All I know is that seeing him again in the flesh was about all I could think about.
Today was a little different in that that Michelle girl actually met me at my truck.
The rest of the scene was pretty much the same as the day before, with kids sectioned off according to their cliques, doing their thing.
Jane, as Michelle had informed me was the cheerleader’s name, was still shooting daggers at me, but this time she seemed to have reinforcements. There was another blonde looker who dismissed me with a look and a flick of her hair. Cold.
“So, Jasmine, I hear Mark invited you out to the bluffs for our little picnic this weekend.”
“Um yeah, but I cant go though I’m sorry.”
“What why?”
Was that a Havenhurst thing? That’s the same thing dad had said.
“Something came up.” Or someone anyway!
“Ooh, is that something one Thorn Azarov?” She grabbed my hand and looked at me expectantly.
“What, no, where did you ever get an idea like that?” My face was fire red by now I’m sure and her question only made me question myself even more.
She looked a little put out but didn’t say anything more about it, which was just as well, because I wouldn’t know what to tell her anyway.
“Well, you better watch out for Jane and Sara anyway.” She looked towards the two blonde girls who seemed to be clocking our every move, from the stairs leading into the school.
I was listening to Michelle, but my eyes were busy scanning the lot for the car that had followed me home the day before.
“Looking for anyone I know?” she had that sly grin on her face again and I wished I wasn’t being so obvious.
“What? No” I’m sure my face was on fire as she looked at me and laughed.
“You can’t lie for shit new girl, he’s not here by the way.”
“Who?” As if I didn’t know. From the time the words left her lips my heart confirmed them as truth.
“Mr. Delish; us girls hang around every morning with the hopes that he’ll notice us. He comes at the same time everyday, except today he was a no show.”
I felt empty and alone all of a sudden. Like that feeling you get when the sun disappears behind a cloud on a bright sunny day.
I didn’t feel that swell of anticipation anymore, in fact I felt like a balloon that someone had stuck a pin in and deflated all of the air.
Chapter 6
I went through the motions that day and the next when he failed to show once again. By day three I was pissed, why would he tell me I couldn’t go with Mark if he wasn’t interested?
It didn’t make any sense at all. No one gave me any explanation for his sudden disappearance, and I wasn’t about to draw any more attention to myself by asking.
“So Jazz, Michelle tells me you’re not coming with us this weekend, sure we can’t change your mind?” Jane appeared at my side out of nowhere.
I never know what to do in these situations, when someone obviously hates you on sight, but then for some unknown reason, well unknown to you anyway; they start up a conversation out of nowhere.
“Um.” I had to think about this, I mean, whatever feelings he might’ve had had been fleeting obviously, since he’d up and left without saying a word.
Besides, accepting the invitation might get my dad off my back, where he’s been the last few days.
It maybe had to do with the fact that I’d been moping around the house for the better part of a week, like I’d lost my best friend. It was worst, I felt like I’d lost a limb.
“You know what, why not, what do I need to bring?”
“Just yourself and lots of sunblock, there’s actually sun there and we wouldn’t want you to burn that lily white skin of yours.”
She said it with a smile, but I wasn’t sure there hadn’t been a touch of malice underneath her words.
Maybe malice was too harsh a word, but there’d definitely been something there.
I shrugged it off as we headed away in opposite directions from each other, to our respective classes.
As it turns out Mark was in this class a few seats back, and he came towards me as soon as I sat at my desk.
“So, new girl, heard you changed your mind about the picnic this weekend.” He was all smiles and boyish charm.
“Uh yeah, I kinda told Jane that I’d go.” A decision that I was fast coming to regret!
“Sweet, see you then; please tell me you have a two piece bikini.” His eyes actually lit up as he ogled my almost nonexistent boobs.
“Gross.”
I turned around and ignored him. Why couldn’t other guys be like him who shall remain nameless?
That was my new way of dealing with the strange phenomena that seemed to come attached with whenever I thought or said his name.