Chapter Nine | Smiles All Round

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He said yes!

I suddenly understand those huge announcements that people make when they agree to a proposal. It's probably to do with the high from getting what they want. I don't expect to marry Justin or anything more than a date, but the feeling of him agreeing so easily was the best.

We parted ways at the gate when I ran into Ash who was still waiting for someone to pick her up. I decided to wait with her and said goodbye to Justin after exchanging numbers.

"Is that your new boyfriend?" Ash teased, once Justin was out of hearing range.

"No, but he is my first date." I dropped my bag onto the ground and joined Ash who was also sitting down. There is a chance that my muscles will be stiff when I get up but that's a risk I'm willing to take.

"I still can't believe you're going through this stupidity," Ash groaned, lowering her face into her hands.

"You sound like Hafsa." Ash was probably the one who told them about the bet.

"She's smart. I would listen to her if I were you."

"I always knew you secretly wanted to be me," I deflected. I already was aware of their stance on the matter. There was no point in rehashing it since no one had changed their minds.

"Damn you're only catching on now? I thought you would've noticed when I started using the same soap and toothpaste as you." Ash rolled her eyes.

"Should I even ask how you know what soap and shampoo I use?"

"It's best you don't know, that's if you enjoy sleeping soundly at night."

"Great, I'll be sure to double check I've locked my doors and windows tonight." I nodded like I had found some sort of innovative solution.

"Excellent, I would hate anyone to disturb my identity theft time. So when's the date?"

"Tomorrow, after school. We are going to get ice cream." It was nice and simple and not too expensive. Plus who doesn't like ice cream? The place we were going to even had vegan ice cream, in case Justin was lactose intolerant.

"Sounds like a wild first date." Ash laughed. A car pulled up to pick up Ash. She gathered her bags.

"Of course, I'm a material girl." I flick my ponytail to emphasise my status. I also started to pick up my bags to leave. The school was quiet, which was a little creepy when you were alone.

"I can't wait to hear more." Ash bid goodbye and rushed towards her car. I waved at Ash's parent and gathered my stuff for the short trek home.

The adrenaline high from playing football and Justin's date had washed away, leaving me sweaty and a little irritable. I couldn't wait to climb into the shower and come out like a brand new person.

When I arrived home, Adam and my mother were already there. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water to drink while my mum was still preparing dinner. I knew Adam was here without seeing him since I could hear the tv playing his favourite YouTube channel. They had some ninjas or something, with a dragged out plot, constant cliffhangers, and really bad effects.

"I'm going to shower," I tell my mum after filling her in on my day and the match.

"Enjoy!"

"Uh ok," I muttered as a left the kitchen. Maybe that was her way of telling me I stink.

I thought my shower was going to be an ordinary one. I was a fool. The sticky sensation got worse when I got under the spray and would not go away no matter how much I scrubbed. It was weird like I was plagued by this sensation. When I grabbed my towel my hand literally had fluff sticking to it.

"Mum! I think the soap is broken," I shouted. It didn't make sense, the soap would sud so why was I so sticky?

"No it isn't, I used it this morning," she shouted through the door. I picked up the body wash bottle to check if it had been contaminated when I noticed the water running pink against the white bottle.

I switched off the shower and reached from the shower, unscrewing the stop. Instead, I found evidence of deceit, betrayal and contamination. There were hard-boiled sweets crushed, with some of them dissolved from the hot water.

I should've known better than to assume that Adam somehow managed to move the shower head from the perfect position. I should've known something was up when my mother said that comment. I should've known better to see Rayanna at the match alone to know Easton was up to something.

Eventually, I managed to shower properly with actual water. My shower took twice as long as usual and I had to wash my hair again knowing that when it dried, it would probably be tangled.

By the time I arrived to dinner, Adam was giggling was too much, while glancing at me every two minutes.

"What?"

"Did you have a sweet time in the shower?" Both my mother and Adam started laughing.

"Very funny. I didn't expect this betrayal from you, mum."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Easton dropped Adam off and decided to watch that ninja thing." Adam was usually collected with Paige from school and stayed there until one of us got home.

"And you just failed to tell me he was here?"

"I assumed that you greeted your brother and saw him too." She shrugged. She wasn't even trying to hide the fact that she did it on purpose.

"Well, you should expect a Mother's Day gift from Easton too for taking his side." It was childish but she was my mum and I didn't like it was she took the enemies side.

Of course, she found great humour in my comment. However, she had mercy as she changed the topic by asking Adam what he and Paige did after school. Just as I was starting to relax, my phone vibrated. I checked the notification to see one lone GIF from Easton.

The Grinch smiling. 

 

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