CHAPTER 7 (JEALOUSY)

I was nervous… Heck, that's an understatement about my situation.

I was edgy, jumpy, panicky, tense, uneasy, nervy.

How was I supposed to pull this off??

The answer is simple:

I WON'T pull it off.

Oh come on Norah. Don't be like that. Be positive.

What's so positive about a social death???

Again. Be positive…

"Ouch!" I suddenly exclaimed as I hit something. I rubbed my forehead and realized that I had bumped into an electric post.

Jeez. I was that worried?

I continued walking to school, hoping my forehead looked normal.

Okay, according to one guide I read, hand gestures are good when welcoming guests. Proper hand gestures. So I…

I spread out my arms and grinned. "Welcome. Bienvenue."

Ah. I pronounced that perfectly.

"Mommy, are French people crazy?" I heard a kid whispering to his mother.

"No honey. Only her. Run along now and ignore the deranged woman," his mother told him as she ushered him out of my way. She stared at me.

I stuck my tongue at her. She looked offended but decided to go away with a 'Hmph!'.

Hah. Serves her right.

But I have got to stop this…

Okay school. Here I come…

I was nervous as I was waiting at the stage. The whole school started coming in, taking their seats. The hall was quiet and still a while ago, but now it was plain noisy.

And the noise was only adding to my confusion.

I saw Nate sitting right in front of the stage.

I bit my lower lip. I really need to talk to him.

I slowly made my way towards him. He smiled as he saw me approach him.

"Nate! I can't do this!" I hissed at him.

He placed his hands on my shoulder and had an encouraging smile on his face. "You can do this Norah."

Gosh. I feel like burning up now.

Aaah! Shut up Norah. Think about Shane. Think about Shane.

I smiled, feeling slightly elated. "Thanks."

"Miss Norah?" a voice called me and realized that Mr. Fonda, the school principal, had called me.

"Gotta go," I whispered hastily to Nate.

"Knock them dead," he smiled.

"J'espère ainsi," I replied.

I hope so.

"So, we welcome you to our school and we have a student who's fluent in French,"

That's a total lie.

"And she'll be greeting you in French…"

Oh gosh.

"Right now."

Here comes the pain!

The crowd was silent as I made my way towards the Prime Minister and his daughter. The Prime Minister flashed me a friendly smile. His daughter, however, was a stark contrast to him. She was frowning, and she looked simply bored. I think she'd criticize me if I ever made a mistake.

I gulped. Here goes nothing Norah.

I held the microphone and checked if it was on. It was on.

I took in a deep breath. Focus Norah…

"Um… Bonjour! (Hello) Bienvenue à notre école. (Welcome to our school) Nous sommes heureux de vous avoir ici (we are happy to have you here). Nous espérons que vous vous amusez (we hope you enjoy it here)," I finally said.

Hey. That didn't go badly after all. I did it!

The Prime Minister nodded and smiled. Astin still looked uninterested.

What did I forget again? Oh yeah! Hand gestures!

"Welcome!" I beamed and spread my arms out.

All of a sudden, I hit the microphone stand and it toppled down. It gave off an eerie screech.

Aaahhh!! Why'd I have to bother with hand gestures????

The technical crew set it up once more and I was panicking on stage. I have officially made a fool out of myself in front of a French Prime Minister.

All of a sudden, I heard a cute giggle erupt not far from me.

I was surprised to see that it was Astin. She was beaming now and she was turning red as she couldn't control her laughter.

Wow. She isn't heartless after all! She's not some twisted monster from Greek mythology.

She clapped her hands and approached me. "I like you. You are very 'ilarious. I vant to 'ave lunch with you."

I couldn't believe my ears. This snob wants to have lunch with me??

She suddenly spoke on the microphone. "Merci. J'apprécie déjà ici."

She turned to me. I knew what to do.

Huh. She was nice after all.

I spoke on the microphone. "Thank you. I am already enjoying here."

"Thank you," the French Prime Minister thanked me as he and his daughter stood up to leave.

"It was my pleasure," I replied.

Astin beamed at me. "I 'ad fun. Thank you."

"Smile more often."

"I vill."

Then they left, along with their fifty bodyguards.

It was awkward eating lunch with her. We were always surrounded by her bodyguards and they checked every food that was being prepared. Must be wicked to be this important.

I hurried off to find Nate. Maybe I could ask him to ice cream or something. As a thank you.

I finally found him in one corner, his ear glued to his phone. I got nearer him. I froze as I heard his conversation.

"Aww… How's my baby doing? I miss you Sasha. I'll visit you soon. I love you. Bye," he beamed.

Sasha?

Love you?

Miss you?

He has… a girlfriend?

I felt crushed, and jealousy stirred inside me. It's as if the Titans were inside me, and they were waiting to unleash their fury.

Hmph. I knew I shouldn't have fallen for him.

"Oh. Hi Norah," Nate smiled at me. "What did you want?"

I shook my head. "Nothing."

"Anything wrong?"

"No."

I left him and decided to go back to class.

Oooh. Who needs Nate anyway? I can live without the guy anyway. No problem. Pffft. The world wouldn't stop rotating. My atoms would still be intact. I wouldn't turn into a platypus.

All of a sudden, my phone beeped.

Hm… A text message.

I froze as I read the message and who sent it:

"Meet me tomorrow please? –Shane."

I closed my phone and stuffed it into my pocket.

Great. What does he want?