"Hey Josh," Alicia said brightly as the dark-haired boy entered math class and took his usual seat next to her.
"Hey," Josh replied, smiling briefly.
"Can I borrow your pen?" Without waiting for an answer, Alicia slowly leaned across the aisle to grab it off his desk, giving Josh a nice view of her ample cleavage.
"Yeah, sure," Josh mumbled, forcing himself to look up at her face.
"So, I hear you and Kristen are getting serious," Alicia began as she sat back in her seat, adopting an expression of polite interest.
"Not really," Josh replied dubiously.
"Well, Kristen seems to think you are. She really likes you, you know," Alicia told him, lowering her voice conspiratorially.
"She does?" Josh asked, his face lighting up. Alicia rolled her eyes, but faked a smile anyway, knowing how crucial it was that she play her part well.
"Yeah, it's kind of cute actually. It's like she's in love with you or something. She writes Mrs. Josh Hotz in cursive all over her binder and everything."
"You're kidding." Josh leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, squinting at Alicia disbelievingly.
"No, really, it's true. She even saves your old tissues and keeps them in a box under her bed so she'll feel close to you when she's asleep," Alicia lied.
"Uh, okay." Josh grimaced, obviously freaked out by this bit of false news. Alicia decided to press her advantage.
"Look, I know she's kind of socially retarded and weird, but she's my friend so just promise me you'll let her down easy," Alicia implored, placing a manicured hand on Josh's arm. "Maybe you should stop hanging out with her so much, you know, so you don't lead her on."
"Maybe that's a good idea," Josh agreed. "Oh, but I'm supposed to have a study date with her tonight," he remembered, frowning.
"Cancel it," Alicia suggested.
"No, I really need the help," Josh replied dismissively, shaking his head. "I gotta have at least a B average to keep my starting position on the soccer team."
"I'll tutor you," Alicia volunteered, ignoring the fact that her grades were no better than Josh's.
"Nah, I better just go. Thanks for the offer, though," Josh said, smiling at her genuinely. Alicia beamed.
"Anytime," she replied, winking at him flirtatiously and causing Josh's smile to widen. They both turned around in their desks to face the front of the room where their wrinkly old teacher was beginning the lesson in her famous monotone. Alicia sighed happily, pulling out her phone discreetly to text Massie about scheduling hair appointments for the Winter Formal. If she was going to have a boy as good looking as Josh Hotz as her date, she had to be a ten.
--
That evening when the door bell rang Kristen jumped up from her seat, smoothed her dirty blonde hair, and forced herself to walk slowly over to the front door so she wouldn't seem too eager.
"Hey, Josh!" she exclaimed as she threw the door open, unable to contain her excitement. Instead of returning her enthusiasm or even hugging her hello like she was expecting, Josh only smiled tightly.
"Let's just get this over with," he mumbled, pushing past her into the small apartment. Kristen frowned and followed him into the living room where they both took seats on the couch, Josh careful to keep a good six inches of space between them. They sat there in awkward silence for a few moments before Kristen spoke up.
"Um, I made brownies," she said lamely, pointing to the tray on the coffee table. Josh took one politely, looking anywhere but at her as he ate it.
"Oh, you got some on your lip," Kristen told him, reaching forward to brush it off for him. Josh waved her hand away.
"I got it," he said, grabbing a tissue and wiping his mouth. He crumpled it into a ball and, not seeing any trash cans in the vicinity of the couch, put it down on the edge of the coffee table.
"I'll throw that away for you," Kristen offered, taking any excuse to escape Josh's weird mood.
"Kay," he replied slowly, eyeing her suspiciously. Feeling utterly confused by Josh's behavior, Kristen picked up the used tissue and made her way into the kitchen to throw it away. When she returned seconds later and reclaimed her seat on the couch, careful to maintain the space Josh had created between them, she bent over and pulled a binder out of her school bag, deciding it was best to go ahead and get started. After she dropped the binder on the coffee table, Josh pulled it over towards him and picked it up. He held it close to his face and examined it as if he were searching for hidden markings. Kristen had just opened her mouth to ask Josh what the heck was up with him when he suddenly spoke.
"There aren't any Mrs. Josh Hotzes written on this binder," he said, turning towards Kristen with a perplexed look on his face. Kristen laughed.
"Why on earth would there be?"
"Alicia said--"
"Alicia?" Kristen interrupted. Suddenly the reason behind Josh's strange mood became incredibly clear. "Look, I don't know what all she told you, but I swear none of it's true."
"None of it?" he asked, his voice tinged with a mixture of relief and disappointment. "Not even the part about you liking me?"
"Well, maybe that part was a little true," Kristen admitted, smiling, and for the first time that night, Josh smiled right back at her.
--
Massie was sitting next to Plovert and opposite Dylan and Derrick in a cozy booth at Slice of Heaven when her cell phone buzzed, sending vibrations across the entire table. She hastily picked the phone up off the table top and opened her new text message.
Kristen: guess what!
Intrigued, and forgetting that she was supposed to be annoyed at the sporty blonde, Massie fired off a quick "what?" in reply.
Kristen: josh just asked me 2 the winter formal!
Massie's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Alicia had told her all about the successful Kristen sabotage, and she had assumed that Josh would want to take Alicia now. Apparently Kristen had more game than she thought.
Just as Massie was about to respond, her phone buzzed with another text message, this time from Alicia.
Alicia: did u hear about k & josh? WTF!
Massie rolled her eyes. She so did not want to deal with this right now. She was doing her best to compose a comforting reply when Chris touched her arm, trying to get her attention.
"Mass, you've been texting all through dinner," he accused her gently. "Think you could maybe pay attention to me a little?"
Massie lowered her phone guiltily. Alicia would just have to deal without her.
Ten minutes later, Derrick and Dylan had gotten up to go pay their bill, and Massie was sitting with Chris's arm around her, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder as she listened to him talk about the BOCD Tomahawks and their chances of winning the finals this year and maintaining the legacy that he, Derrick, Kemp, Cam, and Josh had left behind. Just then Massie felt her phone vibrating against her hip, and, betting that whatever she was being texted about was more interesting than the current snooze fest of a conversation, discreetly slipped it out of her pocket.
Cam: having fun, china doll?
Massie scowled, and, glancing up at Chris to make sure he wasn't paying attention, typed up a quick reply.
Massie: i was until u txted me.
Cam: right, cause listening 2 plovert talk about sports or his dog or whatever is so interesting.
Massie: for your information chris & i are in the middle of an absolutely riveting conversation.
Cam: is that so?
Massie: yes. it is.
Cam: what about?
Massie: none of your business!
Cam: doesn't sound so "riveting" if u ask me
Massie was gaping at her phone, trying to devise a clever comeback, when Plovert suddenly reached over and playfully snatched it away from her.
"You just can't go ten minutes without texting, can you?" he asked teasingly, shaking his head in mock disappointment. Massie tried to grab it back, but he held it just out of her reach, chuckling in amusement. As soon as he read the name at the top of her inbox, however, his smile faded.
"You're texting Cam?" he asked in disbelief, a hurt expression on his face.
"No! I mean, yes, I was, but it wasn't because I wanted to talk to him, it was because--"
"It's okay, Mass," Plovert interrupted, speaking in a soothing tone in an attempt to calm her down. "I trust you."
Massie smiled gratefully and snuggled closer to Chris, but on the inside she felt overcome with guilt. Plovert's words, meant to make her feel better, only made her feel worse.