86It's really hard to tell who has your back from who has it long enough just to stab you in it
-Nicole Richie
I woke up really early the next morning. I don't know why because usually I just barely wake up in time for the bus, but for some reason I woke up early. Because I had the extra time, I took a shower and got dressed. I put on a pair of light wash jeans and a green T-shirt that said "If you're hot, I'm single!". I know, stupid shirt, but my mom brings home all these clothes for me from her work, and if I don't wear them, she starts going on and on about how some poor kids in Africa could use it.
I wouldn't mind giving them my shirts.
I crammed a toasted pop-tart in my mouth as I went back to my room. I glanced at my open computer. It was still on from when Matt and I had been annoying each other on IM. I smiled as I re-read the conversation, reliving it, until I heard the unmistakable rumble of a truck being driven way too fast and brakes squealing to a hault. I went to the door and a certain black ford F-250 truck was sitting in the driveway with a certain black-haired guy climbing out and pulling his sunglasses off.
I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, I mean he'd been doing this for days, ever since I had said we were cool. I guess it's a plus.
"What's up, buttercup?" he said with a grin on his face. He said it just to be annoying, because he knew I hated pet names. I just rolled my eyes.
"I'll be right back." I informed him as I went inside and grabbed my backpack and his payment for taking me to school: a blueberry muffin and a can of coke.
I climbed into the truck and he revved it up. He put on his sunglasses and nothing was said the entire ride to school. Twenty minutes later we pulled into the school's parking lot.
I was about to get out when he said: "Wait, I uh ...wanna ask you something."
"Yeah?" I said, turning back to him. He had a sheepish look in his eye, I could see that even behind his sunglasses.
" Um, well, the queen of hearts thing...are you going?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm going. Or, at least, that's what my mom said."
"Sweet." he said and started getting out of his truck. I followed and we started walking towards homeroom.
-Later that day: 6th period-
I was dutifully doing my vocabulary homework which was completely easy. When I finished, I pulled out my binder and started working on a new poem. I also snuck my mp3 player up through my jacket and hid the earbuds under my hair. I got a little preoccupied when the song "Teardrops On My Guitar" switched on right after "He Said, She Said."
Anyway, I felt a jabbing tap on my back. It was a pair of long, obviously fake, red-painted fingernails. I knew when wearily turned off the music and turned around who it was.
"May I help you, Amber?" I asked tiredly.
How did I know it was Amber Hudson?
1. Because I heard the horsey clip-clop of her heels stop right behind my desk.
2. A sickening wave of too strong perfume wafted towards me.
3. Andrew Jacob, who was her current boy-toy, and who sat right in front of me-'s head turned so fast I thought he would get whiplash.
She laughed that irritating "I'm-oh-so-popular" laugh.
"You hang out with that Matt Dennis, right?" She asked. At first I was confused but then I remembered Amber is the school skank, which means she's the most popular girls in school (among the boys at least).
"Yeah." I said,"Why?"
"Don't." That's what she said. Blunt, to the point, flat out "don't".
"Don't what?" I asked.
"Do I have to draw you a picture?" she began. "Hon, I like you, and I don't want to see you get hurt. But, y'see, we're kind of going out now and it pisses me off that you don't realize that. Matt didn't want you to know because he's pretending to be you friend or something, I don't know. He said something about wanting revenge for what you did to him in elementary or something like that, so he's trying to get your guard down and pay you back. I'll let him too, if you don't leave him alone. He's mine now."
What was with the sudden bashing? What had I done in elementary? ...Oh, yeah, talking about Camren nonstop and kicking Matt in the shin, that had to be pretty hard on him. How did she know about Matt and I? She's probably telling the truth, unless she's nosey and a whore.
"He told me that he was gonna ask you to the Queen of Hearts Ball, but then stand you up." Amber's expression was one of pure triumph when she saw that my eyes widened in horror. "He's going with me, of course. I mean, look at you. You don't even put makeup on like I do and, ohmygod is that a pimple?"
That bitch.
You see, I should have known right off the bat that Amber was lying, I mean, this is the same girl who told me my hair would get so much shinier if I washed it in blue Kool-Aid. Explaining that one to my mom did not go well when I was twelve, but I've always been kind of a gullible sucker. I even believed Andrew when he said gullible wasn't in the dictionary. The only thing running through my mind was why Matt would want to hurt me that badly for something that happened so long ago, but it eventually made prefect sense. I ruined his childhood so he's going to ruin my life in return.
When the last bell rang, I headed for my locker and then for the bus, with the thought of Matt wanting to hurt me making itself more and more vivid by the second. I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I turned around.
"Hey, sillypants." He smiled, "I need to ask your beautiful face about the dance."
I gritted my teeth. "'Beautiful face'? Look, there's nothing we need to talk about. You deserve to go with someone really beautiful like Amber, not someone as ugly as me."
"What are you-?" he began, but I had already turned on my heel and merged with the crowd of kids headed towards the bus.
Furfaidz: So I re-did this chapter a long, long time ago and it wouldn't save so I got mad and didn't log into Fictionpress for a year (that and I was way too busy getting my AA degree and transferring to UCF.) Funny, I completed Olive Juice in my junior year of high school in 2008. It's been 3 years! I re-did this chapter again today (14 Oct 2011) but I accidentally clicked on something on the page and I didn't save my work but unlike last time, I didn't get mad and storm away, I went back and just worked twice as hard to get this chapter done. So sorry for the long wait, here's the Wish.