The Truth In My Lies

08

MADISON

KASSIE asked me to eat lunch with her in the cafeteria today. I invited Andrew to come along with us. I feel really awful for lying to him. He looked so relieved when I told him I didn't hook up with Kaiden last night. There's no possible way I could ever tell him the truth now.

Lucky for me, the cafeteria's special today is cheeseburgers and the choice of onion rings or fries as a side. I end up going with onion rings, but Andrew gets fries.

The cafeteria is mostly empty except for the few students actually eating and the rest have their laptops out, doing homework. Kassie's picked a table in the corner with not many people around. She smiles when she sees me, but her grin widens even more when she sees Andrew.

"I didn't know you were coming!" She smiles up at him first.

"Last minute decision." He shrugs and sits down at the table. I know he's not Kassie's biggest fan, but he's still nice to her for my sake.

"Last minute decisions usually make the best stories." She laughs. I've heard that before.

"How has your day been?" I change the subject. I don't want Kassie bringing up what happened with Kaiden last night considering I'm trying to keep that from Andrew.

She shrugs and opens up her La Croix. I don't know how she drinks that shit. "Boring. I've been texting Cameron all day though. I think he really likes me."

I let my hair out of my messy bun and attempt to redo it. It's giving me a headache, but my hair smells like weed and perfume. It's not a good combination.

Andrew looks at me. "What's that smell?"

My eyes widen. "What smell?"

"Smells like weed." He leans in closer to me. He definitely knows it's me who smells like it.

"Sorry!" Kassie laughs. "I may have smoked a little this morning. I had an exam this morning and I needed something to calm my anxiety."

I know she's covering for me.

Andrew gives her a confused look, but he quickly gets over it and takes a bite of his cheeseburger. I mouth, "thank you" to Kassie and she just nods her head.

"Anyway, guess what?" Kassie claps her hands. "Claire has been talking to one of Cameron's friends, so tomorrow night we're going on a double date!"

"What's his name?" I drag my onion ring through some ketchup. I'm happy for Kassie, but I can't help but feel kind of jealous. I'd like to go on fun group dates. Too bad I'm single.

"Jordan. He's nice, but he's not Claire's type. Well, I guess maybe he is, he just doesn't look it. He has a sleeve! Can you believe it? Claire dating someone with a sleeve?"

I've only had a few conversations with Claire, but she's definitely a goody-two-shoes. It's weird how Kassie and she get along so well considering they're polar opposites.

I raise my eyebrows. "No, I can't believe that."

"Okay, I think I'm gonna go. I need to run some errands before my next class." Andrew stands up from the table and gathers his trash. "You staying over tonight?" He looks at me.

I don't want to run into Kaiden. I don't even know what to say to him. He has a girlfriend and he's Andrew's roommate. Not to mention, he's a huge jerk. A jerk with great kissing skills. None the less, he's still a jerk and not someone I want to be around right now.

"I have a lot of homework to catch up on, so I think I'm going to stay in my dorm tonight. Maybe tomorrow though." I give him a small smile.

He just nods his head before walking off. Once he exits through the cafeteria doors, Kassie looks at me. I know she's about to ask me a million and one questions.