Helpless (Book 1)

Chapter Thirty-Four

I SIT AT the cafeteria when lunch has arrived, scrolling through my phone, trying to figure out what art supplies I should get for John's birthday. I chew on the on the inside of my cheek, my hand rested against my cheek as I scroll, scroll, scroll. I can see the Schuyler Sisters sitting across from me. Peggy chatting on her phone loudly, probably to her boyfriend Stephen. Angelica sits across from me, scrolling through her own phone lazily probably through one of her social media apps like Tumblr or Instagram while munching on her cheese stick. Eliza sits next to Angelica, chatting friendly and sweetly with Maria who now sits in our group.

 "So, Alex," Angelica starts, clicking her phone off and arching an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly against the table and grins. I glance up from my phone, arching an eyebrow. "How's uh...how're you and John doing?" She smirks. 

 "Oh, hang on, Steve! I gotta go! I'll call you later! Angie's talking about Alex and his new relationship! Bye! Love you too!" Peggy says in a sing-song like voice. 

 Peggy clicks her phone off and mirrors Angelica's position, leaning against the table with a teasing smirk on her face, her eyes wide as she rests her hands on top of each other. Maria and Eliza are still chatting with one another. I feel a warm blush creeping along my cheeks, probably red as my hair by now. I couldn't help but chuckle, shaking my head with a roll of my eyes. 

 "So. Tell us. How'd it go?! How'd it go?! How'd it go?!" Peggy gasps eagerly. 

 I let out another laugh, clicking my own phone off and setting it to the side. I lean against the table, my chest pressing against the edge. I cross my ankles over each other underneath the table and grin ear to ear. 

 "It went quite well, actually. Mr. Laurens approves us basically now. Just with me being Alexandrea. He doesn't know about Alexander, which is me," I say. "Just a few more days of this then this fake relationship around his father will end and we can go back to normal." 

 "Hmm..." Angelica says, munching on a carrot now. "So, uh...you're still coming to homecoming, right?"

 "H-Homecoming?" I repeat, blinking my eyes. Why isn't anyone telling me these things? 

 "Yeah. It's an annual school dance to welcome back former students," Eliza explains. "It's super fun." 

 "O-Oh, um...yeah. Sure! I'll go! When is it?" I say quickly, still flustered for some reason.

 Maria grins as she leans against the table. "This weekend."

 I nearly choke on my water, spluttering here and there while also blinking my eyes. "W-What?! T-This weekend?!" 

 "Yeah," Meade says next to me suddenly. I jolt in my seat at his sudden presence as he sets his tray down next to me at the table. "John's going." He winks at me. "We all are It's a tradition." 

 "I..." I begin but Tilghman cuts me off as he sits on the other side of me. 

 "They always play N'Sync when we're there," Tilghman says. "That was our jam in the day." 

 "Yeah," Meade laughs. "'Bye, Bye, Bye'." 

 "You still remember the choreo Kidder?" Tilghman asks, leaning against the table to look at his friend with arched eyebrows and a teasing grin on his face. 

 Meade shrugs. "Eh. A little. We haven't done the full dance to that song in a long time." 

 "Woah, woah, woah!" I say, shaking my head as I gesture for them to stop. "Slow down! What? Why isn't anyone telling me these things? First, I have to worry about being John's girlfriend around Mr. Laurens—which, by the way, is a lot harder than you think—now I have to worry about what to get for John's birthday that's in three days, now I have to worry about homecoming?! Not to mention school, tests, essays, and yeah."