The Great High School Love Game

by Marcia Carrington

  “Wanna help me with something?” Jake asked. He paused, seeing Francine’s reluctance to speak, and watched her with much interest. She did not respond immediately, and stared at him, as if hypnotized. Jake took his cue once again, and asked her,

  “Franci, sure you’re okay? Something up? You seem a bit out of it today.”

  Francine shook her head, and smiled lazily.

  “No, I’m okay, just a bit tired.” Francine seemed to come alive again, to Jake’s surprise, but he was becoming dizzy just witnessing Francine’s ever-changing moods. “Anyway Jake, what you up to?”

  “Maybe you can help me with something,” he said. Jake turned his head the other way, indicating what he needed help with, and Francine saw he was referring to the phone directory, which was open on the lounge room sofa.

  “Sure Jake, I’ll help you any way you like,” she purred, batting her eyelashes at Jake. He found this a little odd, and chuckled, but knew that Francine was always anything but ordinary in her actions.

  Jake walked over to the sofa, and Francine readily followed him there. After sitting with Jake on the couch, Franci began to look through the directory, and Jake did the same with his copy.

  “So Jake, what’re we looking for?” Francine asked, teeming with curiosity.

  “Well, I’m looking at the places which have fancy dress costumes for the gala,” Jake said, absorbed in the phone book. He was looking in the index for items beginning with an ‘F’, and, after some searching, finally found these entries. Francine looked at Jake, happy with what she was hearing from him.

  “Now you’re talking,” Francine murmured, Jake not hearing her comment. Francine reasoned Jake was going to ask her to accompany him to the gala, and smirked gleefully.

  “Have any idea how you’ll be going? Or with who?” Francine asked, breathlessly awaiting his response.

  Jake shook his head, without looking up at Francine. He was still absorbed in the phone book, and marked several entries with his pen.

  “Not sure what we’ll be wearing, ’cause Amy and I haven’t decided how we’re going,” Jake said, nose buried in the directory.

  Upon hearing Jake’s statement, Francine felt that her world had swiftly, and without any advance warning, fallen apart. Jake’s words were like knives ripping her apart, and she was unsure whether she had heard Jake correctly. Francine thought this could not be true — Jake was taking Amy to the gala, Amy! This was not happening, no, she must have misheard. Jake read Francine’s silence as surprise, and looked up at her.

  “Oh Franci, you didn’t know? I’ll be taking Amy to the fancy dress gala. Thought word’d gotten around, as things like this do at school. You know what some people are like, talking their heads off,” Jake said, nodding his head.

  With this further announcement, the directory which Francine was holding fell to the floor, making a dull bang. The book opened on the ground, and its pages flew everywhere wildly. Jake was surprised by this, and it made him jump a little. He looked at Francine, and she returned his glance, her face totally devoid of emotion. Jake believed Francine was shocked by what he just said for some unknown reason. Jake, though, quickly overlooked Francine’s action, and continued talking to her. He gave a glowing report of Amy, believing he had found a sympathetic ear in Francine, whom he thought of as just a friend. His face full of happiness, Jake said, to Francine’s continued horror,

  “Franci, I’ve never felt happier. I feel Amy and I were really meant to be.”

  Francine was still stunned by what Jake had told her, and her mouth was agape. She considered that even after everything she had done to make Jake like her, and he still wanted Amy. Francine was utterly devastated by what she had heard this afternoon, and could not face Jake for a moment. Jake realized that Francine was once again lost in her thoughts, as she was staring vacantly into space. He again began to become worried by Francine’s behavior, and asked her,

  “Franci, you okay? Am I boring you or something?”

  Francine had been upset enough after learning Jake was taking Amy to the gala, and unexpectedly arose from her seat. This startled Jake, and he sensed something was not quite right with Francine. Francine gave Jake a cold, hard look, but, her anger was directed towards Amy, and how she had succeeded in winning Jake from her. After a few moments, Francine regained her composure, and smiled at Jake, to his utter bewilderment.

  “No Jake, you haven’t bored me, I’ve learnt a lot today. Hope you and Amy have a great time at the gala,” she said, before swiftly heading for Jake’s front door. Francine did not face Jake at all before she left, and slammed the door upon her exit, which Jake found unusual. Jake could not work out why Francine acted so peculiarly today, and shook his head. After giving it some thought, Jake chalked this up to Francine’s impulsive personality, as she often had an eccentric way of reacting to things. Jake shrugged his shoulders, deciding to put Francine’s behavior out of his mind, and continued to examine the phone directory.

  Once outside Jake’s front door, Francine lost her ever-present self-control, and began to cry. She assumed for weeks she would be going to the gala with Jake, but, instead, he was taking Amy. Amy! Francine thought she was stupid to believe Jake would even consider her as his partner. She cried for a few minutes, unable to control herself, and took out some tissues from her pocket to wipe away her tears. The pressure of the past few weeks had taken their toll upon Francine, and, to hear that Jake was taking Amy to the gala was, for her, like a nail in the coffin.

  Francine believed her soft side had been taken for a ride, and she was not about to let this happen again. Francine would definitely be on her guard from now on, and would do whatever it took to win Jake away from Amy. After wiping her tears, and putting on a pair of dark sunglasses, Francine took a deep breath, and reconsidered all that had just happened with Jake. Francine felt as if she was suffocating, and could not stay a minute longer in front of Jake’s house, and began to walk home, her mind absorbed with thoughts of Jake and Amy together.

  Francine reached her home quickly, as Jake’s house was close by, and opened the front door. She sensed she was about to fall apart at any time, and raced upstairs to her bedroom, flopping onto her bed, crying inconsolably. Francine buried her face in the soft comfort of her bedspread, and lay still for a spell, giving herself enough time to absorb everything that happened today. After several restful minutes, Francine believed she had cried enough, this not serving any more purpose, and arose from her bed. Francine went into her bathroom, and turned on the faucet.

  The sound of the gushing water was comforting, and Francine washed her face, attempting to rid herself of the redness in her eyes. Francine observed in the mirror that she was looking a little better than before, and turned off the faucet, drying her face with a soft towel. After doing this, Francine looked into her bathroom mirror, and smiled thoughtfully.

  The mirror’s gilt edge made Francine appear as a beautiful, but sad young woman, similar to portraits of young maidens painted in the late nineteenth century. Francine contemplated her late father, and how much Jake resembled him in character. With this thought, Francine’s fighting spirit returned, as if her sensitive side was something to be ashamed of, and she smiled at the recollection of her father. With a hard look, and in stunning defiance, she said,

  “Yes daddy, I will win Jake. He’s just like you in every way, and I’ll protect him from someone who’s not good for him, even if he can’t understand that right now,” referring to Amy.

  * * * *

  At the same time as Francine saw Jake, Chad went to Amy’s, also intending to invite her to the school’s fancy dress gala. As with Francine, Chad left Amy’s house, saddened she would be going to the gala with Jake. Upon closing Amy’s front door, Chad felt all his strength had been sucked out of him, and he wanted somewhere to run, and hide. He considered Jake and Amy being together, and his normally shining green eyes were dull with sorrow.

  “Lucky Jake,” Chad said, “don’t think I’ll ever
have someone like Amy to love me.”

  As he walked home, Chad’s mind was full of thoughts of Amy, trying to understand how, and why, he had missed his chance with her. Like Francine, Chad believed he had done everything right, and he and Amy were bonding as he had wanted. The slightly downcast nature of the day did not help his mood, and without some bright rays of sunshine, the walk back from Amy’s home to his was not as spirited as usual.

  As soon as he arrived home, Chad headed to his bedroom, and turned on his treadmill. He thought that exercising would help him forget about everything, and change his mood for the better. After a few minutes, though, he still found himself thinking about Amy. Chad remembered their fun time together a few weeks ago, and how Amy reacted so positively towards him that day. He also recalled her smiling at him at school, and how this made him warm inside. Chad felt his head was about to burst from the non-stop thoughts of Amy, and said,

  “Stop thinking about her, think about something else.” In spite of this, thoughts of Amy were not going away, and, getting impatient with himself, Chad said, “Well, there’s one sure way I can forget about Amy.” Chad stopped his treadmill, and sluggishly went downstairs to the lounge room.

  He remembered his family’s liquor cabinet, which was part of a large built-in wall unit, and looked at it in desperation. Chad knew the only way he could get Amy out of his mind was to drink her out of his thoughts. While he was not a drinker, he liked to sneak one on the side when his parents were not at home, as he felt it calmed him down. Today, though, Chad believed events required a different form of action on his part.

  Chad slowly approached the liquor cabinet, and stood in front of it, mouth open, unsure whether drinking really would help him after all. Maybe all he needed was to work his aggression out on his exercise machine again. Chad wavered between both choices for a few moments, but, in the end, decided he would, indeed, have a drink. Just as he was about to open the cabinet door, the phone rang, and Chad froze at the sound of it.

  Chad stood in front of the cabinet, uncertain whether to pick up the phone. Whoever was ringing, though, clearly wanted a response, as the phone had not stopped ringing for way over a minute. Chad, in a panic, thought it might be something important, and raced over to the lamp table, picking it up.

  “Hello,” Chad said, sounding at the end of his rope, and taking another longing look at the liquor cabinet.

  “Hi Chad,” Francine said chirpily.

  “Hi Franci,” Chad said, relieved it was Francine on the phone. Chad spoke croakily into the phone, and Francine raised her eyebrows hearing him this way.

  “Chad, are you okay?” Francine asked.

  “Well, I’m not going to tell the world how happy I am,” Chad said. “You won’t see the balloons and streamers go up.”

  Francine paused before speaking, sympathizing with Chad’s great pain.

  “I know why you’re so sad. I’m going through what you are — you’re not alone. Come on, cheer up Chaddie, we’re not done yet.”

  “What do you mean?” Chad said, frowning, and shaking his head. “Amy’ll be going to the gala with Jake and you’re telling me to cheer up? What about you? Doesn’t it make you feel bad Jake’ll be going with Amy?”

  Francine smiled, knowing that Chad’s anger was not directed towards herself. She knew it was better for him to let out his feelings than to bottle them up.

  “Now there’s no hope we’ll ever have a chance with them. We tried everything we could, and nothing worked. We’ve gotta give up now, right now, so we don’t have to go through any more,” Chad said.

  Francine sighed irritably into the phone, getting impatient with Chad’s lack of confidence. She was aware Chad lost his courage many times, but this was getting ridiculous. Francine was aware if someone really wants something in life, they have to fight for it, and fight hard.

  “Do you always give up so easily when faced with a little opposition? What’s your problem, anyway?” Chad was shocked how Francine spoke to him, but felt he had no other choice than to be silent. “Listen to me, Chad. Nothing as minor as Jake asking Amy to the gala will stop us from getting them. I was totally upset when I heard Jake was taking Amy, but, the way I see it, that’s nothing to worry about,” Francine said. “There’re some things we haven’t tried yet.”

  “What do you wanna do, then?” Chad said. “We’ve tried everything, and failed.”

  “Chad, don’t forget, we haven’t played all our cards yet. There’s one sure way we can break up Amy and Jake,” Francine said, darting her tongue sensuously.

  “How?” Chad enquired. He was both skeptical, but also, quietly uplifted by Francine’s determined attitude.

  “Thought you’d wanna know,” Francine teased. She cleared her throat, and continued, with a slight giggle. “Well, you know how insecure Amy is about everything,” Francine said.

  “What do you mean?” Chad asked. He did not find Amy insecure in any particular way.

  “I know for a fact Amy thought she’d never get a date for the gala, and Jake asking her to go with him was a dream come true.”

  “Yeah, so…”

  “Well, what we’ve gotta do now is play upon her insecurities, ‘specially those to do with Jake,” Francine cooed, fluttering her eyelashes.

  “How can we do that?” Chad asked, shaking his head.

  “We’ll show Amy that Jake was only using her, and nothing serious’ll ever come from them being together,” Francine said juicily.

  Chad murmured in agreement with Francine, and nodded his head.

  “Uh-hah. Think I’m with you now,” Chad said, Francine’s enthusiasm finally making inroads again with him.

  “Great. We have to show Amy a side of Jake she’ll hate – and, will believe,” Francine said, smiling wickedly.

  “Ah, I get your point,” Chad said, again nodding his head.

  “Amy’ll be so disgusted by what she learns about Jake, she’ll be desperate to turn to someone who really cares for her, and understands what she’s going through,” Francine fired.

  “You mean me, of course,” Chad said, poking his tongue with glee.

  “Exactly Chad. As for Jake, I’ll be there to pick up the pieces for him, and help him through his confusion about everything. The end result? I’ll be happy, you’ll be happy, and Jake and Amy’ll be happy, but — with us. Who could ask for a happier ending?” Francine said grandly.

  Chad sighed, in sheer admiration of Francine’s spirit. Unlike what they had done before to win Jake and Amy, this plan sounded like it could succeed.

  “Boy Franci, I like the way your mind works. Never would’ve thought about doing that,” Chad said, looking joyous. Francine had reaffirmed Chad’s faith in her with this plan, and that she was, indeed, the most ingenious person he knew.

  “Thanks Chad. I predict after the gala, Amy and Jake’ll be history, together at least,” Francine trumpeted fearlessly. “And that’ll be the end of their fairytale romance.”

  Soon afterwards, Chad and Francine’s phone conversation ended. Their plan to spoil Amy and Jake’s friendship instilled a new confidence in the both of them, and the smiles which had been wiped off of their faces just this afternoon came back with a vengeance. The rest of the day passed by rapidly for both Chad and Francine, their thoughts consumed by how Amy and Jake would finally be theirs, at long last.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Yes Amy, this’ll be a night of happiness for you with Jake — but your last,” Francine said, smiling brighter than ever before.

  The evening of the school’s fancy dress gala had finally arrived. It was the school’s most anticipated event of the year, and staff and students were abuzz with excitement over it. The gala was one of the only times in the school year when staff and students could let their hair down, and enjoy themselves. Aside from this, the event also had a special place in the school’s heart as it helped support those less fortunate in the community, and much good had come out of it through the years.

  Fr
ancine was at home, slipping into her costume for the gala. She had carefully styled her hair, which had taken quite a while to prepare, and checked herself in the mirror. Francine looked down, and noticed she had not yet worn her shoes. These were near her armchair, waiting to be worn, and Francine sat down, careful not to crease her costume.

  After putting on her shoes, Francine thought about Jake, and recalled the abrupt way she learnt he was taking Amy to the gala. In spite of this, and the fact she would be seeing Amy and Jake together tonight, Francine was anything but discouraged. Her sadness at not being asked by Jake to the gala had transformed itself into a fierce determination to win him at any cost. Francine arose from her armchair, and again stood in front of the mirror.

  “This’ll be the end of my unlucky streak,” Francine said, looking in the mirror. She smoothed out her costume, as it had gathered up slightly after she had sat down. “Soon Jake’ll be mine, and mine only,” Francine asserted, green eyes aflame with passion. Francine’s contemplations, though, were interrupted by a knock at the front door.

  Francine looked at herself in the mirror one more time, and made her way down the stairs. She knew exactly who was waiting for her at the door, and smiled. As Francine took a little while to descend the stairwell, the doorbell again rang, but, this did not bother her in the least. She was not about to be annoyed by anything anymore, but, was just going to relax, and go with the flow. Francine unhurriedly opened the door, pleased to see who was waiting for her.

  “Hi Chad,” she said, with an air of relaxed refinement.

  Chad stared in awe at Francine. He was very well aware she was devastatingly attractive, but tonight felt she looked more beautiful than ever before, if this was possible.

  “Wow, you look really hot,” he said, his mouth agape in utter amazement.

  Francine threw back her head, thoroughly enjoying Chad’s attention. It was not every day she received this from him, or anyone for that matter.

  “Thanks, I feel great — great enough to say in a few days’ time, our lives’ll be completely different — and so will Amy and Jake’s,” Francine said, rejoicing in her naughtiness, and feeling all was finally going to plan for her and Chad. There was a thoughtful pause between them, and Chad looked broodingly at Francine.