Chapter 3 Meet Your Poster Boys
Meet Your Poster Boys
I only have one class to finish, and it’s almost as bad as PE. Biology. Not the subject itself but the idiot who teaches it.
I go to my locker to clean it up since I want to get out of school as soon as the last class finishes. Allison stands beside me, very inside her head.
“You know, I was talking to Jake and-”
“No.”
She raises her eyebrow, and I take a break from getting the pictures of my family from my locker door.
“But I didn’t even finish.”
“I know, but no good comes from talking to Jake West.”
Surprisingly, she doesn’t push it, and I just continue to clean my locker. When I’m nearly done, I hear voices very close to me, on the other side of the locker. I keep the door open so Allison and I don’t have to interact with them.
“Will you text me?” A female voice is heard, and great, another lovey-dovey couple, either about to break up or about to promise that they love each other forever and always.
I very secretly love it, though.
I’m pathetic, I know.
“I don’t know, I’m going to be busy…” A familiar voice excuses, making me snort loudly. Too loudly.
I curse myself and close my eyes, as if maybe they would forget I’m here.
The two of them stop, and I slowly take my head out of the locker and look sideways, from where the voices came.
“Do you have something to say?” The girl asks me.
“Nothing, I was about to leave.” I shrug, turning to my books.
“No, I insist.” She presses.
“It’s just- He doesn’t even know your name, let alone text you…” I respond honestly and sharply, causing Allison to snort.
“Hmm, why wouldn’t he know my name? Tell her.”
She turns to him with a certainty that is about to be wiped off her face. He looks trapped. Oh, how I love that look…
“It’s Ra…” He starts, but she cuts in, mad.
“Bella. Asshole.” She tells him. “Thank you.” She turns to me before walking away, and I sigh.
“Poor unfortunate soul.” I let out, turning to my locker with a smile brewing on my face. What? I just saved that girl from a huge summer heartbreak.
“Yeah, yeah, okay, Ursula. How did you even know I didn’t know her name?” West leans against the lockers, and I shut mine.
“Eh, I figured it was 50/50.”
“I’m impressed you didn’t even need to look to know it was me.” He smirks, and I let out a dry laugh.
“Your voice has this touch of obnoxious and self-entitled that, to my dismay, I can recognize anywhere. Oh, and those lame excuses are kind of your trademark.”
“A win is a win.” He pushes himself off the lockers and goes in the direction of our Biology class, but I still call him.
“How are you even breathing without your jock pack behind you?” I cross my arms and level him with a raised eyebrow.
“To the contrary of the belief of this school, I don’t need anyone’s help to breathe.” His eyes light up, and I suppress a sigh. “Well, maybe except for you. You could help me if you want.”
My cheeks burn up, and I take a step back, suddenly feeling very out of breath myself.
“Not even if you were the last man on Earth.”
“Another day, another wound. You know, someday you’ll regret your words, and I’ll be the first to rub it in your face.”
“Don’t expect it to be anytime soon.”
“Ah, but there is a possibility. I knew it…”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night, idiot. Besides, you didn’t answer my question… Where are they?”
He gives me a clueless look, and I close my eyes.
“The Brady Bunch, who do you think?”
“Why do you wanna know? Got a crush, Brown?” He suddenly turns more serious. Still a joker but with a serious undertone.
“It’s impossible to have a conversation with you, West.”
“Riden headed early to practice, Graham is probably behind the gym with some cheerleader, and Aaron- Well, he disappears sometimes, I don’t really know what he’s doing. Everything you needed?”
“Ah, so you can be serious for once.”
To be honest, I’m just annoying him because I know the last people he would want to see me with were his best friends.
The jock pack — or moron pack — as I usually call them.
Not because they’re bad people, just because it fits the jock stereotype and West is in it.
But overall, they’re actually pretty level-headed for teenage boys.
Add that to the fact that they all look straight out of a 2000s teen drama, like One Tree Hill or Gilmore Girls, and you have boyfriend material right there.
You have Riden, the blonde, shy surfer boy, who usually keeps to himself and is the voice of reason in the group.
He’s like Scott McCall, overall sweet, supposed to be the main character, but surprisingly underrated within his group and in the shadow of his best friend.
Then Graham, the most preppy rich boy who’s walked this public school, but in spite of that, is the kindest and humblest, like a Disney prince, with straight white teeth, killer brown hair, and the perfect fit of a high school football player.
He’s Nate Archibald, but physically, a Ken.
Then Aaron. Dirty blonde, a scar on his brow, and an attitude and sarcasm to match it, along with his clothes looking like he stepped out of Step Up.
Jess Mariano kind of guy. And lastly, but according to the female and somewhat male population of this school, no less important, Jacob West. In pop culture, he’d be the lovable flirty goofball, aka the side character who every girl would fall for, and apparently, that reached my school.
On paper, he should be Stiles Stilinski, but in reality, he’s Logan Huntzberger.
Somehow, he’s the most sought-after, and believe me, the other three are very popular.
Basically, they’re this stunning group of high school football players with their own individual charm and personality, who met in primary school and decided to keep each other.
“Brown, you know I love when we come for each other’s throats, and maybe I’d like that more realistically,” I glare intensely at his insinuation.
“But unlike you, I understand the concept of being on time. Ladies…” He nods and walks away before I can say anything, and Allison and I stare at his back, her with an annoying smirk and me with hatred in my eyes.
“You’re sooo gonna date.” She laughs beside me, and I roll my eyes.
“I would never date Jake West.” I hiss, and to my surprise, she says the same thing at the same time, imitating me.
“That must be the first never I have ever heard you say.” She shrugs and says goodbye.
I spend two more seconds looking at West’s long silhouette and say inside my head.
The first never is probably the most dangerous.
I shake my head and head into Biology. And spend the following class dying internally.
Mr. Lace is the kind of middle-aged teacher who thinks that giving a school subject on the last day is fine. He’s also Voldemort in disguise.
“And that is finished.” He finishes another theme only to go to another. Or so he thought.
Two people who were talking in the back interrupt him with their conversation, and his eye starts twitching.
“Mr. West, credits will be taken right now if you continue your conversation.” The teacher annoyingly warns.
“Do I get credit if I pretend I care?” He responds from the back of the classroom.
The class bursts into laughter. A real comedian, this one. Great. Encourage him, that’s exactly what he needs.
I look behind and see a girl glued to him, looking at him all googly-eyed, their desks dangerously close. I then look at him, and he looks at me and winks.
An ironic smile takes control of my lips, and I flip him off.
“And Ms. Brown would also like her credits to be taken.” Mr. Lace says, with an evil grin on his face.
“Oh no.” I sarcastically say, without even a hint of emotion.
I’m sick of him. I never did anything to him, and he picked on me ever since day one. Somebody talked, Ms. Brown’s fault; somebody died, Ms. Brown’s fault. Honestly.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Brown, but you will have to talk louder.”
Oh, now he wants me to talk.
“I said, it appears that Mr. Lance needs to get his stick out of his ass.”
Is what I could have said, but I’m too scared to do so.
And fortunately for me, I didn’t even need to say anything to Mr. Lace because things went badly anyway. Why? I just had the unfortunate luck of West being born. He threw small paper balls at my hair for the rest of class, and when I finally did turn around and told him to stop, Mr. Lace…