Chapter 3: When You Assume...
A/N: The last time I posted this, it was two separate chapters. I decided to combine them this time because the third chapter originally ended on the second paragraph.
Allison's next class was a study hall with the ancient French teacher. A perfect opportunity to read the note in privacy in the bathroom. The teacher usually spent the period staring at back issues of Vogue and was oblivious. Girls "went to the bathroom" and never came back because they went to make out with their boyfriends. Allison felt certain she could take advantage of this and go lock herself in a stall in the second floor girls' bathroom to read the note. Allison hoped it would be a good note, but part of her was too paranoid to really believe it.
Ten minutes later, Allison barricaded herself in the last stall in the bathroom and opened the note. Her hands were shaking violently with nerves. Without reading the paper, Allison noticed the words "I'm sorry" were underlined. She immediately decided that the note was bad news and ripped it into a million little pieces and flushed it down the toilet. And then she cried for the remainder of the period…
The next period was lunch. Although she only read those 2 little words that she most certainly didn't want to see on a note from Andy, she couldn't believe that he would not only spend all of Saturday and then part of Sunday, including a stop at Stubby's party (in front of all of his friends) with her and then break it off.
As Allison shuffled along in the hall through the mob of people, she saw Bender. She gave a small, unsure wave. He was with his wastoid friends, probably getting ready for their ritual reefer smoke under the bleachers at lunch. He waved back and grinned. Allison gave a grim smile in an attempt to conceal her heartbreak. She had a weird feeling that if Bender found out that Andrew had pretty much torn out Allison's heart and stomped on it, that Andy's ass was grass. There might even be a repeat crack taping incident, with Andy on the receiving end of it this time. That was pretty much the last thing that she wanted to happen to him, even though she was pissed off.
In the cafeteria, Allison took her usual corner table by the exit door and garbage cans. Nobody ever sat with her, so she haphazardly tossed her stuff across the table. Today's lunch choice was a bit more traditional than Saturday's Cap'n Crunch and Pixie Stick on Wonderbread and Coke combination. Today was ham and cheese on rye bread, a bag of Funyuns and a Mountain Dew.
She was about three-quarters of the way done with her sandwich when someone plunked their tray down. It was a sorry looking meal…a questionable looking slab of half burnt meat, dull green peas, and a dry square of white frosted cake, with a skim milk. She looked up. It was Brian.
"Hi Allison. Mind if I sit here? None of my friends will talk to me because I didn't kill Andy during detention."
"Hi, Brian. Uh. Sure."
"What's wrong with you? You look like someone ran over your cat or something. No offense or anything. I told you not to get all worked up if that idiot ignored you."
"Oh. He didn't ignore me. He ended up dumping me instead," Allison said tersely, trying not to cry.
"WHAT?"
"He gave me a note in biology, and then I ditched French to go read it. It said 'I'm sorry.' After that I ripped it up into about a million little pieces and flushed it down the toilet. He's such an insensitive bastard. He spent nearly the entire weekend after the fucking detention with me. He certainly seemed into me and the idea of us at the time."
"I don't know what to say. Is that all the note said?"
"No."
"What else did it say?"
"I don't know. I saw that and shredded the damn thing."
"Are you sure it was a breakup?"
"The words 'I'm sorry' could never mean ANYTHING good Brian."
"You know, he could have been professing his undying love for you, and said something along the lines of 'if my friends hate you, then I'm sorry for them.' or some similar such thing."
"True, but it seems unlikely."
"Did he look particularly upset or pained when he gave you the note?"
"No. He grazed my face with his hand…like he wanted to kiss me but couldn't because we were in front of his friends or something."
"So, he could conceivably not have broken up with you then?"
"The way you explain it, I guess so."
"Why don't you call him or track him down after school and see what the deal is?"
"Now I'm gonna look insensitive and careless. 'Uh, Andy, what exactly did that note you wrote me say? I shredded it and flushed it down the toilet.' Yeah, that's not happening Brian."
"Okay, then phrase it a different way. Something like, "I was digging through my purse in the bathroom and your note fell in the toilet before I got a chance to read it. What did it say? I hope nothing bad."
"How is it that you can come up with this stuff, and I can't?"
"I guess I have a talent at eloquence and tact when it comes to romantic speech. In place of aptitude at constructing a lamp shaped like an elephant."
Allison smiled. "Thanks Brian, that really made me feel at least a bit more confident that he didn't ditch me."
"Yeah Andy can be a heartless dick, but even I don't think he'd do something so heinous."
Just then the bell rang, and Allison could barely conceal a grin as she strode out of the cafeteria. Now all she had to do was corner Andy and get him alone. There was no way she could wait until after school to call him.