When I arrived at the center fountain in the middle of the school, I could immediately tell that something was up. I surveyed the scene, looking for any abnormalities. My two closest friends, Mia and Payton, sat on a park bench, texting on their phones and sipping lattes. I knew that they were waiting for me, and knowing that made me smile inside. Nishan, the school's brain, sat at a picnic table with his girlfriend/best friend Sakura, peering intently at a laptop screen, probably in the midst of a gaming tournament. Ezra, the biggest flirt at our school (and Payton's boyfriend), strummed a guitar and flirted with some club girls at the same time. Julian, the captain of the football team, was throwing a football back and forth while he tried to explain something to Autumn Brooks, his girlfriend and the number one freak at this school.
That's it, I realized. That was what was off about the scene today. When they first started dating, Autumn and Julian had always got along. And today I could detect the disagreement and hostility emanating off them in spades.
This is excellent, I mused to myself. A fight between Julian and Autumn would definitely bring what little popularity Autumn had from dating Julian down. I couldn't understand what all those guys saw in Autumn. She was ugly, whiny, selfish, and completely stank up the social scene here. Yet Julian, a douchebag college guy named Jack Carver, and my own boyfriend, Wes, all just loved her. I legitimately had no idea why.
I pretended to be immersed in my iPhone while I got closer to the feuding couple so that I could listen in without them noticing me.
"Autumn, I've wanted to go to this football camp for a while. Since my freshman year, actually. And now that I've been accepted, you can't be happy for me?" Julian asked indignantly.
"Julian, you just don't care. I've been going through so much lately and you just abandon me to go to some stupid football camp? You play football everyday at school!" Autumn cried.
"It's not a stupid football camp! Making the NFL All Stars Football program could open so many doors for me! There will be tons of college scouts there!" Julian argued back. "Have you forgotten that you're not the only one with dreams here?"
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to keep from laughing. Julian's last sentence matched my thoughts exactly.
"You know what? If your stupid football camp is more important than me, then forget it!" Autumn glared, her face contorted into an ugly mask of fury.
"Fine! We should take a break anyway! I don't need to be around someone who disregards the things that matter to me!" Julian roared.
"Fine!" Autumn stormed off.
I slipped my iPhone in the pocket of my white Joie cargos and prepared to leave. I had gotten enough dirt. Knowledge was power, and I certainly had the power to spin things my way. By the end of the day, Autumn Brooks would be deader than last season's Missoni handbag if I had anything to do with it.