The Society

Chapter 9: What a Racket

HALE

I swung and clamored the ball as hard as I could with my racket. It soared across the net in a blur, then hit the corner of the court and bounced out before anyone could reach it. I stood up for a moment and swung my arms back and forth as I waited for the next serve.

"Match point!" someone called out.

I got set as the serve came at us. And yet again, after a short rally, I slammed the ball over, too fast for anyone to reach. Game over. I paced over to the bench to grab my water, breathing heavily.

"Dude, that was some angry serving!" Parker called as he jogged over to where I was standing. "My dad and I didn't stand a chance against you!"

I shrugged, and toweled off my face.

"Well, you're in a fantastic mood," Parker commented sarcastically. "What pissed you off so much?"

"Everything," I grunted. "Why does everyone have to be so nosy? It's none of their damn business who I date and who I don't date! Why does it even matter?!"

Parker leaned against the chain link fence, a smirk sliding across his face. "Ah, so this is about Ella. I had a hunch."

I shot him a glare.

He put his hands up in defense. "What? You guys are in an interesting situation, and people are interested. It was bound to become a problem at some point."

"Yeah, but why is it this big of a deal? My parents are pissed at me for not dating her, and everyone within a 50 mile radius is gossiping about our 'relationship'—or lack thereof." I let out an exasperated sigh and ran my hands down my face. "I'm just trying to do the right thing."

"No offense, but why are you so bothered by it? Since when do you give a shit about what other people think—especially your parents?" 

"I don't." I sat down on the bench, resting my elbows on my legs.

"And it's not that hard to just not date her." Parker crossed his arms and watched  me for an answer, challenging me to explain why his solution wasn't that simple.

I groaned out of frustration, then leaned back and hit my head against the chain link. "I know that, but..." I let out a huff, then jumped back to my feet. I looked Parker square in the eye. "I don't know how I feel about her—Ella."

A sly grin spread across his face. "You like her."

I threw my hands up to my head. "I said I don't know!"

Parker shook his head. "Don't bullshit yourself, Hale."

I stopped pacing. I knew he was right. I closed my eyes for a brief moment, then opened them again and stared at my shoes. "She was supposed to be a Society girl, I wasn't supposed to fall for her! I wanted to meet a girl in college or through work—anything but this! This wasn't my plan!" I started pacing rapidly again. "But Ella is different. She so, so different than anyone else I've ever met, especially any Society girls. She's smart, she's outgoing, she's real. And the fact that she is fine being just friends, makes her the kind of person that I want to date." I shook my head. "But I can't. Dating her would go against everything I tried to stand for—it would let my parents win!"

Parker sat down on the bench and buried his face in a towel. After a minute, he looked up. "I get it. It's not what you planned on, and it goes against everything you want to stand for. But like you said, Ella is different. I mean, you guys have only known each other for 2 weeks, and you're already so comfortable with each other—like you've known each other for years." He laughed and threw his hands up in the air. "The people who would judge you don't know Ella, so their opinions shouldn't matter." He stood up, and picked up his stuff.