Distraught Malory [3]

(Malory)

I dig into my bag in search of a pack of peppermint-flavoured gum that I’m sure I’d left in the pocket when I last shoved it during lunch. “Can you believe that guy?” I ask my best friend, Olivia, “It’s like when I was born, Satan asked God for permission to create me an extra special demon to antagonise me throughout my entire school life.”

Olivia is sitting cross-legged on the floor of my room, tapping away at a document on her laptop and more than likely ignoring me. “Olive, seriously, are you even listening to me? What’s that? Literature coursework?” I find the gum and open one wrapped in paper, dunking it into my mouth. Olivia just keeps tapping at the keyboard, angrily, like she’s going to tap it to death.

“Yea,” she says, “Trying to finish my essay on the goddamn novel. It’s so hard for me to read books when they’re suggested by the school. Why don’t they just let us choose what we want to write on? This basic lit makes me snore. I literally almost sleep myself to death after dozing off at the second line.”

I scoff. “If they allowed us to pick our own books, what do you think the boys would choose?”

“Only the boys?” She asks, raising a brow at me.

“Good point,” I say, scratching my head. She begins tapping again. “But why am I so unfortunate to live in the same world at the same time in the same country and go to the same school as Kyle Davidson? Why, Olive?”

She groans, smashing her keyboard with her fingers before clenching her teeth and checking the keys in panic to see if she’d damaged them. “I don’t know, Mal. If I’m being honest, I’d say maybe if you stopped throwing punches at people without thinking first, maybe you would be in less chaotic situations.”

“Hey!” I say, defensively, “At least I can defend myself. I thought you were on my side. How am I going to get out of this now? And ole’ Bev went all out saying I had to do it if I wanted to clear my name. Which I do. I hate my life!” I grab a pillow from beside me on the bed and shove it into my face, allowing myself to fall flat on my back against the mattress. I groan.

Olivia studies me. She bites her lip. She sighs. “I have an idea.”

I immediately sit up with a gasp. “What? You do? Tell me!”

She soaks in my anticipation and I almost scold her but she begins talking right before I can. “Okay well... auditions start next week Monday, right? The signup sheets went up on the notice-board yesterday and they’ll be up until Friday. If I sign up... maybe I can get you out of having the leading role.”

Could I really allow you to do that, though? To sacrifice yourself for me?

Like that?

Best friend or not, it seems like a selfish thing to do.

“But that’s so much responsibility you’d have on yourself. I can’t make you do that... I really can’t.” I tighten my grip on the pillow in my hands and hug it, frowning.

She scoffs and raises a brow at me again. “So you’re saying that you’d rather be the leading lady and co-star to Kyle Davidson and spend all of rehearsals -which go on for months- as just that, having to then perform in front of a large audience together and risk the embarrassment than take the risk of me having the leading role and possibly getting you out of that whole situation? Kyle and I don’t have a war going on between us. I barely talk to him and he’s in my class. We’d find a way to get along... and you’d both be relieved that you won’t have to do the terror of a production together. In fact if I do get the leading role, who knows –both of you may not even have the leads anymore. Even if you get supporting roles, you’ll have to interact less. It’s still a win in my book.”

My best friend is incredibly smart. It’s no wonder she got into the science class. “You’d really, really be willing to do that? For me?”

“Hey.” She says. “Aside from not having a choice of whether I want to be in it or not as a senior drama student, I actually do want to be in the play anyway. If I get the leading role I’ll feel like a true queen. Imagine my face on the posters!” She waves her hand like she’s The Queen and smiles wittily.

I scoff, slightly disappointed. “Oh, so you’re not doing this for me. Okay.”

She studies my indifferent expression. “And also, you’re my best friend. I’d do anything for you.”

I smile at her brightly. “Thanks, Olive. I owe you.”

Then she changes the topic –and I’m ever grateful that she does. Lingering on the thought of her do this for me would make me die of guilt.

“But enough about Davidson,” she says, “I heard the new kid is in your class. Who is he? He’s handsome. Hazel eyes, dirty blonde hair, he’s really, really tall, too. You know the one. Looks like he works out. Stays fit. I haven’t seen him smile yet, but I imagine he smiles like an angel.”

I blink at her in disbelief. “You’re already crushing on him? All the girls in my class are swooning; whether or not he’s in the room. It’s so embarrassing. Seems like one of those cliché popular guys to me. Adrien Evans. In his brief introduction before our first period class he gave us all a little information about his life. I wasn’t going to listen but he’s actually quite an interesting book. Moved from across the country, apparently. Likes sports. Looks like a jock anyway, doesn’t he? Apparently he was supposed to write the final exams last year, but he urgently had to move around the same time–for whatever reason. So he had to repeat the year here. He’s one year older than us even though he’s at our level. It’s only been a few days since school reopened but I’m sure he’ll end up being one of the popular kids.”

“What about his classes? What’s he studying?” Olive asks me.

I smirk at Olivia. “Do you really want to know?”

“Duh!”

I grip tightly to the pillow again saying, “Brace yourself...”, raising it above my head and leaning forward to whisper close to her face. “All of my classes.” And with that, the pillow collides with her face. She gasps. I burst out laughing.

She clutches her chest –dramatically at that- and says, “And here you’re the one saying things are unfortunate?”

I allow myself to laugh before frowning. “It’s unfortunate because I have to be the leading lady in a production where Kyle Davidson is my co-star and I’m in the same eight classes with a guy who I must now dread crossing paths with anywhere because following behind him everywhere is a swarm of teenage girls with raging hormones.”

“Count your blessings, Mal,” Olivia tells me.