The Great High School Love Game

by Marcia Carrington

  “Yeah, come to think of it, Chad did do something like that once,” Amy said, rolling her eyes cheekily.

  “Really? How?” Jake asked.

  Chad moved over to Amy, and pulled on her arm. He looked at her, his face as red as a beetroot.

  “Don’t say anymore, please Amy,” Chad pleaded. “What I did, I did for you.”

  Amy turned to face Chad, her face more defiant than he had ever seen it before.

  “No Chad, sorry, but you did it for yourself. Anyway, the truth’s gotta come out. We’ve come this far, so let’s go the whole hog,” Amy said, flashing a quick smile. Amy cleared her throat, and continued after Chad’s intrusion. “You see, Chad was so desperate to have me, one day he spilled food all over himself, and I had to clean his clothes for him. What he really wanted to show me was how good he looked wearing only his underwear,” Amy said, to the immediate laughter of Carrie’s friends.

  After Amy and Jake’s outburst, Chad felt utterly humiliated, and rushed over to Jake, giving him a sinister look. Chad’s back was facing the edge of the pool, and he stood very close to Jake, seeking to intimidate him. Jake watched him with a sarcastic expression, and shook his head. Chad was very embarrassed by Jake and Amy’s actions, but, was especially furious with Jake.

  “Bet you find all this so funny. You might even score some points with Amy, if you’re lucky,” Chad sniggered.

  Jake laughed slightly, and gave him a wide smile.

  “For your information, I do find all this so funny. It’s what I call poetic justice. And I’m doing this to teach a friend a lesson, or someone I thought was a friend,” Jake said.

  Chad laughed back at this comment, and crossed his arms defensively in front of Jake.

  “Know something Jake?”

  “What?” Jake asked, curling his lips.

  “You’re so… predictable — Amy’ll find that out soon,” Chad said.

  Jake pursed his lips, his gray eyes as cold as steel.

  “So you think I’m predictable?”

  “Yeah,” Chad said quietly. “Very predictable.”

  “Let me show you how predictable I can be,” Jake said.

  “How? Surprise me,” Chad said, with a laugh.

  “Like this,” Jake said, pushing Chad into the swimming pool, both of them ending up in there, evening wear and all. The force of the water splattered some of Carrie’s friends, and they moved away to avoid becoming even wetter. Chad and Jake struggled in the water, and Jake threw Chad a punch, which he returned. They screamed a number of words at each other, but, as they were restricted by their clothing, could not really do much harm to each other. Amy watched with concern at the poolside, and did not know what to do.

  “Can someone stop them!” Amy said, looking around nervously. No one wanted to get involved, but when Amy looked at James to help, he nodded at her.

  “I will,” James said, jumping headlong into the pool, more water splashing onto Carrie’s friends. After some tense moments where James fought to keep them apart, he eventually managed to pull apart the struggling duo, and warned them to stop fighting. Jake and Chad were both panting and out of breath from their tussle, and looked at each other with deathly expressions. James remained with them for a few minutes, and waited for them to calm down.

  James noticed Jake and Chad were now more composed than before, and told them to exit first so he could keep an eye on them, and they all proceeded to climb out of the pool. After Jake and Chad had emerged from the pool, things were still a little edgy between them, but James looked at them with a severe expression, telling them to stop it. Carrie was awed with James’ handling of Jake and Chad, and walked towards him. While James seemed to be as soft as a marshmallow at times, Carrie forgot just how take-charge he could be.

  “Jamie did well,” Carrie praised, James also smiling at her. As the three of them were sopping wet, James led Jake and Chad through the corridor, and to the bathrooms to change. Amy looked at Chad, disappointed in him, but, he was unable to face Amy or anyone else, and walked with his head bowed. Jake, on the other hand, winked at Amy before disappearing into the corridor, and she winked back at him.

  Now the thrills for the night were over, most of Carrie’s friends decided to leave around this time, having had their show for the evening. One by one, they thanked her for the night, and gave her a warm embrace. Carrie led her friends to the front door, and wished them all a Merry Christmas.

  After ten minutes, only Carrie, James, Amy, Jake, Chad and Francine were left at the party, and things had quieted down somewhat. Carrie closed the front door after seeing off the last of her friends, and sighed. She thought of Jake and Chad’s fight, and quickly went outside to survey the damage to the swimming pool area.

  The water from Jake and Chad’s struggle had thoroughly drenched the veranda, and made a great mess. Amy was outside on the veranda, her arms crossed, and smiled thoughtfully at Carrie. Carrie knew something like this was bound to happen, seeing that Francine and Chad were exposed for what they did to Amy and Jake — it came with the territory. Carrie beckoned Amy to come back inside, away from the mess, but Amy said she wanted some time alone to take in everything that had happened. Carrie smiled in understanding at Amy, and, with this, headed back to the kitchen.

  After finally getting a hold of herself, Amy came back inside, but, what she saw next was something totally unexpected. Amy observed Francine sitting on the sofa, crying like she had never witnessed anyone cry before. She had never seen Francine so vulnerable, and it was weird to watch her like this. Francine had always seemed so strong, and iron-willed, that Amy often wondered if she had real emotions of any sort.

  Francine always appeared to be a person who just grabbed whatever she wanted, without thinking about other people’s feelings. After watching Francine like this, Amy felt she needed to talk with her, and approached Francine, standing in front of her. Francine gradually realized she was being watched, and looked up at Amy, her eyes red from crying.

  “What do you want? Why’re you staring at me? I hope you’re happy with yourself,” Francine said, her fire not shining as brightly as it usually did.

  Amy looked down on Francine, and smiled wistfully.

  “You should be saying that to yourself, Francine,” Amy said softly, nodding her head slightly.

  Francine looked up at Amy, and appeared hurt and bewildered. While Francine was a good actress, this time, though, her emotions seemed to be real.

  “If all you wanna do is wallow, I want to be left alone,” Francine said.

  After Francine said this, Amy looked at her with much interest. Francine really did seem upset with how badly her scheme of having Jake was exposed. Even though Francine almost succeeded in stealing Jake away from Amy, Amy realized maybe Francine, in her own strange way, was expressing love for Jake. Amy knew while Francine’s way of winning Jake was dishonest, for Francine to go to all this trouble, she obviously felt something for him.

  “Why’d you do it Francine, why?” Amy asked.

  Francine unhurriedly looked up at Amy, her normally bright green eyes haunted with misery.

  “Because I love Jake. I always have,” Francine admitted, still dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

  “You’ve got a weird way of showing it,” Amy said, shaking her head.

  “I know, but everything I did, I did for Jake,” Francine said. Amy found she was oddly sympathetic towards Francine after listening to her, in spite of herself. Amy felt this was the first time she had ever had an honest, open talk with Francine, and sat next to her on the sofa.

  Amy was aware Francine had largely grown up without her father, and, that this might have been the biggest motivation behind her behavior. Maybe Francine was looking for a male figure to comfort her, and make her feel safe, and found this in Jake. Come to think of it, Amy could see how Jake had that effect on Francine, as he was such a charismatic and honest person, but, there were some other things she had to tell Francine.

  “Francine,” Amy
stated, folding her arms.

  “Yes?” Francine asked, all ears.

  “Franci, you’ve got to understand something.”

  “What?”

  “I want Jake back, and he feels the same about me,” Amy said, watching Francine with sympathy.

  After a few silent moments, Francine nodded her head in agreement, and dabbed her eyes with more tissues.

  “I know what you’re saying’s right. You and Jake look so happy together; you always look so happy together. I don’t think anyone’d ever treat me like that,” Francine said humbly. Amy’s eyes widened at Francine’s admission, and she thought she was hearing things for a second. For the first time ever, Amy saw Francine for who she really was, and what she had obviously tried to hide through a tough exterior. Francine was someone who just sought to be loved, but used unusual tactics to get what she wanted.

  “Francine, if you stopped trying to ruin other people’s friendships and start working on your own, you might find someone who’d like you. You really didn’t have to do all that stuff to get what you wanted. You’re beautiful, talented, and smart — you’ve got it all going for you. Why make it hard for yourself? Carrie says someone perfect’s sometimes under your nose. I know, and you know, deep in your heart, there’s someone just right for you,” Amy said, looking over at the other side of the room. Francine watched Amy very attentively — she had never heard anyone speak of her like that, and it was a mind-blowing experience for her.

  “Who do you mean?” Francine asked, looking over where Amy was looking, and turning back to Amy. “You mean Chad?” Francine asked, her eyes lighting up at the mention of his name. Yes, Francine did feel something for Chad, as they had been together for all of their high school lives. It all made perfect sense she and Chad were best friends.

  “If you and Chad’d taken the time to get to know each other more, I think you would’ve saved each other a lot of time and trouble,” Amy said.

  “You really think so?” Francine said, eyes alight with excitement. “Me and Chad?”

  “Yes Franci, I do,” Amy said, nodding her head.

  The pace of the nights’ events had frazzled even Francine, who looked away from Amy, pausing for thought. The seriousness of what she had done to Jake and Amy had finally begun to sink in for her, and she considered how she would have felt if someone did that to her.

  “Amy?” Francine asked, looking shyly at Amy.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m…I’m sorry for everything that happened. Will you ever forgive me?” Francine asked.

  For a few moments, Amy did not reply to Francine. Amy mulled over everything that had happened over the past couple of months, and looked at Francine. Amy felt that, yes, Francine had learnt her lesson tonight, and this was something that would not happen again. Francine, though, was in tenterhooks, and waited for Amy’s response with bated breath.

  “Yes, of course I will,” Amy said, tears welling in her eyes.

  “Thanks Amy,” Francine said, again starting to cry, and with this, Amy opened her arms to embrace Francine. Carrie watched this scene with interest, and had a tear in her eye. She did not believe Francine had a conscience, and it was fascinating for her to watch Francine being so human for once. Some voices could be heard from the corridor, interrupting the peaceful aura, and these gradually became louder. Amy and Francine emerged from their embrace, and looked over to see who was making all the noise.

  Chad, Jake and James had emerged from the bathroom, and were wearing fluffy, luxurious white bath robes and comfortable slippers. They made their way over to the lounge area, and sat down on the large sofa, Chad a little worse for wear, but Jake beaming with happiness. Carrie winked at James, and eyeballed Jake and Chad with much curiosity.

  “Hope you and Chad’ve made up — don’t want any more fun tonight. I’ve got enough stuff to do already, thanks to you,” Carrie said to Jake.

  “No, no, we’re okay, James made sure of that,” Jake said, looking at James, who gave Jake a thumbs up signal. Carrie winked again at James, and quickly came over, giving him a peck on the lips. James smiled broadly after this, and Carrie watched him with admiration. As Jake turned away from Carrie and James, he saw Francine and Amy together, and watched them talking. Jake decided he wanted to talk to them, and arose from the sofa, and began to approach them.

  Upon seeing Jake, Amy and Francine stopped talking, and Francine looked blankly at him, seemingly terrified of what he would say to her. Amy watched Jake attentively, and smiled.

  “Francine, can I see you for a sec?” Jake said softly, directing her away from Amy. Francine was still dabbing her eyes with a tissue, but, she was a little calmer than earlier on. She looked at him carefully, and attempted to smile amongst all her tears.

  “I’m sorry Jake. I’m really sorry for everything,” Francine said.

  “I believe you,” Jake replied, looking at her keenly.

  “I loved you so much; I think this made me blind to everything.”

  “Franci, you thought you loved me, but maybe it was all just a game,” Jake said, smiling knowingly at her.

  “No, no, it wasn’t,” Francine said passionately.

  “Okay, okay,” Jake said, giving Francine some space. He did not want to rub it in too much to her, even though she had caused him so much agony.

  “Jake?”

  “Yes Franci?” Jake asked, eyes wide, still surprised at Francine’s change in temperament, and depth of vulnerability.

  “Please forgive me, Jake,” Francine said, her usually ardent green eyes filled with remorse.

  Jake looked away from Francine, and nodded his head.

  “That’s not up to me anymore, it’s up to you,” Jake said gently. Francine was afraid Jake was about to tell her off, and was expecting the worst. Whenever Jake looked away from her, she knew he had something serious to say. Jake looked again at her, and she braced herself. “Can I ask you something?”

  “What? Anything?” Francine asked. “Anything you say.”

  Jake rolled his eyes, and looked at her.

  “Please wipe your eyes, ’cause you’re dripping on my slippers,” Jake said, with a warm smile.

  “Oh,” Francine said, chuckling slightly at Jake’s comment. Francine was surprised how Jake, like Amy, had taken the whole situation, and how he did not express himself very angrily with her. Jake watched Francine, and suddenly recognized how much Francine really did seem to love him. Although his heart was with Amy, he could not help but be sorry for Francine, and was sympathetic for how her dream of having him fell apart tonight.

  “Franci?”

  “Yes Jake.”

  Jake paused before speaking, and waited for Francine to look at him again. Francine had been wiping her eyes so much she had not given him much eye contact during their talk.

  “Thanks.”

  “For what?” she enquired, eyes widening.

  “For showing me, in your own way, that I’m wanted. I thought nobody’d ever want me,” Jake admitted, to Francine’s amazement. She was stunned Jake would ever think that no one would want him, as he was definitely one of, if not the, handsomest guys at school. Francine smiled brightly after he said this, feeling she and Jake had finally connected in a way they had never imagined possible.

  “No Jake, thanks for letting me get to know you better,” Francine said, with a slight smile. Jake held out his hand, and they shook hands, holding that grasp for several seconds, smiling at each other the entire time. After they let go of each other, Francine watched her hands, and looked back up at Jake’s serene, happy face.

  “Think we’ve got some people waiting for us,” Jake said to Francine, to which she gushed, and nodded. Chad and Amy had also had their own pow-wow to discuss everything that had happened, and also shook hands. Jake and Francine both returned to Amy and Chad, and Jake took Amy by the hand, while Chad did the same with Francine. Francine smiled at Chad, and they headed together towards the Christmas tree. Carrie and James were already seated c
lose to the tree, and waited for their friends to come join them. Carrie smiled her greatest smile yet when Jake and Amy sat together, but also, smiled at Chad and Francine.

  All the friends were now seated around the Christmas tree, and relaxing on large, plush silk cushions. As it was a cold evening, the caterers served delicious hot chocolate to all, and the friends enjoyed every sip of it. It was especially welcome for James, Chad and Jake, who were still wearing their bath robes, and were a little cold from their ‘spin’ in the pool. Everyone eagerly talked amongst themselves, the atmosphere in the room being the best it had been all evening.

  The fire flickered wildly in the fireplace, giving the room’s ambience added warmth. Carrie had slightly dimmed the room lights, and this only emphasized the flickering heat of the fireplace, and the beautiful atmosphere it evoked. The Christmas tree lights were glowing equally as beautifully, and only reflected the splendor of the decorations which hung on the tree. There were colorful baubles, miniature sleighs, angels, violins…there was a little of everything there, but all tastefully arranged. Put quite simply, the tree was a marvel of Christmas cheer.

  Carrie was happy how everything had turned out tonight, and looked at all of her friends, getting ready to make an announcement.

  “And now, it’s time for some presents to be exchanged.”

  Carrie reached over to the bottom of the tree, where all the Christmas gifts were located. One by one, Carrie gave each person a gift, firstly giving James his Christmas present, then proceeding to give gifts to the remainder of her friends. They exchanged gifts amongst themselves, but, there was an unexpected hitch, something which none of them had anticipated. Amy, Jake, Chad and Francine looked at each other, a little embarrassed, as they had not brought each other gifts. Carrie sensed what was going on, and with a warm smile, said to them,