Chapter Thirty-One – Reuben strikes again.
What? He really knew her. And bad start? Who wouldn’t have a bad start with someone like her!
“I know Cara. She’s not as bad as she seems” Charles said.
I began laughing hard. He looked confused.
“Is she the friend you had monitor me. No wonder she knew about mom’s job. Really?” I just couldn’t stop laughing.
If she was, why was she a jerk to me at first? That girl was just beyond understanding.
“Why not. She’s a good person” Charles said confused.
I wanted to pat his head and tell him how toxic his friend could be but I couldn’t stop laughing so I swallowed my words.
“How bad are you two?” he flicked my head.
I turned back to see the food box and I stretched to reach it. He pulled me back.
“What? Food is in there. And I have only three minutes left” I sulked. He smiled and brought it to me.
I wasn’t disappointed as fried chicken was in there. I grabbed the fork and dived in.
“Cara, Cara, Oh gosh, Cara must not have known you are my friend early. She really said she’d be good to you” Charles kept on complaining.
I shrugged as those chicken wings were taking me to cloud nine already.
“Oh, also, I brought those from that Chinese restaurant. I’m glad it survived the travel. There’s another restaurant here though” Charles patted my head.Material © of NôvelDrama.Org.
The pat made me feel like some good old dog but I didn’t mind. I’ll bark if he wanted. Nothing beats friend chicken, ever.
I had to take the remaining along with me when the gate man came to the gate and waved at me.
“Thanks a lot for this. I’d try to be nicer to Cara, promise” I licked my mouth. He chuckled but nodded.
I held the food box close to my heart as I returned to class. I hoped a teacher wasn’t in but one was. She didn’t mind me and just continued her teaching.
“What did he bring?” Chloe pushed Sheena to peer into my food box.
I shoved it away from her. “He brought food. For me” I had to draw that line. She smiled and raised her hands in surrender. I smiled back at her.
Sheena pushed Chloe back to her seat and returned my notes she had been helping me copy.
I thanked her but she dismissed it as that was what friends do.
I was glad to have a friend finally.
“Stop saying cringe things girl, she’s just repaying the favor for making Cara leave the desk. That’s all” Chloe snickered.
She may look like a hard ball of ice bit I knew Chloe was as chattering and fun as she could be.
The teacher hurried through class and didn’t even bother give us a classwork. She did give an assignment. One that was dreadful.
I rushed to the cafeteria with my food box and wallet. Chloe kept on asking me my friend made it himself.
According to her, eating food made by the opposite gender brings good luck. Wondering where she heard that from.
I tried ignoring Reuben’s burning gaze as Sheena, Chloe and I ate at the cafeteria later that day.
I had hoped Charles’ friend was him. But it had to turn out to be Cara. Of all people, Cara.
I didn’t see Cara around the cafeteria. Maybe sulking somewhere. Good for her.
“Are we not going to say anything about how Reuben is shamelessly staring at you?” Sheena grunted.
“Shamelessly? Like who cares” Chloe spoke with food in her mouth.
I made a disgusting face at her while nodding to Sheena.
“Maybe he thinks I was cool for standing up to Cara”.
“Maybe” Sheena said back to me and gulped down her remaining orange juice.
Chloe gazed into his eyes and tore her sandwich piece by piece. She locked her lips as she did and left me wondering what her aim was.
I asked what she was doing and she said she was trying to ‘break his concentration’. If that wasn’t jealousy, I don’t know what was.
Sheena and I giggled about her while she was busy breaking whatever. Reuben must have turned to her as she have him a flirtatious wink.
“Gosh Chloe” Sheena bowed her head in shame. I stifled in my laughter.
“Reuben called me over to their table” Chloe whispered in my ears then ran out of our table.
Sheena looked offended and glared at them. I dared not turn and hoped on Sheena to tell me what was happening behind me.
Sheena’s face turned from angry to disgust and then to confusion and then to amusement. Chloe soon came stomping back.
Funny enough, her remaining sandwich had been buttered.
“He said he thought I wanted the butter he was using on his bread. Like who gives a flirtatious wink to mean asking for bread butter” Chloe stared down at her sandwich on disgust.
“What then did you want from him?” Sheena asked but Chloe looked away frowning. She held her chest while gasping for breath as she kept on silently laughing.
It reminded me of my chicken and though, very unwilling, I shared it with Chloe. She couldn’t eat buttered food, I guess it was some allergy.
Well, Reuben and his humor struck again. Like who buttered sandwiches?
Finally the day came to an end. School bus shuttle had begun as it was the new week.
Sheena and Jennifer used the shuttle. I noticed Jasper and Reuben sued it but Jacob stayed back.
“He was banned from using the shuttle cos he bothered everyone so usually Jasper goes home to bring their car to pick him up” Chloe explained.
“Why not he just walk home?” I asked.
“No, they lived very far. So I heard” Chloe answered.
She waved bye as she walked on her own. She could have waited for my driver but she was going the opposite direction.
Our class was almost empty except for Nancy, a teacher’s daughter and a sleeping boy who I guess was called Tom. And me, of course.
A man came to call me saying my driver had arrived and I happily hopped outside, waving bye to Nancy.