章 21: Bonds - Part 1
She's as perfect as ever, isn't she?
Jennifer Swift: the most popular freshman girl at Sunchester High.
Her good looks coupled with her charismatic energy have already earned her a reputation as one of the most popular girls in school after only a single month. She's everything that a fake like me could ever hope to be.
It's only thanks to her that I've somehow managed to fit in among the other cool kids. Her name alone has so much influence that I've already become something like celebrity myself, and it's all because I'm standing by her side all the time.
By her side, huh?
I guess that's all I've managed to amount to so far.
Jennifer Swift's friend.
Her right hand gal.
And though it has gotten me my fair share of popularity, there's also a bit of infamy that comes with riding her coattails so shamelessly.
Jen has been sitting among a small group of girls ever since the final period of the day had concluded. This is her typical routine on Monday afternoons. The girls in this class are more than obsessed with chatting with Jen, so much so that they'll usually try to keep her back after class to discuss the usual pleasantries. And for them, those pleasantries tend to involve school status and drama.
"Hey Jenny, are you friends with the Student Body President?"
"Uhh, I'm not really close with him. I do talk to his secretary, though. She's like, really cool! We started gyming last Saturday and she gave me a few work out tips. I doubt I'll ever have to worry about wearing a bikini again."
"Really?! You're that close?! Where do you two go?!"
"That's soooo cool! I'd love to know too!!
The girls light up with excitement at Jennifer's words. I guess the whole idea of spending time outside of school with the two of them was an attractive thought.
But she ends up frowning in disappointment instead.
"Sorry, she's not a fan of big crowds, so I don't think that's a good idea…"
"Awwww…"
They all groan in unison.
Though I'm hanging back with Jen, it's obvious enough that she's the only one they're interested in. The group seems a little upset that I'm "taking up" the spot as her best friend.
In their heads, they probably deserve to be at her side much more than I do. It's the kind of thinking you'd come to expect from girls in groups like those.
It doesn't matter much to me though, I don't like them all that much either. They're the kind of girls that would stick needles into custom-made voodoo dolls of their friends. Sure, I'll smile and throw in a few remarks every once in a while, but that's the about as far as my relationship with them goes.
So why am I even here to begin with, then? Well, hanging out with Jen is always a good opportunity to learn how to socialize as a popular kid.
She's a real crowd pleaser, to the point where it could almost be called a spectacle. The way she steers the conversation, shifting the topic away from any personal questions that they might have and into something else without anyone noticing is a form of art. From an outside perspective, it almost feels as if she was born to lead, or at least to stand above other people. As if just by being born, she had already earned that right a long time ago.
But as I'm thinking that, a strange song sounds off from within the crowd of girls. The sound signals the end of the conversation as Jen turns away from the other girls.
"Ah, that's my phone. Sorry, we've gotta go. Let's head out, Scarlet."
She slips her hand into her bag to pick out her phone. The song, which I can tell at this point is by Ariana Grande, can be heard more clearly throughout the room until she finally answers the call.
"Heyyy, it's me!"
She stands up from her seat and begins walking off.
"Okay."
I stand up and begin walking off besides her.
"Okayy, bye Jenny!"
"See ya, girl!"
The girls wave their hands while smiling at their idol, who couldn't even be bothered to look in their direction anymore.
"Aaahhh, Jenny is sooo gorgeous. She's like a real model!"
"Riiight? We have GOT to find out how she does it!"
We hear them talking among themselves as we leave the classroom.
The moment we pass through the door, Jen finally removes the mask she's gotten so used to wearing all day and speaks more like her usual self.
"God, I thought those losers would never shut up. Thanks a lot for that."
Jen rolls her eyes and hangs up the phone.
"It's fine! They were kinda getting on my nerves too."
I remove my hand from my pocket. It's not the most honest way of ejecting yourself from a conversation, but it works so what can you do? Excuses like these are better than making the other person feel bad by just straight up leaving.
I've kinda learned from Jen that even something as small as this can go a long way in making people feel comfortable around you.
"Them bringing the Student Body President up like that just proves how much they only care about hanging out with the popular kids. It's all about their egos. That's so damn boring. Why would I waste energy making friends with losers like them when they don't even care about me?"
"Haaa, you said it. I thought I was going to die of boredom back there."
Seriously. It went on for a good fifteen minutes after class. How could they go on and on about all of that stuff for so long? I could have easily missed my bus had it gone on for another fifteen minutes.
"You know, you might say that, but you weren't talking all that much. You should speak up more! It'd make things more fun for me at least."
So you didn't feel it huh? How much they hated my guts, that is.
But she lets me off with a sigh then continues.
"It's all just drama with them. They're like, totally not even interested in me. Just who's dating who, who's friends with who and who hates who. They don't care about me as a person at all. Being popular honestly kinda sucks. It feels like I can't let my guard down anymore."
"Well maybe but, you kinda let your guard down with me didn't you? What if I was only after your popularity like they were?"
"Of course I'd let my guard down around you. Cuz you were Momo's friend first."
Momo, huh?
"You might not know it, but that girl doesn't make friends easily. What you did was actually kinda big."
"R-really? She seemed pretty normal to me."
"Mhm, and that's what was so special about it. Like, most people see her as a weird, gloomy, quiet kind of girl. Don't get me wrong though, she isn't bullied for it. She doesn't care about anything around her, but she's still so cute and moves with so much style that it's just… It's kind of intimidating, isn't it? Like, she's so naturally beautiful that her zero interest in everyone and everything makes it feel like she's just sooo above it all. It's a royal air that makes most people too nervous to even go near her unless they really have to."
"Her beauty makes her… intimidating? I don't think I understand… Like, I get the part about her being beautiful, but why would her not caring about anything make her hard to approach? If anything it should make her more interesting right?"
"Hmmm."
She places her a finger on her chin as she decides how to best go about persuade me. As if intimidation was something to be explained rather than felt. Of course, not being able to feel something doesn't mean that it isn't real. It might just mean that I'm immune to it.
"I dunno, she's just one of those people I guess. Introverts are usually hard to talk to, but with geeks it just feels like social awkwardness right? Like, you feel like you're forced to control the conversation since they're way less talkative, otherwise it's awkward for them."
"Mhm, I get that. So?"
"Now imagine that, but with someone like Momo. She's always sitting by herself, and she's always reading something while listening to her music. Never really saying anything to anyone else. And she looks so damn gorgeous while doing it. ,Kinda feels like the pressures on you to make yourself cool enough for her to speak up, doesn't it?"
Ah, I kind of get it. Basically, her looks and attitude make people see her as royalty? I never really looked at it that way.
"That's just the kind of girl Momo is. It was like this in middle school too. She never really spoke to anyone until she met me, and while we've been really good friends since, even I feel a bit intimidated talking to her. It's like, you can never tell what she's thinking, I guess?"
"Well I get that, but… to be honest I didn't feel any of that the first time I spoke to her. I did think she was kinda cool for someone so different, but that's about it. To me, she's just another high school girl."
"Mhm, and that's why I didn't feel like I had to keep my guard up around you. You're a real people's person for seeing her that way, Scar. I can tell just by looking."
"…"
I suddenly feel uncomfortable. Sharp pangs of guilt spread throughout my chest. The whole sensation is making me sick to my stomach.
And the reason for that should be obvious.
It's because me befriending Jennifer was something I'd done because I was chasing after her popularity. Meeting Momo before that was just a coincidence.
"Our darling angel Scarlet is so above the rest of us. You even dated an invisible geek like Chase, right? How romantic. Haa, I'm so jealous! I wish I was deep enough to see what you see in that nerd."
"G-grass hopper…"
"Ah, I'm sorry…"
She looks away and goes quiet, and things are suddenly a bit awkward between us.
Jennifer's teasing habit hasn't been quite that easy to get rid of. I suppose I should take it as a compliment since it means she's completely lax around me, but she usually ends up saying rude things like that without even realizing it.
Which is why we came up with a safe-word so that we could stop it before it gets out of hand. We happened to choose grasshopper because we saw one nearby at the time.
Her coming up with methods of dealing with it only shows how determined she is to treat me better than before she did before. I can't help but feel grateful to her for all the steps she's taking.
And all of it is thanks to Chase.
"Speaking of which, I haven't seen the two of you together these days. Are you fighting or something?"
Of course she'd notice… I never told her about it because I don't like how much she judges my every move with him. Honestly, it feels like I have someone constantly watching my every move when it comes to the whole Chase thing.
"Mmm, I'm not sure if fighting is the right word… Things have just been kinda awkward between us since last Tuesday."
"What? A whole week?! Girl, what are you doing?"
She pulls me by my arm suddenly and forces me to a stop.
"H-huh?"
"Don't 'huh' me. What do you think I mean? Are you trying to lose him or what?"
"Lose him? O-of course not…"
I mean, we aren't really dating to begin with, but…
"Listen Scar, you've gotta go talk to him right now. This isn't the time to be relaxing."
"Wait, slow down a minute. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?"
For a moment I thought she was going to bite my head off because of how calmly I was acting, but instead she just lets go of my arm and looks away.
"… I really didn't want to be the one to break it to you."
"Huh? Break what?"
"You know how both Momo and Chase were missing all day? And you were worried that the two of them had gotten into a fight, ended up in the principal's office, and had both gotten suspended?"
My imagination was kind of running wild back then, wasn't it?I guess I was worried about her starting something with him since I told her that he was avoiding me.
"Uhm, yes. You said that Ms. Bell had the both of them running errands, right?"
"Well no, that isn't actually true. I lied."
Huh?
You what?
Then…
"I'm sorry but, Momo told me to keep it a secret so I had to find a way to settle you down when I got back from seeing her."
Well, if Momo said so then it couldn't be helped I guess.
"Okay, fine. Where were they then?"
"Well, I don't really know how to tell you this, but…"
She looks away for a moment before deciding to face me again.
"They were, um… skipping class together in Chase's nerdy club room."
"… Eh?"
They were doing… what now?
Skipping class? That girl who's always avoiding people?
And…
Chase?
"She wouldn't tell me what they were up to, but she made sure to tell me not to tell you about it. Kind of sneaky of her if you ask me, but I guess she didn't want to make you worry."
"Y-yeah."
I gulp nervously.
"Hey, I don't think they had anything bad planned, but it's also true that they might have hit it off in there. Especially since you and Chase haven't been on good terms for a while."
"Yeah…"
I… can't believe this.
I-I mean, it's not that I care that the two of them were spending time together like that, right? But…
What if he said something stupid to her and ruined the whole thing?
Yeah, yeah! That loser, that's not cool at all! We had a deal, right?!
"So? Are you gonna go check on the nerd room?"
Oh, right. I probably should, huh?
It's important for me to find out what happened for appearances' sake. It's not that I'm jealous about it, because we're totally not dating for real.
"Y-yeah, I'm going. Only because I planned on heading there myself though. Not because you suggested it or anything."
"Oh, is that how it is? Okay, okay. Suit yourself. I have to prepare for the class president vote next week Monday so I'll be skipping cheer practice today to print some things out."
She waves as she continues walking forward, not even looking back to properly say goodbye.
Does she really have to go out of her way to print things out? Well, I suppose it wouldn't be Jen if she didn't give it a hundred percent. Her victory in the vote is pretty much a given at this point, but it says a lot about her work ethic when she's still willing to go all out despite her assured victory. It wouldn't be weird to say that no one will dare to go up against Jennifer. It would be plain embarrassing to not get more than a single vote in a class election, and I'm almost one hundred percent certain that even if the most popular guy in our class ran against her, he still wouldn't get more than 1/10th of the class' votes.
She's just that much more charismatic than everyone else.
And somehow, even when she slips into that teasing habit of hers, I still find myself hung up by her every word. Call me messed up for it, but that's just the kind of person she is. Even when she says something condescending or hurtful, it sounds more like playful fun than anything else.
I think of this a lot but, if it hadn't been for Chase then I never would have spoken up against it. After all, I hadn't even realized how badly it was affecting me until he spoke up about it.
I guess he just has a talent for going against the flow of things, even if he does look like a loser for it.
I remove my phone from my bag in order to scroll through the contacts list. For now, I should call to find out where he is.
There's no guarantee that the nerd club is happening today after all. It'd be better for me to find out before I waste a bunch of time walking all the way over there. My bus leaves in a few minutes after all.
…
Ah, that's right. I never got his number, did I?
Geez, how could we both be so absent-minded? I guess I'll have to try my luck after all.
After slipping my phone back into my bag, I head over to the second floor in search of my objective; the Sci-fi/Fantasy club room.
It's the school sanctioned home of the geek circle.
I'd heard rumors that this was once a healthy club of twenty members last semester. Luckily, even if the club still had such large numbers, entering that room wouldn't scare me as much as any sports club would. After all, my Androphobia doesn't act up as much when it comes to nerds and the like.
Regardless, I won't have to worry about entering such a crowded room. That club is, fortunately, now a shell of its former self. Today, there are only five members: Chase, his two geek friends, the club president and his girlfriend. That's a net loss of 15 members since the semester began.
Surely the entire club wasn't made up of seniors, so what on earth could have possibly caused this sudden downward spike in membership?
Well, the answer to that question would be Nicholas Albert. That kid stands out as obnoxious even among the other geeks of Sunchester High. He is loud-mouthed and annoying to the core; the complete opposite of the graceful Jennifer Swift, who already stands tall at the top of our entire year. You might call her a proud lioness; the respected and revered queen of the freshman jungle. And Nicholas… Well, he's more like a rowdy Baboon than anything else. It's not surprising that his personality clashed with almost everyone else at the club, but what surprised me more was how everyone ended up quitting over it. Was his personality really that bad? When I heard the story first hand, I couldn't believe it myself.
The whole thing makes me second guess my entire thought process from back when I decided to pretend-date one of his friends. I'm surprised that it went over as well as it did considering the group's history.
I guess I should thank Chase for not being as much of a dweeb as the other two. Though, he's still kind of a dweeb sometimes.
I sigh as I've finally arrived at the door.
"Haaa... So? Why are you two out here?"
Before me are the geeks I'd just been thinking about moments ago: Sigmund and Nicholas.
They're standing just outside the door looking somewhat impatient about whatever's going on.
"Uh, are you lost? In case you didn't know, honey, this is our club room. And for reference, it's also thot-free zone so feel free to get lost asap. Thanks."
Right, because this is EXACTLY what I wanted to get into right now…
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that this was your club room. Judging by the smell I could have sworn that this was where the school burned its garbage. And anyway, isn't Reyna in this club? You need to get over that misogynistic attitude of yours."
"Heh, whatever. I don't wanna talk about this with someone like you. We're waiting for Chase to open up so we can start club already."
Wait, huh? Waiting for Chase?
"What do you mean? Is he locked in there or something?"
"And why on Namek would I answer that? You're not one of us, woman. Get lost."
Right, this one's completely hopeless.
I turn my attention to Sigmund, who looks a little flustered by our hostile conversation.
"U-um, Chris-sama said that Chase-dono took the keys from him for something taisetsu so we've been matteimasu for him to open up."
Can you speak English, please?!
"Wait, open up? Then he's…"
He's still in there?
With her?
Does this mean that Chase and Momo are still trapped inside?
After all this time? Then…
"…"
I feel uncomfortable all of a sudden. Momo and Chase being together unsupervised just doesn't sit well with me. I mean, come on Momo, why with him?! You can do better than that, right?
Ah whatever, I need to calm myself down for now.
"Haa."
I exhale softly.
In any case, there's no point in them hiding for this long if they're already cornered. The two of them should just fess up and get this over with as soon as possible, or Momo and I are gonna miss our bus home.
"H-hey…"
"…"
Sigmund and Nicholas stare at my back as I walk past them and face the door. I'm going to have to call out and end this right now. The truth is, Chase and I have probably been delaying this for far too long. We're going to need to have a long talk about everything between us.
Thinking that, I lift my hand to knock on the door and call out to him.
But.
The moment I flick my wrist, the door, which was previously still all this time, violently swings open.
The sudden movement left me in a state of shock.
"H-huh? Chase?"
Before I could gather my thoughts, I'm faced by the person I had come over to see in the first place. He looks disheveled and almost tired, as if he had just woken up and was late for class. His hair was a mess and his eyes clearly seemed to communicate panic.
"Ah, Scarlet? Sorry, I'm kind of in a hurry right now. Can we talk tomorrow?"
Huh? Tomorrow? But Jen said it had to be now, didn't she?
"Um, actually…"
"Sorry, and thanks! See ya!"
He hurriedly rushes past me without paying much attention to my words and runs off toward the first floor staircase.
Well, at the very least it doesn't seem that Momo is with him, but…
He had absolutely no interest in what I was about to say.
"W-what on earth was that all about…?"
That was completely unlike him. He hasn't turned me down like that before today so I'm at a loss as for what to do right now.
And it seems that Nicholas also shares my sentiment.
"Dammit, he left before we could say anything again."
Wait, again?
"What do you mean?"
"Ugh… You're still here? Why don't you just go away and fix your ugly makeup or something?"
"No way, is it ruined?!"
I pull my compact mirror out of my hand bag and begin checking on my face.
"Hahaha! She actually checked! That's rich! Hahahaha!"
"…"
I almost smack him for laughing, but I somehow manage to keep myself composed. I carefully close the mirror and place it back into my bag.
"I'm not sure what was so funny about that. Maybe you should, I dunno… take a hint from someone who actually cares about how they look? That way our janitors won't get called out all the time for letting cockroaches run through the halls all the time.
"Huh?! No matter how you look at it I'm human! Get your eyes checked, dude!"
"A human? Don't be silly… Oh wait, you're Nicholas aren't you? Sorry, you're so disgusting that I somehow mistook you for a cockroach. I'm really sorry, it won't happen again."
"What'd you say, bitch?!"
"H-hold up man, calm down. You promised that you'd be nicer to Chase's girlfriend, remember?"
Sigmund, calms his companion as he was about to continue the slew of insults.
I stand corrected then. Nicholas really is that bad. Geez, why am I forced to deal with this bigot so regularly?
"Sigmund, what did he mean by 'again'? Is Chase really always in a hurry to leave school at this hour?"
The two of them turn to face me curiously.
"Huh, seriously? Even you don't know, Scarlet?"
Then, they turn their backs on me to whisper between themselves.
"What should we do then, Nick-kun? I thought you said she knew about Chase's secret life. If she doesn't know why he leaves all the time, then…"
"D-don't be ridiculous! Of course she does! This is probably just unrelated to that…"
Huh? Secret?
"Hey, what are you two talking about over there?"
"N-nothing!"
They're strangely flustered. Does Chase have something that he doesn't want me to know?
Then, Jen might be right after all… Leaving him alone for a week was too much. Even putting the Momo thing aside, there's no guarantee that he hasn't been meeting with another girl in secret.
If that's the case then I can't be wasting time right now. I need to stop him before my standing with the popular kids is ruined.
"… Give me Chase's number."
The two of them go eerily quiet for a moment.
It's a bit much, especially for these two loud-mouthed geeks.
"Chase's…"
"Number?"
"Yes, his number. Are you both deaf? Hurry and give it to me."
"No, I think there's a bigger problem here. Scarlet, you two have been dating for over a week now and you don't have his phone number yet?"
… Oh.
Aha.
Ahahahahaha.
How embarrassing…
I didn't stop to realize how that sounded at all.
"No, it's just that I… I just don't have my phone today, that's all. Look, just lend me yours! It's really important!"
Nicholas puts his finger to his chin.
"Hmm…Well, even if you say that…"
Huh? Wait a minute.
Don't tell me…
"We don't actually have his number."
They're just as hopeless!!
"Actually I don't think I've even seen his phone before. Have you Nick?"
"Nope, I wonder if he even has one to begin with."
Don't be ridiculous, of course he does. You two were just too absent-minded to grab his phone number. Well, not that I'm any different. Idiot, Scarlet. You big idiot!
Still though, where does that leave me?
"Um…"
Sigmund speaks up while checking his phone.
"If you wanna go after him then you'll want to take the metro to the city. If you miss him there then you're on your own though. We have no idea where he goes afterwards. It should leave in about five minutes. If you run you just might make it."
F-five minutes?! Just how far away do you think that is? It's no wonder he was in such a hurry then!
"Ahh! What should I do?!"
There's no time to think! I have to try making it! My high school career depends on it!
Before I knew it, I had already broken into a sprint through the hallways.
Let's just hope I don't get stopped by any teachers…
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