american safehouse

1.

[01]
what about camilla?

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SIDNEY Chabot and Jasper Blakesley were best friends. And they were closer than most people that went to Exeter Academy, even if the duo had only known each other for four months.

"I'm telling you," Sidney began through a mouthful of lettuce as he punctured a cherry tomato with his fork. He pointed his tomato towards Jasper. "She's gorgeous. She gave me her number and she wanted me to come over tonight."

Jasper let out a small laugh and shook his head. Sidney had been talking about a girl he kept seeing come to his hockey games. Apparently she was wearing a Mark Messier New York Rangers jersey whenever she came and always cheered really loudly when Sidney scored a goal.

Jasper could almost understand the feeling. Almost.

Jasper looked at Sidney as he finally ate the cherry tomato. Sidney had floppy brown hair that sat atop his head like a rat's nest. His eyes looked like chocolate, but when the sunlight hit them just the right way, they looked like a freshly made penny. He was tall and his legs had so much muscle that you could see the definition even through his two-inches-too-short black slacks. Sidney Chabot was a six-foot-four, 203-pound masterpiece of a man that any girl — or guy — would be happy to have.

Jasper couldn't understand it.

Jasper then looked at himself, the best he could without seeming too conceded to everyone around him. It was no hope though, the two boys stuck out like a sore thumb. They were sitting in a booth next to a window facing outwards to the street in an old 60s-style diner. Both of them were wearing parts of their deconstructed school uniforms, their shirts being unbuttoned maybe just a little too low for the young teenage girls sitting in the booth behind Jasper. He could practically smell the butterflies in their stomachs.

Jasper took a bite of his sandwich. It was the first he had taken all lunch. He chewed it slowly, slower than he should've. He counted each time his bottom teeth met his top teeth.

Twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight...

He even took a sip of his Cherry Coke once he got to thirty-three. It made his sandwich taste weird. Turkey, cheddar, and artificial cherry didn't mix well together. On top of all that, the amount of sugar in the drink made it feel like his teeth were melting.

Forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six.

He finally swallowed his bite of sandwich.

"So," he said. Jasper set his sandwich down on his plate. "What's this girl's name?"

Sidney stopped chewing his salad and looked at the window. His Adam's apple bobbed slowly as he swallowed. "I'm not sure," he said, setting his fork down. "Her name in my phone is just 'Mark Messier.'"