Authors: Kels Barnholdt
“Hello there, Karli,” Mr. Lewis says, looking down at her. Karli is now sitting again, smiling up at Mr. Lewis as if nothing is wrong.
Mr. Lewis is our regular lunch monitor so I can only assume he must know Karli isn’t in this lunch. Karli has the type of presence that makes it impossible not to notice her whenever she’s in a room.
“Oh hi,” she says sweetly. “Now, you might have noticed that I’m here with you in lunch today when I’m normally not.”
Mr. Lewis nods as if this thought had indeed crossed his mind.
“But you have nothing to worry about, Mr. Lewis,” Karli continues. “Everything is fine.”
“Well, um, okay...” Mr. Lewis nods, sounding a little unsure. “What do you mean by fine?”
Karli sighs. “I have a broken heart.”
Mr. Lewis looks a little taken aback, as if this was the last thing he expected to hear out of Karli’s mouth. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.”
Karli nods sadly. “I know. Everyone is. It’s my own fault, really. My mom told me a long time ago, don’t ever trust a guy with a tattoo. But did I listen? Of course not.”
I look on in complete and total shock as Karli goes on and on about the pain she’s going through. I’ve known Karli just as long as I’ve known Alexa, so you would think I would be used to her games by now. I’m not, though. Every time she gets away with something like this I’m still in complete awe of her. I mean, the story is clearly complete bullshit. Karli in no way, shape, or form has a broken heart. Yet here she is once again tricking a teacher into giving her what she wants. And somehow it’s working.
Mr. Lewis slowly backs away from the table, an expression on his face that’s halfway between sympathy and fear.
That’s the thing about Karli. Although teachers always seem to start out happy to see her, things quickly take a drastic turn for the worse. That’s because Karli is a lot to handle for long periods of time. So usually you just want to get away from her as fast as possible.
“Well, that sounds awful,” Mr. Lewis says, still looking pained. “Why don’t I just forget that I ever saw you here at all? It will be our little secret.”
He tries to get away from her so fast that he’s not paying any attention to where he’s going and backs right into a girl, practically pushing her over. “Oh,” he says surprised, as their bodies make contact, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you.”
He trails off as the girl walks past him. She runs her hands over her skirt and I feel like every pair of eyes are on her as she walks through the café, swinging her hips back and forth as she goes. Her skirt is white and the shortest thing I have ever seen.
That could be because her legs are so long though, not to mention so tan. There’s no way that she doesn’t go to a tanning bed. Her yellow shirt hangs low, revealing way too much. And her black heels are about twelve inches high. Her curly blonde hair is big and crazy. She commands the room.
Karli nods as our eyes follow her. “Now she,” she says happily, “has sex appeal.”
The girl’s walking straight toward the front of the caf now, which shouldn’t concern me at all. Except for the fact that it does. Because standing there, smiling happily at her as she pulls him in for a hug, is my boyfriend.
***
Her name is Carmen. Definitely a sexy name. Which makes sense, since everything else about her is so appealing. Why wouldn’t her name be sexy?
I know her name because thirty seconds after she wraps her arms around my boyfriend’s neck, Alexa’s cousin Michelle sits down with us.
“Oh, I didn’t know Carmen was back,” Michelle says.
Like it’s the most natural thing in the world for Carmen to be back. Not a big deal at all. Except for the fact that it is a big deal. Because Austin’s laughing with her like she just said the funniest thing in the history of the world. She places her hand on his shoulder as she talks and my stomach feels like it might explode.
Relax, I tell myself. This clearly means nothing. Austin has a very attractive friend. So what? I’m his girlfriend.
“Who’s Carmen?” I ask, trying to sound as casual as possible.
Michelle pops the top off her iced tea and takes a long sip before answering. “Oh, you know Carmen. She went here for all of freshman year and then moved the summer before we became sophomores. She must have moved back.”
I look down and try to study Carmen’s face for any trace of recognition. But it’s no use. I don’t remember ever seeing her or having any classes with her when I was a freshman. But that would make sense, since I didn’t even know who Austin was back then. Of course I wouldn’t remember her either since she’s clearly his friend or something.
Alexa reaches across the table and gives my hand a little squeeze. “I’m sure it’s nothing,” she whispers.
I force a smile. That’s what makes Alexa such a good friend. I can have a huge smile on my face and seem completely fine to everyone else in the room, but she always knows when something is wrong. She knows me that well.
“Thank you,” I whisper back as she grins at me.
I replay what Alexa said in my head all day long, and then again after school. I’m still trying to tell myself that she’s right as I pack my book bag with the books I’ll need for my homework that night. As I’m kneeling down searching for my math notebook I look up and see Austin grinning down at me.
“Now don’t get me wrong,” he says playfully, “I love being taller than you, but this might be pushing it just a little bit.”
I stand up and roll my eyes. “You aren’t that much taller than me.”
He laughs. “Do you call four inches not that much?”
“Be nice to me,” I pout.
“Oh, poor baby.” He smiles and pulls me toward him, kissing me deeply. “So listen,” he says as he pulls away, “I don’t think I’m going to be able to come over tonight.
The coach just called some meeting after practice and I have to swing home quick to drop off my car so my dad can change the oil. Carmen’s just going to give me a ride home later.”
Don’t panic. Don’t panic. Don’t panic.
I steady my hand as I reach down and pick my backpack up off the floor. “Is Carmen some new player on the team?”
He looks a little uncomfortable for a second, but then it passes.
“No,” he says. “Actually, she’s our team manager. She helps the coach keep track of all our games, stats, practices, that type of stuff.”
“Oh,” I say in a neutral tone. “Is she in our grade?”
“Yeah, but she moved to New York City for the last year. She just came back so you might not know her.”
“Oh,” I say nodding. “Yeah, that makes sense.”
He grabs his phone out of his pocket and glances at the time. “I better go. But I’ll call you later, okay?”
I smile and he leans in for a quick kiss. And then he’s gone.
Only Austin doesn’t call me after his practice. Or after his meeting. In fact, he doesn’t call me all night. And at around 11:30, I finally give in and force myself to fall asleep.
Chapter Three
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” Alexa says as she takes a sip of her coffee. “Maybe he was just tired and fell asleep or something.”
We’re at Starbucks the next morning, getting coffee before school. We were almost out of the coffee shop, and on our way to school, when Karli decided she wanted a bagel. So we had to get in line all over again. I’m trying not to let it bother me that Austin never called me last night. But it’s just not like him. I always hear from him after practice. If he doesn’t call, he at least always texts. But not last night. Last night I got nothing.
“Are you kidding?” Karli exclaims. “You should definitely jump to conclusions.
That girl is a sexpot.”
Alexa rolls her eyes. “No, she’s not. You don’t even know what sexpot means.”
Karli shrugs. “Well, no way in hell would I trust my boyfriend with her.”
“You don’t have a boyfriend,” Alexa points out.
Karli opens her mouth to say something, but then stops and lets her eyes travel over Alexa’s shoulder toward the door.
“It’s Mark,” she announces happily.
Alexa and I turn to follow her gaze and see Mark Williams walking into Starbucks. Mark’s a senior and the captain of the basketball team, which means he plays with Austin. I can’t say for sure, but I think Austin has mentioned going to his house a few times after practice. This could turn bad. And fast.
Karli’s now jumping up and down and waving him over. He grins as he walks toward us. It’s unbelievable to me. Karli’s only a sophomore and she knows more senior boys than I do.
“Karli,” I whisper, “what ever you do don’t say anything about—”
“We were just talking about how Carmen Michelle is a sexpot,” Karli says before I can stop her.
Wonderful.
Mark grins. “She definitely is.”
Mark is a little bit shorter than Austin with blonde hair and blue eyes. He’s wearing a navy blue t-shirt with a gray zip up over it and faded blue jeans. I wouldn’t say I know Mark exactly, but I’ve seen him around a few times. Like if I’m meeting Austin after practice or something. But I’ve never actually talked to him before.
Which is why I’m surprised when he turns to me and says, “You’re Austin’s girlfriend right?”
I find myself nodding.
He shakes his head. “Man, if I had a girlfriend no way would she be okay with me hanging out with Carmen.”
Oh, great. Mark’s just so helpful now isn’t he? I look at Alexa like, “Now do you see what I mean?” Carmen gave Austin a ride home and he never called me last night. Clearly something sketchy is going on here.
Alexa rolls her eyes like I’m being dramatic and tries to change the subject. “So Ash, how’s the studying coming for Spanish? Because Karli has barely opened her book all week.”
Karli and I are both on the brink of failing Spanish miserably. I’ve never really been good at it, but Karli’s actually pretty decent. Her problem is that she just doesn’t stop talking enough to ever pay attention to what she’s supposed to be doing. And we have this huge test in a few days that can pretty much make or break our grades before report cards come out.
I look down guiltily. “Well, I haven’t been studying a lot exactly.”
Alexa sighs. “If you get grounded for my birthday I won’t forgive you.”
Alexa’s birthday is next week and she’s convinced that if I don’t pass Spanish my parents won’t let me come to her party, which, if I’m being honest, they probably won’t.
But no way am I going to tell her that.
“You guys are having trouble in Spanish?” Mark asks.
“You have no idea,” I say.
He runs his hand through his hair and grins at me. “I actually spent this past summer in Spain. My whole family went. So, I pretty much have the whole Spanish thing down. If you guys need any help or anything…”
“Oh my gosh!” Karli’s practically drooling all over him now. “That would be amazing.”
“Cool,” he says nodding. “What about today after school? I have a little time before practice.”
Karli looks like a kid in a candy store. “Great.”
Mark then turns his attention to me. “Ashley, you in?”
I hesitate for a second. I don’t really know Mark that well. But, Karli will be with me. Plus, I really do need help in Spanish. I’m already stressed out about the Austin and Carmen stuff. The last thing I need is to worry about failing Spanish too. My parents would flip out for sure.
“I’m in,” I tell him.
“Good,” he says as a smile spreads across his face. “Now I know Jason is here somewhere.” Oh, good, the whole basketball team seems to be popping up, just what I was hoping for. “I better find him. I’ll meet you in the library after school, okay?”
“Can’t wait!” Karli calls as she flips her hair over her shoulder.
All Karli talks about on the drive to school is how sexy Mark is. Normally it would be amusing to listen to her go on and on about how hot he is, but I’m way too busy obsessing over the Austin situation to even care.
By the time we get to school I’m feeling much better about the situation. Alexa must be right – I mean, there’s no way Austin would purposely not call me. He most likely fell asleep or something.
I’m walking upstairs toward my locker and just starting to feel better when I swing open the doors at the top of the hallway and spot Melissa and Carmen standing by Melissa’s locker. As soon as they lay eyes on me they look at each other and start laughing. And suddenly I’m feeling horrible again.
***
I practically run to my gym class. Once I’m in the locker room I change into my shorts and tank top as quickly as possible. Melissa’s in this class and I don’t want to give her the chance to get under my skin anymore before I see Austin.
I’m glad I rushed because when I walk into the gym a few minutes later I see Austin, just as I assumed I would. He always gets to gym as early as possible so he and his guy friends can shoot around before class starts.
He’s just going for a three point shot when he spots me. He releases the ball from his hands as it sails through the air and goes through the net perfectly. He grins and runs over to me.
“I only made it because you were watching,” he says, kissing me softly on the lips. I immediately relax. See, everything is fine, I tell myself.
“So what happened to calling me last night?” I ask him, trying to sound like it didn’t bother me, even though it did.
“I’m sorry. I meant to text you before I went to sleep. The team ended up going out for pizza after our meeting. I pretty much got home, showered, and passed out. I was beyond tired.”
“Oh, okay,” I say, nodding. “I figured it was something like that.”
A look of concern comes over his face. “You aren’t upset about it, are you?”
I don’t meet his eyes. “I was a little, but I’m over it.”
“I’m sorry, babe,” he says rubbing my shoulder. “I will definitely call you tonight. I promise.”
“Okay,” I say, smiling. “I kind of wanted to talk to you about something.”
“What’s up?” he says, pulling me over closer to the wall. A bunch of kids start coming into the gym from the locker room now.
I don’t really know how to say what I need to say without sounding jealous, because I’m not. Okay, well maybe I am a little bit jealous, but I’m really worried, too. I mean, from the looks of it Melissa and Carmen really aren’t the best combination. I feel like they’re up to something, and ever since I saw them this morning I’ve had a really bad feeling.