So I put the incident to the back of my mind, and didn’t even tell Seth.
Morning classes ended and I had lunch alone with no sign of trouble ahead. I headed back to my room and bumped into Seth on the way. We were walking together, talking about our first lessons and assignments, when I noticed Tiffany leaning on the wall right outside our dorm room.
She was waiting for me. I instantly tensed in anticipation of another showdown. I really wasn’t in the mood for any more fights with her. God! Could she just leave me alone already? Seth sensed my irritation and tensed nervously at my side. Tiffany spoke before I could scream or do anything drastic to her.
“Hi, Gray. Huh … can we talk for just a minute? I won’t take too much of your time, I promise,” she asked politely. That was a first one. Who would guess she could actually be civilized?
“Okay, I guess,” I agreed reluctantly, gesturing for her to follow me inside the room. Seth followed right behind me. He had a serious, pissed-off expression. He was still mad about what she’d done to me the day before.
I sat on my bed and Seth was right beside me. Tiffany glanced around the room and took a seat on Seth’s bed, right in front of me.
“Hum … can I talk to you in private, maybe?” she asked, glancing at Seth, looking kind of embarrassed.
“Anything you have to say to me, you can say in front of Seth, here. He’s my friend. You know, one of the true ones I mentioned to you earlier today,” I said sharply. She winced at my harsh words.
Seth was looking between us, trying to fill in the blanks.
“Ouch. I guess I deserved that one.” She smiled warmly at me.
Wait. What? That was weird. Why was she acting so nice all of a sudden?
“Listen, Joe. You were right, I think I own you an apology. I’m really sorry,” she said, crossing her long legs.
It was my turn to reel back in surprise. Seth leaned in closely and whispered loudly in my ear. “Joe, what the hell did you do to make a Worthington apologize to you?”
Tiffany looked at him, obviously annoyed, and waved a hand in his direction, dismissing his silliness. “Listen, you really made a big impression on me today, Joe. You’ve got attitude, very much like me, and I like that. Well, I have to admit I wasn’t paying much attention to you when we first met on that muddy road on Sunday. I thought you’d be just another student, faking liking me only to get on my good side, groveling for favors all the time, like my dear cheer squad. Yes, yes, I do know they aren’t my real friends, Joe Gray. I’m a smart girl,” she said, twirling a lock of curly hair between her fingers.
“So I was very surprised when you shoved my purse back at me and stormed off on the road like that,” she continued. “It was very unusual. That got me paying attention. So I tested you once again, when I had my cheer squad by my side to put on some pressure. I wanted to see how you’d react then. I was damn sure you’d cave in. And when you dropped my Gucci bag on the mud! That was priceless! The dropping, not the bag. The bag was quite expensive, though, I can tell you.” She chuckled.
I listened with my jaw hanging open. She continued her monologue.
“So I tried one last time today, to see if you’d buckle. Brought out the big guns, so to speak. You know, no one has ever called me on my expell-threat-bluff before. You didn’t even hesitate. That was a hell of a speech you gave me back there. You have some balls, I’ll tell you that,” she said, winking at me.
I glanced at Seth, who was still at my side. That was the exact same line he had used on me before. He still had a serious face on, but his eyes twinkled with a smile. How could he smile only with his eyes? That was a neat trick!
“So I’m here to say I’m officially dropping the bitchy fake attitude. You passed all tests with high honors. As you said before, it’s really hard for me to meet true friends. If you’d let me, I’d like very much to be yours. I’ll understand if you don’t want to, after what I’ve put you through, but at least say you forgive me and accept my apologies?” she said, looking at me.
I was shocked when I saw respect and admiration flashing back at me in her eyes. “I-I-I …” I was at a loss for words. Definitely did NOT see that one coming. “Okay,” I said, when nothing more came to me.
“Really?” she asked, excited. “Gosh, I’m so relieved! I’m not used to bullying people. I was feeling so guilty for doing it with you! I’m really sorry, Joe,” she blurted out, sincerity obvious in her voice.
“That’s okay. You splashed me on the road; I dropped your Gucci in the mud. You pestered me for a whole day; I gave you a brutal speech. We’re totally even. How about we have a fresh start? Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Joe Gray,” I said, extending my hand to her.
“Hi, Joe! Nice meeting you too! I’m Tiffany, but you can call me Tiff.” She beamed happily and shook my hand vigorously.
Seth grinned, relaxing as he watched us shake hands. “Okay, then,” he said, standing up and jumping on to his own bed, making Tiffany wobble and lose her balance at the impact on his mattress. “Now that I don’t need to intervene in any fights, I can get back to chilling out here. Oops, sorry about that, your highness,” he said, joking around with Tiffany and crossing his legs on the bed. That was Seth for you. He was just too sweet to hold a grudge for long.
Tiffany uncrossed her legs to regain her balance and glanced at Seth with a scowl. But then she turned to me, shaking her head and smiling again. “Boys. No manners whatsoever.” She tutted at Seth, then remembered something. “I was about to ask you, what are you doing registered in the boys’ block, Joe? It was very hard tracking you down here!”
“Oh. It was the school administration. I guess they did it by mistake, because of my name … Yeah, I know, I know, I have a boy’s name,” I mumbled. “I was a little bugged at first, but now I kind of like it in here. I don’t think I would fit in well in the girls’ block … I’ve seen how girls are at this school! One day locked in a room with any of them and I’d have to kill myself!” I said, flapping my arms at the air, making Seth and Tiffany laugh out loud.
“I don’t think you have a choice, Joe. They are bound to find out sooner or later. Co-ed rooms aren’t allowed here at Sagan,” Seth pointed out.
“Oh. Really?” I said, feeling sad. That was a bummer. I really liked Seth being my roomie.
“I’ll see that they do allow it now!” Tiffany said, seeing my mournful face. “I’ll have a word with the school secretary, so you don’t have to worry about it any more. Then you’ll really forgive me for yesterday!”
“Tiffany, you don’t need to do this for me to forgive you. I told you, we’re even,” I said, waving my hand at her.
“I insist. I’ll go over there right now! I’ll see you around tomorrow, then. Bye Joe!” she said, darting out of the room before I could reply.
I looked at Seth and he shrugged, kicking off his shoes.
“I guess we’re officially room-mates now!” he said, reclining lazily on the bed. “They won’t dare to contradict her. She owns this school. You’ll probably need to get your mom to verbally agree to it, so they won’t get sued. Other than that, you’re pretty much in the clear now.”
I smiled happily. The day sure ended a whole lot differently than yesterday! From hell to heaven. Very different indeed.
Chapter Thirteen
Conversations, Phone Calls and Best Friends
Next day, Tiffany found me early at the breakfast table. She greeted me cheerfully and grabbed a seat in front of me. I was still finding her drastic change of attitude very unsettling. What can I say? I’m a suspicious person.
“Hey, Joey! Is that all right if I call you Joey? I have great news for you!” she said, putting her tray of food down on the table. I shrugged at her, a sort of acceptance to her news and to her nicknaming me so soon. “So, about your illegal co-ed living situation. All is taken care of! The school administration was a little baffled at first, but they agreed after I vehemently ‘insisted’ on it. Plus, they were stuck in a tight corner, sinc
e there aren’t any rooms left in the girls’ dormitories for you, so they had to agree. They said your mom needs to be told, sign some stuff, though. Is your mom a prude?” she asked, casually munching an apple.
I looked at Tiffany shyly, a little uncomfortable about owing her a favor like this already. “I don’t think so … but I have never had a boy-sleeping-in-the-same-room situation before.” My thoughts immediately flashed to Tristan. “So I’m not sure what she’s going to say about it.”
“Never had a boy wanting to sleep in your room before? That’s a hard one to believe, Joey Gray! A feisty girl like you, you must have had dozens of boys lining up at your door, begging for a chance!” She winked at me.
“Yeah, very funny, Tiffany,” I mumbled, feeling even more uncomfortable. I kept having this nagging feeling she was somehow still making fun of me, but when I looked at her I saw only playful teasing on her face.
“Please, Joey, call me Tiff. Anyway, you’re now officially authorized to stay in the boys’ dorm wing. Speaking of which, where’s your room-mate? I thought he’d be here with you,” she said, looking around.
Oh, so she was expecting to see Seth here, huh? It was my time to mess a little with her, see how she’d react to some playful teasing. “Seth? Last time I saw him he was fighting with the snooze button of his alarm clock. Did not want to get out of bed today! Why? Did you want to see him? Does someone have a little crush on a certain blond room-mate of mine?” I wiggled my eyebrows.
She looked at me while trying to sip nonchalantly at her juice-box straw. “No, I don’t. Okay, he’s sort of cute, but there are plenty of cute guys around here. Look, there goes one passing by right over there. And other one over there. See? Plenty of fish in the seas around here,” she said, pointing to some random guys walking near us with bored expressions. None of them looked as good as Seth, though.
“Yeah. Right,” I said, getting back to eating my breakfast but not buying her lack of interest for a moment.
“I actually prefer to stay away from relationships here, you know? I have the same problem with boys as girls; they’re all just fake liking me because of my money.” She looked down at her tray and tried not to sound upset.
“Well, not only because of your money, give yourself some credit, Tiffany!” I said, teasing again. “They also fake-like you because of your body, your long perfect legs and spectacular blonde hair! Not to mention the boobs! That must’ve got you some extra fake-likings too, I’ll bet.”
She stared at me with wide eyes and then cracked up laughing, really loud. “Oh, good God! That was awesome,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “You’re damn right, Joey! Boys can so easily forget about money when there are boobs involved in the scenario! Points to you on that one!”
We chatted more freely after this. Tiffany was actually a lot fun to be around. I felt bad for having stereotyped her before, thinking she was only a stupid blonde bimbo with nothing but air inside her head. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Tiffany was witty, funny and very smart. It seemed she had everything in life: money, beauty and brains. And somehow there she was, trying to do her best to please me. That got me puzzled like you wouldn’t believe! What was it she had seen in me?
We had a couple of classes together that morning, and whenever she bumped into me in the halls, or at some classroom, she would greet me excitedly, hug me, and chat away like we were old buddies. She was really putting an effort into trying to charm me to be her friend.
The girls in her cheer squad were just lost. They didn’t understand why they had to give me hell one day, and then were forbidden to any more. Whenever one girl tried a snarky remark or a mean glance at my way, Tiffany retaliated fiercely. They soon learned that I had immunity now, granted by a Worthington the Third. That got them to back the hell off, fast.
Tiff and I also had lunch together that day. I had never been much good at having girlfriends before, but Tiffany seemed to be my first promising one. Nevertheless, I still acted a little cautious around her. We were finishing our dessert when my phone rang with the Law and Order theme song. “Hey, Mom! What’s up?” I answered.
“Hi, Joey. It’s me, Tristan,” he said nervously down the line. “Is it a bad time to call?”
I tensed and tried with all my will not to blush, because Tiffany was right in front of me, finishing her chocolate mousse. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed his deep voice until that moment. “Hey! No, it’s not a bad time, I can talk!” I squeaked, and mentally cursed myself. “How are things going?” I tried again in a more serious voice.
“Oh, everything’s fine here. Your mom taught me how to use her cell phone and gave me your number! And it worked!” he said, obviously thrilled.
“That’s great! It’s really easy, and you’re a fast learner!” I said, trying to stifle a laugh with my hand over my mouth. He was so cute trying to learn modernity!
“Thanks,” he said, his voice filled with pride. “How’s school going?”
“Well, I had kind of a bumpy start, but now everything is really good!” I glanced at Tiffany sitting the other side of the table. She smiled a little weakly and fumbled nervously with her hands. She knew the bumpy start had been caused by her.
“Bumpy start, huh? That sounds like a story,” he said in an amused tone.
“It is. I’ll tell you all about it when you get here. When are you coming anyway?”
“Your mom is trying to get everything set so we can come up this Saturday, for your birthday. I didn’t know you’d be turning eighteen this Saturday! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Yeah, It’s no big deal,” I said sincerely. In fact, I kind of hated celebrating my birthdays. I was hoping Mom had forgotten all about it and I’d have some peace and quiet this year. Apparently not.
“Well, your mom doesn’t seem to think that way. We went out today to get your birthday present!” he said happily.
“Oh dear. She’s making you do a whole lot of shopping this week, isn’t she? I’m really sorry about that. Just hang in there and it’ll be over soon!” I said over-dramatically. I did hate shopping. It was such a huge waste of time!
I heard his sexy chuckle. Boy, did I miss that laugh.
“It’s no problem. I’ve been talking a lot with your mom these days. She’s really swel- hum, a-awesome?” he said, correcting himself in time.
“Yes, she is awesome. You two have been talking a lot, huh? About what, may I ask?” I was instantly filled with curiosity. What could they possibly be talking about so much? God, please don’t let it be about tales of my awkward childhood! I’d die of embarrassment! I felt my cheeks burning bright red at the thought.
“You know, things … life, the past, the future,” he mumbled. Jeez. Vague, much?
There was an awkward pause. Tristan coughed uncomfortably down the line.
“So … I guess I’ll see you on Saturday?” he said, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, see you then,” I said, feeling heat rising up my neck at the thought of seeing him again.
“Okay, then. Bye, Joey.”
“Bye, Tris,” I said, and hung up.
I was about to sigh loudly when I remembered Tiffany was right there, watching me intently, so I just cleared my throat awkwardly and picked up my tray to clear the table. She cocked an eyebrow at me, following my moves.
“So, boyfriend calling?” she asked with curiosity.
I tried to regain control of my emotions. Tristan always had the power to completely push me out of my tracks. “No, it’s just my … half-brother,” I said, testing the brother lie out loud for the first time. It sounded weird. And wrong. Then I shook the thought away. It’s not like he was really my brother! But I could already foresee this lie was going to bring me a lot of headaches in the future …
I said goodbye to Tiffany shortly after that and headed off to my next lesson. Once afternoon classes were finished, I decided to go to my room and try to get started on some of my heavy load of homework.
As I walke
d into the room, Seth was sitting on his bed, a guitar case resting by his side on and yet another pile of papers scattered around him. That boy could not live without scattering piles of paper! I greeted him while walking to my bed and dumping my backpack on the floor.
“It looks like you’ve had a better day today,” he greeted in return.
“Yes. I’m as surprised as you are!” I laughed, reaching into my backpack to haul out my books. “Can you believe Tiffany was serious about being friends with me? I actually had a great time with her at lunch! Maybe I should give her a chance … what do you think?”
“Well, I don’t know, maybe she was really being honest yesterday. It’s up to you, Joe.” Seth began throwing his papers inside his backpack. He seemed in a hurry. “I don’t know if it counts for anything, but I have never seen her bullying people here before. She does walk around like she owns the place, but I guess she does in fact own the place, so it’s an honest attitude on her part.”
I was about to reply when a boy barged into the room without knocking. He looked calmly at Seth, a guitar case looped over his shoulder. He had a skater/surfer look about him, but his most noticeable feature was the wildest, deepest, darkest crimson hair I have ever seen. The contrast with his pale skin made his eyes really stand out with their vibrant green color. He was a little shorter and thinner than Seth, and had a small silver lip ring. And he was incredibly beautiful. No one should be allowed to be that beautiful.
Seth turned towards the door and greeted Skater Boy excitedly. “Hey! It’s about damn time, Harry! I’ve been waiting for you guys for ever in here. Wait. Where’s Josh? Why isn’t he with you?”
“I dunno, man. You know Josh, always disappearing, doing ‘Joshy things’. Sammy is already at the rehearsal room waiting for us,” Harry answered quietly. Then he noticed me for the first time and immediately tensed, averting his eyes. “Hey, Seth, man, there’s a chick in your room,” he mumbled shyly.
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