Bang Plan

VIII

Sandy and I get a light dinner from Tatte Cafe on Monday evening. I came straight from my viola lesson in the music building, which I went to after practicing squash by myself, which I went to right after class. I've barely had a chance to relax today. I try to enjoy the marble tables and pretty black-and-white tiled floors, which provide a change of pace from Dirksland's beautiful but stifling dining hall.

"How'd it go without Mike?" Sandy asks, biting into her sandwich. I can tell she's dying to tell me about her time with Archie today, and I'm dying to know.

"It was fine," I tell her.

"Really? You don't miss him?" She jokes. We didn't see the boys on Saturday because they had some top-secret punch season activities at the Greene. Sandy and I hung out with our girl friends after brunch, and had a chill wine night where everyone asked her endlessly about Archie. I didn't go to Quinn's party, the one he told me about in the liquor store, for obvious reasons.

"Nope," I tell her, and the memories come back. Specifically, the ones where I tried to kiss Mike and hooked up with Quinn partially to make him jealous. Which Sandy doesn't know. I feel badly about that.

"Sandy, I haven't been honest with you," I tell her. I set down my cup. She looks at me quizzically, unsure of what's going to come out of my mouth next.

"I tried to kiss Mike," I tell her, ripping off the band-aid. Her jaw drops.

"Holy shit," she says, tipping her chair back.

"And I honestly hooked up with Quinn... Well, because I was horny. I would have done it for that reason alone. But also, um, partly because I wanted Mike to regret not kissing me," I admit, and cover my burning face with my hands.

"I don't even know what to say!" I feel myself turning redder, and I groan into my hands.

"I thought you were gonna say you like Archie or something," she snorts. "Mike is one of your least favorite people. It can't be because you have feelings for him. Or do you?" she asks cautiously, trying to put the pieces together.

"No, I don't have feelings. I had to keep distracting him so you guys could get away. It turned into, like, a game. It's always a stupid game, with him trying to figure out and interfere with the plan. That was the reason for the coke, and then I tried setting him up with a girl. Like, he is so stuck up ALL the time. I wanted to see if he could chill a bit, because that would make our lives so much easier," I explain with enough courage to uncover my face.

"I'll ignore that you lied and said that you did coke with him was for the sake of fun and not the plan. But, continue?" Sandy prompts.

"He rejected the girl, and then I distracted him with lines and dancing."

"Dancing? Like, grinding?" She asks, astonished.

"No! Sandy, what the fuck? It was fun dancing. Like jumping around," I glare at her, and continue. "Anyway, he got antsy, and I got desperate and impulsive. I don't like him, I never have. Sure, he's definitely good-looking, but he's kind of the worst."

"So you kissed him?"

"I did the whole thing, I went for it. He puckered up, too. I freaked out for a millisecond, and he noticed and yelled at me for trying to distract him from finding you guys."

"No way," she freaks out.

"Yeah. He even, like, grabbed my hips," I say, the image coming to my head. As if it wasn't already lodged in there like a splinter. It leaves an unpleasant taste in my mouth.

"And then you hooked up with Quinn as he watched," she says, blown away. I nod to confirm.

"That's crazy, Willa. Not to burst your bubble, but he didn't really react to you leaving with him."