Tinted Shades

Chapter Four: Girl Meets World

It was now evident that Joan was dating Jeff. Maybe to get back at me I don't know but if it was that trust me it was working. Call me childish but for some reason I felt betrayed, not just by Jeff but also Joan. Although I had cheated first it wasn't fair for her to do that too. We had promised to keep each other happy always and now she was happy and I wasn't. Isn't that betrayal? I was sad that she was doing better off and I wasn't. I pretend to be ok with everything, to be ok with my ex girlfriend dating my friend but deep down I was hurting. I was broken and even the smiles and laughs couldn't numb the pain. Reality was catching up with me and it wasn't sweet. Joan and I were the best together everyone knew that. We were cute funny and crazy. But now being alone, it meant I had to be normal again. I didn't know normal. To me normal was crazy and crazy well crazy was just crazy. Guess it's true. There's no forever in love it's just a matter of how long you can put up with each other. And all the romantic things we write or tell each other are the so called sweet nothings.

"Krrrr!" The bell rang and brought me back to now marking the end of the Physics lesson I had heard nothing all credit to Joan who didn't even take Physics

"Are you going to the band practice?" Brian and Tony walk to my desk as soon as the teacher walks to class. Thursday was band practice since the school band had to perform on Friday at the assembly and I had forgotten about all these. Brian taking music like Tony had been forced to join the band.

"Yes, let me arrange my things I will catch up with you there." I let them to go first so as to give me a chance to figure out whether or not to go since guess who was the band leader, Joan.

After a long conversation with my inner voice I decide to go just because I needed that for my leaving certificate next year since I was not in any other co-curriculum activity and I had missed the last three practices. Walking to the music room was the longest walk in that school and I couldn't imagine I was to do this all alone.

"You don't take music yet you are the band I have to give you a thumbs up for that, " someone behind me says.

I remembered that voice from somewhere but couldn't quite get whose it was and to my surprise it was the bet.

"Phoebe! Hi, long time" I turn to her rather surprised.

"Long time huh? Maybe because you've been avoiding me,"

"No. No way. I can't avoid you. It's just that I've been busy; you just know form three issues and now especially that I've just been from suspension and have a lot of catching up to do. "

Soon a conversation was booming as we walked to the music room, turns out that she had joined the band during the last practice

"You two are late," Joan begins as we enter the music room.

"Really now, it's like five minutes," I try to argue.

"Five minutes or one hour I don't care. I'll excuse you because you are still new here but as for you go see Mr. Arika, besides you haven't been coming here why come today," Joan explodes. Now this is personal. It's not just because of being late or anything. She's not done getting back at me. Now this is what happens when you have a woman in power. I can't argue and walk to the patron's office my prayer not to be kicked out of the band. Not now especially when trips were here and I the leaving certificate thing.

I wasn't kicked out lucky me but now I had to clean the whole music room once the practice was done I picked my trombone and walked to my position in the line smiling to piss Joan...

"I think you will start respecting women now, "Tony laughs at me.

"I'll hit you we those drum sticks of yours, "I joked trying to avoid any possibilities of the story evolving.

I almost quit three times during that hour of practice. I mean what you can do when you have your ex as your boss nagging here and there but luckily I got to hold it together and soon it was done.

The many persuasions to get Malik and Tony to give me a hand in the cleaning after the practice were in vain with their claims that they had to hit the showers and of course that they want to be late for supper. Wow what friends.

"I would mind helping you out, "a rather unexpected offer comes from Phoebe.

" No need don't bother, besides you have to go to your dorms and you know supper time is here, " I try to turn her down but this doesn't change a thing since she already has a broom in her hands and is sweeping across the room as soon as everyone has walked out. I give in and we stay be busy for about ten to fifteen minutes before Mr. Arika, the patron and music teacher, walks out of his office.

"Phoebe, this crazy boy already has you caught up in his webs, "he jokes

"No teacher I am just helping a friend out, "her response is coated with giggles.

"Mwalimu don't kill the vibe now," I joke in my defense. Mr. Arika was not that bossy like other teachers and so we freely joked with him.

Mr. Arika throws the keys at me and asks me to lock up once am done and soon we were alone. Just the two of us and I couldn't stop myself from thinking of accomplishing the bet.

"Am pretty sure you sing?" she tries to break the silence that had already started eating the room up.

"It depends with your definition of singing, " I chuckle and before I know it we are singing and dancing around the room my rather rough voice not a competition to her sweet soft 'Taylor Swift' like voice her shy character nowhere close to the room.

We had been so caught up in this that we didn't realize how time and moved fast and stop. We were now sitting across each other by the piano when she asked about me and Joan.

"Oh, you know about that already, "I say my voice rather straight

"Yes, small world I guess, "she smiles.

"Well there is no me and Joan first and whatever happened, "

"So it's true you kissed another girl who wasn't your girlfriend, "curiosity now all over her face

"Maybe," I try to ignore the query

I knew what was coming next. It would be a why question of course. I was getting tired of answering that question to the school and I don't think I was ready to answer Phoebe if she asked that.

"How is it?"

"Say what?" I spat. Not sure if I had heard her right.

"I mean how does kissing taste like?"

"It's not like you've never kissed right?" I fail to answer her question by asking that and immediately she crawls back to her shy shell. It's like someone had turned off a switch in a body and she couldn't think or speak anymore. As the silence grew I found myself eyeing her my eyes moving up and down her body as I remembered the moment we had had in the basketball court sometime back. I knew I couldn't do anything now that she had known so much about me and so decided to pretend all this was mutual but no I just couldn't.

My body kept burning with desire to get a little closer to those tits that were now a bit exposed from her half unbuttoned shirt. I was sure she could feel something quite close to what I was by the way she looked at me when she noticed I was checking her out and stopped singing. There was something raw and hot that passed between us, and the already hot room charged with heat .as she walks towards me. What are you doing? Is all my mind could think off but it can't really be processed to come out of mouth. She pulled me by the collar grabbed my chin closed her eyes and pressed her lips against mine. For a guy with a chemistry in girls lips, hers tested different, like she had never done this before, like she was trying out something she had wanted for a long long time. I closed my eyes to kiss her back. Hungry scared and thrilled all at once. She tasted incredible, like fresh spring water right from the stream. She parts her mouth for me, and I sweep my tongue in, stealing her breath and claiming her. We kiss like this for a minute or two and I could feel her uneasiness crushing the papers we had been sweeping earlier breaking the eerie silence of the now calm room. And rather unexpected she shies and pulls herself away. Like she wanted to say something but wanted to continue with the kissing. And in that state of confusion she ran out of the room stumbling at a drum set. Shattered soul I curse and I locked the room before lumbering towards the boys dorms walking past a group of nerds discussing about some silly movie.