The Player Game

Chapter 16

Dedicated to an amazing friend!

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Apparently, a lot can happen in one week.  Harry confesses his love for Verity on a simple stroll across the countryside, handing her a single white rose – which now holds the prized place on her bedside cabinet, I might add – and she practically screams the three words right back.  The couple are now even more lovey-dovey than before, something that I didn’t believe possible until now, but quickly find is true.

As for Aaron and I, it’s safe to say that the two of us give the school a day in the park when we walk hand-in-hand through the school gates on the bright Friday morning.  Hands clutched together tightly, my nerves tingle as people openly whisper and point in our direction, crowds parting like the Red Sea as we walk through – or maybe that’s my mind overreacting.  On the other hand, it’s definitely not my mind that imagines the highly irritated expression on Adriano’s face as his eyes first narrow in on our tangled hands.

Apparently, in the school’s eyes, holding hands makes a relationship official.  By the time homeroom arrives, I find myself surrounded as a group of jittery girls - and, in fact, a collection of excited guys – swarm around me, questions and accusations flying through the air.

With too many words to make sense of rebounding around my head, I end up staring at their beaming faces with a stricken expression.  Maybe making our “relationship” (if you could even call it that) official wasn’t the best idea.

“Make way!  Make way!” the loud call causes half of the crowd to fall silent, the other ignorant half continuing to fire questions mercilessly.  A breath of relief leaves my mouth as I spot Verity shoving her way through the crowd, until she reaches me and looks accusingly at me through slit eyes.  “You have a lot of explaining to do, Emily Rosser.”

I gulp as she drags me away from the horde of people, a communal groan sounding in our wake.  With only a flirtatious batter of the eyelashes and a sweet few words with the young male supply teacher, Verity has permission for the two of us to leave homeroom early.  She uses this to her advantage, shoving me into a janitor’s closet before I have the chance to object.

“Verity!  I hiss as she closes the door behind us and flicks the switch, casting light on the stacks of pots and pans.  “What if someone opens the door?  They’ll think we’re lesbians!”

Turning the lock with a loud click, Verity glares at me, pointing a long manicured finger at my chest.  “Spill it, now, Emily!”

Taken aback by her loud voice, I put my hands up defensively.  “Spill what?”  I ask, backing into a stack of cleaning supplies.  When they wobble dangerously, I place a hand on them to prevent the mass spillage looming.