Backstreet Boy

|Chapter 39: Lunch Discussions|

Isabella

It was in the middle of Textiles when I received a text from Jason.

My phone buzzed in my inside pocket of my jacket which was lying on the table next to me. Glancing over my shoulder at Mrs Philip, I noticed she was busying herself with another student. Sensing the opportunity to check the message, I utilised my highest level of subtlety to make sure it aroused no one's suspicions.

Jason: I can't wait to see you tonight. I'm more alive than ever when I'm with you

Putting the phone back in the pocket of my jacket – which was a blunder to bring with me today considering it had become exceptionally warm as the day had progressed – because of Mrs Philip Sabrina instantly popped into my head. Her devious scarlet lips and raven hair must have enticed Jason more than what would have been preferable. It seemed like an oddity that someone like me was competing with someone like her for someone like Jason.

So when I met up with Lizzie at lunch, positioning ourselves outside where we had the indulgence of eating because it was a sunny day, I asked her, "Do you think it's right to compare me to Sabrina?"

Instantly she asked, "Who?"

Rolling my eyes, I replied with, "Jason's ex-girlfriend. You met her once at school. She went to slap me but Miles caught her arm before she could."

There was a pause before an expression of recognition took over her face. "Oh, her. Well, I guess you would come up with an awful lot of differences than similarities."

"So how come Jason could be with her and then be with me?"

"You're together?" she shot back, holding her chicken sandwich in midair before her lips.

"Well, no," I replied, hesitant. "But you didn't answer my question."

She took a bite out of her sandwich as to pause before answering. Then she deflected my intense eye contact and shifted on the grassy ground, sitting up before leaning back against the tree. In the end, she settled with, "Every bad boy loves a good girl. They're refreshing for them. Someone to set them straight, you know?"

"Right," I said, wondering whether I should even have questioned her in the first place. "Do you think I should stay with him?"

"Can I be frank?"

"I thought your name was Lizzie."

She rolled her eyes and stared at me hard for several seconds. "Is that something Jason would say?"

"Probably."

"Right," she said. "I think that spending only night with him isn't right, Isabella. If he is your boyfriend or whatever, he should be spending the day with you, not the night and minimising the amount of sleep you get so you can't function accordingly the next day. I don't think it's all that healthy. But if you want to be with him, you should. Do what you want to do."

Frowning, I said, "You don't approve?"

"I do," she responded hastily, "I just want what's best for you."

"Which you think is to get back with Miles."

"No, Isabella," she breathed, exasperated. "If you want to be with Jason, then I support you. But you also have to think of your family. How understanding will they be? I know Miles wasn't the best boyfriend behind the perfect exterior and he was pressuring you at one point, but your family accepted him simply because he lives in The Valley."

"I hate it always coming back to my judgmental family thinking status is everything."

"I know you do," she said, munching on the remains of her sandwich. "But it's reality here in Greensville."