Prom Ghosts (A Perry Moxley & Harry Singer Story)

Perry in Denial

Chapter Thirteen (Perry in Denial)

Perry

Eyes stared at me as I slid down beside the loonies and set my tray down the table. Normally, our table would've been the loudest in the cafeteria. You'll have no trouble finding it what with Daryl and Lobby's annoyingly loud voices rising above everybody else's.

But today, it was surprisingly quiet. I rest my hand over my chin and stared back at them.

"What?"

In an instant, they snapped away from their trances and tried shifting their attention elsewhere. Lobby prodding the food in her tray while casting sneaky glances at me and Daryl pretending to scratch his elbow while his eyes darted all over the cafeteria's ceiling, probably seeing some interesting pattern of stains caused by the drainage leak up there.

If they think they were trying to act normal, they've got 'normal' all wrong.

"Did you sleep well last night?" Angie was the only one bold enough to keep her gaze fixed on me.

My throat suddenly felt dry. "Of course, I did. Why'd you ask?"

"No reasons," she shrugs.

Lobby was peering at my face, her eyes narrowed into a suspicious squint. "Those dark circles underneath your eyes can't deceive us. What time did you sleep last night?"

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat while I tried to formulate the next sentence I was going to say in my head. What the heck was I supposed to say? I can't tell my friends that I've had some nightly adventures with Harry Singer at the West Sides. Should I lie or make something up? Although those two are pretty much the same thing anyway, right?

"Something's off with you," Angie says.

"Yeah, something doesn't smell right," Daryl concurs.

"You mean aside from your body odor?" Angie chuckles.

"No, apart from your breath," Daryl glared at her. "It's coming from over Perry."

My nose twitched as I unconsciously sniffed myself. Didn't realize Daryl meant it figuratively until I saw the half amused half revolted look on his face.

"If there's something you want to tell us," he began.

"Tell us," Angie says. "Unless, of course, you don't want to because you're keeping secrets from us now."

I sat up straight on my seat. "Hold up, you know I don't keep secrets."

"But you never tell us anything!"

"That's because there's nothing to tell,"

Lobby clears her throat and kicks all of us under the table. "Guys, incoming hottie," she announces.