“Uh, I’ve never dated, either,” I mumbled, shoulders hunched.
Tracey sighed and shook her head sadly. “Don’t worry girls; I’m sure we’ll make it there eventually. This is college, right? There’s still plenty of time for all of that.”
I found myself smiling as I looked at the two of them. They were so different from Alicia and Caroline, and I wondered now why I ever thought I had to be friends with them. I should have tried talking to other people sooner instead of waiting for them to ostracize me first.
Also, me telling them I’d never dated wasn’t technically a lie. Since we’d never talked about it, and considering how we met, to begin with, I couldn’t say Noah, and I were dating.
I’ll tell them about him later, I decided.
“Who’s feeling a little hungry?” I said, standing up and stretching my arms out. “I’m feeling a bit generous today, so I’ll treat you girls to an early dinner if you’d like.”
“Ooh, where should we go?”
“How about that café across the corner? They have really good dessert…”
I perked up at the mention of dessert. “Let’s go!”
We chattered as we left the room, tossing our trash on our way out. It was still fairly early; it wasn’t even six yet, so going out to eat before heading back to school was okay. There was a curfew since the school gates were locked for the night. We had plenty of time, though.
In the middle of talking about what we were going to eat, I saw someone I didn’t expect to see. Or, two someones rather.
Alicia and Caroline.
Before I could even think about whether I wanted them to see me or not, Caroline glanced my way, then nudged at Alicia. We looked at each other for a moment, and they were the first ones to turn away.
“Wasn’t it a little cliché, though?” Tracey said, talking about the movie and bringing my attention back to them.
The two of them were looking at me; there must have been something else I didn’t hear because they seemed to be waiting for me to reply.
“Is something the matter?” Hayley asked.
Immediately, my eyes moved to where Alicia and Caroline were walking away. I turned back a second later, and they were glancing curiously in that direction as well. I smiled with a shrug.
“It’s nothing,” I said. “Now, what were you saying is cliché?”
“The entire storyline,” Hayley said quickly. “A girl grew up with these guys, they were together forever, and suddenly all these guys start crushing on her, and she ends up with the one that was an ass to her in the beginning, that didn’t even look the least bit interested.”
I snorted. “What movie doesn’t have a few clichés here and there these days? The last time I saw anything original, I was a kid, and my parents didn’t think it was original at all.”
That was back when Dad was still around. We were a pretty close-knit family; then it was just Mom and me.
“He wasn’t like the usual bad boy, either,” Tracey continued. “Though I think they were trying a little too hard not to, you know? I mean, the best friend and one of the crushes is one of those bright guys, blonde haired and blue eyed and as friendly as a puppy, and the guy she ended up with had a problem with him, had dark hair and eyes, they were even related. I can think of so many movies and books that are just like it.”
As we continued to head for the café to eat, they analyzed the movie, and I threw a few more comments in.
The café wasn’t too far from the theater; we were there in five minutes. It was still early, so there were plenty of free tables, and we sat at one and looked over the menus. The prices were reasonable, too. I didn’t have much cash on me, though I carried a credit card everywhere so that I could handle it, but the two of them insisted on paying at least half of the bill no matter what.
We were served soon, and the food was delicious. I even indulged myself in some dessert, probably not the best idea after all the chocolate I’d eaten, but I didn’t care, and they didn’t say anything about it, either, eating more than their fair share.
It was pretty late by the time we got back to school. We separated at the entrance to the dorm with plans to meet tomorrow, and I smiled as I walked back to my room. I’d genuinely had a good time, and I was looking forward to tomorrow. My phone vibrated just as I stopped in front of my room, and when I pulled it out to see a text from Noah, my smile grew into a grin.
As if my day couldn’t get any better.