Maraschino 🍒 (gxg)

14

A week had gone by since the tattoo shop incident, Chelsea telling Carlie about the photo, and Chelsea talking to mystery girl. Not much had happened since: Carlie was trying to get Bryan to come visit nearly every night, and Chelsea had to put her foot down more than once and say she was not comfortable with a guy she doesn't know in her dorm at night, no matter how cool Bryan seemed. Manny was back to her normal self, maybe even calmer; Chelsea hadn't felt the need to smack the word of God across her mouth with another Coke bottle since last time.

Chelsea decided to also tell Stephanie about the tattoo shop. She knew Stephanie could keep a better word than Carlie, and her advice would mean more in the end.

"Are you sure it was her?" They were sitting in the rec room, the TV at the front playing another gaudy reality show, like the first day Chelsea arrived. That seemed to be the only thing that ever played in the rec room. Chelsea was eating a bag of chips and Stephanie was flipping through her phone.

"I'm, like, ninety-nine percent sure," said Chelsea. "It looked exactly like her, but I also couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl, so maybe I was wrong."

Stephanie shrugged. "He said he had a cousin out of the city who goes to an academy and visits him, and they look pretty similar in the photo. I would say you're right, but maybe try a different approach when asking her next time."

"I'm so nervous when I talk to her, though. I have no idea why."

Stephanie looked up from her phone, smirking, and asked softly, "Do you have a crush on her?"

"I don't know, I've never really had a crush crush. I've liked girls in the past, obviously, but it never lasted long and I've never had a long relationship either. A lot of hookups and stuff like that."

"Maybe that'll change with mystery girl."

"I should probably learn her name first before trying to get into her pants."

Stephanie laughed, a quiet little giggle that shook her shoulders. "That's a good starting point." She opened her mouth to speak again, and waited a moment before doing so. "I'd just say... be gentle. She's obviously standoffish, and you don't want to overwhelm her because you might have some information on her. Which, by the way, have I mentioned how creepy this might look?"

Chelsea glared at her. The thought had occurred, absolutely, but hearing it from someone else made it even truer. "Yeah, whatever. She won't talk to me so this is the best way."

Stephanie chuckled into her soda can, staying silent.

Now it was Tuesday, mixed athletics class. Tuesdays meant that it was a free day, a day where the students could pick their choice of physical activity. Chelsea was walking around the gymnasium by herself, occasionally picking up her pace when the teacher was staring at her. She noticed mystery girl off to the side, going through the net filled with basketballs and soccer balls; she found a soccer ball and started heading towards the exit. Interest piqued, Chelsea quietly followed. Mystery girl rounded the corner out of the gymnasium, left the building, and started heading towards the outdoor soccer field to the left of the academy.

The field was empty, the sun beaming down on them as they quietly walked up the hill to the field. The football goals were up -- they had a competitive football team that played other academies, from what Chelsea could remember from the trophy case -- but the field goals for soccer were still up, too. Chelsea followed, still silent, until mystery girl reached one of the posts.

"You didn't have to be a ninja and pretend you weren't following me, you know," mystery girl spoke up, turning around and facing Chelsea, ball between her arm and hip.