Chapter 7
Two weeks, three days, and five hours. That's how long it had been since she had last seen Craig. Since she had dropped the gold bracelet at his feet and turned away from him. Everyday she would go over the numbers in her head, and every day she would try and force herself to stop counting. But every hour that went by was another hour since she had last seen Craig.
"Manny! Hello? Hun, I'm going to need you to pay attention if we are going to nail the new choreography before competition," Paige's commanding voice startled Manny out of her daze. They were finally back in school after a two-and-a-half week holiday break, and practices for the spirit squad were once again in session. Manny fanned herself absentmindedly as she silently cursed Paige for assigning her to the bottom of the pyramid.
"One-two-three-four...!" Paige chanted as the cheerleaders began forming the pyramid, which culminated in Hazel being lifted to the top. Manny gritted her teeth as she felt the weight continuing to pile on her back as the routine continued. Then, from somewhere above, Manny heard a frightened squeal, and Hazel lost her footing, almost toppling to the ground. As the others broke formation and gathered around the fallen girl to see if she was injured, Paige stamped her foot impatiently.
"Okay, that's it!" she exclaimed in pure frustration. "If you are going to beg me to put you a the top of a pyramid, Hazel, then it would be nice if you would try not to break your own neck. You know we can't spare any spirit squad members right now." She fanned herself for a moment, lost in thought. "Okay, okay...not a problem. Manny, sweetie, you're up." Manny silently thanked the lord for her good fortune and got in position. As the routine began again, she waited to be lifted, and soon found herself perched atop nine unfortunate, sweaty cheerleaders.
Following Paige's strict instructions to pretend that there were screaming fans in the empty bleachers across the gym, Manny put on a dazzling smile and waved her pom-poms enthusiastically. 'This is ridiculous,' she thought to herself, letting the smile drift off her face. Just then, she noticed J.T. across the room in his mascot suit, watching as they cheered. More specifically, he watched as Manny cheered, and he blushed despite himself when he saw that Manny had noticed. She flashed the dazzling smile again, this time in his direction, and gave him a little wink, enjoying the look of surprise on his face.
Flirting was practically second nature to her now, and the fact that J.T. obviously still liked her made it all the more fun. Even though it was probably selfish, she didn't feel guilty about playing up to his affections, because she was no longer tangled up in feelings for Craig. At least, she was determined not to be. So why not give J.T. a chance?
"Okay, that's it for the day," Paige announced, grabbing her personal towel off the chair it was resting on. The rest of the cheerleaders headed over to grab their things and head for the locker room, but Manny remembered that she would need to pick up her algebra book from the lost-and-found. She pulled her long dark hair off her neck and began twisting it into a bun as she exited the gym and found herself in the school hallway. Kids were already filing out of class and the boys who were at their lockers all did double takes when the saw Manny walk by in her cheerleading uniform.
"Hey, Manny! Wait up!" Manny turned to see J.T. jogging toward her. He was now sporting jeans rather than his previous tiger threads. He smiled shyly at her as he approached and she returned the smile, noting his unease. "So...how was your break? Did you, you know, have fun?"
"More or less," she replied.
"Good, good." There was a pause. "Listen, I know that things have gotten back to normal with us, and I don't want to ruin that. But Emma sort of led me to believe that you were over... that guy, so I just thought I'd ask," J.T. licked his lips, looking adorably nervous and excited at the same time. "Do you think you might want to go out some time?" Manny was caught off guard, though she should have expected this after giving him go-ahead signal earlier. She looked at the boy in front of her, his eyes averted, hands in his pockets, and she felt her heart warm a bit.
"I'd really like that, J.T. Thank you." He nodded for a moment, as though he hadn't really heard her response, then looked up at her in surprise.
"Really? Well, thank you, then. I'll call you later, okay?" Manny nodded and he gave her a shy wave goodbye, which she returned with a shyness to match his own. A small smile played on her lips, and she felt better than she had in a long time. She watched him walk away for a moment, then turned around to head in the opposite direction, when she found herself face-to- face with a familiar boy. She felt her heart freeze in her chest as her eyes locked on to Craig's, and he looked at her with a funny expression on his face, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
They stood that way for a long moment, before Manny muttered, "Hey."
"Hey," he responded, averting his eyes for a moment. "How are you?" he asked.
"I'm doing okay," she replied with what she hoped was a nonchalant tone, though she couldn't be sure since her mind had become very fuzzy, like a TV with a defective cable. Craig glanced over Manny's shoulder in the direction that J.T. had gone, disappointment etched on his features.
"So you and J.T., huh?" he asked quietly.
"Umm... yeah. We're going to hang out sometime. He's a great guy... Makes me happy." Craig glanced up at her then, and she felt a slight satisfaction when she saw the hurt in his dark eyes. What she didn't realize, or perhaps wanted to ignore, was that the only thought running through Craig's mind at the moment was that the happiest moments he had felt the past year had been with Manny. As he gazed at her face, a mere foot in distance between them, he realized that for the first time since that fateful 80's dance, Manny felt out of his reach. The idea of the happiness he had once experienced seemed intangible now, an idea too painful for Craig to accept.
"I want you to know," Manny began, "that I'm not angry at you anymore. I take at least half the responsibility for what happened between the three of us. I just...I don't make the best decisions when it comes to you, and I need to be away from you for awhile, so I can clear my head."
"That's why you want to 'hang out' with J.T.? You think it's going to help clear your head?" Craig retorted, unable to stop the feelings of jealousy and hurt that were washing over him. Manny didn't respond for a moment.
"Who I hang out with is none of your business, Craig. Not anymore. I don't have to explain myself to you." She bit her lip as tears sprung to her eyes, and she felt mortified at the idea that Craig would see her cry, yet again, over a broken heart that was his doing. When he saw the tears that were threatening to spill, Craig felt his heart drop to his stomach, and the anger that had been creeping up on him quickly melted away.
He glanced down at his shoes, and, trying to keep his voice level, murmured, "You're right. Who you date is none of my business. I'm sorry." He forced a smile, determined to end this conversation without tears or heated words. Hesitantly, he reached out toward her face, and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, just as he had months ago before things had become so damn complicated. "You deserve to be happy," he whispered, and before she could respond, he brushed by her and headed down the hall toward his next class. Manny stood rooted to the spot for a moment, willing herself relax. She was sick of being a victim. 'You may think a few sweet words will be enough to win me over, Craig dear, but I'm not the naïve fool I once was,' Manny thought to herself. As she headed toward the office, she willed herself to think of Craig's faults, the mistakes that he had made, to remind herself why she had to push him out of her life. But she knew that feelings of malice toward him were only temporary, and if she wasn't strong enough, her resolve could break down completely, and that just wouldn't do...
Up next: Battle of the Bands! Other Degrassi kids will have something to do for this chapter. Who'd have thought it?
Two weeks, three days, and five hours. That's how long it had been since she had last seen Craig. Since she had dropped the gold bracelet at his feet and turned away from him. Everyday she would go over the numbers in her head, and every day she would try and force herself to stop counting. But every hour that went by was another hour since she had last seen Craig.
"Manny! Hello? Hun, I'm going to need you to pay attention if we are going to nail the new choreography before competition," Paige's commanding voice startled Manny out of her daze. They were finally back in school after a two-and-a-half week holiday break, and practices for the spirit squad were once again in session. Manny fanned herself absentmindedly as she silently cursed Paige for assigning her to the bottom of the pyramid.
"One-two-three-four...!" Paige chanted as the cheerleaders began forming the pyramid, which culminated in Hazel being lifted to the top. Manny gritted her teeth as she felt the weight continuing to pile on her back as the routine continued. Then, from somewhere above, Manny heard a frightened squeal, and Hazel lost her footing, almost toppling to the ground. As the others broke formation and gathered around the fallen girl to see if she was injured, Paige stamped her foot impatiently.
"Okay, that's it!" she exclaimed in pure frustration. "If you are going to beg me to put you a the top of a pyramid, Hazel, then it would be nice if you would try not to break your own neck. You know we can't spare any spirit squad members right now." She fanned herself for a moment, lost in thought. "Okay, okay...not a problem. Manny, sweetie, you're up." Manny silently thanked the lord for her good fortune and got in position. As the routine began again, she waited to be lifted, and soon found herself perched atop nine unfortunate, sweaty cheerleaders.
Following Paige's strict instructions to pretend that there were screaming fans in the empty bleachers across the gym, Manny put on a dazzling smile and waved her pom-poms enthusiastically. 'This is ridiculous,' she thought to herself, letting the smile drift off her face. Just then, she noticed J.T. across the room in his mascot suit, watching as they cheered. More specifically, he watched as Manny cheered, and he blushed despite himself when he saw that Manny had noticed. She flashed the dazzling smile again, this time in his direction, and gave him a little wink, enjoying the look of surprise on his face.
Flirting was practically second nature to her now, and the fact that J.T. obviously still liked her made it all the more fun. Even though it was probably selfish, she didn't feel guilty about playing up to his affections, because she was no longer tangled up in feelings for Craig. At least, she was determined not to be. So why not give J.T. a chance?
"Okay, that's it for the day," Paige announced, grabbing her personal towel off the chair it was resting on. The rest of the cheerleaders headed over to grab their things and head for the locker room, but Manny remembered that she would need to pick up her algebra book from the lost-and-found. She pulled her long dark hair off her neck and began twisting it into a bun as she exited the gym and found herself in the school hallway. Kids were already filing out of class and the boys who were at their lockers all did double takes when the saw Manny walk by in her cheerleading uniform.
"Hey, Manny! Wait up!" Manny turned to see J.T. jogging toward her. He was now sporting jeans rather than his previous tiger threads. He smiled shyly at her as he approached and she returned the smile, noting his unease. "So...how was your break? Did you, you know, have fun?"
"More or less," she replied.
"Good, good." There was a pause. "Listen, I know that things have gotten back to normal with us, and I don't want to ruin that. But Emma sort of led me to believe that you were over... that guy, so I just thought I'd ask," J.T. licked his lips, looking adorably nervous and excited at the same time. "Do you think you might want to go out some time?" Manny was caught off guard, though she should have expected this after giving him go-ahead signal earlier. She looked at the boy in front of her, his eyes averted, hands in his pockets, and she felt her heart warm a bit.
"I'd really like that, J.T. Thank you." He nodded for a moment, as though he hadn't really heard her response, then looked up at her in surprise.
"Really? Well, thank you, then. I'll call you later, okay?" Manny nodded and he gave her a shy wave goodbye, which she returned with a shyness to match his own. A small smile played on her lips, and she felt better than she had in a long time. She watched him walk away for a moment, then turned around to head in the opposite direction, when she found herself face-to- face with a familiar boy. She felt her heart freeze in her chest as her eyes locked on to Craig's, and he looked at her with a funny expression on his face, his hands stuffed into his pockets.
They stood that way for a long moment, before Manny muttered, "Hey."
"Hey," he responded, averting his eyes for a moment. "How are you?" he asked.
"I'm doing okay," she replied with what she hoped was a nonchalant tone, though she couldn't be sure since her mind had become very fuzzy, like a TV with a defective cable. Craig glanced over Manny's shoulder in the direction that J.T. had gone, disappointment etched on his features.
"So you and J.T., huh?" he asked quietly.
"Umm... yeah. We're going to hang out sometime. He's a great guy... Makes me happy." Craig glanced up at her then, and she felt a slight satisfaction when she saw the hurt in his dark eyes. What she didn't realize, or perhaps wanted to ignore, was that the only thought running through Craig's mind at the moment was that the happiest moments he had felt the past year had been with Manny. As he gazed at her face, a mere foot in distance between them, he realized that for the first time since that fateful 80's dance, Manny felt out of his reach. The idea of the happiness he had once experienced seemed intangible now, an idea too painful for Craig to accept.
"I want you to know," Manny began, "that I'm not angry at you anymore. I take at least half the responsibility for what happened between the three of us. I just...I don't make the best decisions when it comes to you, and I need to be away from you for awhile, so I can clear my head."
"That's why you want to 'hang out' with J.T.? You think it's going to help clear your head?" Craig retorted, unable to stop the feelings of jealousy and hurt that were washing over him. Manny didn't respond for a moment.
"Who I hang out with is none of your business, Craig. Not anymore. I don't have to explain myself to you." She bit her lip as tears sprung to her eyes, and she felt mortified at the idea that Craig would see her cry, yet again, over a broken heart that was his doing. When he saw the tears that were threatening to spill, Craig felt his heart drop to his stomach, and the anger that had been creeping up on him quickly melted away.
He glanced down at his shoes, and, trying to keep his voice level, murmured, "You're right. Who you date is none of my business. I'm sorry." He forced a smile, determined to end this conversation without tears or heated words. Hesitantly, he reached out toward her face, and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear, just as he had months ago before things had become so damn complicated. "You deserve to be happy," he whispered, and before she could respond, he brushed by her and headed down the hall toward his next class. Manny stood rooted to the spot for a moment, willing herself relax. She was sick of being a victim. 'You may think a few sweet words will be enough to win me over, Craig dear, but I'm not the naïve fool I once was,' Manny thought to herself. As she headed toward the office, she willed herself to think of Craig's faults, the mistakes that he had made, to remind herself why she had to push him out of her life. But she knew that feelings of malice toward him were only temporary, and if she wasn't strong enough, her resolve could break down completely, and that just wouldn't do...
Up next: Battle of the Bands! Other Degrassi kids will have something to do for this chapter. Who'd have thought it?