Challenge | Adam Banks

FOURTEEN

After a relatively relaxing end to the weekend, Delanie found herself once again parked in her English seat. Chris wandered in shortly before the bell rang, lowering himself into his seat with a thud. Delanie tried to ignore him, but he had other ideas. "So, Little Jett, how'd you like the jv game last week?"

"Would've liked it a lot more if I wasn't surrounded by idiots," she shot back without even turning her head.

Chris scoffed, leaning back in his chair. "You should be nicer, Delanie. Any other freshie would love to have us looking out for them," he remarked easily, waiting in anticipation for her response. Getting a rise out of her was his favorite thing in the world, and they both knew it.

Thus, he was pissed when she kept her voice level. "I'm sure," she quipped softly, writing her name and the date at the top of her paper. She turned to the boy next to her with a forced smile, "It's such a shame that an opportunity like that is being wasted on me."

Chris just stared at her for a moment, unsure of what to make of her comments. He just held his head high, an indignant look in his eyes. "Yeah, you're right! Glad we finally see eye to eye on something."

When he busied himself with getting his notebook out of his bag, Delanie rolled her eyes, a huff leaving her lips. Idiot.

--

The dynamic in History was... wildly different than usual.

When Delanie sat down, she made sure to smile at both of the blondes who she sat with. Adam, who wasn't certain of their relationship after the way she ended their conversation on Saturday, grinned back at her. "Good morning, Delanie," he chirped softly, watching her facial expression intently.

"Morning, Banks," she responded coolly, deferring to getting her notes out of her bag. Julie shot Adam a smile over her shoulder. It was clear that she could not be more pleased with the current situation.

She turned around, her fingertips tapping gently against the surface of Delanie's desk. The brunette raised an eyebrow at her friend. "Can I help you, tappy?"

Julie chuckled for a moment before a serious look fell onto her face. "I hate to ask this," she said quietly, sending Adam an apprehensive gaze before continuing, "but have you talked to Jett since Thursday?"

Adam gave his friend a bewildered look, mouthing a shocked what? before waiting for Delanie's answer. Delanie tilted her head, thinking for a moment. After a little while, she shook her head. "Uh... no. Talked to Chris today in class but... that's about it. Nigel didn't even bug me in the hallway today." When Julie pursed her lips, Delanie furrowed her eyebrows, "Why?"

Julie shook her head, "Sorry, it was a dumb question. I was just... I was curious if he would've said anything to you, yknow. Since he knows you're friends with us. Surprised you haven't heard from Nigel either."

"Nigel will probably be off your case for a while," Adam said softly, causing both girls to look at him. When Delanie gave him a confused look, he shrugged. "I, uh, kinda told him that we hated each other so he would stop talking to me about you."

Delanie raised an eyebrow, exchanging a short look with Julie. A small smirk appeared on her lips as she turned back to the boy. "Why is Nigel talking to you about me?" she asked knowingly, a humored glint in her eyes.

Adam's face flushed as Julie erupted into a fit of giggles. Delanie just waited expectantly, clearly very interested in his answer. "Because you're Jett's little sister, obviously," he said quickly, the blush on his face only deepening. He cleared his throat, "and, you know, I'm the only freshman on the team, so..."

"Riiiiight," Julie drew out, giving Delanie a disbelieving look. Delanie giggled along with her friend as Adam leaned back in his chair.

He huffed, "Shut up Julie." The blonde girl stuck her tongue out at him just as the bell rang. She sent Delanie one last humored look before turning around in her chair.