...how to lie like a pro

"I'll show you instead."

Confusion etched her face, but she still nodded. "Show me then, now!"

"Now? It'd become the headline news of this school, altered heavily by different eyewitness reports!"

"What do you mean?"

"Look around you and tell me what you see."

Her eyes transversed her surroundings, then she let out a groan. "Come on people, don't you have something better to do?"

The faces of some of the occupants on the field flushed pink, while the others diverted their eyes away from us. Only two of the three stands were occupied: the one I stood on and the one beside it.

I guess people had been attempting inconspicuousness because the one beside me was more occupied. It may have worked if they hadn't been staring unabashedly at us! Even the ones who had the decency to do it discreetly, the couples, refused to sit side by side, instead choosing to stand facing each other. Every now and then, I noticed their eyes flitting in our direction.

Aimee glanced back at me. "Yep, let's find a quiet place." Her brow furrowed. "Hmmm, where can two popular kids in a school run off to, where other students wouldn't follow them?"

I thought crossed my mind, but it didn't take me long to come up with my answer. The one territory where most students would have quivered to enter at that moment, where we would get much-needed privacy...

I sighed. "Would Miss Lane be in her class right now?"

"Miss Delane..." Her eyes widened, then she grinned. "Of course, the one place most students would dread going during their free time! You're a genius!"

I cringed at the enthusiasm oozing off her. "Calm down, I only thought about it because I need to collect a script anyways!"

After a bit, I added, "Though I must say, you're not wrong about me being a genius!"

. . .

During the first part of the journey to Miss Lane's class, Aimee and I remained silent as we walked. As we entered the school building we kept mum, due to the occasional rows of students that passed by us.

Even with our pact of silence, the students still slowed down their movements to shoot us not-so-subtle glances, so I proceeded to shoot them not-so-subtle glares in return, which assisted in quickening their pace.

It was only after the wave of students had subsided that Aimee spoke.

"How come you didn't get a script yesterday?"

I rose an eyebrow at her. "Sorry, did you expect me to storm back into class, pick up a script, then storm back out again? Maybe also jot down the homework as well?"

She shrugged. "Never mind. Though I'm not surprised you couldn't collect one, what with you having been busy smashing school property!"

"Smashing school property? What on earth are you talking- oh, that's what you mean. I didn't smash it out of anger by the way. In fact, I didn't smash it at all."

"The glass fell by itself and broke?"

"My, your IQ level seems higher than I expected!"

"Shutup! Wait-" Her eyebrows knitted together, "-what?"

I let out a groan. "Never mind, I take it back!"

"Angelo, my palm is starting to miss your face! What I meant to ask was did it really fall and break on its own?"

Sighing, I shook my head. "I know what you meant the first time, that's why I made that remark."

"Anyways," she shot me a glare as a smirk came onto my face, "I see you've finally come to your senses."

I scoffed. "Clearly you haven't come to your -no, wait!"

It was too late. Like a vulture diving towards a dead body, she dived towards the open gap in my armor, preparing to fire insults.

Widely grinning, she retorted, "You're right, what was I thinking? I must have been out of my mind to think you can ever come to your senses!"

Wincing a bit, I rolled my eyes. "Oh, haha! Now that you're done-"

"Well, I have to hand it to you, Romeo, you really know how to face real-"

A mixture of panic and quick thinking led me to lower myself to doing what I did next, insulting all my battleplans, doing something I'd never done in any prior verbal war.

Quickly, I uttered the words, "Anyways...w-what was it you wanted to say?"

Yes, I did it...I changed the subject!

The fact her grin increased was a clear indicator that she hadn't missed my retreat. Nevertheless, she said, "I was talking about the fact you agreed to do this play. You've realized you can't lose half your literature grade?"

I scoffed. "Heavens no!"

"Huh? Then, why -oh. Oh!"

Somehow, those that exclamation sent shivers running up my skin.

Slowly, I asked, "Oh? What does 'oh' mean? From an abnormal point of view, so give me your definition-"

"It means you finally realize how lucky you were to have me as a partner!" She fluttered her eyelashes at me. "How did it happen? You were up all night thinking about me? Maybe even saw me in your dreams?"

"Heavens no! I should hope so as well because I haven't had nightmares in a while and I certainly don't need them starting up again!"

"As long as you don't see your face in that dream, it wouldn't be a nightmare! Aside from that, if it wasn't your grade that influenced you and, more importantly, my beauty-"

I scoffed.

"What influenced you then?"

Those words, those four words, were more than enough to keep my feet from moving.

Why did I decide to do this play?

'Maybe what you need is...closure.'

Oh yeah, that's right. Still, can I really give that to her as my reason? No, it'd bring up too many questions. Still, though-

The click of fingers in my face snapped me out of my thoughts. My eyes focused on her hazel eyes, which sat upon a confused-looking face. "Hey, Angelo, if you're done ignoring me, I'll like my answer now, thanks!"

Her answer...

After a quick flurry of thoughts, I decided that honesty was the best policy.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I agreed to do it because...because Angelo Smith doesn't back away from a challenge!"

Her brow furrowed. "What?"

Yeah, what the fuck?

Here's a mathematical equation I learned from that: Pressure+ Panicked thoughts = One big fat lie, fresh from the mind's oven and ready for delivery!

I shrugged. "I don't like backing away from a challenge, that's all. I'll leave the decision of whether I should do this play to you and Miss Lane."

After frowning for a bit, she shrugged and grinned. "Whatever, let's just go to class!"

Letting out a soft breath, I nodded. "Yes, let's go!"

My legs came into action, moving me to Miss Lane's door...

Rather, I planned for them to, but Aimee grabbed me before I took two steps. "Uh, where are you going?"

"To Miss Lane's class -which we're standing right in front of."

The second day back in school and Miss Delane had already used flowery stickers to spell out her name on the door, making her class impossible to miss. Well, if you're not me. That's only because I'm one of a kind. In a good way!

Meanwhile, Aimee set her hand on the doorknob, shooting me a smile before she opened it. "Don't worry, I don't blame you for not noticing. I mean, coming up with a lie does take up a significant part of your attention, right?"

My mouth dropped agape. "W-what? How did you-"

"You're a good enough liar, but a pro recognizes her own trade. Now, once more, onto the breach!"

As she opened the door and walked inside, I stood there, stunned speechless by the realization that had struck me.

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Aimee Jacques knew Shakespearan quotes!