by Sarah Carter
Her phone vibrates, and she looks down. “What does it say?” Lexi asks.
“I’m so glad you told me about that. This Lexi chick is awesome.”
“See,” Maddie whispers. “It’s about you.”
“Say, not as awesome as me.”
Maddie’s eyes widen. “Why on earth would I say that?”
“Just do it.”
“No.”
“Do it, or I’m going to find him after class,” Lexi promises, smiling.
Narrowing her eyes, Maddie says, “That’s not fair.”
Lexi replies, “Just do it.”
She takes in a deep breath and sends out the text. “I don’t think that was a good idea.”
“Just wait to see what his response is.”
There is a moment of no return text. “Great thanks, Lexi.” Suddenly, her phone vibrates. “I’m not reading it.”
“Then let me read it,” Lexi says, snagging the phone.
Maddie leaps forward and yells, “Hey.”
“His response is...” Lexi reads. “I’ve known you for forever and a day and are by far in the top three of the coolest people I have ever known.”
Her jaw drops and Maddie gasps, “He did not say that!”
Lexi shoves the phone back at her. “Check it out yourself.”
Reading it, Maddie stammers, “What...what does that mean? What do I say?”
“Hmmm,” Lexi thinks. “How about, ‘well, you’re in the top two, so take that.’?”
“I can’t say that,” Maddie hisses.
“Is it not true?”
“Of course it’s true,” she snaps.
Lexi spreads her hands out in front of her. “Then it’s an honest reply.”
There is an obvious moment, and Maddie seems to be thinking about it. “Fine,” she says. Her fingers fly across her phone, and then she presses send.
Both girls stare at the phone, and then it vibrates. Maddie opens the text and then gasps. “What?” Lexi says, bending over the top of the desk to see.
“He said, ‘well, I do like to be on top’.”
“No way! Oh my god.”
“What do I say to that?” Maddie stutters.
Shrugging her shoulders, Lexi says, “I have no idea. What do you want to say?”
“I have no idea,” she groans. “I’ve never...I don’t have any experience with that. It scares me.”
“Does the thought scare you with him?”
Maddie looks up at her. “What do you mean?”
“Does the idea of doing anything with Derrick scare you?”
She looks thoughtful for a moment and then says, “No, actually, he’d be the only one I would trust.”
“Then my best bet would be to make a comeback to that text.”
A grin creeps across Maddie’s face. “Like what?
“Umm, I guess I’m on the bottom, don’t know what it would be like on top.”
“That is a little much!” Maddie gasps.
Lexi shrugs, “Okay, then think of something else.”
“I don’t know what to write.”
“Girl, write what I said to you, and then don’t respond like class started. See what his reaction is.”
“That’s playing dirty,” Maddie giggles, mischievously.
Shaking her head, Lexi says, “Girls don’t fight fair.”
“Okay.” Maddie types and then sends out the text. “I wonder what he will say.”
“I don’t know, but you can’t look until the end of class.”
“What? Why?”
She leans forward. “Because you will want to respond. I’m telling now, let him stew for a class period. It will tell you one way or another.”
“Fine,” Maddie says. She shoves her phone in her backpack.
It vibrates against her books. “Don’t look at it,” Lexi laughs.
“I’m not going to.” The class bell rings. Maddie smirks and turns around. Lexi only laughs. When the end bell sounds, both girls dart to Maddie’s backpack. There are three texts. Maddie opens them. “What you’re saying is you want to be number 1 or 2?”
“What’s the next one?” Lexi eagerly asks.
“Okay, no response. I hope I didn’t make things awkward.” Maddie pauses and then laughs. “We will talk further about being on top but not in front of Connor. I like being number two.”
Lexi looks at her. “Whoa, girl.”
“What do I say?” Maddie laughs out of nervousness.
“Hmmm, we have to send something back. What to say. What to say.”
Maddie’s phone buzzes. She reads, “I’m starting to worry that you’re not responding.”
“Oh my god, type, ‘I’m trying to think of a witty comeback but am distracted by this number two position’.”
Her eyes widen. “Lexi, I can’t say that. He’s going to think I want to have sex with him.”
“Okay, then don’t say it.”
“I mean, I do, but I want to be in a relationship. I don’t want to come across as though he can just get down my pants,” Maddie states.
“How long has he known you? Do you really think that’s what he’s going to think? He must know so much about you. I doubt he’s going to think you’re easy.”
“True,” Maddie says with a nod. “Fine, I will text him.”
“Just, stay off having sex right away,” Lexi says. “Otherwise, it’s going to seem like you’re easy.”
“I think he knows it’s not going to happen,” Maddie says. “Not for a while. He knows. He has to know.”
“Then don’t worry about it. Flirting is fine. Shit, I make crass comments to everyone. It’s just who I am.”
Maddie looks at Lexi. “Are you virgin?”
“Yup, and I will probably die one, too,” Lexi snorts. “We should get to our next classes.”
They stand up and start walking out of the room. Maddie’s phone vibrates. She opens up the text. “I’m going to have to pause and think of a comeback because having this conversation over text isn’t the way to go.”
“He’s going to leave you hanging!” Lexi gasps. “What? Totally not cool, but totally funny.”
“I don’t find it funny!” Maddie replies. “What does this conversation even mean? Is he just joking around?”
Lexi tilts her head and says, “I doubt he’s joking. He doesn’t want to talk in front of Connor.”
“Which is a bad thing. Connor will be pissed if he finds out something has been going on behind his back.”
“Honestly, this is about you two. It has nothing to do with Connor. I understand that he is protective of you, but this is about you and Derrick. Connor should understand that.”
Shrugging, Maddie mumbles, “I guess. He’s so protective of me, and Derrick’s his best friend.”
“What an awesome match! The one he protects the most with the one he trusts the most. I don’t see a better plan than that.”
“I guess,” Maddie sighs. They get to a split in the hallway. “I have to go this way. Have fun in biology.”
She can’t help it. Lexi smiles. “I’ll try.”
“Yeah, I bet it will be so hard,” Maddie snorts.
“It will. Text me if you see him,” Lexi instructs.
“He has gym. Only he would take gym his senior year. I’m happy I don’t ever have to set foot inside the gym again.”
Lexi rolls her eyes. “I know. I will fight all day long, but if you throw a basketball at me, I will nail you in the head with it.”
“You know...do you think you could teach me some of that stuff?” Maddie mutters, looking at her.
Knowing why she’s saying it, Lexi replies, “My mom would gladly do that. She’s scary. She can teach you to decapitate someone.”
“Now, that would be cool,” Maddie agrees, with a nod.
“Come over to my house this weekend. She will start. You can totally meet my crazy family.”
“My family’s just sad.”
She stops and asks, “What do you mean?
”
“Connor’s mom and my mom were sisters. My mom is dying of MS, too.”
“I’m so sorry,” Lexi whispers.
Maddie takes in a deep breath. “It’s okay, and I would rather not talk about it. It came on suddenly and is a little hard to deal with.”
“Okay, I won’t push,” Lexi says. “Well, you do need to text me if you see or communicate with Derrick.”
“Oh, I promise,” Maddie replies, with a grin.
“See you later!” Lexi calls out, as she backs up.
“Bye!” Maddie yells, as she walks away.
Lexi preps herself for the next class. She isn’t sitting next to Connor, so that is good. When she walks up to the classroom door, Connor is standing outside of it. “Hey, beautiful,” Connor says. “How was economics?”
“Boring as hell,” Lexi replies. “I’m looking forward to biology.”
“So, what are we doing tonight?” Connor asks, with a smile.
She rolls her eyes. “Do you not think last night was excitement enough?”
“I don’t know. I’ll never forget it, though. That’s for sure.”
“No more talking about it, okay?”
He nods. “Got it. So, again, what are we doing tonight?”
“Shouldn’t you be doing homework?” Lexi questions.
“Shouldn’t you be doing homework?” Connor rebounds.
Lexi catches herself rolling her eyes again. “It takes me about fifteen minutes to do my homework.”
Connor leans over. “I hear there’s going to be a surprise test in biology tomorrow.”
“Where did you hear this from?” Lexi asks.
“A little birdy.”
“Well then, you should study,” Lexi states.
He leans forward. “We should study together.”
“Do you need help?”
Putting his hand to his chest, Connor says, “I told you that yesterday.”
“Oh my gosh, fine. Where are we doing this?”
“Your house?” Connor offers.
Lexi stops and stares at him. “Oh...umm, sure. I have little brothers and sisters. Plus, we have a lot of people in and out of our house.”
“Family?”
She pauses and then says, “No, security.”
“Security...” Connor draws out.
“Please, please, please don’t ask. Don’t comment. Don’t say a word at my house.”
“Should I be worried?”
Smiling, Lexi says, “Actually, the last thing you should worry about is anything happening at my house. I’m pretty sure it’s the safest place on the planet. Let me make sure it’s all right with my mom.”
“Are you going to text her?” Connor inquires.
“Sure...” Lexi replies. “Texting. Later.”
“Okay. We should get into class,” Connor says. “I wish we were sitting next to each other.”
She smiles up at him. “Connor, you need to pay attention in class.”
“I could.”
“We, very well, know you couldn’t. So, don’t even play that game.”
They walk into class. “There’s no game anymore. I would like you to know I was victorious.”
“How to you surmise that?”
“I have your number. We went on a date.”
Lexi turns to him. “How do you figure we went on a date?”
“When a boy and girl, who are interested in each other, go to the movies, it’s a date.”
She laughs. “Oh, is that the case?”
“Yes.”
Stopping, Lexi turns to him. “Call it what you may. Whatever you do, don’t say that in front of my father.”
“Why?”
“Just don’t,” Lexi replies.
Connor makes a face. “Is he a jerk?”
“No, not at all. Reasons I can’t get into. Just, don’t use the word “date,” or like, or anything similar to that. We’re friends.”
“All right, got it.”
“Miss Blakely,” Mr. Johnson cheers. “I wonder if you’d do me a favor.”
Lexi and Connor walk over by him. “What’s up?”
“Can you replicate what you did yesterday?”
“Removing the tumors?”
“Yes, I have found another piglet with cancer. I’m curious if you can show them what you did. It would be a great learning process for them. I have everything set up, with a camera and all.”
She raises her eyebrows. “In front of the whole class?”
“Oh, you’re an introvert.”
“Sorta,” Lexi sighs. “But, if you want me to, I’ll do it.”
“Excellent!” Mr. Johnson ushers her over to the front table. “All right. Everything you need is here.”
Turning to Connor, Lexi says, “I need a gorgeous assistant at my side.”
“Aww, you think I’m gorgeous?” Connor gasps, twirling a piece of hair. “Oh my gosh. I’m so excited.”
Lexi pushes him. “Shut up. Wanna help?”
“Hell yes!” Connor exclaims. “Will you be all like, ‘scalpel, please,’ and put your hand out?”
“Sure,” Lexi laughs.
He looks at her for a second and then nods. “I’m in.”
The bell rings, and Mr. Johnson raises his hands. “Okay, class. Today, Lexi is going to demonstrate on how to properly dissect something. She is going to show you what she did yesterday.”
Lexi slides on some gloves and slaps Connor with the other pair. He playfully glares and then puts them on. Mr. Johnson nods at her to start. “Okay,” Lexi says. “First, you want a make an incision here.”
Chapter 6
“Your house...is...ridiculous,” Connor exhales, looking out the windshield.
“It’s not that bad,” Lexi replies.
He turns and looks at her. “You have a parking structure.”
“That houses my dad’s cars and my mom’s motorcycles, and mine, at night,” Lexi states. “I promise. It’s not as bad as it seems.”
“How many rooms is this place?” Connor squeaks.
Lexi sighs. “Not sure exactly. Never counted. Dad would know.”
“Wow. Don’t ever come over to my house.”
“After tonight, not sure if you are going to want to come back to mine,” Lexi says. “Let’s go.”
They get out of the car and walk to the back door. Connor touches the statue on the side. “What is this?”
“A phoenix,” Lexi replies.
“That’s an odd thing to have a statue of,” Connor replies.
“It’s a family thing. Let’s go in,” she suggests. Walking to the door, she puts her hand on a plate. The door unlocks.
Connor’s eyes widen. “Did that just scan your hand?”
“We had an optic one, but it was really hard if you were carrying things and were in a hurry. The hand made more sense. Come on.” She opens the door, and they walk in.
There is a guard member standing in the hallway. “Miss Blakely, welcome home.”
“Hey, Eddy,” Lexi mumbles. “How are you?”
“I’m quite fine Miss,” he replies. “Did everything go all right today?”
“Yes, Eddy. Thank you. Eddy, this is my friend, Connor. Connor, this is Eddy.”
They shake hands. “Nice to meet you, dude,” Connor says. He looks around. “This place is incredible. Wow. The paintings are beautiful.”
“My dad loves art,” Lexi says. “I love it, too. I will have to give you an art tour sometime.”
“There’s more?” Connor gasps.
“Oh yeah, lots more,” Lexi laughs.
A girl in her twenties comes up. “Miss, you’re home. Can I get anything for you?”
“I can get it myself, Mona. Thank you, though.”
“Miss Blakely,” she retorts. “Your father said...”
Lexi puts her hand on her face. “Fine, whatever. Connor, do you want something?”
“What do you mean?”
“Drink or eat?” Lexi replies.
; He nods. “Sure, soda and a snack would be great.”
“I will have tea,” Lexi tells Mona. “Jasmine.”
“Very well, Miss. Where would you be having this, this afternoon?”
“My room,” Lexi replies. Mona’s eyes widen. “Mona.”
She shakes her head. “Of course, Miss Lexi. I will get that right away.”
Nudging her head, Lexi says, “Come on, Connor.”
He follows her but points behind them. “You have a maid.”
“No,” Lexi groans. “An assistant. We all have one. There’s a nanny for the wee bits.”
“Wow,” Connor exhales. They get to a set of dark wooden stairs and make their way up. She leads him down the large hallway. He continues to stare in awe at everything around them. “This place is seriously ridiculous.”
“Yeah, I know,” Lexi laughs. They get to her door and she says, “Ready?” He grins and nods. She opens the door. “This is my room.”
Connor smiles and walks in. “How cool, Lexi.”
She scans her room. The walls are all covered in beautiful photos. “I took these.”
“No way.”
“But, there is lots of help from Photoshop. I won’t even lie. But, my dad got me some lessons from a photographer, and I went from there.”
“Have you been to all these places?” Connor gasps, looking at the one from the pyramids in Egypt.
Lexi nods. “Yup. Pretty cool, huh? I’m proud of them.”
“Are you going to get into this?” Connor asks. “Go to college for it?”
Shaking her head, Lexi replies, “No, it’s a hobby. Sometimes I just walk around and take weird pictures of things.”
“This is so, so, so cool,” Connor exhales, looking at another picture. “You just got so much hotter.”
“Connor,” she hisses. “Shut up.”
He grimaces. “Sorry.” Turning around, Connor smiles. “Awesome bedspread.”
“I love The Nightmare Before Christmas,” Lexi says. “One of my all-time favorite movies.”
“It’s so old,” Connor laughs. “I’m surprised you can find stuff.”
“Well, you’d be surprised what money can buy you,” Lexi says.
“Miss Blakely,” they hear. “A boy in your room. Your father will have a heart attack.” They turn to see Lexi’s mom. Her mom smiles. “Hi, I’m Claire.”
“Connor,” he replies, reaching to shake her hand.