Chapter 10

Chapter 10 - We'll never be friends.

~~

It's kind of easy to know if a guy likes you.

∞ He will stare discreetly at you.

∞ He will try to be nice and sweet with you.

∞ He will try to kiss you and be near you.

∞ He will constantly find reasons to text you or talk to you.

∞ His friends might tease him with your name.

Hogwash.

What if he's glaring and not staring?

What if he's rude exactly five minutes after being nice to you?

What if he's ignoring you after trying to suck your face?

What if he texts and talks only when he needs something?

What if his friends don't even talk about you to him?

What the hell does all this mean?

That means you are looking too much into things and spoiling your already spoilt mood. Overthinking causes more problems and kills your happiness. My mind answered.

I groaned sleepily before burying my face deeper into the pillow. Thinking about all this as soon as I woke up turned out to be a bad idea. I rolled on my comfy bed, relishing the feel as my shorts and tank top clad body sunk into the soft bed. My arms roamed over the smooth sheets almost making me moan.

Sometimes I just wish I could marry my bed.

No complications, no stress.

Hell it even keeps me warm at night.

My bed suddenly vibrated and my hands swept the bed searching for my phone. I swear I kept it next to my pillow yesterday night, how did it reach next to my knee?

I tapped the accept button and put it on speaker. Too lazy to hold it near my ear.

"Wassup Janice?" I asked unenthusiastically.

"You won't believe what happened." She whispered as if she was afraid someone would hear her and pull her tongue out.

"Whatever did, it better be good enough to call me on a Sunday morning."

"It's almost noon Joanna." I could imagine Janice rolling her eyes on the other side, making me roll mine.

"Doesn't matter. The school festival's taking a toll on me. It starts tomorrow." I reminded her, knowing she must have forgotten.

"Oh yeah! But that doesn't matter."

I scowled at the phone. "It does matter, I have literally wasted my blood for it."

She chuckled remembering how I had tried to put up a banner because my pride refused to go and ask Bryan for help who was the only one present around and I had sleekly fallen off the long ladder, landed on butt and cut my ankle with the sharp knife lying beside. 'Are you okay? I'll call Janice.' were the only words he spoke to me.

I have never wanted to contact a Russian mafia leader so much before.

I glanced at the two bandages donning on my right ankle, one read 'shark bite' and the other 'ninja fight'. I grinned as I saw them, 'crazily clumsy' suited more.

"Anyways this is important." She started. "The Trouble Triggers are in Mrs. Finn's cabin." She spoke urgently. I heard muffling from the other side and recognized them as Logan and Alan's voice.

Reluctantly I sat up on the bed, folding my legs Indian style. "Say something new. And why on a Sunday? Doesn't Mrs. Prim ever take a holiday?"

I heard her call me 'Stupid' before Logan's voice came through the speaker.

"Mrs. Finn got the brilliant idea to check their bags yesterday when we were doing the final arrangements. When she was going through Max's bag she found post-it notes and- "

"Even I have post-it notes." I stated flatly.

"Well I bet they are not decorated with black marker pen, the same one we used on her car." He spoke sharply.

I inhaled a breath. "Logan but many high school students have black markers. I am sure you didn't get that marker from Mexico or Antarctica."

"Why the hell is she class president?" I heard him scream in frustration and I narrowed my eyes at my cell, wishing he was here so I could slap him.

You can't expect a brain to work as soon as it's woken up!

"The problem is no one else with the marker would play such a prank Joanna." Alan announced.

"And we had tried writing the exact words on it that we wrote on the post-it notes on her car." Logan added.

"Oh." I mumbled dumbly, still half sleepy. "So they are caught?"

"Yes Miss. Smart pants."

And suddenly my sleep went as the news finally sank in. "Holy mother of marshmallows! They are caught. They are caught. We are all going to get caught. Damn, the festival is tomorrow I won't be able to see my own efforts and achievements. And what about the idiots? Are they getting suspended? We all will be sent to the delinquent school. Do they give chocolates and marshmallows there? I hope so or else I'll have to steal -"

"Joanna. Stop. You're ranting."

I paused and looked at the phone. I sighed realizing I was rambling. "What do we do now?" I finally asked, fear gripping me hard. Sleep no longer near me.

"How about you take a bath now? You stink, I can smell it from here." Logan's voice came.

"Start reminiscing old memories. It's your last day today." I gritted as I cut the call.

After a quick bath and putting on skinny blue jeans with off-white top, I put on my blue flats and ran out of the room.

"Where are you going Joanna?" My dad called out from the living room.

I heard the shuffling of newspapers. "Janice." I answered hurriedly while grabbing a granola bar and picking up my car keys from the key stand.

"Be back soon." Dad called out and I simply replied back a sure.

-

♦

-

"I still think this is a stupid idea." I repeated again.

Brittany shook her head. "This is the only way and it's for your bucket list."

"But what if I get caught or they do?" I tried reasoning.

"You won't." She assured, giving me a tight hug. "You are Joanna." She whispered.

I hugged her back. I liked the non bitchy Brittany a lot.

Well no one likes bitches.

"Ready?" Logan asked, adjusting the sound settings.

I gulped and nodded my head reluctantly. My fingers crossed on the sides.

I looked down a little and gasped. I was on the terrace of a twenty floor building which also happened to be exactly in front of our school. The plan was simple, I had to shout about anything on the cordless mike with Brittany supporting me while Logan, Alan and Janice were supposed to sneak into Mrs. Finn's cabin when she would come out to listen the commotion. They would steal the post-it note and run to the car parked near the behind gate and escape.

We knew she would do nothing until the festival got over on next Saturday, considering about the school's reputation. The school's reputation was one of the top priorities for Mrs. Finn, she could go through the Hunger Games to protect the reputation.

After the festival the three could just deny doing anything since she wouldn't have any proof and for extra measurements Max had somehow managed to put a chewing gum in her cabins camera. How he managed that. I have no freaking clue.

Everyone agreed the plan was simple. Simple? Yeah, as simple as understanding why Miley Cyrus changed from Hannah Montana to a wrecked ball girl. But then again Hannah Montana was a character she played, it wasn't the real her.

Basically the plan was not simple and extremely stupid.

This plan had loads of risks. Like me getting caught for trespassing, Mrs. Finn not caring about the commotion, post-it note being in her breast pocket. Who would remove that now? It was the most important thing, it was the only proof.

Logan winked at me in encouragement and ran out of the door to meet Janice and Alan below. Brittany gave me thumbs up, gesturing for me to start. I breathed in and cleared my throat, starting the mike.

"This is crazy." I tried again, looking at Brittany.

"We are teenagers, honey. When else will we do all this crazy stuff? It's now or never, there's never a later."

Life is too short to worry about what others think. So have fun and give them something to really talk about.

Oh people will surely talk about this!

Here goes nothing.

"Hello uh hi to whoever is listening." I started awkwardly, tapping the mike and creating a shrill noise. I winced and glanced down happy to see no one had heard it. Clearing my throat I started again. "I just wanted to say that I love Disney movies. Always have. If you haven't seen any Disney movie than you must be from another world. Disney movies mean the world to me. The lion king, Cinderella, Tinkerbell, Sleeping Beauty, Tangled are all epitomes of a child's life, especially mine. Each movie has a hidden meaning and life values. Old or young, these movies are for every age." I looked over at Brittany and she blew me a flying kiss, making me grin. I could see people gathering down. But they looked like tiny ants to me. I just hoped Mrs. Finn was one of them.

"It gives me a jolt of happiness when I see their happily ever after, something that never happens in the real world. Their smiles, values, wicked witches, beautiful princesses and charming princes is something worth watching after a boisterous and tumultuous day. It gives me happiness to watch them. You don't need to be a princess to find your prince charming. You just need to be yourself." I paused.

"If Cinderella had gone to pick up her shoe, the prince wouldn't have found her. If Snow White hadn't eaten that poisonous apple she would have never had her happily ever after. If Elsa of Frozen hadn't run away she wouldn't have built that fascinating castle of ice. Everything happens for a reason and nothing lasts forever but you can make the good things last longer. You just need to try and love it." I looked at the crowd and saw a few people shooting. I instantly took a step back so my face wouldn't come.

Brittany waved at me and mouthed, 'Leave now'. I nodded my head and said my last words. "I love Disney movies and I am not ashamed to admit it and you shouldn't be too. Even if you are a sixty year old man with two walking sticks and wrinkled skin or a thirty year old army man. Just remember you may not have a happily ever after but there is always a happily for a long time. Disney thought me love can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime." I gave a mini wave and ran towards Brittany.

We took the equipment and hurried to the door. But a banging from the other side stopped us.

"Shit!" Britt exclaimed, searching for another escape.

"We are all going to die. I never even told my mother that the cake she baked yesterday wasn't as bad as the previous ones." I mumbled, noticing the uproar on the other side.

"Here. Here." Brittany hissed, opening the emergency exit door and suddenly stopped and turned to me. "Wait! Your mother baked a cake yesterday?"

I nodded, pushing her to go downstairs. "Yes. I just said that."

She didn't budge. "Which one?"

"Chocolate with almonds and walnuts on top." I slammed the door shut behind me.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "Where the hell is my share?"

I narrowed my eyes too. "I don't think this is the right time to talk about baking and sharing. Run downstairs before my mom has to bail us out of jail and then you can forget about cakes for a long time."

"Fine fine! But we are not done talking about this. You know how much I love cakes! Especially chocolate ones."

"Yeah I know that." I grunted, slapping her butt to increase her pace.

"Are you sure there's no one down here?" I panted out as we neared the ground floor.

"I hope so. Now hurry up, Logan's already waiting down." She wasn't panting as much as I was. Perks of actually attending the gym class.

We heard footsteps from above us and increased our pace. "Shit they are nearing." I cussed as I three men in blue uniforms screaming at us to freeze.

She paused to flip the off and the continued to run.

"Did you have to do that?" I hissed.

She nodded. "Make your entry grand and exit even grander!" she pushed open the door of the ground floor and we stumbled out. The first thing we noticed was the familiar blue car and we happily ran towards it.

"That was close." Logan commented as soon as he saw us, Ace sitting beside him in the car.

"You can say that again." I wiped off the sweat from my brow, hurriedly getting into the backseat swiftly followed by Brittany.

Logan turned and grinned at me, repeating the words. "That was close." Turning back ahead he started the car and exited the building.

I breathed out a sigh of relief and despite the situation I found myself laughing with Britt.

"But it was fun." Britt added, winking at me.

I rolled my eyes but agreed nonetheless. Everything illegal is fun when you don't get caught.

"So where are the others?" Britt asked, turning to Logan.

"Cottage." Ace replied. "By the way, I didn't know your passion for Disney movies was so strong."

I blushed in embarrassment. "Now you know."

"I guess so. Any other hidden passions?"

None, other than getting a kiss from you. I smartly kept my thoughts to myself. This was the most he had talked to me in days and I didn't want him to run away again. "Nope. None."

He grinned. "Love can happen to anyone, anywhere and anytime?"

I met his eyes through the mirror and got lost in that chocolate factory until Britt pinched me with a smirk playing on her face. "You so want his D."

"Shut up Britt." I slapped her thigh, glaring at her.

After sometime Ace awkwardly cleared his throat, "Thanks."

I grinned and noticed Logan and Britt grinning too. It's not every day Ace says thanks, in fact it probably was the first time.

"Anytime dude." Logan nodded at him.

"That's what friends do, help each other." I said, smiling at him.

Logan let out a throaty chuckle. "Dude you totally got friend-zoned."

"What-? No! That's not what I ... I mean... that wasn't. .. ugh.. Whatever." I shuttered in humiliation while they laughed at my misery.

"Did Mrs. Finn see any of you?" Britt asked Logan, wisely changing the topic.

"I don't think so; she was too involved in asking others why a girl was screaming about Disney movies. You should have seen her, going to each person and demanding answers but they were all busy listening to Joanna. "

I shifted in my seat with anxiety and panic. What if she knows it was me?

As if sensing my tension, Ace turned to face me. "I am sure she doesn't know it was you." He assured smiling slightly.

I gave a meek smile back. "Another thing off the bucket list." Ace stated after a few seconds smirking at me.

I grinned back at him, my previous fear fading away. "I know."

"You know I found your diary when I was searching in your bag for tissues." Logan suddenly said, looking a t Brittany through the mirror.

My head snapped to face Brittany's shocked face as she screamed. "What the fuck Logan? That's personal!"

"I know so I didn't read it but you know I'm a human so I couldn't help my curiosity and flipped through pages." He said, looking at her smugly through the mirror.

"What did you read?" She demanded, her voice rising a notch higher.

Logan gave her a smirk. "That's for me to know and you to tell us."

"You are so fucking dead when we get down." She sworn, already starting to hit him from behind.

"Catch me if you can." He taunted just as we reached the cottage. The doors immediately opened and Brittany ran behind a laughing Logan.

I vaguely wondered what she wrote in the diary and why I never knew about it.

Behind every locked door lies a forbidden secret and behind every hidden page lies unread words about life.

How many pages had she not shown us?

Suddenly realizing now only Ace was with me in the small car, the space suddenly felt smaller and congested.

I got out of the car with him. "Uh-so yeah bye." I coughed out, not looking at him.

"Muffin." His honey-laced whisper came so close near my ear that I could feel his breath fanning it.

I jumped back, glancing at him and then looking at the dried rose plant. "Yeah?" I need to water that plant.

"Look at me." The command in his voice, made my eyes turn to him involuntarily.

I sucked a breath at the dark intensity flooded in those chocolate eyes. His face came closer to me. I froze, eyes widening at his sudden approach. Is he going to kiss me? Finally? Please do it. I mentally begged.

His head dipped closer to my cheek and I felt the slight graze of his lips. I shivered in response.

"Muffin." He drawled in a low husky whisper. "We'll never be friends." And then he walked off, leaving me standing there with an irregular heartbeat. I blinked as his back disappeared into the cottage. I blew a breath, leaning on the car for support.

Yeah we should totally be more than friends. Much much more.

~~~

Sooooooo much more, if you ask me!