by Rua Hasan
“Hey! Don’t hit the driver! Do you really want to die?” he asked.
“Do you really want to keep talking?” I asked as I crossed my arms under my chest. Matt playfully zipped his lips and pretended to put the key in his pocket. I rolled my eyes as I heard Troy chuckle. After a few channels, Troy settled on some rap I didn’t even know and I felt like my ears were going to bleed.
“You call this music?” I shouted because it was too loud. Troy nodded his head as he continued to look at his phone, probably texting Jasmine. I wanted to squeal in happiness and kiss the ground when we arrived to our destination.
Once the car was parked, I was the first one to get out . . . wait, let me rephrase that; to dash out as if the car was on fire. I then waited for Matt and Troy to jump out of the car. Once I was beside Troy, I glared at him as I shoved my finger at his chest.
“You, my friend, have no taste in music!” I said. “What was that? Satan’s lullaby?” I added sarcastically.
Troy rolled his eyes and was about to say something when Matt dropped his arm on my shoulders like always and pulled me away.
“Now, now kittens. I don’t want a cat fight in public.” Matt warned playfully causing Troy and I to narrow our eyes at him. Not a second later, we all broke into laughter. Troy called Jasmine to check on them but we were early so we got a table and sat down. As we waited for the rest, Matt was being himself, asking silly questions and bugging Troy. He’d get the crayons that were on the side of the table for children and start drawing as if he was a little kid. I tilted my head to see what he was drawing.
“Is that a pencil?” I asked.
“No, no. It’s a bed.” Troy said.
I shook my head.
“That’s supposed to be a banana, right?” I asked Matt.
“No, I think it’s a pair of scissors,” Troy said.
Matt raised his head to look at us and gave us an are-you-crazy look.
“Seriously, guys?! It’s a rocket ship,” Matt said.
Troy and I started to laugh hysterically.
“A rocket ship?” Troy asked between breaths.
“Yes, it is! Just look at it!” Matt defended himself as he turned the paper to Troy.
“See. That’s supposed to be the fire coming out of it and that’s supposed to be the rocket.”
I leaned against the table to look at the drawing but shook my head.
“Wow . . . I knew you were bad at drawing, but I didn’t know you were this bad,” I said.
Matt rolled his eyes but before he could say anything, Sydney, Jasmine and Eva arrived at our table. Troy got off his seat and gave Jasmine a kiss on the lips as the twins sat down beside me. I then looked at the menu and decided to get pancakes just like Sydney while Eva and Matt ordered waffles. Troy was the only one who wanted toast. As we waited for our meals, Jasmine was telling us the difference between Coke and Pepsi because, apparently, Matt didn’t know. Well, neither did I, but I didn’t point that out.
I took out my phone and showed Matt the first episode of the little series I found a couple of days ago called ‘Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared’.
Matt’s reaction wasn’t what I was expecting when he said, “and I quote, ‘this is art’.” Not that I disagreed with him, it was just that I was expecting him to scream like a little girl and hide under the table. Okay fine. I never really asked for that, but I was anticipating a gag or cringe. Any reaction!
When our food was served, I couldn’t be happier because―come on! It was food! I wasted no time in gobbling up my breakfast. I was too distracted with eating and listening to Sydney and Troy bicker that I barely felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I then put my fork down and wiped the syrup off my fingers because I was a pretty messy eater. I took my phone out of my pocket and saw a message from a strange number. I narrowed my eyes as I tried to remember if it looked familiar, but it’s the twenty first century, people. Who would memorize numbers? I then swiped my phone open and read the text.
‘Guess who?’ It read.
I lifted an eyebrow. What the hell? I really wanted to block the number because it could be a serial killer or a stalker, but the stubborn side of me wanted to play along.
“Patrick, is that you?”
“No. Guess harder.”
I stared at the screen of my phone. Who the hell could it be?
“Um... Who are you?”
“I told you to guess.”
I thought of any person I knew who liked to pull pranks or tricks on others, and the only person I thought of was Tyler, but the thing is that he doesn’t have my number. I never gave it to him.
“Um . . . Dan?”
He was the only person I thought of, even though I didn’t give him my number.
“Nope. Think again.”
I groaned as I ran my hands over my face.
“Is there something wrong?” Eva asked. I gave her an assuring smile and shook my head then looked back at my phone. I’ve had enough of guessing. This person better stop beating behind the bushes or else!
‘JUST TELL ME WHO YOU ARE BEFORE I TRACK DOWN YOUR PHONE AND KICK YOUR ASS!’ I wrote.
It didn’t take long before the stranger answered.
‘Damn, gem! No need to PMS!’
I stared at the message in shock. What the hell? How on earth did Tyler get my number?
‘How did you get my number, you stalker?’
‘The day you came over, your phone was opened in front of me.’
I ran my hand through my hair.
‘That doesn’t give you any right!’
‘If I tell you I’m outside your door, would you forgive me?’
I looked at the message as if it was a rat with the plague dying in a trash can.
‘No! That would make things worse.’
‘And I’m not home so . . . HA! The joke’s on you’. I smirked.
‘Really? Where are you then?’
I lifted an eyebrow. This dude is really funny if he actually thinks I’m going to tell him.
‘That’s none of your business.’
I then closed my phone, put it on the table and continued to eat. After a couple of bites, my phone vibrated again. I picked it up to see it was another message from Tyler.
‘Of course. I almost forgot.’
I rolled my eyes but decided not to reply back because I wanted this day to be Tyler-free. I turned off my phone to avoid him and continued to eat my breakfast as I listened to Troy talk about some girl who hit on him. Obviously, he was doing that on purpose to get Jasmine jealous. I don’t really blame him because she had done that a bunch of times to him with Tyler.
When our stomachs were filled, we got out of the diner and got into our cars sitting in the same seats. We went our separate ways and promised to meet in half an hour where the carnival was being held.
I decided to take out my headphones and listen to my own music because I really didn’t want Troy’s taste of music to make my ears bleed. I scrolled down the app I was using, Spotify, and picked a song called, “Elastic Heart” by Sia. I kept on listening to my own music as I blocked the sound of horror which sounded like people screaming. Who would listen to this? I snapped out of my thoughts when the car suddenly stopped. I took one ear bud out of my ear to hear Matt curse.
“Shit!” he said.
I then turned off the music and put my phone in my bag.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Shit, shit, shit!” he said under his breath.
“Bro! What’s wrong?” Troy asked.
“The tire’s flat,” Matt answered and got out of the car. Troy and I followed right behind him. We were standing on the side of the road with no other vehicles in sight. I then walked over to where Matt was and saw the flat tire. Great! Could our luck get any worse?
“Do you have an extra tire?” Troy asked.
“No,” Matt said as he shook his head.
I ran my hands through my hair in frustration.
“What now?” I asked.
“We fin
d help,” Matt answered as he removed the flat tire.
“How? There is no car in sight and even if there was . . . it’s not like they’d actually stop for us.” Troy pointed out and I’m afraid he was right. We were living in a world where everyone thought only of themselves, so I would find it hard to believe if someone would actually stop to help us. I wasn’t saying everyone was this selfish. It was just that it would be hard to find the good samaritans in this world.
I was surprised when Matt looked at me with a smirk plastered on his face.
“What?” I asked suspiciously.
He then turned to look at Troy.
“We’ve got a hot sexy friend with us who can attract anyone she desires. Why not use that advantage?” Matt said causing Troy to chuckle.
“Really?!” I said as I placed my hand on my hip.
“Yup!”
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I said as I stepped away from them.
“But Crystal! You know that’s the only way!” he whined as he got up.
“Ugh! You’re really going to make me do this.” I groaned.
“Please.” He cooed as he gave me the usual puppy face of his as he put his hands on my shoulder. I couldn’t help but glare at him.
“Don’t give me that look,” I said as I swatted his hands away.
“You know you’re my best friend in the world, right?” he asked as he pinched my cheek.
“Yeah, yeah. I know I am,” I said as I turned around and walked towards the road where a couple of cars were passing by. I took this opportunity to wave at the car for help. What else was I supposed to do? Get on my back and play dead? Or was I supposed to start flashing and hope that it wasn’t an old creep driving by? But luckily, yes. For once, something good happened. A car stopped when I was seen. A smile of relief took over my face as the window started to roll down. I took in a deep breath and got ready for what’s to come.
Just smile and ask for help!
Those words suddenly vanished from my mind when I saw who was in the car. I felt my throat clog up as my tongue felt tied. My mouth came crashing down to the ground as my mind started to spin . . . and not in a good way. I couldn’t believe I thought my luck was good for once! I guess it kicked me in the ass when I at least expected it. I knew this would sound cliché, but wherever I went I always had to see him. It was like the universe hated me as if it wanted to remind me that I couldn’t go one day without having to remember him.
My legs moved on their own accord and turned around. Maybe he didn’t see me. Maybe he thought I was someone else. Who am I kidding? We literally made eye contact and our faces were not too far away from each other. I kept walking towards the car hoping to disappear, but stopped in my tracks when I heard Tyler’s voice call out for my name.
Just great. Now I truly believe the universe was against me.
Chapter 19
Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you wanted the ground to open up and swallow you like you’ve never existed before? Where you just wanted to disappear in thin air, hoping nobody saw you?
Tyler was walking right behind me and made me wish the flat tire never occurred. I debated with myself countless times on whether I should just walk away or face him. And, of course, me being the mature person I am, I turned around. As I faced him, I saw the look of shock and confusion written all over his face. Maybe it was because he found me stranded in the middle of the road.
“Gem, what are you doing here?” he asked.
I decided that it wasn’t the right time to tell him for the millionth time to stop calling me Gem.
“The tire’s flat,” I muttered, pulling a strand of hair behind my ears as I pointed to the car that’s not too far away. Matt noticed us and started to walk in our direction. I turned around and started to walk towards Matt with Tyler following right behind me. Tyler noticed Matt and Troy by the car, he turned to look at me with a hint of annoyance and I didn’t know why though. I only shrugged my shoulders as I continued to walk.
“Do you have an extra tire?” Troy asked Tyler.
“Yeah, I do,” Tyler said and walked over to his car. Not a minute later, he came back with a tire in his hands.
“You guys are lucky to run into me. I just came back from my job with this baby,” he said patting the tire in his hands. Just then, I remembered the night I saw him talking with that guy named Paul saying something about getting a job where he fixes cars.
“Awesome,” Matt said then stood next to me as Tyler got to the ground. I watched as Tyler removed the flat tire using a tool he brought with his tool box. I felt myself smirk at the thought of him finally having his own tools, and at least he was not using them to drive me crazy.
“How come you keep bumping into him?” Matt whispered in my ear.
“The universe is surely against me,” I said while shrugging my shoulders. I then watched as Tyler attached the tire to the car professionally. His muscles flexing under his shirt. Wait . . . why am I paying attention to that? I mean, yes, Tyler was a very attractive guy. Okay, fine. He was damn sexy, but I hated his guts! If it wasn’t for all those years of bullying, then I might have been attracted to him. I mean, of course I was but not to a point where I “ liked“ him. He was a guy―a really hot one who every girl is bound to drool over.
He got off the ground as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. I tried to ignore his stares like always, but it felt like they were burning holes into my head. I turned to look at him and narrowed my eyes as he stuck his hands in his pockets.
“So . . . ” he said. “Where are you heading?” he asked.
“To a carnival,” I answered and walked over to grab his tools and shoved it to his chest.
“Thanks for helping us. You can run along now,” I said as I took a step back. I was about to turn around when Matt spoke.
“Hey, why don’t you come with us?” Matt asked with a grin on his face. My eyes widened at what he said as I moved my legs quickly to walk over to him.
“What the heck are you doing? I thought you hated him,” I whispered in his ear. Matt shrugged his shoulder as he gave me an innocent smile.
“Yeah, that’s you, not me. Besides, he’s a pretty cool guy,” he whispered back.
“But, what about our bro code?” I asked. Well, more like whined.
“You’re not a guy,” he replied.
“That doesn’t matter,” I said and turned to look at Troy and Tyler throwing a piercing glare at Matt. What the hell was he trying to do? He knew I hated Tyler as much as I hated spiders! Okay, I’d prefer Tyler more than a spider. Matt and I had something you’d call the bro code, and he just broke it by inviting Tyler with us. I was pretty sure he did that on purpose just to get on my nerves. It was enough I had Tyler following right behind me wherever I go. Now my best friend, or ex best friend, Matt was trying to make my life a living hell!
What did I ever do to him other than shave his hair off while he was asleep?
Add extreme hot sauce to his food and got rid of the milk and water in the house, and made him copy my homework with wrong answers on purpose for being too lazy.
Okay, fine. Lets face it, I might not be the best friend in the world, but I would never break our bro code.
“Uh . . . no, that’s not necessary, right Tyler? I’m pretty sure you’re busy,” I said quickly. But of course, why bother, for I knew things were going to go down hill when I saw his eyes glint in amusement along with that annoying smirk that I knew too well appear on his face. I got used to it but it still never failed to tick me off.
“Nah, I’m not busy. I could use a good time,” he said while looking at me. I crossed my arms under my chest as I narrowed my eyes. I groaned to myself but kept my mouth shut.
Today was supposed to be a happy day and I wasn’t going to let Tyler ruin it. That line had become a habit for me to say every now and then. I found myself worrying he would pull some prank on me and make me leave town. Not that I was going to let that happen.
&nb
sp; The Crystal who would let Tyler walk all over her in the past was gone. A sudden burst of confidence went through me for some unknown reason. I didn’t want to walk back to the car and let Tyler smirk at me as if he won. No, I wanted it to drop and it was my turn to smirk.
I couldn’t control my own legs when they moved on their own accord. I found myself walking towards Tyler’s car with the others curiously staring.
“Uh . . . Crystal, where are you going?” Matt asked.
I turned around to face him.
“Where does it look like I’m going? Since Tyler’s here, I thought why not have a ride with him?” I said as a smirk took over my face when I saw his drop.
“Really?” Tyler asked in shock, but the look of confusion didn’t last long because he had his cool act covering it right away as he stuck one of his hands in his pocket, walked over to me, and dropped his other arm on my shoulders.
“Awesome,” he said while looking down at me. I rolled my eyes and dropped his arm to the side then walked to the car door. I opened it as Troy and Matt got into the other car. As I sat in, I felt my heartbeat speed up.
Wait . . .why on earth did I decide to do this? I was for sure going nuts. Never in my life would I had ever thought I’d go in the same car with Tyler willingly. If I said that two weeks ago, I’d laugh and make sure I wasn’t going crazy. But if I said it an hour ago . . . well, I’d still do the same thing.
I must be going down with a fever!
I was going to sit in this car and act like he’s not bothering me and have the best time of my life. I laid my head on the rest seat as I crossed my legs once Tyler got in. He started the car and glanced at me curiously, but I stuck a piece of gum in my mouth and started to chew on it as if I didn’t have the care in the world. Then I saw him smiling.
When he started to drive, I didn’t want that awkward silence to take over the car, so I leaned in and turned on the radio. Immediately, I found the song ‘One Dance’, by Drake and smiled. I turned up the volume so loud I knew Tyler’s ears were going to break. I started to move in my seat as the music blasted throughout the car. I started to clap and closed my eyes so I would ignore the glare Tyler was sending me.