Art Class With My Enemy

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

"You guys together are way cuter than when you were with Kody," Kim said to David and Harlow during lunch. "No offense, Kody."

I smiled and shrugged, knowing she was absolutely right. It was Thursday the week after the dance and they were finally together, officially going out. They weren't even going out for a whole week, yet I knew they'd be saying the big 'L' word to each other pretty soon. It was so obvious that David came to his senses and realized he loved her.

The rest of the day flew by rather quickly—even art class, which was still quite awkward. Ever since Gage helped me after the homecoming dance and fell asleep next to me, we've both been trying to ignore each other more than usual. Well, I was actually my normal self around him; he was the one who deliberately tried to avoid me more often.

Anyway, Harlow drove us to her house after school like she always did. However, this time I noticed there were more cars parked in the driveway, including my mother's car. That in itself was a very odd sight.

"Mom? Dad? Are you home?" Harlow called out as we stepped into the house.

"In here," her mother answered. We walked into the living room, where both our parents were sitting. Mason and Gage were already there too, mainly because they both drive like maniacs and beat us to Harlow's house every time.

"What's going on?" I asked them, glancing between my own parents. It was weird that they were here. I mean, my parents were good friends with Harlow's parents since they all worked together as lawyers, but they were never home. Gage's father also worked at the same law firm as them, so his parents knew mine quite well. All of them working together is one big reason we all became friends. We used to spend time at our parents' work-related functions and in after-school programs when our parents worked past the time school was done.

"Have a seat, we have something to discuss," my mother said. I looked over to Mason, who seemed just as clueless as us.

"As you know, every year we have to go to an important banquet for the firm," my father began. I snorted, thinking that he went away on way more than just one banquet. Once he gave me a dirty look, prompting me to shut up.

"However, this year our boss has invited our whole family to the banquet. So you'll all be going with us tomorrow to the hotel where it's taking place," my mother continued.

"Excuse me?" I interjected as nice as possible, though it didn't really seem that way.

Harlow elbowed me and smiled. "Are we leaving after school?" she asked.

"No, we're excusing you all from school tomorrow since the travel is quite long. We'll be staying at the hotel for two nights and return on Sunday," Harlow's father answered.

"Lovely," I muttered sarcastically.

"What was that?" my father asked sternly.

I shot him the best fake smile I could muster. "I said 'lovely', that sounds lovely. We're going to have so much fun, right Harlow?" She grinned and nodded, though her eyes knew I was joking around. We both knew this wouldn't be so lovely at all.

*****

We left sometime in the late afternoon, so we arrived at the hotel in the evening. I complained the whole ride there with my parents. I was starving when we were halfway there and I was angry that they allowed my sister to stay home because she had to 'work on a group project'. Yeah right, I knew for a fact that the only project Jackie would be working on was planning the party she would throw while we were gone.

When my father finally announced we were here, I immediately jumped out of the car and got down on the ground, stretching my arms out wide. "Land! Sweet, beautiful land!" I exclaimed. I never realized how horrible a driver my father was until now. I thought we were going to die!