again, my attention was drawn to the cat, which had noticeably grown in size recently.
“We seriously need to think about your diet,” I grumbled and stroked the cat’s head, rewarded with a loud purr.
“Lately, all you do is eat. And in excessive amounts, just like me. And we need to try to eliminate toothpaste from your diet,” not waiting for any objections, I left the house.
Parking the car near the administration building, I focused on what I was going to do to annoy Betty once again. A plethora of questions interrupted my thinking though. My mind switched back to Sabrina. How do I talk to her? Lately, her behavior has been confusing. Not strange, but just confusing. Not that we had stopped “feuding” but now everything was somehow different.
I couldn’t resist a smug smirk. There was the answer to the agonizing question of how to annoy Betty again. Entering the hall, I slammed the door mightily, causing the windows to rattle. A blonde head emerged from behind the administrator’s desk immediately. There was so much anger in her gray eyes that if it could take physical form, she would have pinned me down and lynched me there and then.
“Oops, sorry Betty. Didn’t mean to scare you. We need to put a ‘Don’t Slam’
sign on the door ,” I barely suppressed a laugh.
“It’s already there, you idiot!” the girl squealed, her voice becoming even raspier with anger.
“Apologize right now! I don’t come in here insulting you!” I exclaimed, mockingly offended.
“Oh, you!”
A passing professor made the girl freeze and lower her voice to a whisper.
“I wish I could tie you to a radiator and rip out all your piercings so you’d bleed and…”
“Sorry, Bet, but your sexual fantasies don’t interest me. Now, tell me, where’s Mrs. Renton?”
There was a crash, and I felt the windows shake again, and Betty’s eyes sparkled with fury once more.
“Oh, damn, sorry Bet! I didn’t mean to!” Eric’s voice barely contained laughter.
“I hate you both!” Betty muttered angrily to herself, almost crying with rage.
“Hey! We’re still here!” Eric said, stepping away from the schedule board and parking next to me. Betty shot him a deadly look and turned away with an air of disdain, leaving him grabbing at his heart theatrically over her wrath I approvingly noted that he looked pretty good today. Clean-shaven, combed hair, although a haircut was overdue.
“Right on target, Bet! What’s the deal?” he laughed cheerfully.
“Mrs. Renton took the day off today,” Betty grumbled, ignoring Eric’s question.
What the hell, she took the day off? I should swing by my parents’ place, check on Dad while I’m at it, I thought.
“Is Mr. Mason in?” Eric asked.
“Yeah, and he’s looking forward to seeing you, our honored student!” Betty squealed sarcastically and pulled a mini version of the schedule from under Eric’s arm, on which he was enthusiastically drawing Betty’s portrait .
“Well, that’s it, I’m done…” he muttered and snatched the sheet from the girl’s hand.
I glanced at him briefly. Eric and Betty, silent and unblinking, were burning holes in each other with their eyes.
“Anything else?” Betty asked with mocked politeness, implying that it was time for us to leave her alone.
“Yeah, chestnut would suit you. I mean your hair. And also contact lenses. A change of character, job, and all that stuff…”
I chuckled and followed Eric, who was already heading for the exit. Betty was too angry to say anything. On the way out Eric slammed the door as hard as he could.
“I wouldn’t even do that to myself, Eric!” I said, still chuckling.
“Oh come on! Besides, I was telling the truth. She’d look pretty good with dark hair and…” Eric paused and smiled.
“And…?”
“And if she didn’t hide her eyes behind those stupid glasses. And… if she changed her… style. Sabrina said today that plaid shirts are in fashion, so I’d happily bring Betty a couple! I’m sure it would suit her.”
“Maybe you want to be her personal stylist? Help her with her transformation?”
My mood significantly improved.
“Nah, I’ve already thought about it, she won’t go for it. And she could use a career change too,” my friend mused.
“Eric, where’s your sister?” I asked quietly.
“She told me to go to hell and went to the auditorium. You guys have, I think, English Literature or History or something now. She’s fine. Last night she was cursing up a storm because of her new admirer. You know, he’s very… persistent,”
Eric winked mischievously.
“Yeah, I know. And how about you? Caught up on missed classes?” I inquired.
Eric was always a very clever guy, and it would be a shame if he dropped out of university because of a failed love affair.
“A lot of catching up to do, which is exactly what I'm doing. And then everything will be ok! So, I’m off to repent to Mr. Mason. Wish me luck, because I’m definitely not ready for physics!” Eric laughed again.
“Good luck!” Eric always scored a solid A in physics, and as a result, high expectations were placed on him, which I sincerely hope he’ll live up to. Well, Literature or History it is then. You couldn’t think of a more exciting subject if you tried.
The day was shaping up to be quite a good one. I glanced at the sky in surprise.
Through the gray clouds, blurry patches of sunlight were beginning to break through. Maybe all is not lost yet? Well, History. No one has died from it yet, and certainly no one has gone crazy. So, everything’s fine. For now…
Chapter 8
Dispute
I leisurely entered the classroom and made my way to the back, comfortably settling myself down at the very last desk by the wall. The class wouldn’t start for the next ten minutes, and everyone was busy doing anything but reviewing today's material.
“How’s it going, Jack?” asked Scott Waring, a youth with straw-colored hair and dimples on his cheeks. He had a look of complete innocence about him, unlike Eric or Sabrina, and his blue eyes were framed by thick lashes. This was the guy who drove all the girls in our year crazy. And I’d bet even the girls from the other years too.
He used to be one of Sabrina’s admirers, but all his attempts to get her attention had crumbled to dust when she had sent him, figuratively, as far away as the confines of the English language would allow. Since then, he had given up that foolish endeavor and switched to less verbally abusive and more receptive targets.
“Great, Scott. And you?” Notice how I always try to be super friendly and polite.
“Alright.”
“Ready for class?” I asked, even though I couldn’t care less.
“Of course. How else? And you?” Scott inquired.
“Of course. No other way.”
Here it is, the reason Sabrina doesn’t like him. He’s just awfully boring! Always looks impeccable: perfectly shaved, well-dressed, well-mannered, and always ready for class…
Sabrina nestled herself in the corner at the very back of the classroom to my left.
Apparently, she wasn’t ready either. Remembering the last literature class when she had disrupted my brooding, I moved over to her table and sat down beside her.
“Well, well, look who showed up,” she remarked casually.
“Aren’t you glad to see me?” I asked, feigning sadness.
“Of course I am,” Sabi sang sweetly, slamming her textbook on the table.
I glanced at her sideways. Pretty… Crimson, slightly plump lips parted slightly, tousled hair falling in large curls on slender shoulders. Long, full lashes nearly casting shadows on her pale cheeks. High eyebrows, a neat little nose, sharp cheekbones… My eyes moved down involuntarily, resting on her chest that was rising and falling with each breath. The plunging neck top made the sight devilishly enticing. I swallowed audibly and tried to look away. It was difficult, but oddly enough, I managed.
“Nice sweater,” I blurted out and regretted it. Good Lord! What am I saying?
And out loud too!
Sabrina slowly turned to stare at me with her beautiful ultramarine eyes full of indignant surprise. And there it was, what I had feared. Her eyebrows knitted together ominously. She took a deep breath and was about to open her mouth to say everything she hadn’t had a chance to say in all her twenty-three years, when Professor Stone literally stormed into the classroom.
“Take your seats!” he barked. “Silence in the classroom!”
Oh, Mr. Stone! You just saved my life! Literally!
Trying to ignore Sabrina, I casually opened my notebook and began doing what all normal students usually do in lectures. Namely, doodling .
Sabrina snatched the notebook from under my hand before I could even finish my masterpiece. I turned and glared at her. The girl was writing something down feverishly crossing stuff out, then writing it again. She pushed the notebook back towards me. Couldn’t she use her own? There was a single sentence on the page.
“What did you just say?” it read.
I glanced at her. “Have you gone deaf?” crossed my mind, but now there was genuine surprise in her eyes.
“I said your sweater looks cool,” I wrote down.
Sabrina frowned, and snatched the notebook again.
“You don’t actually like the sweater, do you?” she quickly wrote. I stared at her again. Does she really think I’m going to write a heartfelt confession that I had spent a good chunk of time staring at her chest? Yes, they do say there’s a blonde in every woman…
“But I do, I also love Nine Inch Nails, ” I scribbled.
She snorted and kicked me under the table.
“Come on, you primitive creature!” Sabrina wrote. “Back off, please,” I think my response was quite concise. Then followed a written exchange that resembled more a fencing session than a civilized dialogue.
“Jack, did you break your fingers? Can’t you write better?”
“You’re such a pain!”
“Just answer me and I’ll leave you alone.”
Should I risk it and say what she wants to hear? Or she’ll drain me.
“Yes.”
“Yes as in..?”
Not only deaf, but also dumb. Unbelievable!
“Yes, I think you have a beautiful chest,” I wrote down and placed a period in bold to signal the end of this ridiculous exchange.
The girl glared at me, then smiled. Not quite what I was expecting. Sticking a pen into my knee cap was more in line with her character. Instead, she leaned back in her chair slightly and began to examine me with curiosity, as if seeing me for the first time.
“Stop it,” I mumbled, feeling uncomfortable under Sabrina’s intense scrutiny.
“Jack, you just gave me such an idea! ”
“An idea? ”
“Well, yes… umm… a small but brilliant idea.” I pulled the notebook from under her hand. She suddenly looked distant as she contemplate something. I couldn’t help but glance at her enticing chest again. Yeah, it gave me ideas too, no doubt.
Well, there was something else I could say about it, but decided against it.
She looked at me again and smiled, revealing a row of perfect white teeth. I felt slightly sick. She clearly stirred up a storm of emotions in me that didn’t quite match with our endless bickering.
She leaned closer and whispered in my ear. Her warm breath and the smell of her skin mixed with a gentle perfume caused my head to spin.
“You know, the thing is, there’s this… ummm… a guy who just won’t leave me alone! For two weeks now, I’ve had no peace. He keeps asking me out, confesses his love for me… In short, he annoys me! Even more than you do! Can you imagine? Stalks me to work and sits at the bar throughout my every shift! ”
“So what? Go on a date! You might be fated for each other…” I grumbled, causing her to promptly stomp on my foot.
“I told you, he irritates me.”
“What’s so bad about him anyway?” I asked unenthusiastically.
“He’s just like Scott.”
“Ahh, I forgot. Nice guys don’t attract you. Right? Okay, that may be the case, but what’s all this got to do with me?”
