Page 35 of Stalk Me (The Keatyn Chronicles 1)
“Yeah, I know. There’s also one from Vanessa. It says, You and your friend are going down. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. And don’t even think about sitting at my table on Monday. ” I look at him. “What are we going to do? Sitting where we want is one thing, being banished is another. ”
“I thought we decided we don’t care. ”
“I was talking about next year. Not right now. I’m not prepared for this. Shit! What have I gotten myself into? Why did I think I could do this?”
“What do you want to do?”
I’ve seen Mom and Tommy do it several times over the years. I know how to play the PR game. “Damage control,” I say.
I get on his Facebook and change his status to In a relationship. Then I grab my phone and accept it. “Now I’m gonna comment on it. ”
“What are you gonna say?”
I read aloud as I type. “So glad we left the MC night and went to the other party. ”
I grab his phone and type his response. “I loved dancing with you. And doing shots with Deron was pretty sweet too. ”
I toss his on the bed, pick up mine, and start typing. “I loved waking up with you. Not that we got much sleep. Should I add a winky face?”
“Yeah. But I don’t get it. How are those few sentences going to stop her?”
“They’re not, but now everyone knows we’re officially together and sleeping together. They will also believe all the rumors about us that have been floating around school since I broke up with Sander. We also need to throw a party of our own. An epic bash that everyone who matters will be talking about. ”
“Who matters, again?”
“The juniors she was trying to recruit. Well, the cool ones anyway. ”
Cush’s face droops a little. “So we’re skipping our special night tonight and throwing a party to get back at a girl we don’t care about?”
I turn my head quickly toward him. “No way I’d miss out on tonight. Speaking of that. Don’t you have some planning of your own to do?”
“Yeah, I do need to make a few phone calls. You look just a little too happy right now. What’s running through that devious little mind of yours?”
“I just came up with the perfect plan! We’re not going to school o
n Monday, and neither is anyone else. Vanessa and RiAnne will be sitting on their thrones all by themselves. ”
“We partying Sunday night, skipping school on Monday?”
“Exactly. And it’s gonna be epic, but very small. Like only the twelve people we like best. People that are cool and not into just appearances. Like the tennis shoe girl. She’d be perfect. And Alex Littleton, for sure. At school, everyone will notice that we’re all gone. And since the seniors are already out, Vanessa and RiAnne will be sitting at their table all by themselves. The whole school will know that they were left out of something big. Plus, we’ll tweet about all the fun we’re having on Monday during lunch. Once it’s too late for her to do anything about it. ”
“What kind of fun are we gonna have?”
“Old school fun. Remember how much fun we had when it was just a few of us? We’ll get naked in the hot tub, play spin the bottle, beer pong, hell, maybe strip beer pong, get really tipsy, party all night, then bring everyone back to my house for breakfast on the beach. I’ll ask Tommy’s assistant to set it all up. We’ll have some cabanas brought onto the beach, a bunch of lounge chairs, set up a volleyball net, and we’ll lay out in the sun and tan off our hangovers. ”
“That sounds fun. Speaking of breakfast, I’m, like, starved. ”
I lean over my phone and kiss him. It started out just a little kiss, but he throws me back on the bed and kisses me hard.
“I thought you were hungry. ”
“Yeah, I am. For you. ”
So seventh grade.
4:45pm
I’m sitting out in the misty rain, watching Cush and the team play. It stopped storming around noon, and now it’s just a miserable dreary, misty day. Normally I hate days like these. I prefer the sun shining, but I’m too happy to care. I still can’t believe I’m not a virgin anymore, and I still can’t believe I did it with and am now dating Cush.
This is definitely a twist in the plot that I hadn’t scripted or imagined. But I think it’s a good thing. Mom says you should cherish little surprises in your life, and she’s right. Cush makes me feel happy. Like I can’t stop smiling.
During half time, he runs to the bleachers and plants a big kiss on my lips. “Just a few more hours,” he says and winks at me as he runs away.
Mandy, who apparently hooked up with a soccer player named Dillon last night, grins at me. “What’s happening in a few hours? Are you going to that party Vanessa and RiAnne texted everyone about?”
“No, we’re not. We have other plans. Not that we were invited anyway. ”
“Not invited? Is it because you and Cush left the Monte Carlo party? I heard you went to some amazing Hollywood party. Is that true?”
“Yeah, it’s true, and we had a great time. Last night was amazing,” I gush.
“So what are you doing tonight? Is there another party? Can we come? Like we want to sit at your table next year, but Vanessa has always been such a bitch to us. She’s slept with two of our boyfriends. After you and the soccer guys left, the party just felt over. Everyone else left by like ten-thirty. I bet she is pissed at you. ”
“I’m sure she is, but we all have to make choices about stuff like that,” I say in my bitchiest tone.
Alicia, who was Alex Littleton’s prom date, agrees with me. “I totally understand. I wanted to go to Vanessa’s party tonight, but Alex said no. ”
“Alex seems really nice. ”
“He is. He’s one of those guys that everyone loves, but being popular isn’t really important to him. Vanessa was all over him at the party. It pissed me off. We aren’t going out or anything. Yet. But I think we might. I was kinda mad he left with you and Cush, but at least it got him out of her claws. ”
I think about Vanessa’s targeted approach toward Alex, and it hits me why she’s so focused on him. It’s not because he’ll be one of the hottest seniors next year. It’s because he doesn’t care about being popular.
And that makes him a very big threat.
Vanessa values popularity above everything else, and you can’t control a person that doesn’t care. If Alex really is that kind of guy, the only way she could control him is to date him.
Is that why she’s been trying so hard to control me lately? Because all of a sudden I decided I didn’t care.
Is Cush right? Is she afraid the spotlight will follow me, and she’ll be left in the dark?
“I don’t think he’s interested in Vanessa,” I tell Alicia.
“I hope he’s not,” she says. “Personally, I was glad the party was over early. I thought it was kinda lame. Her parents practically stood watch, and we had to sneak into her room to drink. It seemed so seventh grade. ”
“Cush and I might be having a party soon. A very small party. Like only ten, maybe twelve people. You two want to come?”
“Enough to fill your own table?” Alicia guesses.
I tilt my head and shrug my shoulders. “No comment. ”
“Let me give you my number,” Mandy says.
“So, if you should happen to get a text about a party, please don’t mention it to anyone. Just show up. There are certain people we don’t want to hear about it. ”
“I thought you, Vanessa, and RiAnne were like bffs—what happened?”
“She offered to sleep with Sander on prom night. ”
The girls’ eyes get huge. “Oh my gosh, what did you do?”
“Sander told her no flat out, but I was standing behind her listening to it all. ”
“I saw you and Cush are going out now. ”
“Yeah, he asked me last night. I can’t believe he’s playing so well. He didn’t get much sleep. ”
