The Great High School Love Game

by Marcia Carrington

  Amy’s happy description of her time with Jake only made Francine angrier, and more determined than ever, to have Jake. With a hard look in her eyes, and in a steady tone of voice, Francine said,

  “Why should I think of Amy’s happiness? It’s my happiness that only counts. Would Amy ever treat Jake like I would? Would she ever help if she knew that I wanted him? Don’t think so. I want Jake, and I’ll do anything to have him.”

  Chapter Eight

  Amy was in her bedroom, seated at her dressing table, brushing her hair. After giving her hair several brushes through, Amy lay down her brush, and opened a tub of facial cream which she often used. She found it was very effective in moisturizing her skin, which sometimes had the habit of becoming dry.

  Amy applied cream around her face, and also rubbed some into her cheeks in a circular motion. After this, Amy remembered her favorite perfume, which she just loved to use. Amy sprayed some on her neck, a little on her arms, and on her legs, just to refresh herself. The perfume’s sweet orange scent was very pleasant to her nose, and she luxuriated in its aroma. Amy smiled, and was a little more relaxed after her pampering session.

  Now that Amy’s beauty regime was taken care of, she arose from her dressing table, and laid on her bed. She always tried to meditate a little during the week, especially when she was feeling tired. Amy made herself comfortable on the bed, and eventually found the best position for her head on the pillow.

  She was feeling at peace, and her thoughts soon wandered over to a lush, balmy desert island, complete with a beautiful blue sky, and palm trees swaying in the wind. Amy smiled, knowing that this was the perfect way to unwind. She was about to close her eyes, and begin her meditation session when she heard a loud thumping sound on her balcony door. Amy was startled by this noise, and abruptly got up from her bed, sitting on its edge. It seemed as if her wish for some time alone was not going to happen today.

  “Someone knocking on my balcony door? That’s weird. Maybe it’s a bird or something,” she said, looking puzzled. The thumping continued several more times, and Amy listened carefully to it, trying to work out who, or what, was doing this. Amy recognized that the sound was not of an animal knocking, but, that of a human being.

  Amy arose from her bed, wanting to know what was going on but also, a little scared it might be a burglar. She knew that whoever was knocking on her door must have climbed up, as there was no outside access to her room from the home’s bottom level. Amy held the curtains which covered the patio doors in her hands, and, knowing she could not wait any longer to see who was on the other side, opened them suddenly. Once the curtains were fully open, Amy was amazed to see who her visitor actually was.

  “Chad!” Amy said, wide-eyed.

  “Hi Amy,” he replied, looking frazzled, and worse for wear.

  Amy’s mouth fell wide open; she definitely did not expect Chad to do something like this. Amy looked at Chad, and noticed that he seemed rather depressed — she had never seen him this way before, and was concerned for him. She quickly opened the doors, and let him into her bedroom. Chad watched her with a passionate expression, but one that also conveyed insecurity on his part. Amy shook her head seeing him this way; where was the carefree, fun-loving Chad she knew? Something was definitely up with him.

  “Chad, what’s wrong?”

  Chad promptly walked into Amy’s bedroom, which seemed unusual to her. He looked at Amy with a heated glance, as if he wanted to tell her something very important.

  “Amy, I’ve got something to tell you, and it can’t wait any longer. I’ve bottled everything up too long, and can’t do this anymore. I’m gonna burst if I don’t tell you,” he said.

  Amy was troubled by what Chad was telling her, and watched him in alarm.

  “Chad, what’s wrong? Come on, sit down and we’ll talk about it. Maybe I can help you,” Amy replied. Again, Chad looked at her intensely, and said,

  “I’ve had enough of holding back my feelings for you for so long. I want you Amy, and I know you want me, too,” he said, eyes glistening.

  Upon hearing this, Amy moved closer to Chad, their faces only millimeters apart. Chad was breathing so heavily she could almost read his pulse rate, which must have been at an all-time high. Amy placed her hand on his cheek, which was red from climbing up onto her balcony, and he responded by looking at her hungrily.

  Amy looked at Chad, and smiled. He was right, Amy thought, she did want him — she had always wanted him.

  “Know what Chad?” Amy said in a low, seductive voice.

  “What?” he asked, eyes ablaze in anticipation of her next words.

  “Chad, I want you — I’ve always wanted you. Now, I’ll prove it to you,” she said, looking him directly in the eye. Amy placed her hand on Chad’s chest, and in turn, he placed his hand on top of hers. She threw his arm away, and Chad looked at Amy, in sheer awe of her. Amy unhurriedly began to open the buttons on his shirt, and looked at Chad after opening each button.

  Chad was ecstatic Amy felt this way about him, and moaned in deep satisfaction. They eagerly watched each other as she undid his buttons, and, after removing his shirt, which she threw across her bed, Amy fondled Chad’s chest, to his delight. Amy and Chad progressively moved towards Amy’s bed, and crashed on top of it, locked in utter ecstasy.

  “Chad, hey, what’s up? You dreaming or something?”

  Jake and Chad were in the school’s locker rooms, getting dressed after their sports training. They had just completed their basketball training for the afternoon, and were ready to go home after another busy session.

  Chad was leaning into his locker, tidying his space, while Jake was putting on his shoes. He was a little annoyed at having his daydream interrupted by Jake, but, nevertheless, kept up a cool, calm and collected front. Chad knew, though, that this came with the territory of being in a locker room with other people.

  Privacy was never a high point in this place, and one could be alone there indefinitely. The locker room was always a hive of activity, with young guys walking in, strutting around, talking away, while others headed to the shower room, and others left. Today was one of those busy days, as some serious training had occurred this afternoon.

  Jake found it fascinating how Chad was so preoccupied, and this sparked his interest. He did not think Chad was the type of person who would go off into a daydream.

  “So Chad, who were you thinking of?” Jake asked. He had never before seen Chad act in this manner, but had a feeling that it must have been about some girl. Chad was known for having a roving eye at school, and this eye was not ignored by the girls at school. Even though he was seen around a lot with Francine, it was believed that they were just good friends, and nothing more. This gave some of the girls at school hope that Chad, one day, would be theirs for the taking.

  “Oh, nothing, just thinking about some stuff,” Chad replied, looking away from Jake.

  “Okay, I believe you,” Jake said, looking at Chad in curiosity. Jake knew that Chad, without doubt, was thinking about someone, as he did not look him in the eye, but just who he was thinking of, though, was another matter. Jake knew that Chad was mysterious about things like girls, and did not want to push him. While Jake was interested in what was going down with Chad, he was not about to become nosy.

  Chad was uncomfortable with Jake’s questions, and wanted to shift the focus of the conversation away from himself, and onto Jake. He knew that Jake would mention Amy at some time, and this made him feel better.

  “So, what’d you get up to today?” Chad asked.

  Jake smiled at Chad’s question, Chad watching him carefully for his reaction.

  “Oh, school and Amy.”

  Chad frowned at this, but not making it obvious to Jake why. Chad closed his locker, and sat next to Jake on the bench, all ears.

  “So you went and saw Amy?” Chad asked.

  “Yeah, I saw Amy today. I went to see her, ’cause I was having some trouble with schoolwork. She really helped me understa
nd,” Jake said wistfully.

  “Really?” Chad stated, unhappy with what he was hearing.

  “Yeah. Her homemade cookies didn’t hurt, either.” Jake sighed, and looked up at the ceiling. “Boy, she really is something,” Jake said in wonderment, nodding his head.

  “Yeah, I know,” Chad thought. He wished that he could have been in Jake’s position, instead of just fantasizing about Amy. Chad was aware, though, that this would take some time to happen.

  By this time, Jake had finished dressing, and was preparing to leave the locker room. He put on his parka, and picked up his bag. Jake checked his locker once more to see he had not forgotten anything he might have needed. Jake was always very organized, and hated having even a single thing out of place. Jake noticed that Chad was again miles away, and said,

  “Looks like I’ve bored you to death. I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”

  Chad looked at Jake with an ironic expression, arose from the bench, and started to pack his locker.

  “No, you’re okay. I’m glad you told me what’s going on,” Chad said blankly, talking into the locker.

  Jake found this comment a little odd, and grimaced. He thought Chad was having his own problems, and this was the reason for his weird remarks.

  “Anyway, see you at school,” Jake said, on his way out of the locker room. He was out the door when he cheekily peeked around at Chad.

  “Oh yeah, happy daydreaming. When you’re ready, you can tell me who you’re thinking about,” Jake said, smiling wryly at Chad as he left. Chad proceeded to button his shirt, and reflected upon Jake’s comment.

  “Well Jake, if you found out I was thinking about Amy, you wouldn’t be so nice to me anymore, would you? We’d all see the other side of Jake come out if this happened,” Chad whispered, continuing to button his shirt.

  A few minutes after Jake had left the locker room, Chad finally packed his bag, and was ready to go home. He was happy after the daydream he had of Amy and himself, but, was a little unnerved hearing about Jake’s romantic time with Amy. Chad considered how Jake was always the ‘winner’ in whatever he tackled, and remembered how he was voted ‘Player of the Year’ last year. Chad had come second place that year, but this year wanted to come first. Above all, though, he wanted to come first with Amy, and win her from Jake.

  By this time, Chad was alone in the locker room. He had put on his jacket, and was fastening the zipper, which proved a little difficult. He thought about Jake, and his self-confidence about Amy. Chad gritted his teeth in determination, knowing he would have to put up the fight of his life to win Amy away from Jake, now that they were together.

  “Jake always wins, but this time, I’m gonna fight him, and come out the winner,” Chad said, with a roguish smile.

  * * * *

  “I feel great — it’s like things can only get better, and they have been!” Amy said, her face aflush with excitement.

  The morning after Jake’s visit to Amy, Amy was with Carrie at school. They found each other in the short break between classes in front of the Science building, where Amy was to have her next class. Carrie had just finished her Science class, and was going to English class next. Amy and Carrie settled in a leafy section of the building, where only a few people intermittently passed by. It was away from the hubbub of the stairwells and the building’s other busy areas, giving them some time alone.

  They lay down their schoolbags, as these were overloaded with heavy, awkward books, which proved a little hard to carry. Amy and Carrie sighed in relief as they did this, as they sometimes felt like camels carrying excess baggage at school. Despite this, Amy was still brimming with happiness, and felt that her days were not as boring as they used to be, now that Jake was in the picture. Carrie had noticed the change in Amy over the past few weeks, and was happy that things were finally working out for her. Carrie wanted to learn of Amy’s progress with Jake, and was smiling equally as much as Amy.

  “You seem really happy, Ames. It’s like you’ve been walking on air today.”

  “Yeah, I have been,” Amy said happily.

  “Let me guess, it must be because of someone named, gee, dunno, is his name Jake?”

  “Yes, it is,” Amy nodded, looking supremely serene at the mention of Jake’s name. Carrie moved closer to Amy, wanting to find out more from her.

  “You must be having the time of your life. You’re having more fun than the characters from my romance novels,” Carrie said, referring to one of her favorite hobbies. She tried to read a novel whenever she could, as it helped carry her away to another world.

  “Yeah, I am.”

  “You’re having more fun than me. James’d never do that for me,” Carrie said, acting jealous of Amy. Amy knew that Carrie did not mean this — Carrie and James were perfect for each other. James was about the nicest person she knew at school, and they did not come better than him. Carrie’s comical put-downs of James, though, were in character for her. She and James expressed themselves in this way about each other, but meant no harm in the end.

  “Wouldn’t say you have it too bad, Carrie.”

  “You know I’m kidding,” Carrie said. “Everyone says Jamie and me are the most likely people out of everyone after we finish high school — to get married. And stay married. It’s scary, don’t you think?” Carrie deadpanned.

  “Don’t think it’s that bad,” Amy said.

  “Of course not, I’m only being stupid,” Carrie said with spirit. Carrie, though, wanted to change the subject back to Amy and Jake, as there was still a lot to talk about there.

  “Anyway Amy, what happened this time with you and Jake?”

  Amy whimpered slightly, to which Carrie smiled.

  “Know what Carrie?”

  “What?” Carrie asked, all ears.

  “It was even better this time than the other time,” Amy stated.

  Carrie looked at Amy seriously after Amy’s admission, which confused Amy.

  “What do you mean? Of course it was gonna get better, ’cause I told you so!” Carrie exclaimed, to which they both laughed. Amy thought that Carrie always had an answer for everything, with words never failing her. She wished she could be this way, but she never could quite do this. After they finally settled down, Carrie watched Amy, who began talking again.

  “Jake came over yesterday ’cause he needed some help with English,” Amy said, beaming.

  “Can tell you and Jake didn’t just talk about school. Oh, dumb thing to say,” Carrie said.

  Amy looked off into the distance, her face bursting with happiness.

  “We studied together for a few hours, then Jake did the most romantic thing — something I never expected him to do.”

  “What?” Carrie asked, her curiosity spilling over. This whole story, to her, was getting more interesting by the day — especially as she was the one who encouraged Amy about Jake from the start. Amy took a deep breath, and smiled, recalling her memories of Jake.

  “We’d eaten some cookies I made, so I put some popcorn on. I was in the kitchen when Jake called me out to the lounge, ’cause he wanted something to be explained in one of his books. When I went there, he’d closed all the curtains in the room, and put on some soft music. We danced together for a while, and he was about to kiss me when something else happened,” Amy said, her face suddenly changing expression.

  “Amy, what happened?” Carrie asked, the suspense killing her. Amy paused for a second, giving herself a chance to recover.

  “Oh, hope I’m not boring you,” Amy said, flapping her hand.

  Carrie’s eyes widened at this announcement, and she shook her head.

  “Boring? Boring? Nope, I’m not bored at all! Keep going Amy,” Carrie said. “You know, I’ve created a monster ‘love story’ here!” she said, to Amy’s amusement. Carrie rolled her eyes, but then moved closer to Amy. “Anyway Amy, what happened next?” Amy unexpectedly frowned, this totally confusing Carrie.

  “What happened was Jake’s watch alarm,” Amy replied in
a sarcastic tone.

  Carrie smiled at this, closing her eye, and shaking her head.

  “What? A watch alarm? What does that mean? All that build up… then a watch alarm? I’m disappointed; you’ve let me down,” Carrie said, smirking mischievously.

  “Don’t be so quick Carrie. Something was about to happen…when the watch sounded,” Amy said dryly.

  Carrie’s puckered her lips, and nodded her head, understanding exactly what Amy meant.

  “Bet you love watch alarms,” Carrie said.

  “I love them now,” Amy replied, both chuckling at Carrie’s comment. For Amy, though, it was not so funny; she was uncertain for weeks if Jake even liked her, and now that she knew he did, something always seemed to happen. While Amy was becoming frustrated with the constant interruptions to Jake kissing her, Carrie’s humor reminded her that when the time was right, everything would fall together for her and Jake.

  Amy remembered what else happened that afternoon, and recalled Francine’s visit, and how startling it was for her. She was surprised how nice Francine was, and ashamed she had believed what others had said about her. Amy, though, knew that Carrie would be very interested in Francine’s visit.

  “Carrie, someone else came over after Jake left,” Amy said.

  Carrie looked at Amy in confusion, thinking she knew whom it was.

  “Oh, don’t tell me, Chad came over again. And you thought all the guys at school hated you,” Carrie smiled. Amy had a thoughtful smile, but shook her head at Carrie.

  “You know Carrie, Chad didn’t come over, but, Francine did.” Carrie’s instantly furrowed her brow at the mention of Francine’s name, and she fell silent for a few seconds. Amy watched Carrie with anticipation, a little unnerved by her silence.

  “Francine? Francine came over to see you? That seems weird. Why’d she want to come see you? You hardly have anything to do with her at school,” Carrie said.