Jessica Thompson as That Girl

XXIX. The Rumored Girl

I'm glad I put the drinks down before she spilled the beans. "What?"

"Yes!" She switches off the lights and urges me to sit down beside the bed. Krista clicks on her phone, puts in her passcode, and swipe until the screen lands on a photo.

In the picture, as clear as day, it shows Jax Rocco and Megan Miller.

"Can you imagine the hurricane that's going to happen when we go back to school? I even heard Todd left in the middle of Megan's performance to meet up with some girl!"

"Huh?" My brain speeds up in an attempt to understand the current situation. There's no way she is talking about me. There are tons of other girls around Todd. I mean, he's Todd freaking Barrett. What are the chances?

"Some people saw him talking to a girl near the couples' ride! Holy cow!"

If this were a story, there would be a giant arrow that's pointing at me. Besides the arrow, it would say - The rumored girl who was with Todd Barrett. The sweat began to make its appearance. "Did anyone mention who?"

"No. No one knows." I exhale lightly. "But, rumors say Megan is pissed about him leaving in the middle of her performance. But, wait till she finds out about this! Oh, who am I kidding! She probably already knows."

I swallow, "What do you think she would do?"

"What else? Hunt the girl down. You know-" she elbows me, "until Todd finds out she left the festival with Jax Rocco."

I grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around myself. If I don't do it, Krista may notice how my hands are shaking. I can't believe I missed out on so much. How did I miss all that?

At one point, I was with both Jax and Todd.

No. That's the problem. I was with both Jax and Todd. If I didn't run into either of them, I wouldn't be in this predicament.

Then again, what's the predicament?

Yes, a few people saw Todd and me together, but they don't know it's me. The only person who knows it's me is Todd, and he's not the type to run his mouth. And even if people do find out, what can they do? Todd and I have known each other since we were in elementary school. He's Brody's friend. It's not unusual for us to talk once in a while.

The most people can say is: "Maybe Todd and Jessica are going behind Megan's back. Todd is cheating on Megan with Jessica?"

Even that doesn't sound believable inside my head.

"It's me," I said.

The movie starts its introduction. It's the same as every other one, with its fancy colorful logos and mellow tune. "What?"

"It's me. The mysterious girl with Todd beside the couples' ride is me. We bumped into each other when I was trying to find you all."

After a few seconds, Krista's mouth widens into a circle. "Oh. Well, that's no fun." She's saying how the drama just got less juicy.

I wasn't afraid of admitting that the mysterious girl is me because I expected this reaction.

"It must be another girl after you then!" Krista puts on her invisible detective hat.