Chapter #47Of Nudges, Pokes and Other Forms of Foreplay by: Seuzz   You file it away in the back of your head, for there's no reason to bring it up now: Get a mask of Cindy for Caleb. "Maybe we could get a mask of Richards for you," you joke aloud, and poke Caleb in the ribs. "You know, Eva's got a date with him tonight."
"She does?"
"I think he's going to ask her out. I set it up."
Caleb stops and turns wide eyes on you. "Why would you do that?"
"Why, did I fuck something up?"
"Why do him a favor like that?"
"I dunno, I guess I was being sisterly." You snicker. "She's got a thing for him. Can you believe that?"
"So who's Jessica hot for?"
"Someone better than Richards, that's for sure."
"Really?" His voice turns sly. "Come on, tell me."
"Anybody. Anybody on the wrestling team, for a start."
"You like Delacroix better than Richards?"
What a question! "Well, yeah!"
"Do you, Will?" He cackles.
You grab him by the hair with both hands, and he yelps.
"Best part of being a girl," you gasp after you've manhandled him. "You get to beat the shit out of douchebag guys. But come on, if I'm going to be seen with you in public, we should go hang out with Jenny and her friends so I don't look stupid." You can't keep an extra waggle out of your hips as you walk along next to Caleb.
As usual, the quartet of Jenny Ashton, Carson Ioeger, James Lamont, and Paul Davis is sitting on the front quad near the corner of the library. Sometimes Yumi Saito—another cheerleader—will be sitting with them; more rarely Lin Pol will join the company; and in very rare cases Cindy Vredenburg will deign to join the company. But today it is just the four of them.
Jenny's eyes brighten when she sees you approaching. "I thought I was going to miss out on my cheerleader updates," she says, and the guys groan.
"Can't I be popular for my own reasons? Hi, Carson," you say in a dreamy voice, and dimple at him. He turns red and looks away with a mutter.
"Is there any news?"
"No. Why would there be?" You peel open the yogurt and sniff daintily at it. This is not Will Prescott's usual kind of meal, and Jessica's not fond of it either, but if you handle the plastic spoon right you'll be sure to drive the guys wild. "It was actually a pretty quiet practice today—"
"Has Cindy said anything to you?"
"About what?"
Jenny smiles meaningfully. You perform a set of calculations with a rapidity that would put a computer processor to shame. "What has Yumi been telling you?"
Jenny hops across the grass on her butt and pulls you close, whispering in your ear. "Cindy's trying to expand the squad roster to fifteen." Jenny sits back and gives you that same meaningful smile.
"Why? Why does she want to expand the roster?"
"So she hasn't said anything to you!"
"Not about—" You draw a breath and stop. These are deep waters, even for Jessica, and you're reluctant to accidentally commit yourself.
"So what has she talked to you about?"
"Only about getting together tonight."
Jenny claps her hands. "I bet that's it! That's when she's going to talk to you about it. She's getting together with you and Eva, right?"
"No, just me. Because Seth is doing something and Eva's going out on a date."
"Who with?" The light in Jenny's eye suggests you've successfully diverted her.
"Jeremy Richards, if he's not a complete doofus and actually asks her out."
The boys have been talking amongst themselves, but apparently Carson has been half-listening to you and Jenny, for he inserts himself at this point: "So what makes you think Eva won't be free tonight?"
You and Jenny exchange an exasperated look at the denseness of Carson's question. "It's being arranged for him to ask her out."
"Doesn't he get a say in the matter?"
"No," you say.
"He just gets a nudge in the right direction," says Jenny.
"How come nobody ever nudges me?"
"Go stand on a cliff and I'll arrange a nudge for you," Jenny says. Back to you: "How long has she been waiting for him?"
"To ask about tonight, or to ask ever?"
"Both."
There follows a long and very girlish talk about Eva's longstanding attraction for Jeremy, and the devices whereby she has finally by small degrees pushed him into a corner whereby he would act upon her fascination. Several times you almost lapse out of character, so struck are you by the incongruity of your talk, and you almost turn to Carson and Caleb and the other boys to exclaim, "Can you believe I'm talking like I'm interested in this shit? Isn't it amazing?" but you restrain yourself.
The conversation eventually circles back to Cindy and the cheerleaders, though. "Maybe Cindy wants to spring it on only one of you instead both at the same time," she says.
"Spring what?" you ask.
Jenny seizes you by the wrist. "Just get her on the subject of cheerleaders and the squad, and tell her you know she's up to something and you want to know what it is." Her grip tightens as she becomes more excited. "And you've got to talk her into doing it!"
"Jeez, Jenny, why does it matter so much to you?" But Jenny just laughs.
* * * * *
Sixth period is an advanced art class with Mr. Trencher. You had Trencher earlier in your school career and really liked him, and Jessica likes him too, so you're extra bubbly and cheerful this day, which leaves him smiling and laughing. This might be why he doesn't object when you pull out your phone to check a text message in the middle of class; but he's a graying hippie-type, so he's far from being a hard-ass anyway. It's from Caleb, telling you to meet Connor in the student parking lot after school to pick up a "spy kit" to use on Kelsey. Spy kit? You text back asking what that's all about, and that you're supposed to ride home with Marc and Eva. talk to Connor not me, he texts back.
You look for Eva at her locker during the break before seventh period. "Hey, any change in plans for tonight?"
She's looking drawn and distracted. "No," she says, and her voice is tight and she avoids your eye. Then she does a double-take and looks at you. "Any change in your plans?"
"Kind of. I'm going over to Kelsey's for a little while after school, so I'm going to get a ride out of here with someone else."
"Anything after that?"
"I don't know. Why?" Something in her manner suggests there's a reason she's asking, but she just shrugs, and she gets a little more haggard in the face.
You can guess what this is about. You march off to English class. Marc is in there too, but you ignore him and he ignores you. Instead you glare hard at Jeremy Richards, who is folded up in a desk like a misplaced step-ladder. He's got a furtive look in his eye and is jogging his leg. He catches you staring and gazes back with a dumb look of bafflement. Then you see the light dawning on his face, and he looks away, turning pale. You stride past without speaking to him, drop into the desk behind—not your normal spot—and spend most of class kicking it. When the bell rings, he bolts from the room. It had better be to find Eva, but the way he's looking it might be to find a toilet to throw up into. What a fucking goober. He really does belong with you and your friends, not with Javits and Patterson and Black and the other alpha jocks.
Yes, he's dumb enough to hang out with you and Caleb and Keith, as Keith himself proves almost immediately after Jeremy's made his long-legged dash for the exit. Tilley is also in that English class, and as you're bending over you bag to reload your books, he saunters over. "Hey," he says, and when you raise your head you almost forget who you're pretending to be and answer as yourself. But you catch yourself and just stare back. God, he's ugly. You don't normally mind Keith's beetle-brow and bad skin, but Jessica notices and comments loudly inside your skull.
"So," he continues with a jerk of his chin. "You and Johansson have a hot date tonight or something?" His eyes miss yours, your nose, your chin, and are boring directly at your breasts.
"Uh, no."
"Because Johansson at lunch was all, like, yeah, I'm eating with Jessica, I think her and me are doing something later. Pft, I knew it, he's such a fucking liar."
You're torn between the urge to confirm Tilley's conviction that Jessica would have nothing to do with Caleb, and the urge to discomfit him by admitting that you're getting together with him on a Friday night. You split the difference: "We had lunch together."
"Yeah, me and Prescott saw you two making out on the quad." He puts on a dopey smirk. "'Cept it wasn't with each other."
God, if this is what you and your friends are like, no wonder everyone thinks you're not worth their time. You hike your backpack onto your shoulders and leave without answering Tilley.
* * * * *
Last period: Calculus. You find out what Eva was getting at when she asked if your plans for the evening had changed.
Alec "Brownie" Brown is in there, along with his best bud and fellow wrestler Laurent Delacroix. The two are always friendly to Jessica, though never more than that. But today Brownie rises from his desk and pads over to yours, sinking into the desk in front. He turns those smoldering hazel eyes toward you. "Hey Jessica," he says in a throaty baritone. "Whatcha doin' tonight?"
This moment has been Jessica's fantasy for most of high school.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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