“Thanks, I think I’m kind of awesome too, but now that we’re not being watched, let’s talk about one of the other cool, or shall we say, sizzling hot reasons why Grossmont doesn’t suck as much as you thought it was gonna.”
It didn’t escape my attention that Kate had just implied we were being watched before, but that little piece of information only aided my sudden suspicious train of thought. I mean, although I’m not all that socially savvy, I’m pretty certain that if I put one foot out of line, the implications could be devastating to my life whilst I’m matriculating at this school. Why I think playing dumb won’t damage me even more, I’ve no idea. I do want to trust her but I don’t really know Kate yet, and to say that I was questioning the wisdom of admitting how much time I spent thinking about Tristan today would be a gross understatement. What’s weird is that I’m not normally suspicious. It’s not in my nature. Jillian’s, yes, but not mine. I don’t know, maybe I’ve just seen too many movies where the popular cheerleader and her crew befriend the new kid, who of course is blind to the danger of admitting she likes the same guy the cheerleader or one of her friends does, so she falls victim to her new friends’ sadistic pranks, which inevitably ends up being more embarrassing than if she were to just trip and fall flat on her face in front of half the school.
So in thinking about all of that and trying—futilely it turns out—to not let on that I know that she knows that I have the hots for a guy who’s not only way out of my league, but sounds like he might be a man-whore, and, just so happens to be her so-called ex-boyfriend’s best friend, I stammered through my lie and tried to not bite my lower lip or fidget in the seat. “Wh—I don’t know what you mean. I umm, I just really appreciate you being so nice to me.”
It sounded convincing enough to me, however, I discovered my innocent act was in vain when Kate rolled her eyes and gave me the most elementally “oh please” look I’ve ever seen. Then seeing my hesitation and guessing at the reason behind it, she gave me a reassuring smile and said, “Camie, if I had a Bible handy, I’d raise my right hand and swear on it…this isn’t a setup and I’m not gonna stab you in the back. You can trust me…just, I don’t know, tell me what you think about him.”
Shoving scenes from the movie Mean Girls from my mind and giving up my charade of ignorance, I sighed and took a leap of faith by answering with the naked truth. “What’s not to like? I’d be mental if I didn’t admit how completely mouth-watering he is. Not only that, but I’d also be lying through my teeth if I said I haven’t been thinking about him non-stop since I first laid eyes on him this morning before school and that those thoughts are generally accompanied by the sound of mental wedding bells. Oh and he put the smell of chlorine at the top of my most favorite scents list. Seriously, I wanna go home and beg my dad to swap out the saltwater system on our pool for one that needs chlorine.”
I was feeling pretty proud of my fledgling flight with blind trust and honesty, however and unbeknownst to me, Kate was about to reply in kind while at the same time, dropping the biggest bombshell of my teen life squarely on my unprepared head.
“Yeah, I know what you mean, Jeff smells like a pool too. But good news, it fades over time and you get used to it…I don’t drool at all anymore,” Kate said confidently and winked at me. “Okay, so now that we’ve established that your olfactory senses are topnotch and you’re one hundred percent non-mental, lemme just say this...Tristan is in huge demand and a really tricky guy to figure out, but if you play your cards right and with my help, you might just be able to pull off one of the biggest high school coups a girl can hope for.”
Crickets. That’s what her statement was met with. The sound of crickets chirping away like crazy in my head. I mean, don’t get me wrong, this is outrageously great news; I was just so not expecting it! I really wasn’t…even though it totally fits in with the stereotypical plot of a cruel joke played on the new girl like I was just being paranoid about. And yeah, I know I’ve been nauseously going on and on about him all day long, but I never really took my ramblings seriously. I was honestly just thinking I’d spend the next couple years obsessing meaninglessly over him, so I really don’t know how to react or what to do with this information, you know?
“Is that a good thing or bad thing?” I asked, displaying my currently serious lack of brainpower. Of course it’s a good thing, I’m just still shell-shocked that’s all. It might take me a moment but I’ll get there.
This time Kate looked at me the same way Paul did this morning, like I was from outer space. Then, she asked if I was. “Do you live on another planet or something? If Tristan Daniels is really and truly interested in you, and I’m not saying he is for sure because he’s really hard to read sometimes, even for me, but if he is and you go about it right, not only will it be a very good thing, but you can pretty much call it a miracle.”
A miracle? Why a miracle? Is it because I’m not all that pretty, or because I’m younger than he is, or is it something else? For the love of all that is holy…tell me why! I decided to take a deep breath before I tried again and asked, “Okay, aside from the obvious fact that he’s ludicrously hot, I don’t get it. So I have two—no, three questions… Why do you think he might even be interested in me in the first place, why did you say it’d be a miracle, and why are you being so nice to me?”
See, I told you I’d get there.
“Thank God! Jeez Camie, I thought you were gonna try to tell me you wouldn’t wanna go out with him or something ridiculous like that…I was gonna have to tell the alien freak to get outta my car,” she said with a touch of relief before continuing. And when I say she continued, I mean that she more or less ranted an abridged version of Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus in her explanation of why she was being nice to me.
“And I can understand your skepticism about why I’m taking you in without even knowing you, but I really don’t have much of an ulterior motive. It’s a little silly really but, I think a lot of girls are jealous of me because I was born into an incredibly tight threesome with two super popular, not to mention gorgeous guys…I mean even when we were little those two were the kings of the playground. All the boys wanted them on their team and all the girls chased them, and I’ve literally grown up with Jeff and Tristan filling all the roles a best friend would, so, I’ve never really had that kind of close friendship with a girl. Plus, ever since Jeff and I split up this time, I feel like I’ve been missing out and I kinda think I might like a best friend who isn’t a guy for once.
“You know, someone who understands girl stuff like the fact that when a girl says “rag” it doesn’t necessarily mean she’s talking about her menstrual cycle. Someone who doesn’t need me to explain for the umpteenth time that lavender is not the same freaking color as purple, or someone who already understands that not every girl appreciates having her weight broadcast at lunch only to be lifted in the air over and over again to see who can do more reps bench-pressing her body, someone who knows that just because a girl typically keeps gum in her purse and she told you to help yourself one freaking time in fourth grade, doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to rummage through it whenever you want, and that there’re some girls who’d really rather not rate the crescendo of a burp on a scale from one to ten for crying out loud! I mean, I love them and everything, but they make me nuts. I don’t know, Camie, I guess that even though we just met, I feel like we might really get along, and since you’re basically new here I thought maybe you’d have an opening in the friend department.”
“Wow, Kate, I don’t know what to say…I mean who doesn’t know a girl’s purse is sacred? Oh and yeah, I totally have a vacancy,” I told her with a big smile. But really, can I just say how relieved I am to know that my initial appraisal of Kate was more than accurate? I can’t even imagine how bad it would’ve sucked to find out she was playing me, and just so you know, paranoia about such things isn’t much fun either.
Kate returned my smile with a pearly-white grin of her own and then said, �
��One time, Camie, I told Tristan to help himself to my pack of gum one damned time, like seven years ago, and now whenever he runs out of his own gum, he digs in my purse without permission…I mean who the hell does that kind of crap?! Ugh…I could just throttle them both sometimes, but the only one I have any control over whatsoever is Jeff. Although in some ways, that makes his crap even more frustrating than Tristan’s...and speaking of, let’s move on before I go off on a tangent of crap...seriously, you wouldn’t believe some of the crap I’ve had to put up with over the years and I can tell you all about that later if you want, but right now let’s get to the good stuff.”
“Okay by me, as long as you promise not to forget to tell me all about the crap later on…I mean crap is important between friends and I wanna hear the crap. No, as your friend, I think I need to hear the crap, Kate,” I said, teasing her about her mini-outburst and the idea that she could go on endlessly about, well, crap.
“I promise I won’t forget. I’ll make sure you get a hefty dose of crap daily,” she said and giggled with me for a minute before getting serious again. “Okay, now I want you to take what I’m about to tell you with a grain of salt, because I could be way off base here, but I really don’t think I am… I believe Tristan likes you. A lot. I mean a lot a lot.”
Kate then proceeded to say many several things that’ll go down in public record as an example of her uncanny perception and cognitive abilities. Well, in my hopeful opinion anyway.
I love Kate.
4.
The Events Of Today Pertaining To Tristan Daniels
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to land one of the most popular and best looking guys in the school. Let’s start with you telling me everything you think you know about him,” she said, shifting to get comfortable in her seat.
“Well, I’ve heard he’s kind of a womanizing gigolo, but other than that I really don’t know much about him…” Then I told Kate everything Paul and Michele had said about him and felt myself fidgeting as I did. I don’t know if I’m ready to be getting into such heavy public affairs, it is my first day after all. Plus, all of this is coming from way out in left field and here I am without a glove. I mean aside from having had friends who are girls, I have NO experience with any of this. But this is also “My Tristan” we’re talking about here, like I’m gonna pass on the opportunity. Yeah right.
She laughed again and nodding agreement she said, “That’s actually a fairly astute observation but doesn’t exactly paint him in the best light, now does it?”
“No, not really. I was kinda hoping Michele had missed the mark on him,” I said with a little disappointment. I like the guy and he’s magnificent to look at and everything, but I don’t know him and I don’t want to be a statistic either. You know, another notch on the proverbial bedpost. I’d like to think I have more sense and self-respect for that.
“Well, just because she’s not far off, doesn’t mean he’s only looking for a series of one night stands or that he’s completely untouchable, because really, he’s not…especially in regards to someone who might’ve unknowingly caught his eye. And, there’s a lot more to him than most people realize… As far as the masses are concerned, they’re gonna end up languishing away waiting in line, but you’ve got a few advantages that no one else has. I’m pretty certain he’s interested and since he knows nothing about you, that’ll work in your favor too.”
Apparently Kate has a lot of confidence in me and for some reason, she wants to see this happen, and because of that, I’m feeling a little better about liking him now. I mean I really don’t think Kate would lead Camie the lamb to Tristan the wolf for him to play with before devouring whole.
“Okay, so, yay me…but um, tell me why you said it’d be a miracle if I can pull this off.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot you asked me that. Okay well, he practically never shows actual interest in anyone. I mean he shows real interest in a girl about as often as Haley’s Comet passes, if you get my drift. I’ve known Tristan my whole life and your friend that told you all that stuff about him is only partially right. There is a horde of girls who’d kill for a date with him, but the truth is, he really doesn’t go out with all that many of them like it may seem…she’s right about him never having an honest to God girlfriend though.
“There isn’t a girl yet who’s been able to figure him out, and he doesn’t exactly make it easy for them either. That’s partly why they’re so attracted to him, you know? He’s the epitome of elusive. But, here’s where you’re in luck… Do you remember what he said about that girl, Teresa, today in class?”
“Yeah, I met her at lunch. She’s one of Michele’s friends,” I admitted.
“Camie, I hate to say this, but you might not wanna hang out with them if you want a shot at Tristan,” Kate told me with kindness but also, brutal honesty.
“Yeah, I figured. That kinda sucks, too, because I like Michele and I’m not exactly thrilled with having to eat lunch alone until I can find a safer group to hang with.” I was afraid of this. I know I can still be Michele’s friend while she still lives here, but the other three are really not my idea of the best quality people for me to be influenced by. I’ll admit right here and now that I can be somewhat impressionable, and I don’t want their personalities to rub off on me in any way. I’ve already gossiped about someone and I’d like to draw the line there, thank you very much.
“Uh, Camie, you and I are friends now, remember? So don’t worry about that, you’re already in my group. Besides, if you accept the challenge you’re gonna be with me at lunch and pretty much all available moments. That being said, one of your advantages is that your new best friend is the one girl who’s not after Tristan and who just so happens to know his quirks. For example, unlike almost all other guys, Tristan hates, I mean absolutely detests when girls throw themselves at him like Teresa does. And since most girls do exactly that, he wants less than nothing to do with them.
“So that, my friend, is why he doesn’t actually date much...I mean he’s really particular about whom he invests his actual time in. Now let me be clear here, that does not mean he keeps to himself, if you know what I mean…but even so, he’s pretty selective about who he screws around with casually too. Unless he’s being self-destructive, which does happen fairly often. Regardless of who it’s with though, or how it happens, it’s a safe bet his encounters are more or less meaningless to him, but still. In fact, that might be why Michele said he goes through girls like that.”
Since I’m truthfully new to this whole world, I’m kind of lost. I know what she meant about him not keeping to himself, but I don’t get the other part so I asked for clarification. “I don’t mean to be obtuse or anything, but what do you mean about him being self-destructive?”
Kate sighed and then screwed up her face in trying to think of how she could explain. “The best way I can say it is that he’s moody as all hell. Most of the time Tristan does a really stellar job of fending off unwanted advances, but I’ve witnessed many upon many instances when it’s like he just doesn’t give a shit at the time and hooks up with a girl he’d normally avoid like the plague. He then ends up having to deal with the aftermath of his reckless actions, which of course, pisses him off even more. I’m not sure why, or what makes him do it, but it does seem to happen more than he’d like to admit, I’m sure.”
“Okay, I get what you’re saying. He’s fickle like us girls.” In thinking about how Jillian and I felt about moving, Kate’s explanation was actually really easy for me to understand.
“Yeah, I guess he is,” she said, nodding her agreement once again.
“So, tell me why you think he might be interested in me of all people.” I’m really curious about this piece of information and judging from how well Kate knows Tristan; I think I’m safe in believing she might be right about him liking me. Wow. This is totally surreal. I mean, stuff like this just isn’t supposed to happen in real life, you kn
ow what I mean?
“Okay. Like I said earlier, I’ve known him my whole life and I’m pretty sure I can recognize the signs when he’s considering if a girl is worth his time. I already know for a fact he’s attracted to you, that’s a given, an—”
“Wait! He’s attracted to me?! How do you know he’s attracted to me?!” ‘Cause in my review of the day, the guy never looked at me twice! Maybe I missed some clue earlier in the day. I thought I’d been paying particularly close attention to everything he did, though... I was, right? God, I really need to learn some pointers from either the most loveable Kate Beaumont here, or my overly observant twelve-year-old sister.
Kate chuckled a little before answering, which she did like she was a sage or something. “Because Camie, I’ve seen and heard things today that you’re most likely completely unaware of, and I also know things about how he operates that most don’t.”
And boy, she wasn’t kidding about how much she’d picked up on!
“Liiiike…?” I quizzed her with growing excitement. I mean because the way she said all that made me feel like I was the topic of much discussion among the hierarchy at school today, although I know that’s not true. I think I would’ve heard the buzz if people were actually talking about me. I have a feeling that’ll soon be changing, though, if I decide to accept the challenge like Kate said and if Michele’s right about how people talk in this school.
“Alright, first let me just caution you by saying that the events of today pertaining to Tristan Daniels were unprecedented and there was a lot going on that the casual observer would never think of as important. Except they’re hugely important and every detail counts, especially if you understand there’s always meaning behind what this guy does. Basically, it all boils down to the fact that for whatever reason, he’s chosen to give you an enormous opening to accomplish what the vast majority of girls on campus dream of. I know I’m being overly melodramatic, but, this is high school and, well…this is the kind of stuff we teenagers live for, you know?” Kate asked rather formally and with a fair amount of suspense in her tone, kind of like we’re living in some sort of mystery dinner theater production.
Shark Bait (The Grab Your Pole Series) Page 5