The Player Next Door ✓

38 | Birthday Blues

Chapter 38: Birthday Blues

Things had changed. No more Miss Nice Girl. No more Miss I'm-sorry-for-breaking-your-laptop-so-I'll-do-anything-to-make-up-for-it. I mean, isn't that the most absurd thing you've heard all day? I say 'all day' because yesterday I saw a raccoon in my backyard lick a garden gnome.

I was over this kid. Luke Dawson had the world at his feet. Now I've stood up.

I've stood him up...  

Though it's not like he'd notice anyway.

My phone buzzed for the eighteenth time. Luke was persistent. I tried to block the image of him in my mind. His dreamy blue eyes, his charming playful smile...

No! I snapped out of it. Let the boy sweat. It's not like he sweats enough in basketball. AmIright?

I pulled up to my house and parked in the driveway.

"Were you picking up the newspaper from the front porch?" my mother asked as I walked in, pouring oat milk onto her granola.

She handed me a pop tart.

"Uh, not really. I was actually at a basketball game today," I answered, looking for an envelope in the kitchen cabinets.

Flora laughed from the table, "I'm telling you mother. She's becoming a pathological liar."

"Why is what I'm saying so hard to believe?" I asked, finding a stack of envelopes next to the scissors.

I grabbed one.

"Why aren't you eating breakfast?" Mum asked me.

"I ate at the Coffee Bean."

"She's trying to lose weight mum. She can barely fit into her jeans," Flora said, "That's why she wanted to borrow my clothing, and rip it."

"Skipping meals is not the path to popularity," my mother told me, obviously willing to believe anything Flora said.

There was nothing for me to say. At least Cinderella had a fairy godmother, a prince charming and friends (even if they were mice). Me? I have the Coffee Bean and...

Luke. My phone was buzzing again, and I clicked ignore. Luke was not giving up.

I'm sure he's won his game by now. I'd said my part to him and he can hang out with his groupies in peace. Why did he care about reaching me now, when he never had before?

I left the kitchen and overheard them say, "She'll never be normal."

"Enough about her. Matt is taking me on another date today mum, but I really need to get closer to Luke or Austin. Actually, there's a new guy now. He's so hot. He's burning his way up the popularity ranks. His name's Jake."

I slammed the door on my way out.

**

School was the usual parade of edgy fashion decisions and social media profiles. I squeezed through the swarm of students in the halls, struggling to make my way through. I pulled the envelope out of my bag and walked past Luke's famous locker.

Without him there, it was preserved like a shrine. Some fans loitered around it. Most would pass by and stare. So I had to be extra discreet when I slipped the envelope through the thin slot of his locker.

**

At lunch time, I stood in line for food like most of the student body. Julia was next to me, chatting about my birthday. She had made reservations at a French restaurant in town and was asking if I knew what kind of food Luke eats.