Sweet as Pie - C. Conway

Sweet as Cherry Pie

“I don't know what I'm going to do. My parents are hardly ever home. Hans said he would be there if I ever needed him so maybe I will-”
Lenora said to Linda as they sat at lunch. However Linda cut her off amid her sentence
“Did I tell you about this boy I met?”
Lenora shook her head confused
“He stopped and talked to me while I was waiting at the bus stop. He plays hockey and he's on the new JV team”
Lenora was completely shocked.
“Wow, you? With a jock? I never thought I would see this day”
She shook her head “he’s different from the other jocks. He's kind and sweet. I went to his game yesterday”
Lenora was suspicious
“What's his name?” she asked, taking a sip of water.
“Charlie”
Lenora practically spit out her water. She offered a fake but real looking smile
“That's so great!”
Lenora didn't really know why she cared so much that Linda and Charlie hung out but it just bothered her.
“I know right. We have so much in common it's crazy! It's like I found the male version of myself!”
She smiled at her friend
“you only find those once in your life. You’re so lucky”
the conversation then drifted off for a second or two
“what were we talking about before I brought Charlie up?”
That really was a slap in the face to Lenora that her friend couldn't have been less interested in what was going on in her life.
“I can't remember.”

🍒

“So, you know Hans?”
Charlie asked as Lenora graded the practice essay she had him right about a certain topic.
“Oh, yeah. I think he's mentioned you to me before but I never knew who you were. He's surely mentioned the Ducks before though” she smiled a bit.
“I don't think he's ever mentioned you to me” Lenora shrugged.
“I didn't know you roller bladed”
“you never asked”
she continued to read the essay and make adjustments to it.
“You just don't seem the type.”
“Why not?”
“ I don't know. Preppy kids don't usually seem the type. They just get their butler to drive them everywhere”
she sighed and shook her head
“for the last time I am not a preppy and don't ever talk about my family again.”
“Are you always so cold?”
“Only for you Mr. Conway and I don't enjoy people talking about my family”
“oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you had it so tough”
he rolled his eyes.
“You don't know what i've been through” “oh please you rich people have everything they could ever want”
“I've worked for everything I have to my name not my family’s. Must we fight?”
After that was silence.
“Your essay looks good but it could use some improvement in these parts”
she said pointing down to spots on his essay.
“I can see why they put you in AP english. You have a way with words” he shrugged “I'm serious you should look into a job that uses words”
“I don't need your validation”
“I was just trying to be nice. You know that's a thing that people do to others.”

“Please don't go to dinner with Varsity tonight”
“why?” She shook her head
“I can't tell you. You just have to trust me” “Adam said it was cool”
he mumbled
“Adam lied to you. You have to believe me” she said, messing around with her brown and white checkered cardigan that perfectly matched her brown skirt.
“You know we may hate each other but this is really messed up. Trying to turn me against my friends and all”
“I don't hate you”
“well, you should”
he said getting up and leaving the library. Lennie wasn't sure if they had actually ever finished a full tutoring lesson.
Usually one of them would stomp off by the end.
One part of the story she hadn't told Charlie was that she was also going to this dinner. Cole had asked her this morning as they drove to the school together for the final time.
She didn't want to go along but Cole had very firmly “encouraged” her to come. Lenora was definitely not excited.

🍒

Lenora was glad that she wore a black dress as she walked through the pouring rain into the country club.
Her blonde hair was curled nicely and fell just on top of her cherry red cardigan.
She had arrived earlier with Cole as he set up the varsities master plan to get at the JV. She knew none of this was her fault.
She shouldn't have even been at the dinner but she couldn't help but feel guilty.
As she stood watching him talk to the hostess she played with her gold earring. She tended to fiddle with things when she was anxious.
They finally were shown to the room where they would be having their meal.
She tried to get Cole to let her sit on the end so she wouldn't have to sit next to anyone.
Slowly people began to come in.
Of course Rick came in after them which meant he got to sit right next to Lenora. She crossed her legs trying to make her body as small as possible so that she wouldn't have to be near Rick.
“Don't you look lovely this evening.” Rick said, grazing his hand across the top of her chair as he sat down.
Lenora practically gagged when Rick put his hand on her shoulder for three reasons:
His cologne was so overbearing and she feared she may pass out, he was literally just touching her, and the third and final reason was that the JV team had to walk in just at that time.
Lenora removed Rick's hand from her shoulder and started to play with the strap on her purse as she became more and more nervous.
The JV team didn't deserve this and she knew it. It was eating her alive. Charlie sat on the other side of Rick and was talking to him as their dinner came out.
Lenora heard Rick lie straight to Charlie's face and the saddest part was that Charlie believed him.
Lenora had talked to Adam a bit. Lenora and Adam had become closer in the past couple of days.
Adam was taking more advanced classes than some of his other peers therefore him and Lenora shared some classes.
Adam was sitting a few chairs down but still across from Lennie so she had to talk to him from the other side.
She enjoyed the annoyance that could be seen on Charlie Conway's as well as Rick Riley's as she talked to her friend.
She didn't know why Charlie should be upset; it's not like they were friends or anything.
Rick tried to start many conversations with Lenora by cutting off Adam but she knew what he was doing and wouldn't give him the satisfaction of talking with him.
It was nearing the “end” of their night when Rick stood up to give a speech.
He thanked the JV team for “lending” them Banksie.
Adam looked completely miserable as he sat there listening to Rick.
“We have one last surprise for you guys”
Rick said and the Varsity team stood up. Lenora didn't stand up right away.
She was trying to think of a way to get the JV out of this situation.
She exited just in front of Cole who had waited a moment for her.
Once they got out of the room Lenora explained to Cole how she
“had to use the bathroom” and how he should go get the car started without her. He rolled his eyes and agreed, leaving her alone to slip back into the dining room. When she did she saw a massive cake which had been brought into the room. 
Her jaw dropped and she sighed heavily.
“Did you know about this?”
Charlie asked as he stood up from his chair. She shook her head fiddling through her purse to find something.
“How did your idiot brother expect us to pay this!?”
He said coming up close to her.
To be honest she was completely terrified but she wasn't going to let him see that. She passed that point with him.
“He didn’t. That was the whole point”
she was still digging
“Don't make me regret giving this to you” she said as she looked up at him.
She held up her credit card for him to take. For a moment she saw joy in his eyes and then anger.
“We don't need your stupid money”
he looked back at his friends who had been watching this scene take place.
“Fine, be that way but last time I checked I wasn't the one who lied to you”
she turned to start to leave.
Lenora only got her hand on the door when
“wait.”
She turned back around.
She walked back towards him and held the card out for him
“please don't do anything stupid”
“I'm not an idiot-”
she cut him off and pulled her hand back as he went to grab it
“I didn't mean with the card.”
Lenora then turned and walked back out of the door quickly hurrying out to her car.