Crazy World

Nachos & Fries

Adrien

Ariana was asleep on the couch next to me. She was sitting, but passed out. Madison was making us snacks with the T. V. on but no one was paying attention to it. It wasn't late yet, it was just around five-thirty. As I had nothing better to do, my mind went back to the previous day and its highlights, and the moments that lead to right now.

***

I was woken up by my father. I opened my eyes to find him sitting on my bed.

"Dad-?" I sat up.

"Adrien, this is kind of urgent. Have you been in contact with your friend, Lex?" he said, making me feel very confused.

I tried to think but it was hard since I had just gotten up.

"I talked to him yesterday, in school... Why, what happened?"

My father shook his head and then he told me what he knew.

"It didn't feel right to get this information from a third party, so I didn't ask anything further. I think you should check on him," he concluded.

"I will," I assured him but Lex wasn't picking up my calls or anything, making me anxious.

I hurried off to school where I encountered Madison and Ariana, who had the same concern. I told them whatever my father had told me.

As it turned out, Lex was better that what we had expected and he had spent his night with Fay. Cool.

The main highlight of the day wasn't this, though.

When I was playing basketball with my team, I saw Ariana looking tired and heading to the benches to rest. I would have joined her if I wasn't determined to finish the match. It was relaxing, being with her.

She had a distracting smile, and you could never know what it meant. When she smiled, it could mean she was genuinely happy, or she was planning a murder. A soft grin tugged my lips when I saw her fanning her face, but I had to get back to the game. I shifted my focus to it.

After a few minutes, when I was finally done with the match, I turned to the bench, hoping to find Ariana there. I had planned to join her, maybe shoot a few baskets with her as he had a basketball in her hand. This was gonna be fun!

Except, she wasn't there. I looked around, turning my head like a CCTV camera. It didn't take me more than a few seconds to find her.

There she was, at the corner of the place. Talking to Sid.

I rolled my eyes. Not again. I didn't like that guy. He was creepy. He showed up at places where he had no business being. I suspected he was stalking Ariana, at least in the school building.

I once found him in the library, just when Ariana had to go there. He would be "goofing around" in the gymnasium when she had to be there.

I knew Ariana would ignore this even if she noticed. This would have been cute from her perspective. The guy she liked was clearly showing signs of liking her back, that was great news. But I knew that wasn't the case. I could see a type of cruelty in his eyes. He sure was interested in her, but not in the way she would've liked. He checked out almost every girl that passed him with a sort of hunger. I would have never said it, but he reminded me of Ben. Only Ben didn't hide that he was bad news. Ariana liked people who flirted with her, but it was obvious that Sid was not to be taken seriously. He was not to be trusted, he wouldn't stay loyal for long.

How could I tell all this? Instincts. I had encountered many guys like him when I was in Queens. In fact, one of the only things that ever made me doubt myself was a guy like him I knew. I had to tell myself that I was not like him, he hurt people for the thrill of it. I tried my best not to hurt anyone.