?WINGLESS AND BEAUTIFUL?
?EPISODE 29 ?
“You have less than a year left, and it will all turn
positive for you.” He smiled at me reassuringly.
“I hope you’re right.”
Chaise dropped me off in front of my house. I got down
from the car and waved goodbye to him.
“Thanks for the lift,” I said.
“I’ll be doing the same tomorrow.”
I shook my head. “Nope. Tomorrow, I get off at six. It’s a weekend remember?”
“Then I’ll pick you up at five-fifty-nine,” he said, flashing
me a charming smile.
“Okay, whatever gives you the kick.” I laughed.
“Goodnight.”
***
A week later on a Monday, I walked the corridors to my
locker. I felt like something was different. I didn’t feel like anybody’s attention was on me at all. Like something else
captured their fancy and I was old news. I was able to put a
smile on my face for a change. I felt invisible.
When I reached my locker, I saw Denise. She had a
frown on her face.
“What’s wrong with you today?” I asked her.
“Everything!” she said in a frustrated tone.
“Okay, can you at least name one?”
She sighed. “My cousin.”
Over the last few months, she kept mentioning about a
troublesome cousin, but she never really wanted to discuss it. Now, I wonder what happened that gave her a foul mood
on my first good Monday morning.
I felt an arm around my shoulder and I didn’t have to
guess who it belonged to.
“Good morning, ladies,” Chaise greeted us in his usual
cheerful attitude. For almost two weeks now, the three of us
looked like a threesome.
Wherever Denise and I were,
Chaise would follow. He never missed an opportunity to try
to charm me. But nothing had changed. I still liked him as a
friend and I told him that every day.
But I had ~grown
comfortable with him. I had started trusting him. I found
that we operated on the same wavelength most of the time.
He could make me laugh and I realized nobody dared insult
me when he was around. If somebod~ y did, he would not
hesitate to scowl at them and his murderous stares alone
were enough to send anyone running the opposite direction.
Some kids in our school regarded him as some sort of
royalty. “How are my girls today?” he asked both of us.
“I’m happy,” I said smiling up at him. “For the first time
in what seemed like years, I’m not the talk of the town. I’m
a fly on the wall. Nobody cares about me. And that’s the
way I want it.”
Chaise and I both stared at Denise. She sighed and said,
“Yeah. That’s because there’s a new talk of the town.”
I raised a brow at her.
“My cousin decided to live among the lesser mortals
again,” she said.
I stared at her blankly. Chaise also didn’t look like he
knew what Denise was talking about.
“If gods live among us, he would be one of them. And he
knows it. Unfortunately, so do my parents and everyone
else around me.”
“Sorry, sweetheart,” Chaise said. “We still don’t get
you.”
Denise sighed. “Prepare to be dethroned, Chaise
Anderson. Somebody just checked in to the campus who’s a bigger king than you are.”
Chaise rolled his eyes. “As if I care,” he said. Then he
turned to me. “As long as I’m the king in your world, I don’t
mind.”
I faked a cough. “Nothing’s changed, Anderson,” I said
“Better luck next time.” I laughed and took Denise’s arm.
“Come, we’ll be late for our class. I’m feeling positive today.
Remind me to thank your cousin later.”
All throughout the day I had been hearing about a new
guy’s arrival in our school. Apparently, he was swoon-
worthy, mysterious, snob, really rich and totally hot.
I didn’t understand why Denise wasn’t happy or proud
about that. I never had any cousins. I’d always wanted one.
I wondered why she thought he was a curse to her.
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