Chapter 3

Andy shut her locker reveiling Sarah behind it. She jumped as she didn't realize she was there. Sarah laughed as they both walked to lunch. Ever since that morning, Andy felt very awkward. She found herself blushing anytime she passed one of Josh's friends. She didn't understand why. She didn't do anything, and there wasn't anything for Josh to tell his friends. She kept reassuring herself that nothing happened that morning. She knew she was lying to herself. Even if he was just fooling around with her and didn't mean anything by it, she knew she liked him. A lot! But, no she couldn't like him. She couldn't let herself fall for just another immature boy who was just messing with her. She wasn't anything special in his eyes. He just probably randomly picked a girl and decided to pick her because he knew she would be a challenge for him. Actually he probably made a bet with a friend that he could win her or something. That was it! He was gonna prove he could have anyone he wanted. Well, she was going to show him otherwise. He couldn't have her so easily. She was going to put up a fight!

"Um, Andy? Why are you so quiet?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking," she replied brushing away her thoughts.

"What about?"Sarah asked happily as they dropped their bags on a table and headed for the lunch line.

"Nothing important. Just hating the foodchain of highschool."

"Oh, I know what you mean,"Sarah said rolling her eyes,"That jerk Robert, in art, was fooling around and playing catch with his sculpture. Pretty dumb if you ask me. But guess what he did!"

"What?"

"He ended up crashing into my project and making its head look like a pancake! He said sorry and kept playing his retarded game! He wasn't sorry."

"Did your teacher do something?"Andy asked as they stopped in the line.

"All she did was give me another day to finish and him a detention. He already had so many it had to be after vacation. He obviously doesn't care. Why don't they, like, uh I don't know, kick him out of golf or something!"

"Well he didn't make it yet."

"Shh, speak of the devil here he is"

Andy looked behind Sarah and saw Robert coming in boasting about something among, like 10 friends. Andy was about to turn around until Josh caught her eye. He was just as cute as he was that morning. Ahh. She hated this. She found herself liking him and hating him at the same time. The group came up in line behind Sarah. Andy quickly looked away when Josh caught her.

He smiled to himself. He had been thinking about her all day. Why, he didn't know. He just kept coming up with questions he wanted to ask her? He wanted to know more about her. Why, was she the way she was? Why did she always shelter herself? How could he have not noticed her before? She was really pretty. What made her even more pretty was the fact that she didn't know it. All the other girls that flung themselves at him were stuck up, rich brats. He was tired of them. That's how his previous girlfriend was. Now when he thought of her he didn't understand why he had dated her. She was wrong for him in every way imaginable. They looked like a good couple. It didn't matter anyway. Robert promised him that he'd clear things up between her and him. Oh, boy did he. She understood that they were over and decided to date Robert. Robert didn't see any wrong in it and gladly accepted her offer. Josh even knew that she fooled around behind his back but didn't care. Actually, Robert did the same so he figured that they were perfect for each other.

Andy grabbed her food and continued down the line to the cash register. She glanced at Josh who was staring at her. He smiled at her and she couldn't help but smile back. She quickly looked away. What was she doing, she was supposed to be playing hard to get. She picked up her tray and after paying, went to her table with Sarah following behind her.

When they took their seats Sarah continued her story but Andy just barely listened. She couldn't help but feeling low. She had fun that morning with Josh, but it was all pretend. He had actually made her feel right and in place at school. She hated to think this feeling wasn't mutual or that it was fake. It was a nice feeling and she didn't want to lose it.

"---what do you think?"

"Hellooooo," Sarah waved her hand in front of Andy's face to break her trance.

"Huh, oh sorry."

Andy stirred her mash potatoes with her fork looking glum.

"Are those potatoes more interesting than me or something?"

"Oh no," she laughed and dropped her fork with a fake smile. Sarah wasn't convinced,"What's wrong with you today?''

"Nothing, I'm fine, What should we do this vacation?"

"Well, I have nothing planned. I'll do what ever you want to do."

"Well there isn't much to do in this stupid town, wanna go gol---"

"Golfing! No way I'm not being dragged to that boring game. That's Julie's job. How about we just go to a funny movie and then you can come to my house and we'll go on my tramp."

"We always do that! We have the freedom of being able to drive, why don't we use it and go somewhere away from our parents."

"Oh yeah, I didn't tell you that my parents are going to go away for a week! It's their annerversary. We have my house all to ourselves."

"Great let's have a party and invite everyone in the school."

"That's what I was thinking!''

"Sarah I was being sarcastic!"

"I'm not, I'm too shy, I wanted to get out of it, But the only thing is I wanted to ask you if you minded me saying it was your idea and...um your party? Sarah suddenly found the ceiling interesting.

"What! I am not having a party at your house nor am I inviting everyone in the school."

"Please! We won't invite those jerks just people we'd wouldn't be tempted to kill."

"Sarah what has gotten into you, you're crazy!" Andy looked at the table that Sarah had jestured to. She saw Josh punch Henry in the arm while laughing. He looked over at her maintaining his smile. Andy looked back at Sarah, who had a pleading face.

"I'll think about."

"Fair enough," Sarah said looking a little disapointed.

Andy looked down at her tray. It still had most of her food on it.

"I've lost my appetite." She got up and took her tray to the dumpster.

Josh saw her stand up and quickly took his tray to the dumpster. He budged in front of her pretending he hadn't noticed her. She shook her head and tried to ignore him. He dumped his tray and turned around so that he was facing her. "Oh hi. I didn't realize you were there."

"Uh huh."she said not believing him. She stepped around him and dumped her tray. She gave one last look at him and turned around to go back to her table. Yes she did it. She wasn't distracted by his looks. She finally had control of herself. Then she realized there was one problem. She wasn't moving. She had turned around but couldn't bring herself to walk. She had been standng there for what must have been a minute.

"Um Andy," she cringed as her hopes that he had left disappeared, " your table is over there." He grabbed her shoulders and redirected her.

She couldn't think of an excuse so she just forced herself to walk away completely embarrased. She felt so stupid and could feel her face flushing into a bright red. She made her way to her table like a soldier. When she came to her table she grabbed her bag.

"Andy? What happened? Why is you're face read?" Sarah asked confusedly.

"I've...gotta go." Andy left the cafeteria and went to the bathrooms. She ran past a freshman and into a stall and banged her head against the door. After she stopped, she collected herself before opening it. Andy came out straightening her shirt and found the freshman staring at her. Andy looked back at the stall door and then back at the girl with an innocent smile.

She passed her and said,"Trust me, there will be many times in the future where you'll do the same." With her chin up, Andy walked out the door, leaving the girl starring back at the stall door with a horrified expression.