Chapter 2
Class periods slowly came and went, and by then, lunch had finally come around. Brittany and Ryan, with their sack lunches, sat at their designated table. As the two took a seat next to one another, Brittany glanced over to see what Ryan had for her lunch, but instead, gazed upon something that shocked her.
"Ryan," Brittany spoke aloud, unable to take her wondering eyes away. "What they hell happened to your make-up?"
The green-eyed girl slowly gazed back at Brittany and cracked a small grin. "Well, y-y-you see," she began, stumbling over her words horribly. "I-I-I was in class and… uh, we couldn't wear make-up because-"
"Cut the garbage, Ryan," Brittany interrupted bluntly, her expression stiff with annoyance.
With that, Ryan let a whine escape her as she struggled to hold back tears. "I don't know, Britt. What Al and Pres said to us kinda got to me and everything, so I just sort of wiped it off!"
Even though it was a small conversation between the group, it was close to being Brittany's last straw. "Ryan, we have to be stronger than this!"
"Well, you have to admit," Ryan began as she pulled out her lunch from her brown paper sack. "What they said was pretty hurtful!"
Brittany couldn't deny it; Alvin and Prescott did cross that line no boy should cross, but with their demeanor, they crossed it anyway, and to the point of making the blonde Ryan feel self-conscious about her appearance.
"Those damn boys!" the auburn-haired girl exclaimed as she pounded her tiny fist upon the table. "Gosh, they practically slammed us down!"
"At least Alvin said you look beautiful without make-up," Ryan whispered with a wide smile plastered across her face.
Brittany frowned as she rested a hand upon Ryan's shoulder. "And I'm sure Prescott feels that same way about you!"
All Ryan could do was scoff at Brittany's comment, rolling her eyes in disbelief. "Yeah, if he thought so, he would have said so!"
The cafeteria slowly began to fill up with hungry students lining up in the lunch line, or taking a seat with their pre-packed meal. Arriving in the cafeteria just as the bell rang, Alvin and Prescott, fashionably late as always, made their way to where the girls sat. Upon taking his seat, Prescott's gaze landed upon the distraught Ryan, his hazel eyes widening with surprise.
"Ryan, you're make-up!" he exclaimed suddenly, soon finding that he couldn't take his eyes way. He smiled softly and continued with, "Damn… you look amazing…"
Hearing those words perked up the troubled Ryan, a single eyebrow rising on her forehead. "Oh, so now that I don't look like a scary clown, I look pretty?"
Prescott bit his lip as he gazed over to Alvin, his eyes pleading for help.
"There are no pleasing guys, is there?" Brittany asked the quiet Alvin swiftly, eyeing him from head to toe.
"Hey, I said you looked beautiful without it, Britt!" he spat as he pushed his lunch to the side in preparation for a heavy brawl. "What more do you girls want?"
"We would like a descent compliment without being shot down first!"
Alvin scoffed as he shook his head. "Nothing pleases you girls! We say the wrong thing to imply another thing, we're in trouble! We give you guys a nice compliment, but somehow, we still get in trouble!" he exclaimed as he probed a single finger against the table. "Make up your damn mind!"
From behind, a heavy hand suddenly rested upon Alvin's shoulder. He turned around to find it was another one of his friends, Jordan Goode, a wide smile spread across his face.
"Alvin! Just the munk I needed to see," he began as he handed Alvin a small jar full of a thick, pink substance that soon got Brittany and Ryan wondering.
"Sweet! Is this it?" he asked under his breath.
The green-eyed boy nodded cockily, his smile turning into a smirk. "Dump this stuff in some water, and you'll be ready for football in no time flat! Trust and promise, bro!" he explained with a chuckle.
"I owe you one, man!"
"Naw, it's cool, really!" and with that, the tall teenager was gone in a flash, putting a smile on Alvin's face, his cheeks turning a slight red.
Brittany narrowed her blue eyes, her conscience beginning to nag her. "Alvin, what's that?"
Before the girls could get another peak, Alvin shoved the unknown substance in his pocket and laughed about. "It's nothing bad, I promise! It's just creatine! It helps build up muscle."
With each passing word, Brittany's lips slowly produced a frown. "Why can't you just do it on your own? You know, lift weights or whatever you boys do!"
More than anything else, Alvin despised explaining something, especially to Brittany, who half the time, mixed up his words to make him sound like a negative person. "I have been!" he retorted suddenly. "But I'm not getting the results I want, so I take this, you know, to help me along!"
"Hey, I take it, too!" Prescott chimed in as he raised a single hand in the air. "Totally legal! A lot of people take it to promote muscle growth!" he co-signed with a nod.
"Well," Brittany began with her lip bit in worry, "you can't get hurt or sick from it, can you?"
Her blue eyes, wider than ever, startled Alvin quite a bit, his face twisted in confusion. Yes, there was a great possibility that if consumed over the recommended dose, he could possibly have some unhealthy side effects, but of course, he wasn't going to let Brittany know. He figured he had given her a hard enough time that day; worrying her about his creatine would only make her sick with grief. "Britt, this stuff is practically harmless. Nothing can happen! I can take as much as I need to!"
A feather-like sigh escaped Brittany as she picked up her sandwich from her bag and took a bite of it. "If you say so, then I guess it's all right…"
Alvin smiled to his heart's content as he too took his sandwich and took a hefty bite of it, washing it down with a carton of milk.
~7~7~7~7~
Later that day, just as school ended, Alvin, along with his brothers and friend, Simon, Theodore, and Prescott, made their way home on foot, the warm summer breeze sweeping across their faces.
"Hey Si," Alvin spoke up suddenly as he shoved his hands within his blue jeans' pocket. "I have a question for you."
The blue-attired teenager nodded as he adjusted his glasses to the bridge of his nose. "Have at it!"
"Okay… so," he paused, putting his finger to his lip, trying to rephrase the question in his mind. "You and Jeanette are dating, right?"
He nodded with a broad smile.
"Is it possible that she can be confusing sometimes? You know, where you don't understand why she does certain things?"
Simon sighed heavily and nodded. "All the time," he replied directly, his eyes growing wide. "Like, why she prefers her hair down one day, and then up the next day or why some days she puts on no make-up, and other days, she piles it on her face!"
Alvin grew silent, his situation similar to his own.
"Sometimes, I muster up enough courage to ask her why. As always, she gives me the same response."
"Which is?"
"'It's a girl thing. You simply would never understand'!"
Alvin bellowed a heavy sigh and rolled his eyes. "Girls… they're SO confusing!"
