Beautiful Struggle

The Plan

      I was lying down on my bed crying my eyes out. If I would’ve known seeing Nathan with someone else would hurt this bad I wouldn’t have rejected him.      

       I felt desperate I needed to talk to someone. So I called Faith. I asked her to meet me at a café near Matthew and Tyler’s house.

       I drove as fast I could and made the usual thirty minute drive in fifteen. Faith was already waiting for me outside.

       “Shall we go in,” she said as she opened the door.

       “Yes we shall,” I chuckled.

       We sat down at a table for two and a waitress came up to us and asked us for our order. We just ordered two hot chocolates.

       “So what’s wrong El?” she asked.

       “It’s just when I see Nathan with all these girls I can’t help but feel jealous. I mean I know I rejected him but I didn’t think he’d take it so well. I do like him but I’m just not ready for a relationship,” I managed to say without tearing up. Even though I felt a knot in my throat tighten and it made it hard for me to speak.

       “Girl why are you making it more difficult then it truly is. If you like him tell him and maybe he’ll stop talking to all these girls. Nate still likes you Ellie. You know he planned the whole trip to the cabin, he wanted to ask you out somewhere special,” she told me.

       I felt the knot in my throat tighten and couldn’t speak. I just nodded my head in disbelief. Nathan planned everything out just to get rejected by me. I felt horrible. Hot tears started falling from my eyes.

       “Don’t cry Ellie. Even though you rejected him it doesn’t make it okay for him to flirt with all those chicks that throw themselves at him,” she said.

       “But he’s not mine so I can’t get mad at him,” I told her.

       “And you aren’t his so he can’t get mad at you if you do the same. But I’m pretty sure he’d get jealous too,” she told me.

       “I doubt it,” I told her.

       Faith got a sketchy smile on her face and I knew she was up to something.

       “I have a plan! There’s a party on Friday. At my friend Caleb’s house. Let’s go! Bring Berkley as your date. That will for sure make Nate jelly,” she said.

       It took me a while to agree. Maybe like that Nathan will see how bad it feels.

       That night I called Berkley to invite him to the party. He said he’d go as my date. After I hung up I whispered, “I hope this plan goes bad.”

       The next morning I got up and got ready and headed to school. When I got there I saw Tyler.

       “Tyler wait up,” I yelled as I ran to catch up to him.

       “What are you doing here El? Don’t you have open periods for your first three classes?” he asked.

       “Yeah but it is such a drag having to come to school in the middle of the day. So I’m going to try to get a schedule changed,” I told him.

       Tyler walked me to the office. When the bell rang I thanked him and told him to go to class.

       “Nah I’ll wait with you for a while,” He told me.

       “No Ty, I don’t want you to get in trouble,” I told him.

       “I won’t. I’ll have Nate write me a note since he’s a student aid for the Dean,” he said.