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New chapter; thanks for reading, enjoy!
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Jake looked at Trixie in confusion. She was staring off into space all gym class. As the gym teacher explained the rules for dodgeball, everyone listened intensely, excited to play the game. Everyone except Trixie, who was obviously not paying attention.
The coach noticed her behavior and asked, "Carter, what happens when a ball hits you on the head?"
Her eyes fluttered. "What?"
"I said, what happens if a ball hits you on the head during the game?"
She hesitated. "You . . . you head ova to the nurse's office?"
The teacher shook his head. A few students giggled. He asked, "Can anyone tell me what actually happens?"
Spud shot up his hand. He was called on. Spud answered, "You stay in the game."
"Bingo! Even Author gets it."
Spud furrowed his eyebrows, not knowing whether to be mad at the backhanded compliment or the fact the coach called him by his real name.
The teacher continued, "Who can tell me what happens to the person who threw the ball?"
Spud and a few others raised their hands. Lilly was picked, "The person who threw it sits out."
"Spot on." He looked back at Trixie. "I expect you guys to pay attention at least a bit. I don't want to end up talking to myself, now do I?"
Trixie was already back to staring. Most girls thought the gym teacher was hot, so many would assume that she was just thinking about him. The truth is, she was looking at the guy behind him.
"What's wrong, can't answer simple questions?" Spud leaned over and whispered to Trixie, trying to get under her skin. To his disappointment, she didn't respond. "Earth to Trixie!" He waved his hand in front of her face then turned to Jake once it failed. "I think she's broken."
Jake reassured, "Let me try." He wave his hands, too. "Trix, I heard there's new gossip." No response. He continued trying, "Tessa and Allen broke up!" Still no response. He grew annoyed and rocked her by the shoulders. "Yo, you in there?"
She finally reacted. "Boy, don't touch me!" She flicked his forehead, leaving a mark. The teacher told them to quiet down.
Jake rubbed his head. "Happy to see you're healed," he said sarcastically. "It's a miracle."
Spud added, "I've never seen you so far off." He leaned into her face and opened her eyelids with his hands. "Are you high? Can't tell."
Trixie pushed him off. "Why would I in school?"
"To be honest, you weren't yourself. You had this look."
She crossed her arms. "'Look'?"
"Yeah. Fairytale look. Like Princess Tiana when she wished on that star," Spud mentioned. The two looked at him strange. "What? I'm a sucker for Disney, not just Shakespeare."
"What were you staring at?" Jake asked in curiosity.
"It's funny y'all really thought I was gonna tell you." She kicked back her feet on the bleachers.
"You have to! We're your best friends," Spud pleaded.
Trixie sighed, "Fine." She held both of their heads and turnt them in the direction in front of them. "See him?"
Jake and Spud looked ahead at a tall man conversing with the gym teacher casually before the dodgeball match. Jake asked, "Chocolate Sundae?"
"Brian," she corrected in annoyance.
"Oh, that guy over there?" Spud pointed.
"He is far from a boy," Trixie corrected. "That is a man. Jakey, take notes."
His friends laughed at her joke. It was to get back at him for all those jokes he said about her lack of femininity. Jake rolled his eyes. He muttered, "He's not even all that."
Trixie ignored him, saying in a soft voice, "Ain't he fine like lemon like in the summertime?"
Spud widened his eyes in worry, looking at Jake. "She's a goner in love."
"Love? Chill, Spudinski, that's crazy. Even for you."
"No, he has a point," Jake agreed. "You haven't described a guy like that since Kyle." He whispered the last part.
Trixie cringed at hearing the name of her old childhood crush. That didn't end well. "You swore you wouldn't tell nobody!"
He shrugged. "I didn't, you guys already know."
"Wait, what do chocolate sundaes have to do with her boyfriend?" Spud asked Jake.
Trixie shushed them, "Don't y'all start comin' in with the questions. And he's not my boyfriend. Yet."
Jake laughed and mocked, "'Yet'."
"Yes, that's what I said. Wanna tell me what's so funny, Jake?"
His eyebrows raised at her calling him by his usual nickname. She must really like this Brian character. "I'm just saying, if you don't talk to him your odds of dating him are as slim as Rose and I getting back together," he joked. His own joke sort of stung him, though.
Spud agreed, "Your chances are as slim as me getting with Cia."
Trixie looked at her friends in pity. She hadn't realized that for once in a long time, their love lives were as sad as her's. She wrapped her arms around the two in a hug. They were surprised, but accepted it. "Hey," she said, "forget about Brian. Someone like him is nothin' compared to the two of you."
Spud's expression softened. "Wow, that's actually so kind-"
She pushed them off. "Alright, that's enough."
The coach blew his whistle. "Okay, everybody! Two teams; Brad, would you like to be a team captain- hold on, Brad? You're not in this class, I just had you."
Everyone looked to the far left of the bleachers. There sat Brad with a hoodie on, trying to blend in with everyone else. "Brad? No, no, no. I'm Chad."
The teacher shook his head. "Nice try."
"Ugh," Brad swiped off the hood, "but I hate English, I don't get it. I like gym. I want it multiple times a day."
"You won't be able to spell 'multiple' if you keep skipping English class." He tapped his foot, waiting for Brad to get up and leave. The boy didn't look like he was going anywhere. "I'll make a deal with you. You can stay, but if someone comes in here looking for you, I'm gonna tell them you refused to leave and go back to class. Got it?"
Brad lit up like the Fourth of July. "Got it!"
"That kid loves sports," Trixie commented.
"He loves getting kept back, too," Jake mumbled.
"Anyway, like I was saying: Brad would you like to be team cap-" Brad was already next to the coach with an excited grin. He sighed, "I don't even know why I bothered to ask. Continuing, Brian will be the second team captain."
Several people began to speak out of frustration. "That's not fair, he's a senior," one kid said.
"And he's huge!" a girl exclaimed.
Trixie smirked, "That's what I like about him."
Jake stuck out his tongue. "Gross."
"Enough complaints; I don't want to hear it. You two, pick your teams."
"Hasn't Brad has been kept back three years? I think it'll be fine," Lilly said.
After a few people were picked out, it was Brian's turn to pick another player for his team. He looked around the bleachers. His eyes landed on Trixie. Her legs looked strong, perfect for running to dodge a ball. He pointed at her. "You."
Trixie looked around. "Me?"
"Yeah, you."
She held in a squeal. The boys patted her on the back before she stood to walk to his side of the court.
A team member groaned, "Why'd you pick a girl?"
Brian rolled his eyes, "You 11th graders are so immature."
"Immature? You're only one grade above us!" The team member crossed his arms. "I'm just saying it was a waste if you ask me. Sure, the guys on the bench aren't much, but you know girls never take gym class seriously."
Trixie had enough. "You're sayin' all of that as if I can't hear you. And my friends that 'aren't much' are on that bench. You got a lotta nerve for someone as scrawny as you, lookin' like Harold from Total Drama."
The boy shut his mouth immediately and looked away, keeping his arms tightly crossed. The rest of the team members were stunned, but not surprised. It was Trixie Carter after all. She slouched, embarrassed. She figured no wonder "no one liked her" romantically. The boys were all terrified. Of course, that was her own assumptions.
Brian walked up to her. "What was your name?"
She answered while not creating eye contact. "Trixie."
"Well, Trixie, that was good. Oddly specific insult, but still good. You're feisty."
Her friends swore they saw a twinkle in her eyes as they watched the conversation from the bleachers. She replied, "I am?"
"Yeah. Glad I picked you. You're the least boring person on this team." He said that loud enough for the other teammates to hear. The rest scowled at the senior.
Alicia watched Trixie carry her lunch tray to their table with a look in her eyes. That look she had during the same time in the beginning of gym class. The daydreaming look. She asked Jake, "What's wrong with Trixie?"
"Some boy. She'll get over it."
"Boy? And she didn't tell me!"
Spud chimed in, "You should see how much she drools over him when he's in a ten foot radius."
Jake laughed at Spud's joke. All Alicia did was run off towards Trixie. Jake ended his laughter. "Damn, she really is avoiding you like the plague."
"I know, it's killing me." Spud clenched his chest dramatically. "Seriously, I'll die."
"Just bone another girl. You did it before, you can do it again. That'll get your mind off her." He began to walk to the table.
"Jake, you know more about love than anyone I know. Why'd you say something like that?"
He looked back. "Because you had sex with her so now you think you're attached."
Spud furrowed his eyebrows. "No, I like her more than that."
Jake rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, man."
Spud was so angry he could pound his friend in the face with his fist then and there. But soon enough the anger subsided once be remembered Jake wasn't really in the mental space to be discussing love. In fact, Jake probably hated the idea of love right now. For once, Spud was in a better position romantically than Jake was. At least he could be around Alicia and be considered a friend of her's. So Spud decided not to take what Jake said personally.
He sat at the table while Trixie was going on and on about this Brian guy and everything that happened at gym with great detail. Down to the man's scent. Rose watched from afar. She watched Trixie's mouth move, Spud twirl his spaghetti, Alicia listen intensely, and Jake rest his head on his hand. He seemed so sad. Rose wondered why. She wondered if it was about her. Inside, she wanted to be in his head still. She couldn't tell if it was selfish or not to think this way. Was it for revenge or was it because she was still left with feelings?
Lilly and her friends went on about some Pinterest outfit. One of the friends asked Lilly if she knew about a Chinese fashion brand. Lilly sighed at the micro aggression. "How would I know?"
"You're like, Asian, so I thought you'd know."
"Yeah, Filipino. Not Chinese. Ask Rose."
Rose turned around back to her friends. "Huh?"
Lilly scoffed, "They wanna know about a fashion brand from China."
The girls shoved the phone in Rose's face, showing a girl in a navy blue plaid skirt and an oversized grey hoodie. The hoodie had words in hiragana writing written vertically.
Rose raised an eyebrow. "That's Japanese."
"Ohh, it kinda looks like what she's wearing." One girl pointed at Jake's table to Alicia's outfit. She was wearing the same plaid skirt, but her hoodie wasn't grey, it was maroon.
Another girl added excitedly, "Isn't that kid she's sitting with Japanese? We could ask him what it says."
Rose was annoyed, so was Lilly. Lilly was used to saying quiet about her ignorant friends, though.
"He's kinda cute," a friend added.
"For real. Japanese guys aren't usually that attractive, but he's definitely an exception." She glanced at Lilly, who looked pissed. "Oh, but not you, Lil! The girls are super cute."
"Filipino," she corrected once more. "I'm Filipino."
"Wait, maybe he's Filipino, not Japanese!" a girl stated. The rest nodded like it was the smartest input they've heard all day. Rose couldn't take anymore.
"He's Chinese. Not Japanese, not Filipino."
"They're all the same thing, right? Like a melting pot." All the girls looked right at Lilly. Rose stood up abruptly and grabbed Lilly to the bathroom.
"You let them talk to you like that?" Rose asked in anger.
Lilly rubbed her arm nervously. She hadn't seen Rose this frustrated before. "Pretty much."
"They're so dumb." Rose splashed water in her face.
"True. I'd rather sit at that table with the Chinese kid than them at this point. And that's saying something."
Rose looked back at her. "What do you mean by that?"
Lilly could tell she overstepped some kind of boundary. "I'm just saying it's weird for someone like us to hang out with a bunch of skater kids. Then again, it's trendy enough to try out. . . . Hold on. Do you know them or something?"
Rose's face was red. Instead of answering, she splashed it with more cold water. Lilly placed her hands on her hips and smiled knowingly.
Alicia hated ignoring Spud so much. She knew he noticed the ignoring. It was obvious.
Why was she so scared? That was something she couldn't quite answer yet. In truth, she missed him a ton. Not just physically. She loved getting to know him for the past two months. If it wasn't for her fear, she could get to know him even more by now. Then, she could determine her feelings. It was all perfectly set up.
Too perfect.
Alicia ran after school. She didn't wait to meet up with her friends to walk home. She just ran in the opposite direction. Her mind wasn't sure where she was heading but her body knew.
Brad's gate opened before her. Alicia slowly walked up to the door. There was already a girl there. Alicia cocked her head, "Rose?"
Rose's body jolted before she slowly turned around to see the 5'1 girl. She looked down at her. "Aren't you one of Jake's friends?"
Alicia nodded, still confused on why she was there. To save herself the embarrassment, Alicia started to walk back. That's when the front door opened to a girl in a robe. "Who are you?" she asked.
Both girls gasped. In unison they stuttered, trying to find an excuse not to look like a side chick of Brad's. The last thing any teenage girl wants is rumors spread about her.
The girl chuckled. The two looked at her strange. "What's so funny?" Rose asked timidly.
"Let me guess, you two are conflicted on your feelings about a guy so you came to Brad to distract yourself."
"H-How'd you know?" Rose asked in awe. Alicia looked at Rose with curiosity. What boy could she be conflicted about?
"Just a hunch," the girl said.
Alicia asked, "Are you going through the same thing?"
"Me? Never. I just wanted a little something. Good luck, you two." She shut the door.
Rose and Alicia stared at one another. Alicia suggested, "I won't tell if you won't."
"Deal."
This update took a few extra days, sorry. I might start making some other fanfics since this story is my first one on here, so I might start taking a few extra days to upload. Or I might wait until this one is done to start the others. Right now I'm just planning storylines for those ones. Hopefully you're into those fandoms as well so you can read more of my writing. It's 5am, I should really get to sleep lol