I couldn't think of a suitable title. Pfft.
Anyway, the chapters for this story won't come so frequently,
Because I've only just started, and I'm going for a month long holiday next week,
So I won't be able to touch the computer.
However, I shall bring along a notebook to write during my spare time!
Enjoy! And thanks for any reviews!
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4 years ago…
Claire.
“Really? It’s about time that happened! You’ve had a crush on him for two long years already. I’m so glad for you!” I smile, hanging on to Jodie precariously in an attempt to hug her. It is quite a difficult feat, and I feel rather accomplished for being able to hug a girl who is squealing and hopping up and down excitedly. Thanks for the sore arms and damaged hearing, Jodie.
“Oh Claire! He asked me out next to watch a movie on Saturday! I’ve never been so happy in my life!” Jodie swoons, her hazel eyes sparkling with glee.
“I can tell. Normally you wouldn’t use such a simple term as 'happy', oh Jodie the great linguist.” I chuckle, elated for my friend. Jodie loves stumping me with her exceptional vocabulary, however for the past few days, she has been speaking like a normal person for once.
“He sits at the same table as us! We’ll see him next period! You have to sit with me, Claire. I need the support.” Jodie gushes. Typical girl reaction much. “Oh gosh! I still can’t believe it! Gabriel Locke, THE Gabriel Locke asked me out!”
“I’ll si’ wif yoo ef yoo’ll so kind’y remoof yoor pon’tail fom my ‘outh” In all her delight, her ponytail swings it way into my open mouth, clogging it with blonde hair.
“Eww gross, Claire!” she whips her ponytail out of my mouth, inspecting it for drool and damages. “Don’t ruin the hair! I want to make a good impression on Gabriel.”
“Yeah, I suddenly decided that your hair tastes delicious.” I roll my eyes, my sentence dripping with sarcasm. “Besides, Gabriel would be an idiot if he says you are anything but gorgeous.”
“Don’t speak of him like that!” She growls, and I am taken aback.
“Jeez. He asks you out once, and you already side with him against your best friend since third grade. Thanks a lot, Jodie.” I mumble, looking down at my feet, my feelings obviously hurt.
Jodie’s features soften, and she envelopes me in a hug. “I’m sorry, Claire darling.” She laments, “But this thing with Gabriel asking me out is a huge thing. Forgive me?”
I glance at her, “Aww c’mon! You know that’s not fair, Jodie! You’re giving me the puppy dog eyes again! You know I can’t resist that!” I groan and she widens her eyes, her lower lip sticks out and trembles.
“Fine, fine. I forgive you.” I sigh in resignation. “I can’t stay mad at my best friend for long anyway.”
“Yay!” Jodie claps her hands together victoriously. “I love you, Claire dear!”
“Yeah, yeah.” I grumble, my smile giving me away. We don’t have to say it to know that we regard each other as sisters and never stay mad at each other for long. “Let’s get to class now. The bell is about to ring.”
“One more hour and I’ll be with my Gabriel.” Her eyes hold that faraway and dreamy look. “I don’t know how I shall survive creative writing class, even though it’s my favourite lesson.”
Goodness. She has not even gone on the date yet, and he’s already HER Gabriel. “Oh I’m sure you’ll live. You’ll do anything to make sure you end up in the seat next to Gabriel at lunch.”
I have to tug her into the classroom as she stares wistfully in the direction of the cafeteria. I cannot blame her, I guess. She has been besotted with the boy since fifth grade, even going to the extent of stalking him once. That is, until I persuaded her that Gabriel would be creeped out with the idea of her stalking him.
At least fourth period seems to fly by. Much to Jodie’s joy, I believe. The moment Mr. Burton dismisses us, I find myself being towed off to the ladies’ restroom by an eager Jodie. Wow, not the cafeteria?
She flings the door wide open and places me next to her while she surveys her appearance in the mirror.
“I thought you wanted to rush off and meet Gabriel?”
“Nonsense! I look ridiculous! No girl in her right mind goes of to meet Gabriel Locke, looking like a hag.” She opens her purse and fishes out her cosmetics, touching up her make up; reapplying lip gloss, more mascara, some eye shadow and blusher.
I sigh in exasperation. “Jodie, you are one of the most gorgeous girls in school. No one would dare call you a hag, let alone ugly. Even calling you merely pretty would not be doing you justice.”
She pats my head like a dog. I’m used to it after five years of friendship. “Thank you for that compliment, Claire.”
Well, it is true, I am being completely sincere. Ever since her ‘coming-of-age’ thing, with that monthly business and all, Jodie has been blessed with a model’s figure. Add her cheerleader-and-thus-popular status, plus her charming personality and you’ll get the perfect girl. Gabriel would be utterly dense to call her average. I’m still waiting to stop being flat and shaped like a rectangle, no curves and all. Next to Jodie, I’m so unbelievably plain Jane, no matter how many times she tries to convince me otherwise.
“So tell me more about Gabriel.”
Jodie immediately launches into enlightening me on quick facts about him; his birthday, address, telephone, likes and dislikes. Woah, she really has a thing for this guy to the point of freaking me out.
“His best friends are Felix and Julian. We’ll be sitting with them at lunch as well. They’re all in the popular crowd.”
I shake my head but Jodie doesn’t notice it. Truthfully, I never really enjoyed the company of the in-crowd. I was only there because of my association with Claire, as the other snobby cheerleaders so dearly loved to point out.
“Felix is a basketballer and Julian is in the debate club. I heard he plays the piano, like you.”
“Who?” I ask enthusiastically.
“Julian Summers, silly. I heard he’s supposed to be quite gifted. Rumours say he started learning when he was four and composed his own music when he was eight. He’s supposed to be some sort of minor prodigy or something.”
I can feel my eyes popping out of my head. “Four?! Eight?!” I splutter, awestruck beyond words. I only picked up piano when I was eight and by then he was already composing music. I started composing my own pieces when I was eleven, but they were simple tunes, nothing spectacular.
“Yup. Chill, girl. You can play the drums and guitar too. Your voice is as sweet as an angel’s. Julian only has his piano.”
Darn that Jodie and her logic. I’ve been singing since I was six and I have solo pieces in choir. But still, he sounds very extraordinary. I love playing the piano and my love for it is only second to singing.
“Claire, we’ve got to get a move on.” Jodie’s fingers comb through her hair one more time. “I hope they have salad. I don’t want Gabriel to think I’m a pig or anything.” Only for a guy she really liked, would she go to such lengths to impress. Thankfully, Jodie Houston is not the average cheerleader with their pretty faces and empty heads.
“Jodie, you know you love cheeseburgers. Not salads. If Gabriel really likes you back, he wouldn’t care about what you eat or how you look. You should know by now that he should like you for who you are, so stop fussing around already! I’m hungry.” I pat my growling stomach.
While queueing for our food, Jodie restlessly fiddles with her attire, adjusting her halter top, straightening her miniskirt, smoothening out creases and checking her reflection on the glass until I hiss at her to stop her preening.
She reaches out for the salad, but I slap her hand and dump a cheeseburger on her tray. She glares at me, but does not put the cheeseburger back.
In a matter of seconds after obtaining our meal, Jodie spots Gabriel and steers us towards the table. I can feel her trembling slightly. Clearly nervous. I cannot help but chuckle at her reaction. She must really really like him, because this is the first time I’ve ever seen her so uneasy with meeting a boy.
Gabriel looks up and sees us, motioning for Jodie to take a seat next to him. I only identify two other vacant seats at the table. One is next to a blonde hair, blue-eyed, muscular boy; the typical hot guy. He grins at me in a way that seems too friendly for comfort. The second empty seat is on the opposite facing Jodie, next to a boy with black hair and green eyes. He does not acknowledge my presence; his head is bent down and reading a book. I decide to settle myself there.
The sound of my tray landing on the table draws the boy’s attention. He looks up at me and scowls briefly, before returning to his book. What did I do to offend him? The blonde boy sitting next to Gabriel frowns, unhappy with my choice to avoid him, perhaps.
“Gabriel, this is my best friend, Claire Daley.” Jodie introduces me.
“Hey Claire.”
“Hi Gabriel, nice to meet you.” I smile shyly.
“Now that Jodie has introduced me to you, allow me to introduce my friends to you.” He rests his left arm on the blonde boy’s shoulder. “This is Felix Drayton. He’s on the basketball team.”
I resist the urge to cringe as he flashes me a smile which I assume to be a futile attempt at looking seductive. “Very nice to meet you, Claire. Very nice indeed.” I smile briefly and nod my head once.
“The little boy next to you, is my other best friend, Julian Phillip Summers. He’s on the debate team.”
Julian looks up at Gabriel and glowers at him. “Stop saying my middle name, you twit.”
To my surprise, Gabriel chuckles and takes not offense at his statement. Seeing the astonishment on my face, Gabriel explains,
“Jul is like that. He’s actually a very nice guy once you get to know him better. Say hi to him.”
I turn to face the boy, “Hello Julian.” I address him politely.
He looks up for a moment, “Hello person.” Then he resumes reading his book.
On a closer observation, I realise he is reading a book on Baroque period music. Before I can question him about his piano playing, Gabriel interrupts.
“Claire, Jodie here, says that you are a musician of some kind. Care to elaborate?”
“Umm… well,” I stammer, “I’m in the choir. I sing.”
“As if the choir does anything other than singing.” I hear Julian mutter under his breath, but I ignore him.
“Claire is being too modest.” Jodie pipes in. “She also plays some drums, guitar and is quite handy with the piano.”
Julian looks up at that comment and faces me, “You play the piano …Claire?”
“Y-yes.”
“How good are you?”
“I’m learning grade five currently.”
He loses interest and bows his head down to his book again. I hear him snort and murmur, “Amateur.”
Wanting to leave a good impression for Jodie’s sake, I look down at my food and glare at it instead, stabbing the broccoli, pretending that it is Julian’s green eyes.
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Whee! There goes a not so nice chapter 1!
I always have a problem kickstarting my stories :O
, but I can wait!
