I Don't Deserve Love: Alternate Ending

Chapter 13: What's a Sleepover?

"Opal, your Aunt has to be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen! She pulled off that mini dress way better than I ever could! And her skin is perfect! And her hair was so stylish!" Iris gushed as we walked to lunch. I beamed, delighted at Iris's reaction to Auntie. "She looks Asian though, where is she from?"

"She was actually born in Japan. Her family moved to the states when she was young."

"Wow! That is so cool. Why are you living with your aunt, by the way?" Iris asked with her usual forwardness. My stomach clenched in knots and I forced a smile.

"Well, my parents are getting divorced and I didn't want to choose between them, so Auntie let me come live with her."

"Oh, Opal. I'm so sorry," Iris said sincerely. "My parents got divorced a few years ago too, but they're still friends. I hope things don't get too awkward for you,"

"Honestly, I'm not super worried about that. I'm extremely happy with Auntie."

Iris gave me a sidelong look as if she didn't believe me, but she shrugged her shoulders and let it go, which I appreciated.

"Sato, Iris, wazzup?"

I stopped and looked back to see Dajan, Brandon, and Troy. Troy was a sophomore and the shortest player on the team, barely hitting 5'8", but he made up for it with speed and incredible jumping skills.

Iris grinned widely at Brandon. "Hey guys! Are you going to eat lunch with us today?"

"Of course. Sterling and Jason have our table saved, go ahead and join us when you've got your food," Dajan replied as he leaned his arm on my head. I sighed dramatically and folded my arms, looking at Troy.

"It's like my entire purpose in life is to be his armrest," I said dramatically and Troy laughed.

"Nah, everyone knows your purpose is to save my Math grade and keep me on the team!" Troy quipped and I grinned.

Troy was in Algebra 2 and he couldn't grasp the information at the speed his teacher taught, so I had been tutoring him twice a week during lunch or after club activities. The first time he got an A on a quiz he had run all the way to my locker to show me.

"Come on guys, quit hogging Sato," Brandon said testily, shoving Dajan off me.

"It's fine, Brandon. I really don't mind," I said, trying to pacify him. He had been in a foul mood all week and I couldn't figure out why. He turned away and walked over to stand in the pizza line.

"See you in a bit then, girls," Troy said brightly, jogging to catch up with Brandon.

Iris went to the hamburger line with Dajan and I chose to try the cafeteria's version of spaghetti and meatballs. Once my tray had been filled with noodles and cooked carrots I searched the tables for a familiar face. At the far end of the cafeteria Dajan raised his hand and waved to me. I headed over and wasn't surprised to see Iris sitting in between Brandon and her friend Rosalya, with Melody sitting across from them.

I sat down in the empty space between Melody and Dajan, settling in to listen to the conversations around me. More often than not during lunch, I wouldn't say more than a few words. I would just listen to the conversations and store away any information I thought could be helpful later on. This time though. I turned my attention to Melody and Rosalya.

Melody was Iris's best friend. From what I had heard they had been friends all through elementary and middle school. Melody had long chestnut brown hair, bright blue eyes, and was quick to smile. She was also very popular, many times people stopped by to say hi to her during lunch. In the infrequent times we had spoken she had been polite to me, but we didn't have any classes together so I hadn't gotten to know her very well and she seemed to prefer to talk to Iris.