A Tinge Of Jealousy

"Okay Chris, since you're the only one in this table, I need your opinion." Sierra held up her drawing pad. It was yet another drawing of a vulture, her seventh one this week. Christofer gazed at it blankly while sucking his carton of apple juice dry.

'Well?" said Sierra impatiently.

Christofer sighed and put down the juice box. "Honestly...I wish you'd draw cockatoos." Sierra rolled her eyes. "No I'm serious! It's always the same bird!"

"Yeah but this is different!" protested Sierra, putting the drawing closer to Christofer's face "See? I put a big dream catcher in its beak!"

"Ooh yeah," said Christofer sarcastically "It makes it SO different from all the other vulture drawings."

"Hey guys," said Brian, before Sierra could retort "Have you seen Alex? I've been looking for him all morning."

"Nope, sorry," said Christofer "He's been MIA since the start of classes."

"Huh," said Brian, taking a seat "Weird."

" Why are you looking for him?"

"He's got my pen. I need it for later."

Sierra snorted. "Brian, you can't trust Alex to give back your pen after you lend it to him. He loses things really easily. Just like this guy." She jerked her thumb to Christofer.

"I don't lose stuff easily," said Christofer defiantly.

"Oh yeah? Where's my blue panda pencil you used 3 days ago?"

Christofer opened his mouth to say something, but, upon remembering, looked down sheepishly. "I lost it."

"You see?" Sierra said to Brian.

"He better not," said Brian scowling "That's my lucky pen."

"Guys!" cried a loud voice behind them. That voice was too familiar to not be recognized.

"Speak of the devil," muttered Sierra from the corner of her mouth.

Alex was running towards them, dragging along a girl they've never seen before. Her hair was a rich deep chocolate. Her skin was a light shade of olive, with freckles spread generously around her cheeks. Her eyes were bright as the sea in the daytime.

"You guys!" cried Alex, beaming madly. "I—"

"There you are!" said Brian "I've been looking all over for you. I need my pen back."

Alex frowned in confusion. "What pen?"

"I told you," whispered Sierra, smirking at Brian's dumbstruck face.

"Anyway," continued Alex "I have someone I'd like you to meet." He held the girl in front of him as if he were showing off his prized possession. "Guys, this is Cassadee Pope-Williams."

"You mean, like the legendary Cassadee from your childhood?" asked Christofer.

"Yup."

"The one you've been telling us since the beginning of God knows when?" asked Sierra "The one from the story that made me want to duct tape your mouth shut after the first hundred times?"

Alex's frown deepened. "What—"

"Anyway, CASSADEE HI!" said Sierra briskly, taking Cassadee's hand and shaking it "We've heard so much about you! I'm Sierra and this is Chris." Christofer gave a small friendly wave. "And that there is Brian."

"Hey," said Brian.

"It's so nice to finally meet you all!" said Cassadee "Although, Alex never mentioned a Brian to me before…"

"Yeah. I'm new," explained Brian.

"Ah." Cassadee suddenly froze, her hand pressed against her jeans pocket. Her phone rattled against her palm. She pulled it out and checked the message. Her eyes widened.

"Oh crap," she cursed.

"What's up?" asked Alex with concern.

"Sorry I have to look for my cousin," she said hurriedly, walking quickly away from the group. Alex blinked and looked back at the rest of the group, who were just as confused as he was.

"Welp," said Christofer "That was kinda weird…" Which probably summed up the whole moment.

~~/~~

Cassadee was on her toes, peering above all the unfamiliar heads to look for just one familiar one: her cousin Jordan Witzigreuter's. It was infuriating how a lot of guys had his hairstyle, which made the task much, much harder.

Suddenly, someone poked her sharply on the side. She staggered a bit from the shock and looked up to see Jordan's impassive face looking back at her.

"Thanks Cass," he said "I've been looking for you since 5th period and now I've wasted 30 minutes of lunch."

"I'm sorry," apologized Cassadee "I'll make it up to you. I'll buy you lunch."

"Where were you anyway?" asked Jordan "We hardly know the people here. We were supposed to stick together."

Cassadee smiled. "Do you remember Alex?"

Jordan thought for a bit. "I know a lot of Alex's…"

"Alex from 10 years ago? The one who'd always come over to my house? My best friend?"

Jordan looked at her in disbelief. "He's here?"

Cassadee's smile broadened. She bounced lightly on her toes. "Yeah! He is!" She pointed at him. There he was, curly brown hair and all.

Jordan blinked. "Wow, I thought I'd never see him again." A part of him slightly meant it.

"Come, I'll reintroduce you to him and his friends." Cassadee grabbed him by the arm and dragged him all the way to the opposite side of the room. Alex was the first one to notice her return.

"Hey! You're back," he said, beaming again.

"Yeah," said Cassadee. She pulled Jordan next to her. "You remember Jordan, right?"

Alex's mouth dropped. "Oh my god! I remember you! You're the cousin, right?"

Jordan, not liking being referred to as "The Cousin", pulled his lips into a tight smile. "Yeah. And you're the guy who kept coming over to our house, right?"

Alex laughed. "I can't believe you still remember that! Yeah I am!"

Cassadee turned Jordan to face the rest of the group. "Jordan, this is Sierra, Chris, and Brian. Guys, this my cousin Jordan."

"'Sup homie?" said Christofer.

"Here take a seat," said Alex, pulling out a chair for her.

"Thanks," said Cassadee, taking the seat.

"Oh my god," said Alex as he sat down next to her "Have you watched Thor?"

"YES," said Cassadee "Best movie EVER."

"Natalie Portman is gorgeous."

"Oh my god, I know right."

Jordan, seeing as there was nowhere else to sit, sat down in the chair next to Christofer. As the two long lost best friends continued to gush about how amazing the cinematography of Thor was and how Thor looked exactly the same as the comic book, the rest of the gang felt a little left out. In that period, it felt like there was a thick invisible barrier enclosing the two. For some reason, they look like nothing could interrupt their conversation.

"Well," said Brian, breaking the awkward silence "This is pretty awkward."

"Yeah," said Christofer "I don't know how they can talk so much about Thor. The movie was complete crap."

"I didn't see it," said Brian, picking at his food "I wouldn't know."

"So Jordan," said Sierra, deciding to pay attention to him. The poor kid seemed so left out. "How are you cousins with Cassadee?"

"My mom and her mom are sisters," explained Jordan "We live with them. Her, her mom and her sister Hayley."

"Huh," said Sierra "Alex never mentioned Cassadee having a sister."

"I bet he didn't mention anything about me either," muttered Jordan, playing with the zipper on his jacket.

"Yeah. He didn't really talk about you much."

"Typical. I didn't expect him to anyway."

"So you've heard the Amazing Adventures of Cassadee And Alex too, huh?" asked Christofer.

"You kidding?" said Jordan "I practically memorize it."

"You are not alone," said Sierra, touching Jordan's hand empathetically.

"I always thought you guys were exaggerating," said Brian. "But now I know you weren't kidding when you said you wanted to tape his mouth shut whenever he brought it up."

"You're just lucky," said Sierra, patting Brian's hair. She pulled out her drawing pad and turned to Jordan. "So, what do you think of this?"

Jordan examined it. "Is that a vulture?"

"Yep. A beautiful hand-drawn vulture made by yours truly."

Jordan's face scrunched up in repulsion. "Ugh. I hate those kinds of birds. Sorry."

"What did I tell you?" said Christofer, watching as Sierra struggled to find words "Next time, go with a canary or something."

~~/~~

Five days has passed and things have gotten a little weird for the Brat Pack. Alex and Cassadee had missed both recess and lunch three times straight. The rest of them only got to see the couple like twice or thrice a day. And they ALWAYS had to come together. It was like they couldn't let each other go.

"Where the hell are they?" demanded Sierra "This is the fourth time they missed lunch with us!"

"I mean, honestly, the school isn't THAT interesting," commented Jordan "I've walked the campus twice. There isn't much to see."

"Guys come on," said Brian reproachfully "They haven't seen each other for 10 years. At least give them time to catch up."

"What, six days isn't enough for anyone anymore?" Christofer pointed out. "They have computers and cell phones right? I mean, it won't take six straight days for them to just call each other up or, freaking instant message each other."

"Hey guys!" greeted Alex as he casually walked up to the table. Cassadee hung on to his arm, laughing from yet another inside joke.

"Really?" said Sierra irritably "You've been gone the entire morning. The four of us have been wondering where you were the entire time. You decide to show up 15 minutes before lunch ends. And all you can say is "Hey guys!" ?"

"I'm sorry, Sierra," said Alex, not seeming sorry at all "It's just, I had to show Cass the Gardening Club's flower display. She loves looking at those things."

"Yep," said Cassadee, shrugging "I do love looking at flowers."

"Yeah, yeah," said Sierra brusquely "Why don't you also explain where you've been for the past five days?"

"Around the school," explained Alex "I wanted to show her every nook and cranny of the school. And…" He gazed warmly at Cassadee "I wanted to spend more time with her. I missed her so much."

Cassadee smiled back just as warmly. "Aw, I missed you too." She leaned against Alex's shoulder.

"Seriously?" said Christofer, looking at everyone else "Technology isn't an option anymore?"

"I guess cause you're just experiencing one part of the whole freaking individual," replied Jordan.

Alex was starting to sense something strange. "Wait. Wait. Hold up. Do you guys, like, have a problem with me and Cass?"

Three mouth's opened to reply, but only one silenced them. "No, we don't," said Brian, giving everyone else looks "It's just, you've haven't been hanging out with us much. We were kinda getting a little…"

"Annoyed?" suggested Sierra.

"Peeved?" Christofer chimed in.

"Left out?" added Jordan.

"Concerned," clarified Brian. "And, we were kind of hoping that you would, you know, stay with us more, instead of going off on your own."

Cassadee touched her lips in worry. "Oh no." She looked at Alex. "I feel bad."

"Same here," said Alex "Alright. We're sorry. We promise to stay with you guys right here." He pounded the table lightly. "That cool?"

The four exchanged glances and shrugged. "I guess that'd be cool," said Sierra.

~~/~~

And lo and behold, for the next three days, Alex and Cassadee DID stay at the table. The only problem was, the barrier came up again, and this time, it seemed even more impenetrable than the last time.

"Well," said Jordan "You got your wish, Brian."

"I just don't get it," said Brian, shaking his head as he gazed at the couple talking non-stop "You'd think they'd get it by now. I thought I'd made it clear."

Sierra sighed in exasperation. "This is getting ridiculous. Someone needs to tell them off."

Christofer's eyes suddenly lit up. He tapped the table for attention. "Why don't we try to grab their attention? You know, say things that might ACTUALLY tear them away from whatever they're yapping about."

"Excellent idea," said Sierra "I'll go first." She turned to Alex's general direction, making sure her voice goes directly into his ear. "I heard that one of Greta Salpeter-Johnson's Gucci stilettos broke in the bathroom and she fell directly into the toilet bowl filled with her own crap!"

The four of them burst out laughing, making sure it was loud enough for the couple to hear. After a good 5 minutes, they looked up and saw that they didn't even budge. They continued to talk as if Greta's unfortunate incident meant nothing.

"Oookay?" said Christofer in confusion "My turn. I heard that her brother got invited to join the Mathletes club and that his lab partner, the one with the oversized-headgear, has an altar dedicated to him in her locker."

"Oh man that's disgusting," said Brian, chuckling. They looked back at the couple, who still didn't stop talking. "Whaaat? No way!"

"Ooh I have something," said Jordan, clearing his throat "I heard Hayley got caught making out with a mysterious guy under the bleachers and reportedly got a HICKEY."

"Damn, that's scandalous," said Christofer, giving Jordan a high five. Everyone looked back and, again, the couple didn't move. Everyone was dumbstruck. Three attempts and NOTHING happened. Alex and Cassadee were still stuck beneath the barrier, chatting away, oblivious to everything.

"Okay, okay, I have one," said Brian "I'm SURE this will get Alex's attention." He turned to Alex. "I heard Mr. Wentz got suspended for stealing school documents and may come back after we graduate high school."

"Oh NICE!" said Sierra, giving him a high five. They looked back and, you guessed it, they still didn't move.

Sierra threw up her hands in frustration. "I DON'T BELIEVE IT."

"I can't believe we spouted lies for nothing," said Brian, shaking his head in disappointment.

"Either they're horribly deaf," said Jordan "Or they're being idiots."

"I'd pick the latter," said Christofer scornfully "In fact, they're acting more like jerks than idiots."

"You know what? I'm leaving," said Sierra, hastily gathering her things "I've had enough of this bullcrap." The rest followed suit and together, they left the couple, who continued to act as if nothing happened.

~~/~~

Brian checked his watch. 5 pm. Alex was still AWOL. The rest of the Brat Pack hadn't seen the dynamic duo the entire afternoon. Jordan had left an hour ago, which meant Cassadee was gone too.

"Where's Alex?" asked Brian. Sierra merely shook her head, dumping things heavily into her bag.

"Don't know, don't care," she said stonily "He probably went home with Cassadee. Again."

"Yeah, who needs him," spat Chistofer bitterly "Stuck up, son of a—"

"Hey guys," said an all too familiar voice behind them. They turned around and saw the man himself. None of them replied. They continued to glare at him.

"So," continued Alex "I missed you at lunch."

Christofer looked at him incredulously. "You missed us at lunch? How the hell did you miss us at lunch?"

"Yeah we were sitting right in front of you," Brian pointed out.

"Yeah but," said Alex "You guys just suddenly left."

"Okay," said Sierra, shouldering her pack. She stepped closer to Alex, her eyes boring deep into his skull "Do you wanna know why we suddenly left? For nine freaking days, you haven't talked to us. You haven't sat with us—"

"I did sit with you!"

"Yeah but you weren't completely there, were you?" snapped Sierra accusingly "All you did was talk and talk and TALK to freaking Cassadee about God knows what. You left us out. You ABANDONED us, Alex. You know, Jordan? He was completely new and you TOOK AWAY his only source of comfort, the only familiar thing he had: his cousin. What, just because she was your best friend for 10 years, you can just suddenly abandon the best friends you have currently? In those 10 years, you only hung out with her for ONE WHOLE YEAR. You didn't see her for the rest of the 9 years. But we've been friends for THREE YEARS and we've hung out in those three years. You've been with Christofer longer than I have. So tell me, what makes her more special than us?"

Alex pondered upon this for a while. There was a long, excruciating silence. Sierra continued to stare into Alex's face, hoping he'd finally see what he was doing to their friendship.

Finally, he looked into her eyes. "I get it."

"Oh thank the lord—"

"I can't believe how insensitive you all are being."

Sierra gaped at him. So did Brian and Christofer. They couldn't believe what they were hearing. They couldn't believe how STUPID Alex was being.

"What the—" began Christofer.

"I haven't seen Cassadee for 10 whole years," said Alex angrily "All I want is to just hang out with her, spend time with her, BE with her, for God's sake. But no, you guys are against it. I know you all are sick and tired of me talking about her all the time, but you just don't understand how much she means to me. Why can't you guys give me time to just stay with her for a while? Wouldn't you do that if you had a friend who you haven't seen for how many years?"

Sierra narrowed her eyes. That was it. She'd had enough. "You know what? Forget it. I'm tired of this. I hope you're better off with Cassadee." She looked at Brian and Christofer. "Let's go guys."

With one last glare, they turned and walked away, leaving Alex bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun.