The Epitome of Me

Chapter Three: Stay Away From the Bad Girl

It was nearing lunchtime when we reached my favourite spot, and both of us were practically starving. "This way," I said, leading Alex down the side of the overpass and into a tunnel where there was a walkway above a set of train tracks.

"Oh, so you'll sit above a train track with no guard rails but you won't climb a tree? How is this any less dangerous?" Alex scoffed, sitting on the ledge and letting her legs dangle over the edge. "This is significantly higher; if you fell you'd be even more likely to die than you would ten feet up a tree." I rolled my eyes and sat down in between the wall and the ledge, pulling out a sandwich.

"I don't lean over the edge like a lunatic, unlike some people." I shot back, my mouth half full. Alex raised her eyebrows but said nothing, finding food in her own bag and joining me in a sort of picnic. Why did I feel so comfortable around her?

"So how did you find this place?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. I shrugged, pointing off into the distance.

"See that house that's barely visible?" I asked and she squinted to see, nodding after scanning the horizon. "That's where I live. I used to run here when I was upset." I still do sometimes, if I want to be completely alone.

"Huh." Alex acknowledged, leaning against the wall and looking around at the graffiti that riddled the inside of the tunnel. "Looks like the kind of place a lot of people come to do drugs and have sex." I scrunched my face up in disgust and shook my head.

"Not me. I just come here to read or contemplate life." I sighed, glancing at my phone for the time. "We still have a few hours, what should we do?" I asked, staring at her intently.

"I have a few ideas ..." She grinned maliciously. That made me extremely nervous. "Let's play truth." I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding and nodded. That wasn't so bad, as far as things she could've said. At least she didn't suggest drugs or sex.

"Sure. I'll go first. Why did you push that senior's backpack off the bench?" I questioned, crossing my legs in an attempt to get more comfortable. She looked a little bit offended that I asked.

"It was actually an accident. I brushed it as I was walking by and they went ballistic on me." She shrugged, then did a double-take, narrowing her eyes at me. "Wait, how did you know about that?"

"I watched it all from my math class," I replied. "And then Mr. Arbor left me in charge of the class and they all left." I saw the gears click into place in her mind and then she narrowed her eyes.

"That's why you were suspended? Ugh!" Alex growled, and I almost laughed because of how comical she looked. Obviously, I didn't because I was afraid she'd hit me or something. "Mr. Winster is such a prick. Those seniors got let off with a warning, and we got suspended for two days!" She was right. It's like the principal was playing favourites, and we definitely didn't cut it.

"It's so not fair." I agreed, rolling my eyes as far back into my head as humanly possible. Alex suddenly turned to face me, a question on her lips.

"My turn, right?" She asked, something between a grin and a grimace shot across her face, but it disappeared almost instantly and was replaced with pursed lips. I nodded curiously and she continued. "Who do you think is the hottest person in our grade?" For a split second I almost blurted out 'you,' but I saved myself from that undying embarrassment.

"Oh, geez," I blushed, running a hand through my hair. "Well ... I uh, I don't really know." I stuttered out. Alex looked at me like I was crazy.

"Oh come on, you have to think someone in our grade is cute. There's no way you don't." She coaxed. That annoyed me, though. What if I didn't? Before her, I didn't. Before her, I thought everyone except my best friend, Elgin Pyre, was an asshole. Before her, I didn't look at anyone and nobody looked at me. What was so unbelievable about that?

"I guess, but I don't really want to answer that." I sighed, trying to plead with her to change the question. But that's not how truth works, and she wouldn't budge. Her eyes stared into my soul, and the more I stared into them, the more I saw a spark in them. "Fine, you want to know who I think is cute in our grade? It's—" Before I could tell her, my phone started to ring. Saved by the bell!

"Hello?" I answered the phone and immediately regretted it.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" Elgin screamed at me through the receiver. I pulled it away from my ear and cringed.

"Whoa, dude, I got a suspension. I'll tell you about it later." I explained, shaking my head just thinking about how stupid the whole situation Alex and I were in was.

"What! I'm coming over after school. I want to hear everything." I rolled my eyes but agreed and hung up the phone.

"Sorry about that, Elgin is ... actually insane." I sighed and Alex smirked at me.

"Is that your boyfriend?" She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively. That was the grossest thing I'd ever thought about in my life.

"Ew, no! He's been my best friend since he moved in next door to me in fifth grade." I exclaimed, trying to get that disturbing image out of my head. "I don't have a boyfriend," she looked slightly shocked, standing up.

"Huh, well it's not because you're not pretty." She said it so casually. My breath got caught in my throat for a moment. She thinks I'm pretty? "I gotta go. Meet me at school tomorrow?" I had no words, I could only nod. She smiled, and with that, she was gone.

The whole walk back to my house all I could think about was that, somehow, Alex thought I was pretty. I knew it was probably ridiculous to even think that that might mean she was interested in me, but I was already fascinated by her and I'd only just met her. All I knew was that I wanted to get to know her more—and maybe hold her hand?

Elgin: I'm at your place, your mom said she didn't hear you come in yet. Where are you?

I was pulled out of my thoughts as I reached my backyard and received Elgin's text. I didn't bother texting him back, because I was going to see him in the next minute anyway. As I slid open the back door and walked into my kitchen, I was tackled to the ground. "Elgin! Get off of me, Jesus." My voice came out muffled because my face was smashed into his chest, but he released his grip and grinned down at me. The guy was at least 6'3" to my 5'6". He literally towered over me.

"Hey, leech! How was your day?" He asked as we walked towards the stairs and up into my bedroom.

"Ugh! How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" I groaned, referring to the awful nickname he had given me. It came to him when we were on a science trip in seventh grade. We were exploring swamp life, and I came out of the swamp with eight leeches attached to my ankles. Ever since then he's called me leech.

"You can tell me an infinite amount of times, but it will never change the fact that you are leech." He said, ruffling my hair. "So, how was your day?" He repeated. I glanced around to make sure my mom wasn't in earshot and then quietly squealed.

"Okay, so I got suspended for the stupidest thing, but it's okay because I met this girl." I gushed, falling onto my bed. "Her name is Alex Maine, and she's this totally badass, mysterious, sweet, funny girl. She has purple hair, and she knows how to pick a fucking lock!"

"Whoa, wait. What?" Elgin chuckled. "Slow down there, leech. She knows how to pick a lock? How the hell did you find that out? Is that how she got suspended?" I shook my head.

"No, she pissed off a group of seniors and got punished for something that wasn't her fault, like me." I rolled my eyes just thinking about how ridiculous Mr. Winster was. "And then we got lured in the basement to sort a never-ending pile of folders into alphabetical order. We got tired of it, and realized the door was locked so she pulled out her lock picking tools."

"Hold on, Whine-ster locked you in the basement?" Elgin looked like he was about to throw his fist through my bedroom wall. "Isn't that illegal?"

"Right?" I shouted. "That's what I said! Anyways, so Alex broke us out and, long story short, we both got two-day suspensions, so she wants to see me again tomorrow."

"Well just be careful, J. I don't want you to catch feelings only to find out that she's straight." Elgin winked, giving me a smirk. I shoved his shoulder playfully, but part of me started panicking. I already didn't think I had a chance with her, but what if she was straight? Then I really didn't have a chance. I just hoped that he wasn't right.