Cevic

Chapter 19

“Girls’ minds are like a ball of tangled yarn, like a maze you can never get out of, like stars that you can never get hold of.”

 

 

Unexpected

 

I could sympathize with Payton as I realized how much I stank, walking along the corridor with Jackson, whom I shared the next period, Geography with. We were a little early for class, but apparently Jackson needed to ask Ms. McAllen for extra credit tests because his recent Geography results weren’t to his expectations.  

 “You should’ve told us you were secretly a basketball talent,” remarked Jackson, never leaving my not-so-comfortable topic of the gym session earlier. “Then I wouldn’t have had a mini heart attack when Shannon caught the ball. Man, she’s one dude.”

  She is one man? It was probably one of humans’ weird slangs. I smiled slightly.

“I’m not…I just didn’t want us to lose, you know- Sasha and Katie’s screaming and jumping were getting on my nerves,” I said. “I wanted to get the game over and done with.”

  Jackson chuckled. “I’m so not buying that excuse. You are not a human.”

I couldn’t stop the whoosh of breath that left my chest, as I stared up at Jackson. Did he know? Had it been a huge mistake on my part to let my speed show? I was sure my accelerated heartbeat was loud enough for human ears to pick up.

  He frowned. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Judging from his facial expression, I finally concluded that it was another of humans’ slangs and jokes. You gave me a mini heart attack, I thought wryly.

 “Nothing. Just thought that I left my keys at home or something.”

 “Hey, boys.” Isha smiled at us.

 “Hi,” Jackson and I said simultaneously.

 After the incident with her uncle, I wasn’t comfortable being in her presence, although I was far from blaming her for what had transpired. As time passed by and my day to meeting him tomorrow night came closer, the worry, fear and agitation in me was mushrooming.

   I adjusted the strap of my backpack. “How is your finals preparation coming up?”

I still wasn’t sure what ‘finals’ was but I just knew that it was something every high school student prepared for and was important to humans- a lot.

  Isha gave me a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Great.”

Jackson gave an extremely awkward, big goofy grin. “Do you…guys need some space?” he asked, drawing back a step.

  Isha shook her head, almost frantically. “Um, no. It’s fine. I have to get to class- and um, I have a session with Mr. Foley concerning the upcoming prom. All the student committee members have a discussion session.”

  Jackson raised an eyebrow, but then he grinned really wide and really awkwardly.

“Uh, cool! You get to skip class!”

Isha laughed slightly, and gave me a small, tight smile. “See you around, boys.”

  Before I had a chance to even say bye, she was out of sight.

Jackson turned around to face me with the sternest face I had seen him make. “What did you do to that chick?”

  Chick? From what I knew chick= a newly hatched bird.

I rubbed the nape of my neck. Even if I lived here twenty years, I would never be able to learn all the human slangs. From what he said ‘that’ and we just had an incredibly odd conversation with Isha, the ‘chick’ referred to Isha Reynolds.

 “Uh, I didn’t do anything,” I said honestly, as we walked down the corridor.

Jackson gave me a face. “Look, I’ve been dating Lisa since we were fourteen. It’s been three years and thus I know girls’ pet peeves, idiosyncrasies, habits, and thinking. I know girls. They are like, the most complicated creatures I’ve ever met, but I know enough to tell you that you seriously did something terrible to that chick.”

  I blinked. “Is watching a movie with her a terrible thing to do to her?”

Jackson suddenly sounded like a teacher. He crossed his arms, scrutinizing me.

“Okay, tell me everything.”

“There really is nothing to tell. A few days ago we watched an alien movie together and ate popcorn there. That is all.”

 “From what I see, she liked you.”

 I frowned. “My English is atrocious enough to make Mr. D cry, but I know that liked is past tense. So she doesn’t now?”

 “Maybe, but you were an ass.”

 From what I knew, ass meant butt. I was a butt?

  I felt like I was bombarded with enough human slangs for the day. Thoroughly flummoxed, I opened my mouth, but no eloquent words came out. “Uh-“

 “You never texted her afterwards?”

 “Why would I? I don’t have anything to ask her.”

 “You never greeted her along the corridor?”

 “I never really saw her in many of my classes.”

 Jackson’s questions started to sound more like interrogations.

 “Were you the one to ask her out to the movie?”

 I exhaled. “Um, she was standing at the doorway of the class, looking like she expected me to say something, so I said it. ‘Let’s go for a movie.’”

  Jackson looked at me like I had spoke in Cevic. “Are you clueless or clueless?”

What did he expect me to answer when he gave me two options and both were the same? This was probably one of humans’ hy…hypothetical questions.

  He let out a long breath. “You totally need to take one of those romance classes. To her, it looked like you were interested in her at first, but then later you think she’s not good enough for you, so you ditch her.”

  I scrunched up my nose. From the many spelling words I memorized, I remembered the word ‘ditch’. It meant: a narrow channel dug in the ground, typically used for drainage alongside a road or the edge of a field.

  I was about to get a brain cramp.

“Did you ask her out on a movie because you were interested in her?”

“What do you mean ‘interested in’?”

Jackson pressed his lips together. “I feel like I'm talking to a nine year old who doesn’t know what flirt means. Interested in means you feel like she’s a potential girlfriend.”

  I do know what flirt means, thanks to Rezia.

 “No,” I said immediately and honestly. “She just seemed nice. I felt extremely pressurized to say that because she was obstructing the doorway of the classroom and looked like she expected me to say something like that. And when I said let’s go for a movie, she looked pleased. She is so confusing.”

  Jackson breathed out. “Oh, boy. You know what? Let’s just go to Geography. We’re about two minutes early. Ms.-“

   When he had halfway opened the door, Jackson stood rooted to the spot, his mouth half open. “Oh,” he merely said, blushing for the two people in the Geography lecture hall.

  James had Rezia to a wall, holding her- and kissing her. 

I calmly walked over to the two of them, while Jackson still hovered at the doorway. Breathlessly, James and Rezia drew away from each other, hearing my footsteps. Rezia immediately ran out of the class, hiding her face behind a curtain of her hair.

  James looked sheepish. “Hey, actually-“

Before anything, I punched him square on the face.