Chapter 11: Trouble

Mondays were usually my favourite but for some reason I didn't want to be anywhere near school or people. I just wanted to remain in my blankets but I knew Daniel would start asking what was wrong and I'd had enough lying to last me a lifetime at this point. Fake it till I make it, that was what I was going to do until I felt okay enough to look at the world the same way that I used to look at it before he showed up in my life.

"Luuuuke," Neil shouted when he saw me walk towards where both our lockers were. He was leaning against someone else's locker while his one arm was draped over one of the freshmen students. Of course he was also seeing freshmen, I should have guessed it from the start.

"Is there something that I'm missing?" I asked once I was near him and turned to open my locker. Unlike him, I hated shouting and getting everyone's attention for no valid reason. I felt bad for the freshmen girl because she looked so hopeless thinking that he was going to settle with her.

Neil scoffed, "is that anyway to treat your best friend?"

I sighed while I grabbed the books for my morning classes so that I didn't have to come back here after every class, then closed it and turned to face him. "Neil, for some reason Daniel doesn't like you that much and we have been friends since we were kids. Why do you think that is?" I folded my arms across my chest with my lips pierced. "I mean, that says something to me."

Neil whispered something into the girl's ear before kissing her quickly on the lips and then she scurried away. "What was that about man?" he asked, turning to face me. "Why would you say such things in front of a quick I'm trying to court."

I laughed out loud at that. "Do you even know what the term court means? Like truly?" It was hilarious watching his face flare up with embarrassment when he realised he had used the wrong term.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly while he looked down. "Whatever, you know what I mean."

"Nope, I have no idea what you are talking about." I popped the 'p' to make emphasis and just to get under his skin.

Neil was cut short when Patience and Lynn walked over to us. Patience looked between us trying to understand what was happening because I was still laughing while Neil was still looking awkward. "Did we miss something?" she finally asked as she wrapped an arm around me. Her touch was so soft and in that moment I realised just how messed up I truly was that I stopped laughing altogether.

"You didn't miss anything at all," Neil was quick to respond. "Hey Lynn, how was your weekend?" He changed the subject just like that but not realising that the person he had turned the conversation to had a massive crush on him and it got more awkward.

"I feel bad for her, I keep telling her to find someone else who will like her for who she is and see her," Patience whispered in my ear.

"I know," I whispered back and wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to me and looked down at her. "What were you up to this weekend?"

Patience sighed, "the usual, mum stuff," she replied and I felt her body tense up. Patience's relationship with her mum was like that of Daniel and Dad. It was complicated and I hated asking questions for the fear of what I would know. So, I kept those questions tucked away at the back of my mind in hopes that they would never have to resurface and cause trouble for me.

"I'm sorry," was all I could say.

"Look at them." She pulled my attention from her and to the two who were trying to have a conversation. Lynn kept playing with her fingers so much I was afraid for their sake. She looked so nervous talking to him while he, on the other hand, had gone back to the same position he had been in when I arrived.

"Neil, what did the coach say about today's practice?" I decided to intervene and save her from drowning even more than she already was. I saw her visibly relax when Neil turned his attention to me.

"Aren't you supposed to be the captain?" he shot back.

I narrowed my eyes at him because he technically had a point but this wasn't time for that. "And you practically live in his office," I countered. "So answer my question."

Narrowing my eyes at me as he pushed away from the locker, he said. "We have practice. Don't be late Walker, your team is counting on you and so is every other club." Then he walked away just as the bell rang.

****

Morning classes seemed to take forever and I could feel Elliot staring a hole at the back of my head the entire of all the morning classes and it made me uncomfortable that I hardly paid attention to what any of the teachers were saying which wasn't something I liked.

In the first class when he had shown up just seconds before the teacher had arrived, he had given me a look as he passed by me to go to his seat. It was weird to say the least. I still had to see Ms. Wells about having someone else tutor him.

"My brain is so tired," Neil whined as we finally left our last morning class and headed to the canteen for lunch. "Why do Mondays always have to start like this and we still have practice later as well as some club stuff before that. Gosh."

I was feeling it too, but not because of what he was saying. I hadn't really slept the night before and the looks that Elliot had been giving me made me more tired. "I want to go home and just sleep," I sighed out loud. "Usually I love Mondays but today was on a whole different level."

Neil turned to glare at me. "Who in their right mind loves Mondays?"

I shrugged just as we entered the canteen and joined the already formed lunch line. "Just because you don't like Mondays doesn't mean that everyone feels the same," Patience said on my behalf.

Neil glared at both of us but I stuck out my tongue at him triumphantly.

"I love Mondays too," Lynn added, making Patience and I laugh at how Neil wrinkled his nose in disgust at us. "But that's not to say that they are great or anything." She was muttering again, something she usually did when Neil was involved.

"You are all weird, end of discussion."

After that, we got our lunch and headed over to our table and sat quietly. Neil was on his phone, Lynn was buried in a book while Patience kept glancing at her phone every once in a while. I was the only one who kept looking around the canteen hoping to spot a certain someone and then pretend as if I hadn't seen him should he look in my direction. I kept pushing the food on my plate around, lost in thought until shouting started followed by cheering and people looking out the window.

"Someone is fighting," someone yelled, which got everyone's attention. "It's that new kid or something." I knew exactly who he was talking about and what that meant for him.