DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Song is by Taylor Swift.
Hmm. I realized that I speak Valley Girl. Not the accent, but the words…like, so…I know, right?!
I felt really weird after finally figuring out that I speak valley girl. So I researched about my school. It was fun shouting at Wikipedia for getting some things mixed up :) And having out-dated pictures.
And then I remembered something about school.
That turned into a weird inspiration.
Wanna know the inspiration for this story?
MATH.
Yes, MATHEMATICS.
I was reading the math section, and then I remembered this quote my close friend told me. Yeah.
So, let's start?
u n t o u c h a b l e
Alicia Rivera walked down the crowded sidewalk, texting. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and she ended up bumping into something soft, yet hard. She looked up and saw a Spanish boy, with dark eyes and dark hair.
"Sorry," she said, blushing.
"It's fine," he said, walking away.
(*)
Dylan Marvil saw another cute couple.
And she wanted to kill them too.
This is all my mother's fault. My stupid mother, who really just had to keep up appearances. My stupid plastic mother who hated my boyfriend so much. What's wrong with her anyway? It's not like she was the one who had to date him. Plus, Chris is the best boyfriend anyone could ever ask for. He was sweet, he was respectful, he was a gentleman, he was everything I ever wanted. But nooo. My mother didn't like him because he wasn't "Hollywood material" and he "could never keep up with our lives." He was too normal for us. Whatever. Screw Hollywood. I'm not even going to follow in her footsteps. I don't want to live in the spotlight. I want a normal life. With Chris Plovert.
She angrily placed a dress back on its rack, earning her a couple of weird stares from her fellow shoppers.
(*)
"Your mother makes the best cookies in the world," Griffin Hastings said as he walked into Kristen Gregory's apartment. Kristen was sitting on the ground, watching She's The Man.
"They're in the kitchen. You know where," Kristen said, never taking her eyes off of the screen as she watched Amanda Bynes training herself to be a boy.
Griffin Hastings has been her best friend and neighbor since diaper days. They were so close, he never even bothered to knock on her door whenever he came over. Which he did every time. Her parents were almost his parents. They were like siblings.
But lately, Kristen's been thinking.
The only thing left for them to do is actually be together.
Not that she wanted that to happen.
Or maybe she did.
Or maybe she didn't.
She was very, very confused.
(*)
Alicia looked around the crowded mall, looking for no one in particular. She was just looking for the sake of looking.
Then she saw him.
He was Spanish, he was tall, he had brown eyes…he was basically hot. She followed his walking with her gaze, and suddenly she remembered.
He was the one I bumped a while ago!
In the split second it took for her to realize this, he was gone, and she couldn't see him again.
(*)
Dylan knocked on Chris Plovert's door, and stood on his threshold, waiting.
"Dylan?" he said once he opened the door. She knew he was shocked to see her; her mother practically forbade her from seeing him.
But she doesn't really care.
"Let's go out. Right now. Who cares what my mother thinks? We will spend the whole day together, never letting each other out of our sights," she said, waiting for his response.
Then he smiled.
And her heart melted all over again.
(*)
"You know, I still think that guy is stupid for never noticing that his roommate is a girl," Griffin said, Kristen's head on his shoulder.
"I love this movie!" Kristen exclaimed.
"Doesn't mean I have to," Griffin said, grinning cockily even though Kristen couldn't see his face. But she knows him so well, she knows that his cocky grin immediately follows comments like that.
"I want coffee," Kristen said, even though it's only the middle of the day. She stood up, paused the movie and went into the kitchen.
First she grabbed her cup, then the mug that Griffin liked. She poured espresso on each cup, put two spoonfuls of powdered cream into her milk, and two spoonfuls of sugar. She put another two spoonfuls of sugar into Griffin's cup, just the way he liked it.
She even knows how to make his coffee properly.
"You know what I just realized?" Kristen said as she handed Griffin his mug. She pressed play again before speaking. "You have the same last name as Amanda Bynes in the movie."
"Ha. Maybe I should dress up like a girl and go to cheer camp. Lots of girls," he said sarcastically.
"Shut up."
"Never."
(*)
Alicia linked arms with her best friend, Masse Block, as they walked into the crowded Starbucks together.
"And then?" Alicia asked, urging Massie to continue her story.
"And then, she was like, "Stay away from me, we're not friends anymore," or something like that, then Allie-Rose walked away, leaving Heather behind her to contemplate what she just did," Massie finished her story about their two classmates and what happened between them yesterday. "But, whatever. It was Heather's fault. She should stop making-out with seniors at every party, especially with her best friend's boyfriend. That's, like, stupid and bitchy."
"I know right?!" Alicia said, feeling the familiar rush new gossip brought her. "So not something a best friend should do."
"I know!"
They ordered their drinks and sat down on a cozy corner table, Alicia's elbows propped up on the table. She felt eyes staring at her and her best friend, but she was used to that. With her exotic looks and Massie's regal face, they attracted a lot of attention.
"So, we have to go to that Math convention tomorrow," Massie said.
"Yeah, I remember Mr. Caster telling us," Alicia said.
"I don't want to go," Alicia added.
"I know right?" Massie said.
"One caramel macchiato for Josh!" A barista lifted up a paper cup, and with Alicia's position, she could see the counter clearly.
The boy who stood up was the same Spanish boy from earlier today, along with his dark haired friend. He grabbed his cup and turned around, Alicia's eyes still trained on him.
Their eyes met for just the briefest moment, and then he was gone again.
(*)
"Mmm. I love mint chocolate chip," Dylan said. Her and Plovert were in the gazebo in the park, the spot where they met. They were sitting on the ground, not caring who saw them, and they were feeding each other mint chocolate chip ice cream from a pint.
"I know," Plovert said, smiling at her. "I know what else you love," he said.
"You?" she answered, smiling.
"Yes," he said. "But I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about a carnival."
"A carnival?" Dylan asked, getting excited.
"It's opening today."
When they arrived in the carnival, it just opened, so there wasn't much of a crowd. But crowd or not, Dylan still loved carnivals.
"Awesome, I'm good at this," Plovert said, stopping at a stall. It was a common, simple game. The one where you shoot each of the three tin cans using a pellet gun.
"A dollar only!" the middle-aged man said, handing Plovert a pellet gun. Plovert gave him the money, and shot the first tin can down. Then the second. Then the third.
"First winner of the day!" the man said. "Now, what would you like for your girlfriend?" he said. Plovert looked at Dylan for a second before saying, "The stuffed tiger."
Exactly what she wanted.
(*)
Kristen woke up with a start. The DVD was back to the main menu, and Griffin was asleep beside her. They were sleeping on the ground, leaning on the couch, Kristen's head on his shoulder, his head on hers.
She can only get away with a position this intimate with Griffin, and no one else. With Griffin, it feels comfortable, easy, natural. She knows that if she tried this with anyone else, it would feel weird and awkward.
But again, with Griffin, it's different.
It's always different with Griffin.
It's always better, it's always more meaningful. More comfortable. More natural. More…like she could do this every day.
Which, come to think of it, she has.
"Griffin. Wake up. The movie ended," Kristen said, lifting her head up, which, in turn, lifted his head up.
He shook his head awake, his dark brown hair unruly. His blue eyes were only half-open; he was still half-asleep.
"The movie ended?" he asked groggily.
"Yes. And I'm shocked that I fell asleep first," Kristen said, sticking her tongue out at him.
"Haha. How very funny," he said sarcastically.
[THE NEXT DAY]
Alicia stood with her classmates, looking around the large, circular lobby of the hotel where the Math Convention was held. She does not understand how people can even stand this place. It was the single most boring place she's been to. Alicia loved learning. She loved museums, lectures…she loved school. But she hated this.
She lazily looked around the room, spotting another school group from a different school. She scanned their faces, looking just as bored as her, complete with the get-me-out-of-here expression. She looked over a Spanish boy, then did a double take.
It was him again!
He seemed to be everywhere she went, and she took this as a sign that she should talk to him and finally meet him.
She covertly walked over to him, but then his group went away to another part of the lobby. She followed, but they only stayed for a minute, and when she reached that spot they were gone again.
After a few more tries, she finally caught up with them, but when she looked around, he wasn't there anymore.
She looked around, but the only people that really stood out to her was a redhead walking into the lobby, looking like she had no other thing to do, and a dirty blonde looking at her phone, looking stunned.
Past the redhead, she saw him, catching up to his classmates, heading out of the convention. She tried to follow, but it was too late. He was already out the door, the first one to leave. She wanted to go out, but one of her chaperones stopped her, saying, "Alicia, you can't go out. If you do, I will have to count it as truancy, and you'll be suspended."
Alicia stopped, right by the glass doors. She saw him climbing up the bus. The windows were tinted; she couldn't see him anymore.
She sighed.
Maybe some people were just never really meant to meet.
(*)
Dylan aimlessly walked on the sidewalk, as if in a trance. This morning, after hanging out the whole day and watching the stars the whole night, Chris Plovert told her that he was moving.
To New Zealand.
To freaking-halfway-across-the-world New Zealand.
She still couldn't believe it.
She loved Chris. She really did.
She broke all of her mother's rules against them, and only for him to tell her that he was moving.
After yesterday, she made up her mind to fight for them; to never give up against her mother; to be with him forever.
Now, he was moving.
All of her fights with her mother seemed pointless now, like fighting for a war you knew you couldn't win, losing all your defenses and still fighting, but in the end, you still lose, but for an entirely different reason, and the reason was the one thing you fought for.
Everything seemed pointless now that he was moving to freaking New Zealand.
She wasn't really mad at him; it wasn't his fault he had to move across the world. She wasn't mad at New Zealand. She had no right to be. She wasn't mad at her mother. For once, she had no involvement in this. She was mad at herself, for actually believing she had a chance, for fooling herself into thinking this could work. But more than herself, she's mad at Fate. She hates Fate. That bitch who seemed to take pleasure in her sorrow. That bitch who seemed to enjoy drowning her in misery. That bitch who played with her heart, threw it to the ground, and now, couldn't fix it.
That bitch.
She passed by a stationary school bus, and caught her reflection in the tinted glass windows. She looked like hell. She looked at the building in front of her, where a large banner shouted, "26th annual Math Convention."
She didn't care if it was a Math convention; it was held in the lobby of a hotel, and surely, there would be a bathroom there. She walked in, and the first thing she saw was a dirty blonde looking at her phone, stunned. The next person she saw was a Spanish looking girl, her eyes scanning the area, obviously looking for someone. After the Spanish girl, she didn't bother looking at anyone's faces anymore. She just headed straight for the restroom.
(*)
Kristen walked around the sidewalk, gripping her notebook. She had to go to this Math convention for extra credit, and she really wanted that extra credit. So no matter how boring Math conventions are to her, she had to go.
Her phone vibrated from her pocket, and she pulled it out. It was a text from Griffin. She saw a redheaded girl looking at her reflection using the dark tinted windows of a school bus as she slid open her phone.
Yo. I think I just met my soul mate. She's this girl I met in the mall, and we have a date tomorrow. If this goes well, I'll introduce her to you for your opinion, you know, you being my best friend and all.
She was shocked. She stared at her phone screen as she went in, not believing her eyes. She passed a Spanish looking girl who looked like she was looking for someone. Kristen's heart dropped, and she doesn't know why.
Or maybe she does.
Because she knows that deep down, she's always wanted to be Griffin's soul mate.
And she thinks they're perfect for each other. They've known each other since before they could walk. They did everything major together. They were partners, always inseparable.
Kristen has always thought they belonged to each other.
But maybe she was wrong, because, apparently, Griffin just met his "soul mate."
Her heart sank again, just thinking of those two words.
But she knows she should be happy for Griffin. She should be happy that he met a girl he liked, as more than a friend. Kristen was just a best friend.
A best friend.
The word echoes around her head, and she can't stop it. She just decides to go to the restroom, lock herself up in a cubicle, and let the tidal wave of emotions take her.
(*)
There were three girls in the bathroom; a brunette, a blonde, and a redhead. They all looked like beautiful angels of doom. They wore long faces and beautiful, yet dull eyes. They all stared foolishly at their reflections, until they noticed the message written on the mirror.
"Get to know about a stranger! Tell the person beside you something that you don't like!"
"I hate missed chances," the brunette said.
"I hate Fate," the redhead said.
"I hate best friends and soul mates," the blonde said.
Then they all turned back to the mirror, where another piece of paper was taped to the mirror.
There were words written on them.
Math tells us three of the saddest love stories: Of parallel lines, who were never meant to meet. Of tangent lines, who were together once then parted forever. And of asymptotes, who could only get closer and closer, but could never be together.
"I hate Math," they said in unison.
So, that's what I learn in Math.
Yes, I do wish we just learned those things in Math.
Oh, well. My Trigonometry teacher once told us about the Trig jokes she receives through text, so I'll send the quote to her…
My Trig teacher is my favorite teacher.
And my Algebra teacher is definitely somewhere up there.
I don't really like Math, but I'm actually okay in Algebra and…
I'M FREAKISHLY GOOD IN TRIGONOMETRY.
I know, I'm shocked.
Yeah…bye…
Tell me if it made sense?
PS. I changed my pen name. I am no longer "romanceisaguiltypleasure." I am now "drowning in technicolor dreams."