Trapped in School (Watty Awards 2012 Nominee)

Chapter Fifteen: Lunch Date Part 2

“On the count of three,” said Lucas, his chin dipping into the water as he spoke. We were both leaning forward, eyes trained on the opposite side of the pool.

“One,” continued Lucas “Two--”

I jumped, diving beneath the water with a splash. The water rushed into my ears, but I could still hear the angry cries of “cheating” and another splash as I kicked as hard as my legs allowed. The cool water rushed over me as I madly paddled my arms. I could feel the water beside me shift as Lucas caught up, and I quickened my pace with a rush of adrenaline. But it was useless. By the time my hand swung out to hit the edge of the pool, Lucas was already leaning against the side with a smirk.

“Cheater,” he said as I surfaced. I smiled ruefully and splashed him.

“Hypocrite, you had an obvious advantage. Weren’t you on the swim team earlier this year?” I said as I waded over towards him. I pushed my bangs back as they stuck to my forehead, hoping that I didn’t look too silly with this mop of wet hair. Lucas frowned.

“Eh, yeah, but I quit after three weeks. Too much work,” he said. I scoffed, rolling my eyes as I pushed away from the side of the pool and lazily floated on my back.

“What?” said Lucas, joining me in the middle of the pool and wading at my side. I turned my head, letting my legs sink down so I could face him properly.

“Lucas, I’m in twelve extracurriculars. Band, violin lessons, Chem Club, vet training, Fine Arts Club, Chess Team, Speech Team, Scholastic Team, 4H, Girl Scouts, Class Officers, and Student Counsel. Not to mention I teach Sunday school at my church, volunteer three times a week, and enter essay writing contests every month. I don’t think that, by any stretch of the imagination, swim team could take that much effort,” I said. Lucas was silent for a moment, his brow wrinkling as he looked down. Finally, he looked up, his eyes looking straight into mine.

“Are you really in all of that stuff?” he asked in awe. I nodded, giving a sigh and wading towards the edge of the pool. I lifted myself up, the water rushing down my sides and my clothes feeling like they were a thousand pounds. I twisted around so I sat on the edge of the pool, my legs still in the water, and Lucas looked up at me as he latched to the lip of the pool.

“Yes, and five honors classes as well,” I said. Lucas let out a long whistle.

“Wow, that has got to suck,” he said. I nodded.

“You have no idea,” I said. I pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling an impending headache start to make itself noticeable. Due dates started rushing past my eyes as I thought about all of the things I would have to make up when I got home. That was why I had perfect school attendance. It wasn’t just my extreme nerdiness, it was because if I got behind it would be a disaster.

Hell, I was even at school during a snowstorm. That’s how extreme I was.

“Why do you do all of that?” asked Lucas. He braced his arms against the ground and pulled himself up out of the water easily. Plopping down beside me, we sat shoulder to shoulder, a little too close for comfort in my opinion. But I didn’t move, because Lucas radiated heat and I was freaking freezing.

“Um, well… I guess I….” I paused. That was a good question. My mind went to my mother.

“Natalie, why don’t you sign up for Class Officers?” asked my mother one morning. I stood in the hallway, adjusting my Hello Kitty bow clips in the mirror, my backpack sitting on the ground beside me. Glancing to my left, I found my mother standing in the door frame, a smile plastered on her Botox injected face.

“I don’t really have time Mother,” I said. I turned back to the mirror, only to see my mother walk up behind me. She placed a hand on my shoulder, her lip curling slightly as I flipped my Harry Potter necklace to face the right way.

“If you have time to watch those silly cartoons, you have time to do something productive,” she said. I sighed out my nose. Here we go again.

“Mom, they’re not called cartoons, they’re called anime. And I don’t want to do Class Officers, that’s boring,” I said. My mother scowled, her emerald eyes glaring into the matching ones on my face.

“Well I don’t care if it’s boring. You’re doing it. Colleges like those kind of things, and I refuse to pay for your college unless it’s a top school,” she said.

All I heard was blah blah blah blah blah………

“Whatever,” I said, reaching down to pick up my book bag. My mother grabbed my wrist as I headed out the door.

“Mom, I’m going to miss my bus!” I said. She glared.

“Sign up today and bring the form back for me to sign. Got it?” she said. I nodded, staring down at the ground.

“Um, Nat, hello?” asked Lucas.

Crap, I really needed to stop staring off into space.

“Oh, sorry, uh I don’t know why I- I just…” I trailed off again biting my lip. Lucas crossed his arms and glanced down at me.

“Nat, I’m getting the vibe that you don’t really like doing all that stuff,” he said slowly. I shrugged, feeling my face slowing turning as red as a cherry.

“Um well, I guess….”

“Natalie.”

“Okay, fine,” I stood up, running my hands through my wet hair and looking up at the ceiling. I began to pace, cautiously walking back and forth across the wet floor. “I hate it. My mother… she makes me sign up for everything. She says it’s for college, but sometimes I- I think she just wants to have, like, this golden child of a daughter. But I hate it.” Lucas stood up as well, stopping me in my tracks by placing a hand on my shoulder lightly. He looked down at me solemnly. “Lucas, I just want to stay home and watch Doctor Who.” My voice came out sounding surprisingly needy.

Must have been the chlorine.

Without a word, Lucas scooped me up into a hug, his strong wet arms wrapping around my thin frame. I stiffened up, my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides. But then I buried my face into his neck, wrapping my arms around his waist and sighing.

When he pulled back there was a silence, but for some reason it wasn’t awkward. He took my hand.

“Then that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” he said, leading me towards the hallway.

After putting on some dry clothes I met Lucas in the teacher’s lounge, finding him down on his knees in front of the television reading the TV guide. He gave a silent cheer of approval, unbeknownst of my presence, and muttered something to himself as he fiddled with remote. I cleared my throat and he turned around.

“Oh, hey, guess what’s on in two minutes?” he said with a smile.

And that’s how I ended up sitting on the couch with Lucas’s arm around my shoulders, watching the opening theme of Doctor Who with a grin.

A/N: Hello my lovelies. Isn't it hard to believe this is only the end of day one for Natalie and Lucas? So much drama.... Anyways, I apologize a thousand times over for the typos, I kind of have to post and run because I have play practice. Luckily I'm not as busy as Nat, only two plays and voice lessons for me this summer! Please remember to vote, I love each and every one of you.