He's a Wildcard

Chapter 1 - Ties Severed

I will be entering this story into the Watty Awards this year! :) Hope you like it! x

Chapter 1 - Ties Severed

I tapped my foot impatiently against the foot of my chair. My heel banged with steady rhythm against the leg whilst I strummed my fingers against the top of my textbook. I wasn’t alone; no one was paying attention to Mr Sullivan anymore. We all watched the clock as it slowly edged towards three o’clock, the moment our last weekend of freedom before exams would begin.

Trix nudged my leg and waggled her eyebrows at me. Four minutes to go before we could head home and get ready for the second biggest party of the year; the party that is going to help us forget the doom of finals coming closer.

A loud bang sounded at the front of the room and I sat up straighter as I jumped from the sound, as did almost everybody else.

“Now, when I’ve got your attention,” Mr Sullivan said, leaning on the book he’d just thrown onto the teacher’s desk. A smile crept onto his middle-aged face. “May you all have a terrific weekend, don’t go too crazy, I need you all to be ready bright and early for revisions on Monday!”

We all stared at him, mirroring his grin, until he waved his hand at the door. “Well go on then, or are you suddenly so obedient that you need to wait for the bell?” We didn’t need telling twice.

People whooped and cheered as we all sprung from our seats as if we’d been electrocuted. Trix threw her hand around my neck and we piled out the door with the others, both of us giving Mr Sullivan a high five on our way out.

We’d already dumped our books in our lockers and were on our way out onto the parking lot when the bell rang.

Trix ruffled her newly acquired pixie haircut and grinned at me. “God, that took forever, I never thought this day would come to an end!”

We both slipped on our sunglasses to keep the glare of the California sun out of our eyes as we got into Trix’s Volkswagen bug.

“Earth to Riley!” She waved her hand in front of my face and I looked up.

“What?” I asked, absentmindedly.

“I asked if you wanted to wait for Gabriel? I wish I could zone out like that whenever the pet piglet decided to throw a tantrum.” Pet piglet was the nickname she’d given her baby brother a few years ago, because he was more of a pig than a human she always said.

I shook my head, “nah, I’ll see him tonight anways.”

“Okay, if you say so. Trouble in paradise?”

Yes… “No more than usual,” I lied.

I was pretty sure he was cheating, and my gut was telling me that tonight would not bode well for us.

Trix expertly manoeuvred out of the student parking lot and headed towards my house.

“Can’t wait for exams to be over and to move on to college, and college boys!” She exclaimed.

I laughed as well, “me too! But first we got to pass those finals, though.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me, if this party won’t kill me, revisions certainly will.”

“Amen to that.”

We sang along to the music blasting through the speakers as we followed the trail of cars on the road. She stopped at the curb of my house.

“Pick me up at six?” I asked.

She nodded, “if I don’t get restless and pop by sooner.”