10 Things I hate About Her (10 Things #1)

25. Double Promposals

I had biked home to change into a ruffled white shirt and tapered black pants from my closet. When I returned to school, I checked my reflection in the bathroom mirror. I looked pretty damn good. I adjusted the black bow tie I had stolen from Naomi's dad, and smiled at the other me. I raked my hand through my hair, making it look tousled yet sexy. "Looking good," I told myself, winking. "Devilishly handsome."

The toilet flushed, and I busied myself with fixing my ruffles, pretending I hadn't been complimenting my reflection a few seconds before.

The girl used the sink next to mine, glancing at me from the corner of her eyes. I could tell she was trying not to laugh, but she failed. Yep. She had heard me. I tried not to blush as she chuckled. After collecting herself and clearing her throat, she asked, "What's the special occasion?"

I didn't know the girl, but a little conversation never killed anyone. "Promposal."

"Oh, cool." She washed her hands then played with her messy bun, so its loose tendrils draped her face. She dipped her hand into her bag and used the delicate tools to fix her makeup. She said, "You look cute. Are you... I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but you're the gay girl everyone's been talking about, right?"

"I wouldn't say everyone's been talking about me; it's been a few months since I was outed. People have moved on by now."

"This might surprise you, but people actually don't tell others when they're talking about them. They usually just do it when you're not around. They're cowards like that." She cracked a half smile. "And you forget that some people have nothing better to do than gossip."

"All gossip dies eventually."

"True. But you kind of stand out. You're not exactly the type of girl that can blend in." She held out her hand for me to shake. "Anna."

"Val." We shook hands. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Who knows." She smiled, then said, "Good luck, and I hope she says, 'yes'."

"Well, I don't think she will say, 'no'."

She walked backwards towards the exit, a grimace on her face. "You never know." She vanished around the corner.

Strange girl.

I started to feel a little uneasy. My stomach tightened, and I looked at my reflection. I told her, "She won't say, 'no', she loves you." I slapped my cheeks. "Alright, that girl's just psyching you out. You got this, Val. You are amazing, smart, and charming, what's not to love about you? See? There's nothing to worry about."

My reflection nodded.

"Good. I'm glad we had this talk, now, let's get out of here before this place starts to smell like farts." I paused on my way out to tell my reflection, "You look very sexy today."

My reflection smirked. She could be such a confident ass sometimes. I fixed my bow tie one last time, then we exited the bathroom.

***

The last time I had performed anything at school must have been in grade four when I had played one of the three little pigs in a French play in front of the entire school. I remembered attaching the pink cylindrical nose to my face, and the elastic had slapped the back of my head. I remembered Naomi had lived in a brick house, while mine had been made of sticks. When the big, bad wolf had blown my house down, I had run to Naomi's for safety.

Funny how things worked out, wasn't it? Everything seemed connected when you looked back at it. If we connected the many events of our past to our present, it seemed like the two of us were meant for each other.