so."

No one knows how to deal with break-ups as Mylène does, which is surprising given how long it's been since she's last had one. She hugged Elena, who wasn't crying anymore.

"Now let's go to the restroom to redo your makeup. Your mascara is all over Thomas's coat. Luckily it's black." Elena smiled and nodded in silence. "Come, too, Mabel, I'll need your help."

"Sure." She said. "See you in chemistry, Tom."

"See you." I waved at her.

The three walked down the hallway, turning left to the closest restroom. The last thing I heard of theirs was something to do with water-proof eyeliner. If my coat is any witness to that statement, I'd say a water-proof eyeliner is something Elena did not buy.