Lessons On Love

4: The Idiot Or The Other Idiot

Chapter 4: The Idiot Or The Other Idiot?

            At lunch, Todd came to meet me in front of my locker. “Is it just me or is Tyler Lavenchy following you?” His words surprised me a bit before I tossed my hair over my shoulder and took a look behind me. Not even 5 metres away, Tyler stood tall, leaning against a row of washed-out grey lockers with a small crowd of football players and groupies surrounding him.

            He quickly straightened up when he saw me before shifting his eyes away a little too obviously. “You’re imagining things.” Slipping my last textbook into my locker, I grabbed my lunch before slamming my locker closed. “Why would Tyler Lavenchy follow me? Think before you speak.”

            Todd shrugged nonchalantly. “That’s true. It’s just that I’ve been seeing him around since break and he keeps looking over at you like he’s... lonely or something.” Almost. Todd almost let the topic slide before his gaze zoomed in on me like a vulture on its prey. “Wait... How do you know that guy standing over there was Tyler? Do you guys know each other?!”

            I bit my lip and started down the hallway. To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure of the answer myself. Did I know Tyler or didn’t I? I guess it would be fairer to say that I once knew a boy named Tyler, but people change, and sometimes in a way that pulls them apart.

            The irony of course, was that he wasn’t the one who changed. I was. The rest was one long complicated story that was as much his fault as it was mine.

            “We have a couple of classes together, but enough about that, I need to find Marshall. He needs to put my plans into action soon because I’m running behind schedule.”

            Todd just stares at me. “Camila... he thinks you’re a stalker.”

            I stopped and glared at him, and as much as I wanted to retaliate I couldn’t think of anything logical to say. “Maybe it wasn’t that great of an idea to walk inside the male change room.”

            “You think?” He rolled his eyes at me before his faintly freckled lips spread across his face into a drawn-out smile. “Here’s an idea. Instead of Marshall, how about we aim for Tyler instead?”

            “No.”

            “It’s a great idea! You have no clue where Marshall even is, not mentioning the change room mishap and the fact that he’s a complete idiot. With Tyler, you’re in his class, he most likely has an idea who you are and he’s not a raging buffoon.”

            I groaned. “All boys are idiots. It spreads like disease.”

            “Hey!! I’m a boy!”

            “I know.”

            I didn’t even wait for a reaction nor did I really have the time as the door in front of me swung open and out came Marshall like a godsend. His eyes pierced through mine instantly and we held eye contact for only a split second before sending our brainwaves across to each other.

            Holy shit, Marshall thought, You’re going to kill me for what I did in the shower room today aren’t you?

            You better believe it, I thought back.

            I held up 3 fingers in front of his face before offering him an impudent smirk. “Three seconds,” I said. “If you’re going to run, I’ll give you a head start.”