Chapter 14 #2
“Then you just haven’t found the right one.”
“You only watch telenovelas while eating conchas for breakfast,” he countered, making her laugh.
“Maybe you don’t even have to look that far.”
I couldn’t help but wonder what was going through Carmen’s head and how she could be so affectionate toward him.
“She’s a ball and chain. And now she’s going out with William.”
The silence that fell between those four walls was heavier than a boulder.
“Oh, how’s he doing?” she asked after a pause.
“I’d say good, but as usual that would be bullshit.”
Were they talking about the same guy I’d gone out with last night?
“I’m sure, Edward. I know that deep, deep down you’re a good guy,” she concluded in a friendly tone.
“Deep, deep down, huh? So can I smoke?”
“Of course not. Get lost and don’t hurt yourself again!”
As I heard those words, I bolted down the hallway like a lunatic, reached the classroom door, and took a deep breath. The teacher greeted me cordially as I walked in, not acknowledging my lateness.
I quietly sat in the first empty seat I found, right next to Amelia. She kept staring at me, stunned.
“Where were you? I couldn’t wait for you to get here.”
“My alarm didn’t go off,” I muttered, rummaging through my backpack for my chemistry notes.
“So?” She stared at me cheerfully, waiting for an answer.
“So what?”
“Your date with William! How’d it go?”
James walked into the classroom, and I instinctively looked down.
He was wearing the hoodie again and swaggered in front of the teacher without even looking at him.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw him sit at the second-to-last bench next to Sammy, but he didn’t even bother to pull out a book or notebook.
Instead, he sprawled in the seat with his eyes glued to his phone, as if he wasn’t at school.
“Is everything okay with Will?” I whispered, but the teacher caught me in the act.
“Miss White, do I have to remind you that you came to class an hour late today?”
“Um, sorry. I just . . .”
I wasn’t slow on the uptake, but lying wasn’t my forte.
“I don’t care about your excuses, but could you tell me why you even bothered showing up to class if you’re so disinterested in the lesson?”
“No, well . . .”
“Do you have a pass?”
“Not really, but I was . . .”
“Where were you, Miss White?”
The class sat in icy silence. The chemistry teacher wasn’t famous for his sympathy. In fact, he was known for being a big pain in the neck.
“It’s my fault, teach.” James’s voice cut the silence, leaving me speechless. “I made her late.”
Right then, I interpreted it as him trying to come to my rescue, but when I turned around, I saw the smirk on his face, indicating that he wanted to make me pay.
Brian whirled around to glower at me as Amelia shot me a less-than-reassuring look.
The teacher started to reprimand James, but I could only focus on listening to Amelia.
“Are you nuts?”
Her thin lips trembled and her pupils shrank like two pinheads. She seemed furious.
“It’s not what it sounds like.” I tried to justify my actions.
“No, June, you’re not taking the situation seriously. Come to my house this afternoon,” she said, grabbing her phone, hidden in her pencil case.
My phone vibrated. It was a message from the group chat.
Amelia: Everyone at my house today, squad meeting
>> <<
That afternoon, I had to fight a little harder. Normally, my mom would never object to an afternoon of studying with classmates, but due to recent events, she wasn’t buying it. Finally, I pulled the I’m new and I need help card, and she gave in.
She brought me to Amelia’s, and I had a knot in my stomach during the entire ride over. I didn’t like lying, and I’d lost count of the number of lies I’d told since I moved to Laguna Beach.
“I’ll come get you in two hours,” she warned me.
The Hoods’ house wasn’t a little town house like ours. It was a freestanding home with a wooden porch and a big backyard. It was surrounded by plants and framed by big trees with foliage resting on the perfectly plastered outside walls.
Amelia met me at the door. She wore dark leggings, a black crop top, and plush slippers.
It was a casual outfit, but looked anything but on her.
Her thin body was always perfect. Everything looked good on her.
I didn’t notice as much of a difference when we were in our uniforms, but now, wearing my oversized T-shirt and equally baggy jeans, the comparison was brutal.
We passed a big living room. Through the windows, I noticed gardeners working outside as two women were sweating over the stove.
“My brother is gonna study at Blaze’s,” Amelia told me without much enthusiasm.
Brian and Amelia didn’t seem like they were particularly smiley; in fact, I’d be shocked if I found photos of them happy and carefree in the hallways. The house seemed like it didn’t have any family memories in it, which gave me a weird feeling.
Poppy and Ari were already there. Poppy hugged me while Ari offered me a cupcake from a tray. Being the foodie I was, the size of the cupcakes stood out immediately. They were too small. “Did you make them?” I asked, sitting cross-legged on the carpet.
Ari nodded with a vaguely disappointed look as I glanced around.
It was the first time I’d been in Amelia’s room, and it seemed like it belonged to a high schooler with Peter Pan syndrome.
A big stuffed Rainbow Dash towered over the bed, the walls were covered with snapshots of special moments, and the bookshelf was studded with Disney stickers and many young adult books.
I felt a little jealous.
Her whole life was there. It just took one look to get a good idea of Amelia’s childhood.
I compared myself to her again. I was reduced to bringing just a few pieces from my last year to the next place, and every time we moved I lost a little part of me.
I hadn’t kept any of the stuffed animals I’d played with as a kid, and I couldn’t even remember the small bedroom that I’d had before my parents divorced.
“I actually made them for Brian, but he left them in the kitchen without even looking at them,” complained Ari.
They were so tiny that I could eat the first one in one bite.
I wanted another. But the other girls didn’t seem interested in eating.
Poppy sat on the bed painting her nails as Amelia roamed around looking for a bobby pin.
She ended up putting her hair in a bun and positioned herself in the middle of the room.
“Okay, cut the bullshit. I called you here to talk about a very specific subject,” she thundered solemnly. “James.”
“Who gives a shit about James? Did it go well with William?” Ari interrupted, turning to me.
I’d just taken a bite into another cupcake. “Yeah,” I replied laconically, after I finished chewing. But she wasn’t happy with my short answer.
“And?”
Amelia stretched her arms out, waiting. They clearly wanted details.
“Did you kiss?” pressed Ari.
“Was it a peck, tongue, did you get a hickey?” inquired Poppy, piggybacking off Ari.
I looked at her confused while Amelia motioned for her to drop it.
“Um, I think we were about to kiss. But then James—”
I didn’t need to say any more. The girls exchanged knowing looks.
“He had to spend the night hovering over William, didn’t he?” asked Amelia.
I nodded dejectedly. “We had to pick him up at this awful place. But he said he wanted to see me again. William, I mean.”
Their worried expressions changed, and I could’ve sworn that I saw a glint of happiness in them.
“Someone’s into our June,” commented Ari, putting a bit of lip balm on. Her tone was cryptic. A minute ago she seemed enthusiastic; now she seemed almost bored. Meanwhile, I wiped my lips with the back of my hand, which was anything but ladylike.
“But I don’t know if William’s actually interested in me.” I groaned.
They ignored that part. Amelia went back to her initial question.
“James. Tell me about him, where’d he take you?”
“We went somewhere awful, I don’t know what it was called. Someone beat him up. Didn’t you see how roughed up he was at school today?”
She started biting her nail as her expression became increasingly concerned.
“He definitely owes someone money,” Poppy said.
“I don’t think James would get into a fight over money. Knowing how vain he is, there has to be another reason,” countered Amelia.
“What if . . .” Poppy began.
Judging by Ari’s glare, Poppy was about to go down a slippery slope.
“So do you want to go out with Will again or not?” Amelia changed the subject, catching my attention again.
“Yeah.”
Why wouldn’t I?
“They didn’t wanna tell me anything,” I added, going back to James. “But I got the impression that James got involved with some sketchy people. Of course, it’s all rumors, right?” I asked a bit apprehensively.
I wanted them to spill the tea. Should I really be afraid of someone like that?
“June, you don’t know him,” replied Amelia.
“And trust me, it’s better that way. Because you don’t want to be around him when he’s mad,” Poppy pointed out.
“You’re exaggerating,” I said.
But they didn’t take it lightly.
“He put my brother in the hospital,” Amelia said.
“He almost killed a guy when he was sixteen,” Poppy let slip. The other two were getting upset. Their eyes widened and they stopped blinking.
“What? You’re kidding, right?” I asked.
Poppy turned away as soon as she realized what she’d said, but it was too late now.
“Poppy!”the other two girls admonished her in unison.
“Are you serious?” I didn’t bother to hide my disbelief.
“Yeah. With a wrench.”
Poppy mentioned this so casually that I understood that she wasn’t lying.
“Poppy, enough!” This time Amelia yelled, and her face contorted into a grimace that looked exactly the same as Brian’s tormented expression.
“What’d I say?” The blond fluttered her eyelashes innocently as I brought my hands to my face.
“Oh my god.”
“That doesn’t matter.” Amelia cut me off.
“What happened with you two?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? You were together and now you hate him.”