Trapped in School (Watty Awards 2012 Nominee)

Chapter Thirteen: Shower Offers

If pizza was amazing, than a shower was heavenly. The hot water tangled in my hair and ran down my back like a massage. I scrubbed my arms, legs, hair, face, everywhere, wiping away the grime and worry that built up over the day. I sighed.

This shower would have been perfect had it not been for the weight on my shoulders. I just could not relax. My mind replayed those words over and over again like it was a phone recording and 7 was the only number left on my phone’s keypad.

“I would.”

I would what? Date you? Hug you? Kiss you? Throw you on the roof with a can of SPAM and a few grenades?

Sorry, I really need to get off this whole end-of-the-world kick.

And soap would not solve these problems. Soap could solve almost any problem I had, whether it be dirt smeared on my face or the insults of my mother still pricking at my heart. It washed it away. Down the drain, gone from my hair and mind. But for some reason, this time, soap refused to work it’s magic. I tried scrubbing every inch of my body as hard as I could, and repeated until the water ran cold. Eventually, I fell to the floor, avoiding a stray hairball in the corner of my shower stall.

The only solution I could come up with was chucking a bar of soap at Lucas’s face.

I watched the moldy thin white curtain, and then my eyes strayed back to the soapy world pool at my feet. I leaned my head against the slimy brick wall behind me and stared up at the condensation beading on the overhead light. The door squeaked and I jumped.

“Lucas?” I piped, daring to poke my head out of the curtain. Crap, this was just like the start of a horror movie. Here I was, the innocent blonde girl with big boobs taking a shower, and some horrible murder or ghost or alien or something was going to butcher me with a knife and a ton of overtop-bright-red blood. If my scream was shrill enough, the kid falling asleep in the front row would pee himself. The critics would give it three stars, not four because this is cliché and a B rated film.

Oh yeah, and forgot to mention something. I would be dead!

“What?” said a not scary, slightly annoyed voice. But let me tell you, the simple word landed above a murder on my fear scale, only slightly below my mother herself.

It was Lucas. Kill me now.

“What the hell?” I screeched, waking up my hypothetical audience boy just fine “Get out of here, I’m--”

“In need of company,” chuckled Lucas. And to my utter horror, the faucet next to my stall turned on and the sound of clothes hitting the floor followed. Luckily, I had pulled my head back into my shower stall the second I heard Lucas’s voice, and didn’t have to witness any of what I knew was going on beside me.

Lucas hummed the tune to “Call Me Maybe” as the shower curtain swished back and once it swished a second time I dared stick my head back out of the curtain.

“Are you stupid? Or like, gender confused or something? I’m a girl, you’re a boy. We don’t take showers in the same place!” I said. Lucas continued humming, probably just to annoy me.

“Yeah, yeah. But I was bored and wanted to talk to you,” he yelled over the hiss the shower head. I shivered. But that was because my shower had run ice cold at this point and my skin was wrinkled like a prune. I’m not going all Bella at the sound of Lucas’s stupid, husky voice.

“You wanted to talk in here?” I said.

“Well, I’ve been waiting an hour and a half, so you really left me no choice,” he replied. There was a pause. “Hey, where’s the soap?” I sighed out my nose, pulling back into my shower and leaning my body away from the cold spray of water.

“In the little dispenser behind you. It’s for the swim team, not us,” I said.

“Do you think I care?” he muttered. I heard the swishing sound of the dispenser being pumped a few times. It made me happy that the scent for the soap was roses.

Lucas was going to smell like a freakin’ garden tonight.

“Anyways, I just wanted to, er, apologize. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” said Lucas. The acidic feeling returned to my stomach, distracting me from my chattering teeth and goose bumped skin. The only response I found capable was a little humph noise, but it was two octaves higher than intended. I heard Lucas snicker, and the picture of his crooked half-smile entered my mind, making my stomach do a weird 360 that was either total hate, or, um, super-total hate. Yeah.

“All I said was that I would date you. Have you never heard that before sweetie?” he cooed ever so sweetly. I could hear the sarcasm, I’m not stupid.

“No!” I protested, pleasantly surprised how strongly my voice came out “Lots of guys have, uh, asked me out. But none of them were like you.” I emphasized the ew in you for effect, but it worked just as well as my sad attempt that morning to make coffee. This time Lucas chuckled, and I was grateful for the wall that separated us and hid the blush on my neck.

“Now don’t I feel special? But don’t get a big head, I know I’m hot and all but--”

“Shut up!” I interrupted.

“But it’s not like we’d ever actually go on a date,” Lucas said. Relief flooded through me. I stepped under the shower, attempting to cool my blushing cheeks, and I heard Lucas pause as he washed his face or something.

“Right. Duh. That’s what I meant!” I added quickly.

“Uh-huh. Sure,” cooed Lucas. Gees, this guy really knew how to get under my skin. I ignored his obvious gibe and nodded my head, even though he couldn’t see it.

“Yes, don’t be stupid,” I said.

“Because if would did go out would be really bad,” Lucas said. For once he was making sense and I found myself nodding again.

“Because we hate each other,” I stated.

“Because we hate each other,” Lucas confirmed. I reached for the faucet, and it squeaked as I turned it. The cool was trickled down until my shower head went dry. I reached a hand out, feeling the slippery floor for the towel I left out.

“But you know,” said Lucas, much to my surprise as I was focused on retrieving my towel. I leaned back on my heels and listened. “If we did go on a date, it could have it’s benefits.”

Oh hell no.

“Ew! Lucas, what kind of girl do you think I am!” I screeched.

Mind you, this is coming from the naked girl one stall over. The irony was practically dripping down the walls.

“What? No, not that kind of benefits! I mean, seriously Nat, be honest, have you ever been on a date?” he asked. The pause was long lived, and Lucas soon grew impatient. I heard his shower squeak off as well and the silence was only more prominent. “I’ll take that as a no,” he said. I bit my lip.

Wet feet splashed across the floor as I recoiled my hand and sat on the shower floor. What was Lucas talking about?

“So here’s what I say,” said Lucas. His voice was farther away. “I say we should be each other’s first dates. Not because we like each other, but simply because we’re both not going to do any better.”

Before I could respond, a towel swung down from the ceiling like a bat and landed atop my head. I gasped and Lucas laughed.

“The offer stands at that, take it or leave it sweetheart.”

 A/N-- Sorry, another cliffhanger! This chapter was so fun to write, I hope you all like reading it as much as I liked writing it. What do you guys think Nat's going to say? You'll all find out tomorrow, don't worry, I know my chappies are short but I try to update everyday. Oh and good/bad news. I got the lead in a play! I can't wait to get started, but it might mean my updates arn't until late at night everyday. Sorry! Thanks for the support and comments, keep them coming because they make my day, and I love to hear everyone's feedback!