Chapter #67Action and Inaction by: rugal b.   "I appreciate the offer and all but," you look at Allison. Her expression is serious but it doesn't feel like she's pressuring you. It's a sympathetic seriousness. "But you really think I could make the team?"
"As a sophomore? Oh yeah, no problem," she answers.
"It's the juniors and seniors that are doing most of the real stuff," Ava states which draws a sharp look from Miranda. "What? That's just how it is. The volleyball team's the same and Ellie's like the nicest girl ever. We don't have JV teams or anything like you and Alice."
"Or me," Melanie adds.
"Yeah but you don't have to, like, crush her hopes like that," Miranda says.
"Well it's true though," Allison states. "We're barely a step up from freshmen. We're just there to learn." She turns her attention back to you. "Really, all you have to do is show that you're willing to learn and you're good."
"Well, I mean if that's all that's expected," you say as you bite your lip nervously. But then you let out a large smile. "Oh, what the hell? Trying out can't hurt can it? Oh but what about other teams?"
"We're all locked up," Miranda says.
"Us too," adds Alice.
"Most of the other teams are pretty set and strict about their roster numbers," Allison explains. "But the swim team is kind of, ugh and I totally don't mean this pun, but it's pretty fluid. Which is nice if you're a new kid because it's a pretty good way to ease into the rest of the school without having to deal with, well..."
"Oh, but you'd definitely know how to fit in right?" Alice asks but then catches her blunder. "Sheesh, no! I mean, uh, you're probably used to it and oh my gosh I am just sounding so insensitive right now!"
"It's fine," you laugh. "It is pretty hard joining a new school and then having to find a spot where you fit in so if this makes it a little easier then I'm really super grateful for the chance."
"The swim team's good, you'll see," Allison says. "We've usually got each other's backs and the seniors do a good job of looking out for us."
"Andrea though," says Ava.
"Andrea's nice," Allison counters. "But she's got her own stuff going on. She delegates us to Rachel and Rachel is really, really nice."
"So what time would I have to be out there?" you ask.
"Probably before noon," Allison states. "Give me your number so I can text you."
"Ugh, sorry but I can't. I just got a new phone but I forgot to grab it before I left this morning. I don't remember the number either," you "admit" sheepishly. "The airline lost my luggage and stuff so like, I've been really stressed and not thinking straight."
The lie seems to work because that produces a chorus of of sympathetic cooing from the assembled girls before Allison says she'll make sure to text Melanie so she can get word to you. You settle in for more conversation for a little while longer and find that you're actually enjoying the rest of their company and despite all of the bullshit you're spewing "your life" they don't seem to find any of it really unbelievable either as nobody calls you on any of it.
After a point you think you may actually be starting to believe your own stories and you're left wondering if, or when, you really will start thinking of yourself exclusively as your assumed identity.
"Oh my gosh, it was really nice meeting you Katie!" Alice exclaims as she pulls you into a friendly hug as everyone begins to leave to go off to other places for the evening (Abigail and Lucas never did return). "You're, like, so cool! I totally hope we can hang out some time."
"Yeah, don't be a stranger," Miranda adds. "Hopefully we get some classes together."
"I'd like that," you say in return. "It'll be nice going in with some friends. Totally puts me more at ease."
Further goodbyes are exchanged and the group separates. You tell Melanie that they seem nice and she can only gush about how cool they are. You're still in awe at Alice's height which then somehow devolves into the mutually agreed position that she is totally adorable and is like the world's biggest little sister which morphs into further commentary on the other girls and Melanie's admitting that it's only a portion of the Westside students she knows though they're the ones, outside of the group you've been dealing with, that she's closest too.
You muse to yourself that at this rate there might not have been any girls at Westside that Grant could've been and that Future Catherine Muskov label you've since attached to Melanie is looking more and more appropriate.
* * * * *
After leaving the mall, the conversation about your phone -- or lack thereof -- led you to stop and pick up a no-contract phone and plan because you weren't really sure what, if anything, Kim would have on that front and you'd rather make sure you had everything you needed for tomorrow. Which also necessitated going to another store just prior to leaving the mall to pick up a swimsuit.
"So what was up with Allison?" you ask on the drive back to the Donna after finally getting your phone set up.
"What do you mean?" Melanie asks.
"I dunno," you shrug, "but her mood totally one-eightied for a minute there. She got pretty hung up on the whole 'it's good to have people who have your back' thing."
"It's not like she's wrong. You probably know better than her what Westside's like."
"Pfft! Yeah right," you reply. "I was way, way on the outskirts of everything with the other dorks and guys who don't really get noticed aside from the occasional bully. She probably knows more than I do."
"I guess so," Melanie says. "I think she got hurt pretty bad over the summer. Like emotionally, not physically."
"Boyfriend?"
"She wasn't with anyone, but she's never really talked about it" she explains. "I really wish she would though."
"You can't force her to."
"I know but I feel like I can't help her either if I don't know what's going on," she states.
"Just being her friend is probably enough," you tell her.
She grunts at that however. "Just kind of being there hasn't done much of anything lately," she says in a bit of a sullen tone. "I couldn't help Evie with, you know, all that. I can't even really do anything about the guys she likes?"
"Guys?"
"Guy, sorry. This whole day's worn me out too."
"Maybe you need to start taking a little action," you tell her.
"What, like break up Evie's crush and his girlfriend?" she asks.
"I mean we have ways of making it happen," you say half-jokingly, but you can tell by the way way her face is hardening that Melanie's not a fan of that. "But I just mean in general. Like with Justin."
"Nothing's happening there," Melanie protests. "I already told you that it's pointless."
"It's pointless because you want it to be pointless," you counter. "Like, are you just scared that he's going to turn you down or that you'll mess things up with everyone else? Do you just want to play around with other guys too?"
"You tell me," she states defiantly. "You've got my brain."
"And I'm not using it right now. You like people being open right? So I want you to be open with me and I want to hear it from your own mouth."
"Then it's probably all of that, okay?" she huffs. "I like being around him and I think he likes being around me but I don't know if he likes being around me. I don't even know who he likes. He always keeps that stuff to himself."
"So you're just going to keep stringing your boyfriend along because you're too nervous to make a move on the guy you really like?"
"I'm not stringing him along," she replies defensively. "He's getting what he wants and yeah I'm having fun too but..." She pauses for a moment. "Look, if I say something to Justin and he says yes then that's really awesome and we can, like, double date with Bhodi and Paulina and junk. But what if he says no and he likes someone else? Then everything's just kind of awkward and I don't know if I could keep hanging around. At least, not for a while."
"Nothing like that happened with Paulina and Bhodi," you tell her.
"Because there was no risk! It was totally obvious they both liked each other so them not doing anything probably made it more awkward anyway." She continues to stare straight ahead at the road, her face much more hardened than it's been all day. "I like that you're trying to help me and all but just ignore it, okay? There's no safe way to do it without throwing everything out of whack."
So you take her advice and drop the issue for now, if only because she's done a lot for you today and you feel like you should respect her wishes for the moment. It'd probably be better if you just tabled any talk of her love life in general. Melanie's obstinate enough to where you know she's not going to listen to someone like you telling her what she should do.
But a safe way to do it? Well there might actually be. You think back to what you'd joked to her about: using the masks to bust up Marc Garner and his girlfriend for Evie's sake. Even if you weren't wholly serious there, why not use some masks to help her? If the two of you can find out what girls Justin's current identity hangs around with maybe you could set it up for Melanie to take their identity as well. That way she'd be safe to pursue him with no messing up of the group dynamic, especially if nobody else knew.
You have the material and those copied pages. It certainly wouldn't be hard for the two of you to keep this to yourselves.  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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