Craig opened his locker, relieved that it was Thursday, because that meant it was almost Friday, which meant it was almost the weekend. Craig stuffed some books into his bag, but realized he really didn't have much homework. He looked up and spotted Jimmy and Marco walking toward him.
"This week is taking forever!" Jimmy said. "It feels like Monday. But it was kind of interesting, with the whole Spinner and Paige thing. I guess Spinner and Angel are going out now, and Paige was beyond pissed at him. I think I overheard her and Hazel discussing exactly how to run him over with a car. " Craig nodded and sighed.
"Looks like Spinner and I are in the same boat."
"Except Spinner went out with Angel after Paige found out about them, and you went out with Manny while you were still going out with Ashley, so it's not….completely…the same…" Marco said, trailing off when he saw Craig's glare. He shrugged. "Never mind. I'll shut up now."
"I just can't believe I screwed up so bad," Craig said, throwing up his arms. "Now everyone hates me!"
"Don't worry. I still like you," Marco said with a smile, putting a hand on Craig's arm. Craig stared down at Marco's hand uneasily, then back up at Marco.
"Dude….could you be any more gay?" Jimmy said with a little laugh, and Marco quickly drew his hand back.
"Not like that! I meant, you still have your friends, even if you have lost Manny and Ashley," Marco explained. Craig shrugged and sighed.
"You know what? I' m done," Craig said, putting up his hands as if he were surrendering. "I've been bitching about this since school started, and it hasn't made anything better. You guys were right- I need to move on."
"That's the spirit," Jimmy said, slugging Craig in the arm. Craig nodded and smiled.
"That's why I'm going to invite Roxie to Charlie Dover's party tomorrow night," he said, looking pleased. "That is, if she doesn't flat out turn me down."
"No," Roxie said into the phone as she sat on her bed that night. "I'll pass, thanks."
"Oh, come on!" Craig responded. "It will be fun. It's not a date…I just thought it'd be cool if we went together."
"Sounds like a date to me."
"Fine. Call it what you will. But will you still come?" Craig asked. "Charlie's parties are always really awesome. He lives in the huge mansion, and he's filthy rich."
Roxie sighed as loudly as she could and tried to sound as exasperated as she could. "Ok-ay. I'll go," she said irritably, although she wasn't that upset. She was actually excited, but she just liked to be ornery and dramatic. She folded her arms over her chest and smirked into the phone. "But don't get fresh with me, Craig Manning. I carry various knives and pepper spray with me at all times." She heard Craig laugh, and she smiled. He was totally adorable.
"Fair warning, I guess. Don't worry- I'm not the least bit attracted to you. So I'll drop by your house at eight tomorrow?" he teased, and Roxie smiled. She decided to ignore the first part, and she nodded.
"Alright. See you tomorrow," she said, getting ready to hang up.
"Oh, Roxie," she heard him say. "You can bring the knives, but lose the pepper spray, ok?"
Emma took a sip of beer, resisting the urge to spit it out. She thought beer tasted gross, but she could bare it. Besides, she was just beginning to get a buzz. She smiled at the basketball player she was talking to, and also resisted the urge to tug down the hem of her skirt. Earlier in the week she had bough a tight, short black skirt, and a low cut, sparkly, hot pink tank top, which she had decided to wear that night. With her flawless makeup and straight hair, Emma knew she looked good. The problem was, she couldn't stop feeling self conscious. She had to face it- she couldn't pull of the slightly- slutty look like Manny. And it wasn't like she completely wanted to transform like Manny….she just needed to loosen up.
"So the buzzer was just about to go off, so I faked to the left, and then dribbled right by this massive center," the basketball player said, leaning in close to Emma. "He knew he couldn't stop me, so he just kind of stood there while I dunked the winning point. I mean, we totally would have lost if it hadn't been for me."
Emma smiled politely and nodded, wondering if all athletes were this boring. She sipped her beer again and glanced around. She spotted Sean walk in the door, without Gina. Emma smiled and turned to the boy next to her.
"I'll be right back," she lied. She had no intention of returning, but she figured it was the easiest thing to do. The boy smiled at her and nodded.
"Hurry back, sexy," he called after her as she hurried off. Emma rolled her eyes.
"Hey, Sean," she said, and Sean looked up. He smiled softly and nodded at her.
"Hey, Emma. You look….good," he said, glancing her up and down. Emma smiled modestly and shrugged, still clutching her beer in her hand.
"Where's Gina?" she asked boldly, deciding to just get to the point. Sean shrugged.
"I don't know. She got pissed at me yesterday and said she wasn't going to come. So I just came alone," he said. He didn't sound extremely disappointed. "Wow…this place is sweet." He glanced around the large marble foyer, and Emma nodded in agreement.
"You should see the pool," she said. "It's amazing." She paused, and then gestured with her cup. "You want something to drink?"
"Sure," he said. "Lead the way." Emma nodded and turned and headed for the kitchen, secretly grinning to herself. This was going to be an amazing night. She could feel it.
Roxie walked into Charlie Dover's large mansion, and whistled, clearly impressed. The large house was packed with kids and Craig and Roxie had to shove their way through the front hall. Roxie nearly collided into a small statue of a horse, which probably cost more than her entire house. She steadied it and then turned to Craig with a large grin.
"Wow. This place is tight," she said. "Would you be offended if I went off and found Charlie Dover? I think I want to marry him."
Craig smiled and shrugged. "Not really. My ego is already bruised by just being here."
The two wandered through the massive living room and out to the patio. Off to the left was a large, sparkling pool, and lights that had been strung up illuminated the patio in a soft glow. Roxie spotted Spinner and Angel sitting on a patio couch, with a few of Angel's friends. Roxie rolled her eyes in distaste.
"There's Spinner," Craig pointed out. "I sure hope Paige isn't here."
"Do you think she'll start something with Angel?" Roxie asked excitedly. "I'd love to see Paige just kick the shit out of my sister." She looked at Craig quickly, realizing that didn't exactly ooze with sisterly love. Craig gave her an odd look and shrugged.
"You don't like your sister much, do you?" he said, glancing at Spin and Angel. "I'm not sure. Paige can be pretty vicious…" he trailed off, and nodded toward the right. "Looks like we'll get to see. There's Paige and Hazel….oh, and Ashley." He blushed slightly, and looked away. Roxie narrowed her eyes.
"What is with you and this Ashley girl?" Roxie asked, folding her arms over her chest. Craig shrugged.
"Long story. Maybe another time. But look…their heading over there. This should be interesting," Craig said, clearly trying to change the topic. Roxie decided not to say anything else, and turned to watch as Paige approached Spinner…
"Hello, Spinner," Paige said coldly, glaring at Spinner. "Hello, Spinner's piece of trash." She glared at Angel, who was smirking at her. Usually, Paige wouldn't have lost her cool like this, and would have deviously plotted some way to get back at Spinner, instead of just approaching him. Paige was more the type to plot some elaborate scheme, rather than just blow up. But she couldn't help it. The fact that Spinner and Angel had showed up at the party that Spinner and Paige were supposed to have gone to together bothered her. She was going to settle this now.
"Paige. Umm…" Spinner glanced nervously from Angel to Paige, and rubbed his hands on his jeans.
"Save it, Spinner. I just came over here to tell you that I have a box of all your things that I would like removed from my house immediately. Maybe you can give them to Angel here."
Angel tossed the cigarette that she had been smoking carelessly at Paige's feet, and Paige stepped back to avoid it. Angel stood up, looking cool and collected.
"Barbie, let me explain something to you," Angel said. She glanced at Spinner. "Spinner no longer likes you. He likes me," she said, pointing to herself. "I can see why. You try way too hard, you dress like a cheap whore, and that layer of tacky makeup is so obvious, it's sad. He's over you. So why don't you go off and find some other ex-boyfriend to hassle." She made a shooing gesture with her hands.
"You are such a slut!" Paige said, clearly angry. She was clenching her fists at her side.
"And you're a pathetic loser," Angel retorted smoothly. "So what? Seriously-go away. You're beginning to annoy me." Angel turned away to sit back down, but Paige suddenly reached out and shoved her- hard. Angel stumbled, and then regained her balance and slowly turned to face Paige.
"You are so going to wish you hadn't done that," Angel hissed, her jaw clenching. She reached out and shoved Paige with all her strength. Paige went flying backward into the pool, and she landed with a large splash.
Spinner immediately jumped up, and Hazel turned to the pool in shock. "Oh, my God!"
A second later Paige emerged to the surface, sputtering and splashing. She made her way to the edge and began to climb out. Hazel and Ashley reached down and struggled to help their friend out of the pool, but Paige shrugged them off. She turned to Angel with poison in her eyes, soaking wet and furious.
"You are going to pay for that," she said in a low voice, and then she turned and stalked away. Ashley and Hazel followed her, but not before they both gave Spinner cold, hard looks.