drew barrymore. | a short story

0.1 | 9:53 AM

solana:

there was word going around the school about a graduation party for the rising senior class from this year. juniors were invited too, just no sophomores or freshmen.

i had a good mind just to skip out on it, though i usually went to parties when i had the chance. if she wasn't going then i just planned to go over megan's house and stay in with her.

i was taking my psychology book out of my locker when jacques tapped the back of my locker door and swung around to look at me. "sunny," he said, cheesing at me.

"hi jacques," i said.

"where you going?" he asked.

"where else would i would i be going at 10 am?" i asked. he chuckled and grabbed my psych textbook as i put my textbooks back in order and i thanked him.

though i had known jacques since we were in 7th grade, jacques and i had fooled around over the summer, but before school started, i had broken things off to focus on my grades. it was kind of pointless because we still messed around here and there.

"you should come to that party for the seniors," jacques said, walking with me down the hall.

"i didn't plan on going," i admitted.

strangely enough, everybody had accidentally found out that me and jacques had fooled around over the summer when he posted us laid up, our faces cropped out. somehow, everybody just knew it was me. we had cleared our names, saying that we weren't messing around and the news died faster than an iphone 5s battery.

"why not?" he asked, grabbing my other book out of my hand.

i chuckled at his gesture. "i don't think your girls gon like this," i said. deep down, i was saying it out of spite because i was irritated at the fact that i, and several other people, knew that jacques talked to more than one person. when i confided in megan about it, she had told me that it was only because he was experiencing "withdrawal" and that seemed to be his only coping method. i don't know where she was going with it and i wasn't about to question it either.

jacques chuckled. "my girls?" he said, looking at me.

"yes. your little love triangles." i said.

"oh, sunny, sunny, sunny." he said, jokingly. jacques was quite literally the only person that called me sunny. in fact, he'd been calling me sunny for so long that i didn't like anyone else calling me it.

"don't patronize me, jacques." i said, shaking my head.

"it's aight, sunny, you been the love of my life," jacques cooed and i smiled.

"i love the way you lie," i said, sarcastically.

"but, they know wassup. ain't a problem," he said.

"yeah, yeah," i responded as we neared my first period class.

"hey, you should come to that party wimme. be my plus one." he said.

"is that gon be okay with your plus twenty something?" (HUSH IT'S NOT INTENDED TO BE A PUN) i said, raising an eyebrow.

he groaned dramatically. "who cares," he said.

"me," i said.

"they'll live. it's about my sunny tonight," he said.

i was unable to hide my smile. "alright, fine. i'll tell megan i'm going." i said, grabbing my textbook and my notebook from him.

"bet," he said cheesing.

"oh, calm down," i said.

"see you later, sunny. love you, chick." jacques said, kissing me on the forehead and walking towards his class at the end of the hall. i watched him contently and walked into the classroom.

"i saw that shit," megan said, as i approached the back of the classroom.

"who didn't?" i said, sitting down. "everybody knows me and jacques were fooling around at one point."

"girl, you know he got his damn," megan paused to say "'girl squad!'" cheerily.

"they know about us too. it's not like we serious or anything. say we just old friends in a complicated situation." i said.

"look, i'm not judging y'all. i'm just saying. watch out for him." megan said.

"i understand, meg." i said.

"you going to the graduation party?" megan asked.

now that megan had made it known that she still wasn't too fond of jacques (as she usually did) i wasn't sure if i wanted to tell her that i was going with him.

"yeah," i replied, opening my notebook.

"i'll go with you," megan said.

"okay," i said. i'd just find jacques later that day and tell him to meet me and megan at the party.

as class began, i felt my phone vibrate. i looked down at it under my desk. jacques had sent a picture of me and him at my 12th birthday party. jacques was clutching a red huggie, cheesing with his eyes closed and a party hat on, and i was fixing my own party hat, the wide framed glasses i had, resting on the tip of my nose, cake icing on my chin.

i smiled at the picture and sent him an "awww" and tucked my phone back into my pocket.