5. Handcuffs

"Nice performance back there." David comments, opening the front door seat for me. I scowl at him. I still don't understand how someone can be so considerate and horrible at the same time.

"You know what, I should smack you for that. You? My boyfriend?! Not in a million years." 

"You did just confirm it to your parents, though," he says, nodding towards the windows of Arnold's house, where my parents are looking.  Ugh. I can't believe I have to go to school today with this bozo. Huffing, climb up the front seat like it's a protest.  As I try to get myself comfortable, I make the mistake of glancing at David.

"What?" I rasp. He's staring at me quite intensely. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Nothing," he says, breaking into an annoying smile. "I'm just wondering how long you can keep this up."

I give him my best villain smile in return, "Keep up with what? Your craziness?"

He shrugs, "If you say so." 

"I'm crazier than you. You're not getting anything from me." 

"Huh. We'll see about that. I have a feeling I'll have my wallet back by the end of the week." he counters. Oh, so here it is. His big plan revealed. Well, that was fast. 

"I don't have it, and I'm not arguing with you about that anymore," I tell him. I look in front, avoiding his eyes. "What is it? Drive." I say when I notice that we're not leaving the driveway. 

Mr. Cool is still not making a move, but he doesn't seem inclined to talk about his wallet anymore. He's staring at something. I follow the direction of his gaze. Up ahead, an old lady is at the side of the road, about to cross the street. I scoff at him. "What? You want to help her? Seriously? Let's just go. She's not even on the road yet."

He glares at me, which is a bit too much. I said nothing wrong. The lady is too far from the center of the road. We're not going to run over her if we leave now.

"I'm helping her," he informs me before slamming the car door loudly behind him. Unbelievable. I don't even know what to think right now. It's one thing to help the elderly cross the street when you're standing near them. It's another when you choose to help despite being in a car a couple of blocks away from them.

"Are you kidding me?" I tell David laughingly as soon as he's back in the car. "Why would you do that? You don't even know her. Are you running for saint or something?"

He gives me another glare, "Shut up. I'm driving now," he says, finally starting the car. "Why are you so eager to go? I thought you didn't want to go to school."

"Because I don't want to hang around you any longer." I snap at him. "You know what, you're the kind that pisses me off. You just can't decide if you want to be good or evil. You're in between. It's the worst."

To my surprise, David laughs. "What?"

"You can't decide," I repeat.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" he asks me, amused.

"You and your friends accuse me of something I didn't do and chase me down hallways. But you make a whole deal about helping some old lady cross the street." I explain.

"So?" David's forehead furrows. 

I huff, frustrated. "So...you can't decide whether to be nice or not. It's annoying." 

We are silent for a while, though I swear I can hear him laughing at me internally.

"But you know what I think? I think you're evil, deep inside." I tell him after a while.

David guffaws at my statement and I can't help but feel affronted. There's nothing funny about what I said. 

"Eyes on the road." I remind him when I notice him turn to the side, wiping his eyes with his hands. I can't believe it. He has tears in his eyes from laughing.

"Fine. I'm evil." David says teasingly. "So, from one evil person to another, because I'm guessing that's what you are, evil," he emphasizes the last word to me, and I roll my eyes. 

"I have a question for you," he tells me. 

"Go ahead, as long as it's about that damn wallet," I reply.

"Okay, okay. I'll give it a rest," he says, holding his hand up before putting them back on the wheel again. "For now." he raises his eyebrows. 

I roll my eyes at him. 

"What are you planning? Why are you lying to your parents?" he asks.

"I'm not lying to my parents." I correct him, but he just gives me a knowing look. I sigh. "Besides, why do you care?" I ask, although I know the answer to it already. His wallet. He would dig any dirt he can get from me just to have it back.

"Nothing." David shrugs as expected, nonchalant. "Maybe I want to get tips from you. You have more experience at being evil than me."

I look heavenward, scoffing. It seems to be the only thing to do when I'm around David. I focus my eyes on the window of my seat, contemplating his question seriously. He is obviously not going to quit this, so I might as well appeal to his sympathetic side. Hopefully, he'd think twice about tattling to Mom and Arnold if he knows where I'm coming from. 

"I want out of Arnold's house. I figured he'd be mad at me enough for not going to school and throw me out. I mean, he worships that school." I respond honestly. 

"Why would you want him to kick you out?" asks David. He looks surprised at my response. I don't blame him. Arnold's a hardworking man with a good heart, and he adores my mother. Also, he owns the third largest video game company in the world, so he's filthy rich. To anyone, living in Arnold's house is a dream come true.

"Because he's not my real Dad," I answer simply.

"So I hear," David remarks quietly. "Well, how about living with your Dad instead?"

I give a start, turning to face him. His eyes are on the road, forehead creased in concentration. I study him for a bit, noting any changes in his expression. But there were none.

"I can't." I finally speak. "Look, it's complicated. I can't live with my Dad because of...reasons. And sooner or later, Mom and Arnold are going to have a kid of their own. So, basically, I don't belong anywhere right now."

I look at his reaction, but his face is unreadable as he processes my words. Mr. Cool is back again, I guess.

"You're being slightly honest right now. You're not scowling too. It's creepy. " David finally remarks, lifting an amused eyebrow.

"Shut up," I tell him, suppressing a smile.

David clears his throat after a while, "You know, I have to disagree with what you said."

I peer at him, curious. "Oh yeah? Which of what I said do you disagree with?"

"Everything," he tells me.

"Wow. So sorry for having opinions then."

The corners of David's mouth lift. "First, things are not black-and-white. I think there's goodness in everyone, and there are bad parts too. Second, your acting out won't make Arnold abandon you. You live with the guy; you know how he is. He doesn't have that in him. Third, you don't have to go anywhere to find where you belong. You can make a home where you are. You just need to give other people the chance to get to know the real you."

I swallow heavily, unable to reply to what he just said. I guess it makes sense in a way. But he doesn't know my life. My problems and the way I live are not things that you can just share with anybody.

I sigh, "I wish I could agree with you, but my perspective isn't as bright and hopeful as yours, sadly. So..let's just leave it at that." 

"Okay..." David drags out, his eyes still fixed on the road, "I'm just saying, you know. And according to statistics, I'm right 87.5% of the time."

I stare at him, trying not to laugh."Are you making a joke?" 

"I wish I were. But a friend of mine actually did a study about me, so that would be a no."

I release my laugh then, looking down to hide my face. It's just so corny. I can't help myself. Besides, this is so bizarre. I fully intended to rain down my fury at him for that crazy lie he started with my parents. But here we are, suddenly laughing together. We'll most likely be at each other's throats again once we get to school. But there's no denying that in another world, Mr. Cool and I would have been friends.

***

Without warning, David puts his arm around my shoulders, fueling the stares of the people around us as we walk toward campus together. I shrug off his hold.

"What are you doing?" I whisper at him.

"What? I thought we're together," he teases, mouth twitching. I resist the urge to slug him in the face in front of everybody. I can't believe I thought I could get along with him. 

"Hey. Good morning!" a bright voice greets us on our way to my classroom.

"Ari! Good morning." David replies just as happily. He puts his hand on my shoulder again, even as I throw him an exasperated look. "You met Dina, right?"

"I sure did. I was her tour guide on her first day here." Ari responds. A meaningful look crosses between them and my brows snap together in curiosity. Avoiding my eyes, David clears his throat.

"Right. I'm handing her over to you then. My class is the other way." he announces, giving Ari and me a little salute. I may or may not find it adorable. 

"Ah--no," Ari says, pulling him back by the arm. "Dave, I need you for something. It'll be real quick, I promise."  Ari links her other arm with mine and all three of us enter the class together in this awkward position.

I cringe as we step into the classroom. It looks like a paper machine just exploded with all the post-its stamped on the walls. The class is Peer Communications, which is required for all Freshmen and transferees in this school. Ari, though neither a transferee nor a Freshman, is in the class as a student council representative. To be honest, I don't see the need for this class. It's a weird school, Hell Park High. Communicating with my peers is not something that I have a particular interest in. And even for those who want to hone their skills in that area, I doubt it would do them any good. You either have it or you don't.

"Hello, ladies." Brad and Kier appear, sauntering towards us. A pair of girls start whispering in the corner, glancing appreciatively at them. Brad gives them a bow in response and they giggle like he's the funniest guy ever. I roll my eyes at the scene.

"Brad, what are you doing here?" David asks in surprise.

"Brandon, Kier. You're late." Ari tells them. Just then, she goes behind me and grabs my elbows, holding me in place. Kier does the same thing to David. What the hell? "Sorry, Dina." she softly says in my ear. I strain against her grip, but she's surprisingly strong. Before David and I can react, Brad handcuffs my left hand with David's right hand, effectively linking us together.