This choice: Try moving into a classmate. • Go Back...Chapter #11The School Cafeteria by: Seuzz   (with an assist by rugal)
Some instinct says that you should be cautious, but you are in no mood to listen.
But of course, you can't do anything here. And maybe you don't want it to be Tina that you try experimenting on.
"I don't want to talk about it with you," you tell Tina, but you shoot a brief glance at her friend Summer before turning around in your seat.
* * * * *
Third period is AP World History, and if you've got friends in other classes, this is the one that you share with "arch-enemies."
Alright, that's putting it too strongly. Ethan Gilkey and Zachary Holzer aren't your arch-enemies, but Holzer resents sharing a name with you (as you do with him), and he and Ethan (and Sawyer Harrison, who blessedly isn't in there) are mischief-makers who don't care whose nose they get up; and as you are (as you yourself well know) more popular than they are, they don't mind getting up your nose when they can. Jared Larson is in there too, and you and he (and his twin brother, Cody) have been rivals for girls since you were all sophomores.
Number one on your arch-enemy list (here or anywhere), though, would have to be David Johnson, who actually lives two houses down from you (on the other side of Mark Taylor's house, as a matter of fact), and the two of you have rubbed each other the wrong way since you have known each other. Maybe it's the way that your families creepily mirror each other. You and he are the same age, as are your younger sisters, who are freshmen at Eastman, and you also each have an older sister (though you think your sister is older than his). He is more academically gifted than you, but is very awkward with the girls, so each of you has a reason to be jealous of the other.
And there is one girl in particularly that you are bitter rivals over: Dana Pak.
What would it be like to be him? you wonder despite yourself as you study the side of his face from a few rows other. But you put it out of your head as Liam Mahon, an Irish exchange student who is very popular, sits down between you, cutting off your view of David.
* * * * *
But speaking of Dana, you have her fourth period, in Geology. Better than that, you sit next to her, and talk to her every day.
Today you're feeling resentful toward her, though. If she hadn't ditched you at Amanda's party, you wouldn't have gotten trapped with Beth. But though you are mad at her, you only pretend to be "play-mad" at her when you slump into the desk in front of her.
"It's all your fault," you tell her.
"What is?" she asks, looking genuinely perturbed.
"That I've got Tina Branson and the Rumorati all over me." You pretend to turn a cold shoulder to her, and root through your back pack.
"What happened?"
"'What happened'?" you echo. "Don't you go online? Don't you hang out on x2z?"
"No," she says with a twist of her lips. You know that's a lie, but you don't challenge it.
"So, Amanda's party. Me and Beth Larter. You didn't hear about that?"
Her eyes widen a little. "No."
"She got shit-faced, came on to me, and threw up."
Dana gasps, and puts her hand to her mouth. "Oh my God! What?"
"What I just said."
"She threw up on you?"
"Well no, not on me. We were—"
You break off, realizing of a sudden that you don't want to talk about the details with Dana, for then you would have to tell this girl, whom you have a crush on, that you got in the back seat of Beth's car with her, and made out.
"I told you, she came on to me," you continue after Dana has stared you into continuing. "So I took her outside so she wouldn't, you know, make a scene and— Well, she got sick when were outside. Actually, she didn't throw up, she just got nauseated. And she had to go home."
"Whoa!" Dana exclaims.
Then her expression changes. "So how is this my fault?" she demands.
"Oh, I'm just saying that if you'd hung out with me, Beth wouldn't have— You know. I'm not serious, Dana, I don't really blame you," you insist when her expression darkens. "I'm just saying, it was a rough party for me. And I wish I'd spent it with you instead."
Dana relents, and allows as how it wasn't the best party for her, either. She doesn't elaborate, except to say that she didn't have fun with the people who were there.
But she also doesn't say that she wished she spent it with you. Nor does she admit that it was lame for her because Shawn Gregory didn't pay her as much attention as she wanted him to—which you are sure is the real reason she didn't have fun.
* * * * *
Fifth period is lunch and you take it today, as always, with your usual crew. Tyler is there as is Shane Mayer, among some other guys. Aurora Lund and Paige Webb—who play together in a band and are, respectively, Tyler and Shane's girlfriends—are there too. Somewhat surprisingly, Rory Bynum, a swimmer and buddy of Tyler's, has made his way over instead of hanging out with his usual crew. Though the reason becomes obvious when he asks if it's true that Beth puked all over you while you were making out. Your attempt to protest and clarify is interrupted by a voice cutting in.
"Come now, it's only natural a girl would react like that," says Rae Caldwell as she glides on past you. You roll your eyes for your cousin has an acid tongue that she has no qualms about using on, well, everyone.
"Aww lighten up," her friend Alex Day chimes in, "Give a girl enough booze to drown an elephant and any guy will look gross."
"Right, I forgot," Rae opines, "After all, we women have reverse beer goggles which take a guy and show us the rotten horror which lies beneath."
"Like the sunglasses from that movie," Alex says as she drapes an arm across your shoulders. "But being a strange and horrific otherworldy creature at least makes you more interesting than one of those meatheaded jocks." You move your head to look at Alex and her large doe eyes hold your own for what feels like forever, then her lips curl into an almost knowing smile as she laughs, gives you a playful shove, and takes off with Rae.
Your gaze focuses on Alex as she does. Like a gremlin she's tiny and troublesome, but she's got a cute face and a body—sexily compact you've called it—that drives you wild. If Dana is your number one crush, then your cousin's best friend would be number two and many a time has she been the subject of your jerkoff fantasies. She's never openly expressed interest in you, however, but as with just now, you wonder if those fantasies might have a chance of becoming reality.
* * * * *
The rest of the day passes in kind of a muddle. Summer is in your sixth period class and you give her the now practiced "official story" that you want the Rumorati to present. Summer accepts it without a fuss and isn't up on her rumor-mongering enough to ask you any pesky follow-up questions (you, and most others, wonder why she's even part of the group), so that ends it as far as you're concerned.
Seventh period is a study hall, which you share with Matt Isaacs and Kevin Kuhn, who are two other of your best friends. You pass it in the library, with them also wanting to know about the incident at the party, so you give them the same story, along with some bitter remarks about the Rumorati, which they chortle unfeelingly at. Jordyn Arbour, a girl on the school paper who at times feels like a sort of unofficial Rumorati member, breezes into the library at one point, and the way she passes your table, managing to both look at you and not look at you, suggests that she was looking for you to talk to, but thought better of it when she saw you well-flanked by friends.
Last period is World Literature, which you have Dana for again, but you don't sit near her. It's like a repetition of first period, with you at the front of the room and not given a good chance to scope out any girls.
* * * * *
You must have been thinking of Beth, and subconsciously wishing to talk to her, for she appears at your locker as you are changing out books.
"So the Rumorati all over me," she tells you in a sullen tone. "I told them it was mostly my fault. That I drank too much after eating shellfish at supper, and it made me sick. No one's going to blame you for anything."
"No one's going to blame you either," you mutter. And before you can tell her to push off and to keep pretending like she's mad at you, she says, "Ptuh!" and shuffles off into the crowd.
Her appearance and reaction only increases your determination to try moving yourself into a third body. Based on what happened last night, you are certain that your old body will continue on a kind of autopilot, and that you will be able to freely drive around the new body. As for who you might try to possess (for "possession" seems the best way to describe it)—
One of the Rumorati would be useful, even if you think you've got the "official story" for Amanda's party pretty well nailed down. Jordyn would probably be about as useful and you are friendly with one another so getting her would be no problem; but her status—openly transgender—might be a little weird for you. That encounter with Alex at lunch has also been running through your head all day and you woder if you should try taking a chance with her. But your heart, probably, is set on Dana Pak, though even there you are torn between the desire to put yourself in her body and to keep her pure and unspoiled.
You could also move back into Beth and move from her into a whole other possible range of possessees.
One last opportunity presents itself as you sit at a red light. It's a text from Brittany Weir saying that she wants to meet up ASAP "to talk." That gives you pause. She's a junior girl who you've had dalliances with but those have always had the air of casual flings. Wanting to meet up with you like this is a bit OOC and you wonder, maybe even worry, what that could mean. But what it it also means is that you have a chance of grabbing someone immediately and with no fuss.   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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