The Plan Gone Wrong

Chapter 9

*Just a fair warning—there's a small part in this chapter touching upon the topic of cancer so if it's a possible trigger for you, skip over the paragraph with a * before it.

Today had started off so surprisingly. William willingly asked to have dinner at my house. He asked me! That is something you don't come across every day. But this still seems too good to be true. I don't want to tell my mom that he's coming, but when I think about the outcomes, this whole dinner plan could go one of two ways. He either shows up, and I make a fool of myself by not telling my mom, or I tell her and make a fool of myself when he doesn't show up. Both are not good. Or if he is true to his word, there's a third outcome. I tell my mom, she cooks an extravagant meal, and he shows up. Let's hope that is happening.

The only problem is, I don't know if I want to risk telling my mother and her being left with disappointment. I have to make my decision and soon because Mom has been waiting for an answer and she will hound me until I give one to her.

I honestly have no clue what I should do, so I text the one person I know will have the answer for me—Joey. If anyone can think more logically than me, it's Jo. She is a genius at it's finest and will help me look at things more clearly. The Joey way.

When the bell rings, indicating it is nutrition break, Jo comes rushing to the library, and I catch her up on my current situation.

Since his arrival, Jo has pretty much been my only source of sanity. I would even go as far as to say that she despises Willy as much as I do—possibly even more. She knows just about everything going on in my life as much as I do about her's.

* She's had it rough. Her sister, Joana, is currently receiving chemotherapy for acute lymphocytic leukemia, and Jo even shaved her head to support Ana. It broke my heart when their family told mine the devastating news. I just remember holding Joey in my arms as we sat on her bed, crying together. It's still going rough for their family, but so far, everything with Ana's treatments seems to be going as smoothly as can be imagined when thinking about cancer. All we can do now is hope.

"And he offered to do it—by himself with no bribing or begging whatsoever—just like that; out of his own volition? I find that a little difficult to believe, keeping your last encounter in mind regarding a small food fight at lunch, but you know, that's just me," she shrugs. Tell me about it.

"He didn't just agree to it, he came up with the idea entirely. What do you think of this whole situation?" It's still taking me some time to process this fact. From my experience, Willy doesn't just suggest anything, let alone volunteer to do something that isn't hugely beneficial to himself—so, I don't know what to believe.

"If you want my opinion, all I got to say is that this sounds like the plot to some twisted fuckery if I've ever heard of it. The kid is the definition of what anyone with a functioning brain would call bullshit. Let's be real here, Ella, why even consider this when you know what he's like. You are at the forefront of this; of him and his—attack. Why do you all of a sudden think that he's changed his ways? People don't just change overnight. There is no plausible way that could be right—if anything you told me about him is true, he's trying to fuck this up for you—get back at you somehow. Don't fall for this act, El. You're going to end up getting hurt if you let things go his way." I know she's right, but this in no way is going to lead me to a solution on what to tell my mom. This is only advising me on what to do in general when it comes to the one who shall not be named, but right now, I need to focus on the issue at hand.