The limousine was a giant white one with the phrase 'Homecoming '85' painted on the back window. I could see the driver in front, sporting the look of someone who's having a headache. I could tell why. We were probably twenty feet away from the limo, and surprisingly could hear everything going on in there. Squeals, laughing, shrieks of excitement. If I had been the driver, I would've wrecked the car on purpose.
"My friends are in there," Claire began, giving me a worried, sideways glance. "So...don't act like an ass."
Why everyone had to tell me that before I was involved in anything social, I still had no clue. Well...okay, so maybe I did know why they said that. To put it simply, I was an ass. A total, 100 ass. So sue me.
But I had other things on my mind, so instead of snapping back with a witty comment, I muttered, "Yeah, yeah. Just get me to the dance."
Before we got inside the limo, Claire paused in front of the door and seemed to take a deep breath. Then she turned around with a pathetically apologetic smile on her face, and pushed out her bottom lip.
"John...,"
Not being in the mood to argue, I obeyed Claire's dumb request that I would sit in the front seat with the driver. She insisted that it would ensure that none of her friends would be intimidated, but I knew much better than that. I like how Claire acts like I'm stupid.
The driver raised an eyebrow when he saw me get in, then turned back to the backseat and said into a little window, "Miss Standish, I hope you realize that another passenger is another $100."
"Yes, Roberto. I understand." I heard Claire say back over the gaggle of her friends in the back. Settling into the seat, I couldn't help but hear one of the girls ask who the other rider was, and Claire telling them it was no one.
"Roberto, roll down the window!" Another girl shouted through the window. Then she added, "Please!" More giggles erupted from behind me.
The driver did as told, muttering curses under his breath, and the window went down. I could already picture the look of sheer embarrassment, disgrace, and horror on Claire's face. As the window disappeared, the girls' faces were bearing surprised grins. It was quiet for a moment, even Roberto the driver was watching in anticipated wonder.
To loosen the tension, I gave the chicks a rebellious sneer and asked, "What, you three never seen a dude before?"
They all giggled, Claire being the exception. To my surprise, the blonde girl with green eyes stared at me ponderously, smiling as she narrowed her eyes. Then, she pointed a finger at me accusingly.
"Aren't you John Bender?" She asked in an irritating bubbly voice.
"Yeah, what's it to ya?"
A girl with wavy short black hair scanned over me and said, "You're the one Claire went with for awhile, aren't you? See, now she told us about you, but we thought she was just asking for attention." She looked to Claire with a sorry grin. "Oh, Claire, we're sorry for not believing you."
"Aren't you going to introduce us, Claire?" asked the blonde with a flirtatious flip of her hair.
Claire looked at me, seemingly confused that her friends weren't scared or ashamed of me, and said in a strangled voice, "Uh, er...John, these are my friends."
The blonde held out her hand, which I didn't bother to shake (She found this amusing and giggled even more, for some odd reason.), and replied, "I'm Lyndee Fairhope."
"Daphne Watercress." Said the petite black-haired one. Then, I realized that there was a girl sitting by the window opposite Claire who was looking sulky and wary towards me. When I looked at her, she tried not to stare me straight in the eye. She had curly auburn hair and large, owl-like blue eyes.
"Who're you?" I asked her, causing her to twitch in a startled fear.
Claire looked over at her, rolled her eyes, and said, "That's Chandra. Speaking of which, Chan, what's your deal?"
Chandra looked over at Claire and her friends in absolute fright. Then her face fell and she gave them a grave look.
"I cannot believe you, Claire!" She muttered in a small voice. That girl reminded me of a Chihuahua, shaky and small. "He is a bad influence! He's into drugs! He's a delinquent! He's–,"
"My friend." Claire told her defiantly with a frown. "He's my friend, Chandra, and he has a name."
Claire was becoming more likable than ever in my eyes. She was actually sticking up for me to her richie friends. She had even told them about our brief affair. And the other two didn't have any objections against it.
Chandra crossed her arms. "Claire, what is everyone going to think when you get out of this limo with him? Think about J.B.!"
"J.B. isn't going to care, and if he does, then he'll have to deal with it!" Claire told her friend in an angry voice. "And I don't care what anyone thinks! So just leave John alone!"
I felt like giving Claire the award for 'Best Badass Moment'. I couldn't help but try to contain my smile. She was being the coolest ever. It made me remember that spark of chemistry between us that we had felt before. After Chandra leaned back and stared out the window poutingly, I saw Claire smile at me in pride. So I smiled back, the girls giggling in the background.