“No, nothing bad happened. Thanks for everything, anyway.”
“Thank you,” he replied, looking intensely at Amy, making her shy away from his penetrating glance. As he gripped the door handle, Chad turned to face her again.
“Bye,” Chad said, as he walked out the front door.
“Bye,” Amy replied, smiling at him, as he closed the door.
After Chad departed, Amy went back into the kitchen, and looked at her eating area. Amy remembered how she saw Chad wearing only his underwear, and walked back to that room, feeling a shiver down her spine. Chad’s seductive expression preyed on her mind, and she was a little guilty for enjoying what happened with him. Amy’s mind wandered over to Jake, and she saw his smiling face, and gray eyes, and how he was always so nice to her. Amy, though, recalled her discovery of Jake’s other girlfriend Jane, and shook her head in disgust.
Amy walked out of the spare room, and again into the cozy kitchen. She approached the sink, and, after doing this, looked out of her kitchen window. The grass was green in the backyard, and Amy saw the children in the house behind hers were playing in their backyard, full of energy, and without a care. Amy looked away from this peaceful scene, and again went to the room where Chad dressed.
Amy picked up the bath robe Chad had worn, and, feeling its soft cotton warmth in her hands, said glumly,
“I’ve moved on Jake — Chad’s shown me that today. If you’ve got the right to want someone else, then I’ve got that right, too.”
Chad was outside of Amy’s front door, and very pleased with how his visit to Amy had proceeded today. He looked up at the beautiful blue sky, which barely had a cloud present, and smiled. The day had gone very well for him, and better than he ever expected. Chad believed he was finally getting through to Amy in his own special way, and this made him feel better than ever. Chad looked up again at the beautiful sky, with a pensive smile, and said,
“Amy, soon you’ll feel Jake never existed in your life. I’ll make sure of it.”
Chapter Eighteen
“I really want this burger — it looks so nice I wanna eat the plate!” Francine said animatedly to Chad, to which he smiled.
Several days after Chad’s time with Amy, and Francine’s with Jake, Chad met Francine at ‘International’ to catch up with each other. Chad and Francine were sitting together in a table, thoroughly enjoying their food. ‘International’ had some of the best meals that could be found anywhere, and had a reputation for great food.
You could find various cuisines there from right across the world; this was the reason for its name. Lots and lots of people fell over themselves to order take away from it, as the restaurant was always clean, and the food was delicious, but low in fat. It was not a place visited much by the high school crowd, and this was exactly what Chad and Francine liked about it. They could slip in and out of it much easier than they could with ‘The Place’, where they never had privacy from their friends.
Francine, today, felt like eating something rich, heavy and a little decadent. She ordered a large, delicious hamburger which contained a bit of everything within its flame-grilled bread roll center. There was prime beef, salad, mayonnaise, salad onions, and tasty romano cheese in one great package, and Francine demolished it hungrily. While Francine did not usually eat foods like this, she felt that she deserved a treat today, as everything with Jake so far had gone well.
Like Francine, Chad was also gleefully devouring his meal, smiling at Francine in between bites. He ordered a crumbed steak with vegetables, and a rich gravy on the side, with beer battered fries to boot. Chad rarely ate heavy meals, as he had to be careful with his exercise regime for basketball. He felt that today, though, was an exception — as with Francine, Chad had to indulge himself for a job well done with Amy.
Chad and Francine’s bliss was reflected in their moods, which several weeks ago were much less positive; now, nothing could wipe the smiles off of their faces. Chad saw Francine had eaten her whole burger in record time, and looked at his own plate. He was still struggling to get through his vegetables, and shook his head. Francine noted this, and looked at Chad, a curious expression on her face.
“What’s up Chaddie? Haven’t you ever seen someone hungry before?” she said, wiping her mouth with the serviette.
“Yeah, but not that hungry,” he said, making fun of Francine. “Sure you don’t want some of mine, too?”
“No thanks, I’m okay,” Francine said, giving him her best ‘hurt’ expression. There was a slight pause in their talk as Francine gave him some time to eat, and Chad quickly finished the rest of his meal, and pushed it away. Chad looked at Francine, satisfied with his meal, and sighed, to Francine’s ironic scrutiny.
“Thought you’d never finish,” she said.
“Not everyone’s as fast as you, Franci,” he teased, to which she smiled. He pushed the plate away from himself even more, and watched her warily. “So Franci, how’d it go with Jake yesterday?” Chad asked, sipping his lemonade.
Francine threw back her head, and smiled.
“Couldn’t have been better,” she said. “You could say I had him eating out of my hand.”
“Wow, you’re doing well,” Chad enthused.
“I don’t think Jake was expecting me to do what I did — I believe he really needs fun in his life, and I’m gonna give it to him,” Francine said, looking away from Chad, and out the restaurant window.
“I’m sure you will,” Chad said, full aware of Francine’s talent for unpredictability. Chad noticed Francine seemed to have lost interest in their conversation, but this was not the case; she was just luxuriating in her memories of Jake.
“Talk about having fun, I think I gave Amy some of that yesterday,” Chad said, unable to bear his excitement over what happened when he visited Amy. His statement aroused Francine’s curiosity, and she turned away from the window, and back to him. Francine’s eyes were wide, and she slouched across the table with interest.
“Okay Chad, what happened?” Francine asked.
“Well, I let Amy see a side of me she’s never seen before — and hopefully, will see more of in the future.”
Francine looked at Chad with a questioning glance, and closed her one eye.
“What does that mean — you have multiple personalities?” Francine asked, perplexed by Chad’s statements. “Just how many sides do you have? You doing the Jekyll and Hyde thing? Oh, and I thought I knew everything about you,” Francine teased. Chad looked at Francine, and raised his eyebrows in artificial shock; he loved it how Francine could twist his words around to give another meaning to a situation.
“Well, it goes like this — I went to Amy’s, and brought some food for us to eat together. The plan was I’d eventually wear the food — but I ended up wearing a lot, lot less,” Chad said. The recall of this situation was very inspiring for Chad, and he beamed with unashamed glee after recounting it to Francine. Francine’s eyes seemed to fall out of their sockets after Chad told her this.
“Oh, you didn’t, did you?” Francine asked. Chad nodded, and Francine looked at him with even more wonderment. “How’d you get to do that?”
“Well, I spilt the food all over myself, and Amy offered to clean my clothes for me. I went to a spare room to change, and when Amy returned, I gave the clothes to her in person — wearing only one very, very small piece of clothing,” Chad said, totally self-satisfied.
Francine was stunned at what Chad did, as her eyes were wide open. She paused for a moment in thought, and examined Chad. He shook his head, unsure what Francine was going to say.
“Know what?”
“What?” Chad asked.
“I’ve taught you something, after all,” Francine cooed seductively.
“Well, I have the best teacher,” Chad replied, and she smiled at his comment. Francine was happy with the compliment, but, a little unnerved as Chad was staring at her in a way she had never seen him do before. She quickly cleared her throat, jogging Chad out of his daydre
am, and he looked at her, a little befuddled.
“Anyway, back to what we were saying,” Francine said, with a frown. Chad looked at her, a little disappointed, but sobered by Francine’s action. “So, how’d Amy react to what you did?”
Chad smiled audaciously, and chuckled.
“She couldn’t look me in the eye afterwards — it must’ve been too good to be true for her,” Chad said, to which Francine nodded her head in approval.
“Well done Chad.”
“Thanks Franci,” Chad said, easing confidently into his seat. “I feel I’m finally getting through to Amy.”
Francine looked away from Chad, and sighed in contentment. She eyeballed him again, and smiled.
“Yeah, know what you mean, I feel the same way about Jake,” Francine said, with a misty facial expression. “The way we’re going Chad, looks like our dream’ll come true sooner than later,” Francine said.
“I agree,” Chad said, putting his hand out for Francine to accept.
“Yes partner, the best’s yet to come for us, just you wait,” Francine said, accepting Chad’s gesture with a smile.
* * * *
“I’ll be so happy when we hand in this paper,” Amy said, with a relieved look on her face. “It’s like it took forever to do.”
“Yeah, it’ll be great when it’s out of the way,” Carrie said.
Amy was at home with Carrie, in Amy’s bedroom. They were doing some schoolwork together, as they had a group essay to submit in several weeks’ time. Amy was sitting in front of her computer, and Carrie sat in a chair next to her. They were editing their work, especially paying attention to fixing the sentence structure, which needed some work.
They had been working for two hours non-stop, and desperately needed a break. Carrie looked at Amy, rolling her eyes, indicating they give it a rest. Amy nodded her head, and quickly saved the essay onto their computer discs. After doing this, Amy arose from her chair, and sat on her bed. Carrie also got up, and sat in Amy’s wing chair, across from the bed. Amy sighed, and Carrie looked over at her, unsure what she was thinking about.
“What’s up Amy? You seem a little tired.”
“Know what Carrie?” Amy said, looking into the distance.
“What?”
Amy smiled slightly, and turned her head towards the ceiling.
“Chad came over and brought some food for us to have together.”
Carrie’s head swiveled in surprise.
“And what?” Carrie asked, annoyed with Amy. Amy’s mention of Chad was getting on Carrie’s nerves, mainly because of how she treated Jake.
“Chad dropped the food all over himself!” Amy said, chuckling at Chad’s ‘clumsiness’, thinking Carrie’s attitude towards her new friendship with Chad had softened.
“Oh, I’m touched — maybe Chad needed a firmer hold on his plate than what he had,” Carrie said, looking angrily at Amy. “And you need a firmer grip on reality.”
Amy found Carrie’s sarcasm unusual, as she was normally so upbeat. She knew something was bugging Carrie, and there had to be a good reason for it.
“Why Carrie, what’s wrong? Have I upset you?”
Carrie glared at Amy.
“You really dunno why?” Carrie asked, to which Amy again shook her head. Carrie sat upright in the chair, and looked at Amy seriously.
“Look Amy, a few weeks ago you were high about Jake, and happy he was gonna take you to the gala. You couldn’t stop talking about him, and now, you’re asking me to believe you like Chad, someone you never knew until yesterday. Tell me Amy, and be honest, does this make sense to you?”
Amy watched Carrie with an indomitable expression. The reminder of Jake’s letter to Jane made Amy angry, and she again felt exactly the same shame, and sadness, she did that fateful, rainy day.
“Yeah, it does, Carrie,” Amy replied, becoming defensive.
Carrie rolled her eyes, and chuckled angrily.
“Oh okay — how?” Carrie countered. “All I noticed is how you dumped Jake like an old newspaper, and’ve hooked up with Chad. Anyway, what’s Chad done for you lately?”
Amy sighed, and shrugged her shoulders. She never wanted to disagree with Carrie, but her issue with Jake was making this hard to do.
“Like I’ve told you before, Chad’s been there for me, and has been more honest with me than Jake ever could be,” Amy offered.
Carrie rolled her eyes after hearing this, but, Amy was determined to continue.
“You forgotten how Jake has the hots for Jane, whoever she is, and was only using me when she wasn’t around? If you ask me, finding out about Jake’s the best thing that could’ve happened to me,” Amy persisted.
Carrie was still unconvinced about Jake having another girlfriend, and looked at Amy, her piercingly honest blue eyes afire with rage.
“If you ask me Amy, I think you’re only using Chad to forget about Jake, and what he did to you,” Carrie said.
“Why do you say that?” Amy said, looking at Carrie with fury. “Anyway, whose side are you on?” Amy asked, beginning to think Carrie had forgotten how much she had been hurt by Jake’s actions. Carrie, though, saw that Amy was obviously distressed, and arose from her seat, sitting on the bed beside Amy.
“I’m on your side, you know that. I’m just saying this ’cause you didn’t talk this through with Jake — you just made things worse, and you, and Jake, aren’t happier. You really don’t know the letter’s real,” Carrie said softly, begging Amy to listen to her. Amy, though, was not about to be influenced by Carrie, and stood up straight, facing her eye to eye.
“As far as I know, I think I’m right. Me and Jake weren’t right for each other, and time’s only proven this,” Amy said boldly.
“And Chad’s your new knight in shining armor,” Carrie sighed, disappointed by Amy’s attitude. “Can I say anything else that’d might change your mind?”
Amy watched Carrie, her face unflinching, and bottom lip resolute.
“No,” Amy said assertively.
“Well Amy, I’ve gotta go,” Carrie said, moving out of Amy’s bedroom, and, to Amy’s surprise, quickly descending the stairwell. Amy had never seen Carrie so defiant, or as angry with her before, and was shocked by her attitude. After arriving at the front door, Carrie gripped the handle, and turned to face Amy.
“You’re making a big mistake Amy. It’ll be one you regret for a long time,” Carrie said, opening the door, and giving Amy a grim look upon exiting. After Carrie had left, Amy stood motionless for a moment, and thought about what Carrie had told her. Carrie’s sharp words had woken Amy to how serious this thing with Jake really was, and, perhaps, Amy had not given Jake the chance he deserved. Amy was more than a little confused by now, and, hearing Carrie’s words ringing in her ears again and again, Amy ascended the stairwell, and sat on her bed for a spell.
Amy turned her head, and smiled as she glanced at a framed photo of herself and Carrie, which was on Amy’s dressing table. It was a picture of them together at Carrie’s birthday party two years ago, when they were high school freshman. Carrie was holding a set of balloons which she accidentally let go of, and her and Amy’s startled reaction to this was forever captured in this picture. Amy really regretted getting so angry with Carrie before; the photo reminded her just how close they were, and she did not want their friendship to be spoiled by the problem with Jake. She looked up at the ceiling, and nodded her head.
Amy considered maybe she did take the letter too seriously, and that Carrie really was right after all. As if on automatic pilot, Amy thought about Jake, and suddenly, all the old feelings for him flooded her mind. Amy especially recalled the fancy dress gala, and the wonderful time they had that night, and leapt to her feet.
“Yeah, I’ll go see Jake, and hopefully I can apologize, and we can make up,” she said, a smile returning to her face after so many weeks of torment. In a rush of excitement, Amy checked herself in the mirror and flew down the stairs, and out her front door, ready to see Jake.
Within minutes, Amy was on Jake’s front doorstep. Amy literally ran from her house to his, but, it seemed like only seconds to her. She was extremely anxious to see Jake, but a little puffed out from her intense running, which she was not used to. Amy waited just a little until she had finally regained her breath, and when she was sufficiently composed, knocked on Jake’s door.
Amy lingered in the front entrance for a spell, and realized there was no reaction to her knocking. She moved closer to the door, and, fortunately, could hear some movement inside, and walked over to the side of Jake’s house. Amy looked through his side windows, still smiling brightly, and desperate to see him, but, what she witnessed utterly boggled her mind.
She saw Jake embracing someone, very intimately, and immediately, tears filled Amy’s wide eyes. Amy shook her head, knowing she made a terrible mistake in coming to patch things up with Jake, and burst into more tears, unable to control herself. The stress of the last few weeks had taken their toll on Amy, and it was devastating for her to finally see Jake in action. It was one thing to hear about what Jake did, but, another to actually witness it. Amy choked back her abundant tears, and said,
“If you want someone else, Jake, I’m not gonna stand in your way. I’m letting you go for good, Jake.”
Amy ran away from Jake’s house in tears, not clearly seeing where she was going, and almost falling on the sidewalk. What Amy observed was Jake being comforted by Francine, as he was sad Amy still did not want anything to do with him. He was being held in a tight embrace by Francine, who tenderly stroked his sandy-colored hair.
“Francine, I can’t understand what I’ve done to make Amy treat me like this. What’d I do wrong?” he asked.
Francine was only too ready not to give a glowing report on Amy, and did this with glee.
“If Amy doesn’t have the guts to tell you, then, she doesn’t deserve you. You’ve tried everything to reach out to her, and she’s ignored you; looks like she doesn’t want you. You’ve gotta forget about her — you’ve just gotta,” Francine said. Jake released himself from Francine’s embrace, and watched her, eyes filled with sadness.
The Great High School Love Game Page 22