Hello, Honeybee

by Caity H.

  “Okay, thanks.”

  “No problem. Oh, one thing though, electronics aren't allowed. And if I see you using one, I get to confiscate it until the end of the period. So watch it.”

  “I will. Thanks.” I walked over to where no one was sitting and pulled out some extra math homework and began to work on the problems. I was minding my own business when someone ran into my chair, almost knocking me out of it. I looked up annoyed at the person's clumsiness.

  “Well, well, well. What are the odds of literally bumping into you again?” Desmond wondered, a smirk on his lips.

  “I have no idea. But of course it had to happen here.” I grumbled, going to pick up my pencil, which had flown from my fingers when Desmond had almost knocked me over. I noticed the fresh blood on his chin with disdain.

  He sat down in the chair next to me. He was glancing around at the other groups of people. He waved at a few different people before returning his attention to me. “So, what are you in for?”

  “Interrupting class and beating up a fellow student,” I managed to say with a serious face. “And you?”

  He looked me over, as if to size me up. “If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t believe you.” What did he mean by that? “And I got into another fight.” He shrugged. “I might’ve accidentally on purpose broken his nose.” I gaped. “But it’s not a big deal. A nose job might help the kid get a date.” He chewed on his lip a moment. “If I don’t get a thank you card I’m going to be a little upset, actually.”

  “That is terrible!” I cried out, shaking my head in disbelief. People thought I was violent for shoving Lex out of his chair on accident. Desmond found humor in breaking someone’s nose.

  He grinned. “Almost as terrible as what I heard happened in class.”

  I raised an eyebrow. If he was talking about what happened with Lex, it wasn’t that terrible. “What do you mean?”

  “I heard that the notorious Honeybee, the girl from Lex Diamond’s past, finally broke down and beat him over the head with a chair. This happened only moments before she tried to harvest his organs for her own witchy reasons, which I think had something to do with recreating Lex clones and having cyborg babies,” he mumbled, shrugging carelessly.

  I gaped, gripping the edges of the desk tightly. “W-what?” How was it possible something like that could spread so quickly and get so out of control and downright crazy in a matter of hours?

  He nodded, running a hand through his dark hair, smoothing out some of the curls. “You heard me. You went from being his creepy next door neighbor, to the girl who tried to have his cyborg babies. Talk about an upgrade.” He smirked, sarcasm dripping from his tone.

  “Desmond, are they seriously saying that?” He nodded. I groaned, putting my head in my hands. “Thank goodness there is only a week and a half left of school!”

  “Amen to that, sister.” He pulled an energy drink from his backpack, snapping the top back and taking a drink. “But for what it’s worth, I’m sure you two would make hot cyborg babies.”

  I glared, my lips set in a firm line. “Shut. Up.”

  He laughed, wiping away the moisture from the side of his lips. “Sorry,” he murmured. “However, I’m proud someone other than me finally beat that guy up and put him in his place. He’s so arrogant.”

  “I’ve known him most of my life, arrogant is an understatement,” I told him, leaning my elbow on the table, the rumor still tumbling around in my head.

  “You poor thing,” he mumbled, patting my shoulder. I smirked, laying my arms across the desk and setting my head down. “For what it’s worth, I’m sad I wasn’t the one to beat him up so badly that I ended up getting myself detention.”

  I groaned, closing my eyes momentarily. “I didn’t even mean to beat him up!” I turned my head to look at him. “I just don’t know my own strength, that’s all.”

  Desmond chuckled, leaning back in his chair, stretching his tall and muscular frame. “Sure, because after years of being the butt of every joke he tells, what could ever possess you to want to beat him up?” I frowned. He had a point. “Which is why his behavior is so strange,” he said more to himself than to me.

  I raised an eyebrow, and prodded his arm. “What are you talking about?”

  He hesitated, his lips parted with an explanation on the tip of his tongue. “Umm.”

  “Just tell me,” I mumbled, sitting up straighter.

  “Fine.” He glanced around a moment before letting the words spill from his lips. “I kind of thought you two had some secret affair going on, and he covers it up with insults and stuff. I mean, he is not shy about telling us to back off his next door neighbor.”

  I burst out laughing, gaining the attention of many of the students spending their afternoon in detention. Even Mr. Lowch glanced my way, raising an eyebrow in question.

  When my laugher was under control, I looked at Desmond, wiping my eyes. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard in a while.” My breathing was rapid. “There is no way Lex and I have a secret affair. We can hardly be in the same room together without something bad happening.”

  “Define bad.” He waggled his eyebrows suggestively, effectively putting an end to my laughter.

  “Shut up.” I glowered. “Can we talk about something else?”

  He grinned in triumph, like he’d discovered some dark secret. Hopefully he didn’t assume his hypothesis was correct, and go around telling people Lex and I were secretly together. That would create all sorts of havoc. “As you wish.”

  For the rest of detention we talked about random things. I didn’t get any homework done, but I learned Desmond and I had more in common than I’d thought. We both loved ice cream and Oreos. And he wasn't afraid to admit that he liked romance movies. Perhaps I could find a friend in him. Even if he thought it was funny my reputation was becoming even more humiliating.

  “Go home and enjoy your weekend.” Mr. Lowch said, packing up his own bag and papers.

  Desmond and I walked outside into the lovely afternoon weather. “Well, it's been nice getting to know you,” he said.

  “And you as well.”

  “I'll see you around, Olivia,” he said, heading off towards his car which was parked near the front.

  “Bye, Desmond.” I called back, walking home. After all, I had a date to get ready for.

  Chapter Fifteen – Date with a

  fro-yo boy

  At exactly 6:03pm the doorbell rang. Grinning, I moved toward the door. My black flats slapped against the wooden flooring until I came to a stop in front of the mirror to make sure I looked okay before I opened the door.

  The snug white skinny jeans made my legs seem longer. A forest green shirt with short sleeves and a v-neck contrasted well with my jeans. My hair was down, and my glasses stood out brightly. With a deep breath, I opened the door.

  “Hey,” Ryan greeted with a smiled. He was wearing dark jeans and a dark gray t-shirt with a small mustache sewn into the pocket on his shirt. His dark hair was messy, like he’d just run his hand through it in attempt to calm it down.

  “Hi,” I replied.

  “You look great,” he said, taking in my appearance.

  I blushed. “Thanks. So do you.”

  “Ready to go?” he asked, the ever present smile on his face. It made all the butterflies wake up.

  “Yeah, where are we going?” I asked, grabbing my purse and black cardigan. I followed his lead.

  “If I told you, it would ruin the surprise. Wouldn't want that now would we?” he asked, unlocking the car.

  “Surprise huh? That doesn't sound good.” I got into the car and waited for him to walk around the front and get in the driver’s side.

  He opened the door and slid into his seat. “Don't worry. I'm not taking you to a really expensive restaurant and proposing or anything. It's a small surprise that won't likely cause you any physical, emotional, or mental harm,” he finished with a smirk. I was still frowning, not sure what to expect. He turned towards me. �
��The surprise works best if you wear this.” He produced a blindfold.

  “What if you take me out to the middle of nowhere and murder me or something?” I gasped. His smirk disappeared and he looked at me for a moment in silence. “The surprise isn't me dying, right?” I feigned disappointment.

  He chuckled, starting the car. “No, I'm not going to murder you, don't worry. Now put on the blindfold, okay?”

  “Why can't you tell me what the surprise is?” He turned to look at me, eyebrows raised. I sighed, defeated. He handed it to me, and I wrapped it around my head, covering my eyes. “There. Let's go.” He started the car and I felt it moving away.

  It was kind of weird being blind in the car. I had to completely trust him in his driving. I couldn't see a thing. “Are we almost there? This is creeping me out.” I felt the car turning.

  “Blind people do this all the time,” he reminded me, “And yes, we're almost there.”

  “Just in case you didn't realize, I'm not blind,” I told him. The car stopped momentarily before going again. t was probably a stop sign.

  “The way you checked me out when I picked you up told me as much,” he teased. I blushed embarrassed. “Don't worry, Olivia, I checked you out, too.”

  I turned in the direction I thought he was. “Well good! I had a hard time deciding what to wear and how to do my makeup. You have no idea how hard it is to be a girl.”

  “No I don't, but the end product is really pretty.”

  That made me blush again. “Thanks.”

  Within about ten minutes, the car stopped and he turned off the engine. I heard the car door open and shut. I gaped. Was he really leaving me in the car? I nearly jumped when the door next to me opened.

  He laughed. “Calm down, I’m just helping you out, I don't need you tripping.” He helped me out of the car, safely, and he led me somewhere.

  “Are we almost there?” I whined. “I'm worried you really are going to kill me.”

  “Would you relax? I'm not going to kill you. We're in a public place.” Like that would calm me down.

  “Seriously, Ryan. If you don't let me take this blindfold off, I might freak out or something.” I mumbled.

  “Olivia, if you flip out it might put a damper on the sweet thing I'm trying to do.”

  I frowned and crossed my arms across my chest. “Rude.” He laughed at my comment, and continued to lead me somewhere. I could hear the people around us, there were lots of them.

  “Ryan...” I mumbled.

  “We're almost there.”

  “Fine.” I groaned.

  We continued walking, and I heard the whispered words of people who saw us walking around, wondering what we were doing and why I had a blindfold on. I was right there with them. I had no idea why there was a blindfold on my head. But supposedly, I would know soon enough.

  “Hey Ryan,” a man said. His words were followed by a short laugh. “Is this the girl?”

  “Yeah,” Ryan laughed. “Jon Paul, this is Olivia.”

  “Nice to meet you,” he greeted.

  “I’d say the same, but for all I know you’re helping him murder me and hide my body.”

  The other person laughed again. “Don’t worry, babe. Ryan’s got a nice night planned for you.”

  Ryan moved forward, and I heard the ding of an elevator. When the doors opened, we stepped on. Since I was already unsteady from being blindfolded, I leaned closer to him when the elevator moved. A few moments later the doors opened and the breeze caressed my skin softly. We walked out of the elevator, his arm carefully guiding me. “You ready to take the blindfold off?”

  I scoffed. “Like you even have to ask.”

  His hands were at the back of my head, untying the blindfold. A few seconds later, my vision returned. My breath hitched as I took in my surroundings.

  We were on a rooftop. A table and two chairs were set up, not far from where we were standing, along with a picnic basket dinner. The white table cloth flittered in the breeze. I glanced to the side and saw the ocean sparkling in the distance. The sun was glittering against the faraway beaches, starting its descent. It was a sunset dinner on a rooftop, and it was a beautiful.

  “What do you think?” he asked, glancing away nervously.

  “Ryan, it's beautiful.” I was awestruck he would do this for a first date. “Really, thank you for taking me up here.”

  “You're welcome, Olivia. I wanted this to be special,” he sounded unsure of himself, and I wanted to make him more sure of himself. Show him, that it meant a lot to me.

  “Ryan, this is my first ever date,” I told him, squeezing his hand gently. “It is special.” I kissed his cheek.

  “Good. I'm glad.”

  “When did you set this all up?” I wondered as he led me over to the small table set up.

  “This afternoon. I got this part all set up, and my mother helped me with the food actually.” He handed me some of the food. “It’s actually because of your little mishap at school that I had time to get everything set up, and she even made us desert.”

  I took the first bite, and my taste buds sang Hallelujah choruses. “This is amazing.”

  “I'll be sure to tell her as much,” he chuckled. “I guess it’s good you’re one of the bad kids, huh?” he winked. I grinned, looking forward to the rest of the evening.

  We stayed on the roof watching the sun set for another hour or so, and it was so romantic. There was a bench on the roof, and he'd brought a blanket up earlier, so we huddled underneath the blanket when the temperature started to drop. It was around nine o'clock when we decided it was time to head home.

  The drive was peaceful, and I still had a smile lingering on my lips from all the thought he'd put into our date. It was so sweet. When we reached my house he walked me to the door.

  “Thank you, Ryan.” I said, looking up to meet his eyes. “That was the best date I've ever been on.” I shivered, pulling my cardigan closer around me.

  “One for the history books I'm sure,” he leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I'll call you,” he said.

  “You'd better. You don't go on a date with a girl and then not call. Especially because I know where you work.” I winked.

  “That would be kind of awkward,” he laughed.

  “Most definitely.” I reached up and hugged him, his arms wrapping around my waist to return the hug.

  “Goodnight, Ryan.” I whispered.

  We let go and he grabbed my hand, kissing it lightly. “Goodnight, Olivia. Sleep well.” He started walking backwards towards his car.

  “Same to you,” I said, opening the door. I waited for him to drive away before I shut the door. I leaned against it, smiling to myself.

  Best date ever.

  Chapter Sixteen – Surprise!

  Saturday morning came around with something I really didn't want to hear.

  “We’re going on a camping trip!” Mom shouted happily as she walked into my room, pulling open the curtains and turning back towards me. I mumbled something incoherent and pulled my covers farther over my head.

  “Olivia Rayne Martin!” A voice sang.

  I sat bolt right up in bed and felt the blood drain from my face. There, standing across from me and holding my stuffed blue penguin, was none other than Lex Diamond. The night after my date with Ryan, and Lex was the first person I had to see.

  Fantastic.

  “Mom.” She was standing near the window still. “What on earth is going on here?” I demanded to know, glaring quickly at Lex. He smiled at me and started to pet Froofie's little blue head.

  “Well, Patty and I were talking yesterday, and we thought this is the last week before you two kids graduate. So, we’re going to take a weekend trip camping as a family one last time.”

  “And we're both being forced to come.” Lex told me, tossing Mom a look.

  “We're leaving in less than two hours. You need to pack. We’re spending the night, so pack for tonight and tomorrow. Don’t pack your cellphone, that’s your punishment
for getting sent to detention,” she said, starting to move towards the door. She stopped and turned back to me. “Oh and by the way, I want to know all about your date with Ryan last night.” She winked before leaving me alone in the room with Lex. It was weird she had no issues when we were alone together. But if Ryan was alone with me, she went on red alert.

  Lex glanced back at me. “So that was Ryan who dropped you off last night.”

  I nodded, throwing back my covers and getting out of my bed. I was glad I'd worn P.J. pants and a tank instead of underwear and a t-shirt like I sometimes did when it was hot. ”Yep, that was him.”

  “So how was it?” he asked casually, sitting down on my bed.

  I searched around in my drawers for something to wear. “Um, why does it matter to you?” I asked, grabbing a pair of white short shorts out and tossing them at my bed. I heard a slight mumble from behind me. I turned and tried to suppress a laugh when I saw the shorts were draped over his face. “Sorry.” The urge to giggle almost won.

  “I can tell,” he mumbled, moving the shorts off of his face. “And it doesn't really matter to me. I'm just curious.”

  Rolling my eyes, I started searching for a top. Why did he want to know about Ryan? So he could make fun of me? Say our date was silly or something? I didn't want him to mock me anymore.

  “Honeybee,” he said, “I'm sort of waiting for you to respond here.”

  “I don't really want to tell you,” I said, leaning against my dresser. Lex twisted his baseball cap around so the bill was at the back of his head. He had on black shorts and a vibrant blue t-shirt. I probably looked hideous in return, with bed head and wrinkled pajamas.

  “Can I guess?” He moved to the middle of my bed, Froofie in his lap. I shrugged my shoulders. “It's either now or later on today when we're sitting around the campfire and your mom asks you for the details.”

  I grabbed an orange V-neck, while discreetly grabbing a bra and underwear, and walked towards the bed, snatching my shorts. “Don't you have packing to do or something?”