She can’t behave and I’m just a slave. Don’t worry I’ll be gone when the morning comes.” –Situations –Escape The Fate

“Haven’t you noticed you cut things short?” Izze asked.

“Huh?”

“Like, when you cut papers you cut them small and you write things in short sentences. I think you might have a certain type of OCD.”

“Thanks,” I say sarcastically, trying to pay attention to our French video. Ms. Selma isn’t here today, which leaves us with a substitute, whose short, round, and with big goggle eyes.

“She looks like a lady bug,” I pointed out as soon as she entered the room. She was even wearing red.

“I really think you should fix that,” Izze replied. “Hey Damien, what do you think?”

My eyes shoot towards him and freeze wide.

IZZE!

He turns slowly around and I see him look at the pieces of paper I had been cutting with some purple scissors.

“I think it’s normal,” Damien shrugged casually.

Izze frowns, a little disappointed he side on her taunting me. I guess he was kind of avoiding me.

Maybe?

“Well, I don’t. I’ve known Page forever,” Izze continues. “I remember when we first met.”

I groan, but don’t say anything. Damien chooses not to either.

“It was in fifth grade, right?” She looks over at me for confirmation. I shrug. “Since I was a new girl, everyone filled me in on gossip. That’s right, even elementary kids gossiped! Anyways,” She’s starting to sound like Lee. Blabbing on and on and on. “One of the rumors I heard was that Page was a vampire. Of course, I didn’t really believe that one, but Page seemed like an interesting girl. So, I went over to Page during recess, huddling in a corner where the most shade was, all in black with sunglasses.

“I stood before her with hands on my hips and was about to ask her if she was a vampire when she flashed her fangs and said: ‘Come any closer and I’ll suck your blood.’

Of course, I wasn’t any bit afraid of her. I jumped in front of her and asked if they were real and she freaked. But Page didn’t bite. Eventually I found out it’s because she-”

I cough and kick her in the shins.

“Well, um,” Izze scratches her green hair, trying to recall what she was saying. “Oh yeah, ever since then we’ve been the best of friends. Interesting story huh?”

“Yeah, very,” Darien smiled. I mean, actually smiled. With the exact same curl of lips, he used to show a while ago that drove me crazy. And now it does too. But now it makes me feel more…relaxed to see his typical self be brought out once more. That whole love and forgiveness crap was weird. “So, why didn’t she bite you?”

“Um…” Izze looks at me.

“She’s type O,” I explain, “O isn’t my type.”

“So, what is your type?” Darien asked slyly.

“It’s not of your concern,” I reply with a mischievous grin.

Then we just sit there, beaming, like a staring contest with your mouths.

And when the bell rings, releasing us, we go our separate ways, not knowing really who the actual winner is.

…

“You so like each other,” Izze smiles, jabbing me in the ribs. This is the first time she’s sat next to me in the cafeteria in a long time.

“What are you talking about?” I swallow a piece of my peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

“What do you mean what am I talking about?”

I looked around, hoping to see Payton, but she hasn’t shown herself yet.

“I saw you two smiling at each other. And the way you talked was totally flirting. I thought you hated him!”

“I don’t hate him,” I reply, sipping my water. “I just don’t like him.”

“Uh huh. Sure. Well, what about wanting him to leave you alone? It didn’t look like you wanted him to leave you alone today. Betcha wouldn’t mind if he even kissed you.”

“Eeeeew!” I pucker my lips and wipe them against my sleeve. “We were just being nice to each other. Nothing else. I mean, I can’t avoid him forever.”

“Hey, Pay, listen to this,” Izze yells as Payton sits across from us. I try to ignore Izze exaggerate this morning, but Payton’s stunned face and ‘no way’ reaction made it practically impossible.

“That’s incredible! You really do like him, Page,” Payton replies smugly.

“No, I do not! We smile at each other once and you guys go ballistic on me!”

“And then the vampire lost her temper,” Izze summarizes.

“I sense a very interesting future,” Payton predicts.

“I do too. And it’s with both of your faces in your lunches,” I fire.

They start clapping in the air. “Bravo, Page! Bravo!”

“But Lee likes him,” I blurt out loud, then clamp my mouth shut.

Where did that come from? I don’t like him, so why should I care? I mean, my sister would be happy if he and I became friends, right?

“What?” Izze and Pay said in skepticism. “Lee? So, what?!”

“So, what? I can’t take someone that my sister likes.”

“Yeah but if he isn’t hers, it isn’t like he’d be ‘taken,’” Pay explains.

“And a-ha!” Izze exclaims. “You admit you like him.”

“As a classmate,” I squeeze in.

“Okay, well, we’ll wait until you are completely honest with yourself before pushing the subject further,” Payton says wisely.

“Thank you.” I smile then feel a slap over the head.

“Stupid, no we are not! Pay, what are you saying? It’ll take her centuries ‘till she actually gets to be honest with herself. We have to smack realization into her!”

“Iz-Iz,” I start grabbing her wrists to keep her from hitting me. “Izze! Stop!”

She looks at me for a moment, with a pained expression, then gets up.

“Sorry, I um, have to go do something.” Izze disappears through the throng of students.

I look at Pay who nods austerely.

“I know,” she says.

“But I don’t-”

“I know.”

“But I-”

“I know.”

…

“So, you like Damien?” Lee asked in the car on the drive home.

I told her about my friend’s reaction, hoping she could tell me how to deal or fix it.

I shake my head and she laughs.

“It’s okay. I don’t like him anymore. I like George.”

I look at her quizzically. “George?”

“He’s a guy in my English class,” she rolls up her tongue; she only does this when she thinks of something really, really nasty.

Ew.

“Oh.”

“So, you can have Damien.” She pats me on the shoulder. “And you know what? I think you two would look good together.”

I roll my eyes. “Gee, how considerate of you.”

Then she stuck out her pink tongue and squinted at me.

“Well, what about this new guy of yours. Jeremy?” I try to switch tables.

I don’t want to talk or even think about Damien and everyone’s assumptions of us getting together. It’ll never happen.

“George,” she corrects, “And he’s wonderful. At first, I always thought he was too weird looking you know? With all those freckles? Geck!”

I let her mouth flow with words of happiness and just sit there, actually feeling pretty good myself.

“Hey, Lee?” I say uncertainly, hoping she’s finished, as we climb out of the car parked nicely in our driveway.

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever been in love?”

I hear silence, which means she’s thinking, which means she’s actually taking this seriously.

“Probably not.” She heard me sigh in disappointment and added, “Then again, how would I know?

“Then, you are saying that-”

“We’re not too young to fall in love, just too young to understand what love really is,” Lee finishes, opening the front door.

I follow her into the kitchen and ask her to pull out a lemonade for me.

“How can I find out I’m in love and prepare myself if I’m too young to know if I’m really in love?”

My mind is a bowl of noodles.

“You don’t,” Lee said simply.

“Huh?”

“You have to guess. Guess you’re in love. Guess that you’re prepared.”

“So, it’s all a guessing game?” I ask. “Well that sucks.”

“So, does everything else in life. But we manage through it. Don’t worry about it.” Lee throws her empty drink in the trash and walks over to me. “Just enjoy the ride.”

All I can say is: “Okay.”