Bab 14: What happened on Friday.
On the Monday following the memorable party, the school buzzed with chatter and excitement as students gathered to share their experiences from the weekend. Persephone couldn't help but smile as she navigated the crowded hallways, the lively energy of the party still lingering in her thoughts... Asher still lingered in her thoughts!
They reached Perse's locker and, with practiced precision, she spun the combination lock. The door swung open to reveal a well-organized interior jungle green wallpaper, complete with neatly arranged textbooks, folders, and a small assortment of personal photographs that held sentimental value to her. Her locker was a window into her life, a blend of academic necessities and glimpses into her interests and relationships.
"I did what?!" Maya's shouting snapped Perse back to the present. Perse couldn't help but roll her eyes. Even when it's just the three of them, she still had to talk like she was addressing a crowd. It's like she was incapable of speaking in a normal voice like every other normal person. Was 'inside voice' not a thing anymore?
She reached for her chemistry textbook, its familiar weight grounding her as she prepared to face the challenges of the subject. Anything was certainly better than having to listen to Maya and June blabber endlessly about the bad choices they made during Josh's epic party___ There were quite a bunch!
"You were stripping in front of the entire football team, the basketball team__ And the lacrosse team!" June whispered, or at least attempted to. Passerbys still heard her and they couldn't help giggling as they shot glances in their direction. "I think some of them even took pictures of you,"
"Shut up!" Maya gasped, her face heating up from shame.
"I'm super serious!"
"It wasn't that serious," Perse joined in the conversation, even though initially, she wanted to avoid it.
"Wasn't serious? Wasn't serious?!" Maya shrieked, and Perse sensed impending drama. "Half the boys in the school saw me naked. Naked! And you think that it wasn't serious?! Do you have any idea what that will do to my reputation?!"
"Well, why don't you go ahead and shout it loud enough for the whole school to hear," Perse whisper shouted. "I don't think Principal Malt heard you in his office,"
Perse seemed to be the only one concerned that everyone passing by was keen on listening to their conversation. So even people who didn't know about it would eventually do with how determined Maya was to announce it.
"Is my misfortune and downfall that entertaining to you Perse?"
"You had only taken off your top when I got there. You show more skin when you're swimming," Perse exclaimed and the girls visibly calmed. "Plus June was way drunk than you, so I wouldn't take her word for it,"
"Me? I wasn't drunk!" June was quick to defend herself.
"I'm the one who drove all of you home___ I'd know,"
"So what else happened?" Maya asked, her voice more calm. Her widened eyes and the way she kept on wringing her fingers together, betrayed how nervous she actually was.
Perse didn't want to have this conversation, not then___ and possibly__ never! She didn't want to be late for her first class of the day, a fact that didn't seem to bother her friends at all.
"I'm going to be late to Chemistry," Perse stated, closing her locker.
"You won't be late!" Maya pleaded, pouting her lips and widening her blue eyes. It didn't have the effect it should have had on Perse.
"Plus even if you are, we all know Mrs Anderson wouldn't punish you," June stated, her arms crossed over her chest. "You're everyone's favorite, remember?"
Perse may have been imagining it, but there was a hint of malice in June's last statement. It almost sounded like she was mocking her... Taunting her.
"Just give us the gist of what happened,"
Perse instinctively checked her watch, calculating how much time she had before her class began. Five minutes!
"We got to the party," she began. The words spilled out of her mouth fast. 'Stories with Maya and June' was not in her schedule. "You drank, and drank, and drank__ and then drank some more. By the time we met on the dance floor, you were already tipsy. You and June were sampling the 'magical drinks' the guys were mixing at the bar," Perse said, briefly recounting that Saturday night. Maya and June nodded.
"Asher came to the party, I went to welcome him__ but then Josh appeared and the two wouldn't stop trying to provoke each other. You interfered and challenged both of them to play beer pong. I paired up with Josh, you with Asher,"
"I did?" Maya seemed shocked.
"She did?" June asked too
"You did___ she did," Perse said, answering both of them.
"Well, did we at least win?"
Perse shook her head. She couldn't believe that was what was worrying Maya at that moment. But then again, it was Maya. She does, and says, the strangest of things.
"You lost__ embarrassingly. And the entire party was watching it. I think most people recorded it,"
"You're kidding right?" Maya had a petrified look on her face.
"Nope. I'm super serious. I stepped outside for a while, after which I received a text telling me to come pick you up. Apparently, you, June, and some of the girls on the squad decided it was a terrific idea to challenge the football team to a game of strip beer pong. But nothing happened___ and I drove three rounds to get all of you home___ which is more than I should have done, so I'd say I've paid my debt to the squad for missing squad day. Any questions?" she checked her watch again, and seeing that she had only two minutes remaining, she didn't even bother to wait and answer their questions. "Great!" she concluded with a firm nod and began her journey towards the chemistry laboratory.
"Wait!" Maya's voice followed behind her. "I have a question,"
Perse halted, her facial expression showing the agitation that she was ultimately feeling. She turned to look at Maya, who, for the first time, had a shy smile on her face.
"Did___" she began, then let out a nervous laughter. Maya never got nervous. And Perse would be spending this time laughing at her if she wasn't so worried about being late to class. "Did AJ__ Did he say anything about me?" she finally asked.
"What?" Perse felt confused, the way she furrowed her eyebrows together was enough to show it. "What are you___?"
"I mean, did he say anything about me? What was his reaction to us teaming up together? Did anything happen between the two of us?"
Perse couldn't help the laughter that escaped her lips. Maya made an effort to stop her from laughing so loudly, but it didn't work. Or it would have, but Perse may have been trying to show Maya just how annoying she could get when she talked and laughed like she was begging for attention.
"I thought you didn't like Asher," Perse smirked, raising a brow.
"No no NO!" Maya glanced around as if making sure nobody was listening in on their conversation. "Ew! Of course I don't like him!"
"Mmh mmh!" Perse nodded dismissively.
"I don't! I just__ was wondering," she gave an innocent shrug, one that said more than Maya ever could.
"Okay__"
"I'm telling the truth!"
"I haven't said anything!" another laugh by Perse.
"Good! Because if you're implying that I have feelings for AJ Thorne, then you're solely mistaken,"
"It honestly didn't even cross my mind but thank you for clarifying,"
"I don't have feelings for that... That... That troublemaker!" Maya continued on her rant. Though the more she spoke, the more it sounded like she was trying to convince herself, and not Perse.
"That's awesome M, but I___"
"Do you think he likes me?"
The question caught Perse off guard__ and she found herself hesitant to give an answer. What was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to say anything? By the anticipated look Maya gave her, she guessed she did.
"I___ I don't know Maya," she said with an uncertain shrug of her shoulder. "I mean, you are pretty, but___"
"You're right!" Maya cut her off, a grin spreading across her face. "How could he not fall for me? I've got it all!"
"That's not___"
"You're a genius P!"
"___what I was about to say," Perse said, but Maya had already dashed down the hallway in the opposite direction.
She was left standing there alone, staring at Maya's back as she walked, an unusual bounce in her step, before disappearing into the crowd of students in a rush to get to class.
Did Maya just indirectly confess to having a crush on Asher? Perse couldn't bring herself to process that thought.
As Persephone walked to her next class, her thoughts swirled with the revelation Maya had just shared with her... That Maya might be developing feelings for Asher. She hadn't expected it to stir such an unexpected mix of emotions within her. She may have been laughing it off just a minute ago, but that was before she realized that Maya was being serious.
Jealousy, a feeling that Persephone had not anticipated_ or ever experienced_ gnawed gently at her heart. She had grown closer to Asher during the brief weekend they had spent together. Dare she say, she no longer considered him a 'friendly acquaintance' anymore. But why would she feel this on edge and entitled simply because Maya may be falling for him? He wasn't hers! She had no right to feel this way!
Or so she told herself as she entered the class and settled in her usual place, beside her lab partner, Josh.
"How was your weekend?" Josh asked casually, but his voice had faded in the background. Perse was barely even paying attention. Her mind, and eyes, were fully occupied by the enigmatic bad boy who had just entered the class. "P!"
"What?" she turned her attention to Josh, a confused expression on her face.
"Are you okay? You seem a bit__ off," Josh asked, evidently worried.
"I'm fine," she nodded and gave a smile. She turned to glance at Asher. And when he looked back at her, she quickly looked away.
While she had not admitted it to herself, the thought of Maya harboring romantic feelings for Asher brought a feeling she hadn't experienced before. And she didn't like it one bit how this week had begun. It was showing early signs of backfiring on her.
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