Chapter 8

On my way to lunch, I had another encounter with Andrew, who was waiting at my locker.
I wouldn't be surprised if he’d never left the spot this morning.
"What do you want?" I asked, opening my locker.
"You were good earlier, I'll admit that. I almost thought I was that drunk yesterday, but it doesn't matter now because I figured out what you're going to do," he said, making me stop what I was doing and look at him, raising an eyebrow as a signal to continue talking.
"Oh, and what am I going to do exactly?" I asked, not at all amused or excited.
"You're supposedly some nerd, so you'll do my homework. I have a book report due Friday along with a history project. You'll come over and do both," he said.
I burst out laughing. "You can't be serious." I shook my head as I grabbed my last few books for the day before shutting my locker. "Why would I come to your place to do your homework?"
He shrugged. "You owe me."
I thought it over, and it wouldn't be that bad. Only those two things? Seemed easy enough. Plus, I’ve already seen a couple different sides of this Andrew Carter. Maybe spending some time with him could make me discover who he actually was. The drunken fool? Or something more? Either way, for some reason I was curious and I definitely wanted to know the answer.
"So, only those two things and then I'm free?" I asked, although I couldn’t care less about this deal. It was my goal of knowing more about the rumored delinquent than anything else.
He shook his head. "Oh, my bad. I forgot to mention. You'll be doing it for the next month."
I scoffed. "No way in hell. One week."
"Four weeks."
"Two," I argued and he thought it over.
"Fine, two it is," he agreed.
"And I'll do it at my own time at my house."
This time, it was his turn to argue. "No, because you need to do quality work. Not your AP quality work."
I smirked, tilting my head to the side a bit. "So, I just need to forget to dot my I's, write my name, and only do half the assignment then?" I asked sweetly, causing him to glower.
"You're not funny. I'll see you at my house after school," he said.
I stared to argue, but he had already started walking away.
"I don't have your address," I yelled and he just kept walking.
"I'll text it to you," he said before walking out of the building. Yes, in the middle of a school day.
I started heading toward the cafeteria where Tori and possibly Katy were waiting. I wasn't sure how he'd text me since he didn't have my number, but I didn't bother to question it. When I entered the cafeteria, it was obnoxiously loud due to all the booming voices from my classmates. I spotted Tori and Katy in their typical spot and headed over there.
"Oh, my gosh, Tori. I am never listening to you again," I groaned, sitting down on the bench.
"Why? What'd I do now?" Tori questioned.
"I may have failed to mention earlier that I left early from detention like you told me to, and Mr. Ollie wasn't there, but Andrew and his group were there, so he blackmailed me that he would mention it to Stacey if I didn't do something for him. Now, I'm doing his homework for the next two weeks."
Katy leaned over the table, her eyes sparkling with something I wasn't sure of. "Oh, my gosh, you are so lucky! He can, like, make you have a make-out session with him for hours. I'm not seeing the problem with this."
I cringed. Didn't she see that was the last thing I wanted to do?
"Wait, why would it be a big deal if he told Stacey?" Tori asked, confused.
I sighed. "She has some mysterious vendetta against me just like the rest of the school population, so she'd be pissed if she found out she didn't win a round of 'Who's the better bitch' yesterday. I mean, she purposely did all that so I'd be late and she'd look better."
"She has a mysterious vendetta against everyone," Tori agreed. “I heard she already had two girls running off crying after an encounter today.”
“Oh! I heard about that too! Apparently, one was the new girl and the other was Clancy, that really spunky girl with purple hair. Head of the dance team?” Katy said.
I nodded, recognizing the name immediately.
"And still, it's Andrew Carter. You get to see where he lives. Who he lives with. Haven't you heard that the most secret part of a boy is where he lives?" Katy gushed once again.
I only shrugged, playing it off like it wasn't that big of a deal. Although, in reality that’s how I’d probably learn the most about who he really is.
"I don't like him, though. Plus, he is the school's player who's constantly getting in trouble. I don't want to get involved with that. No one around here would want me to either because, apparently, I'm the school's nerd. The player and the nerd don't mix." I was partly telling the truth since I really didn’t need the attention, but curiosity was a little more ruling in this situation.
Katy pouted, turning her head to the side. "Only a few people think that. It's something Stacey's friend, Hailey, started a while back when you did all the work for the project you were paired up for."
"Thanks for letting me know," I muttered.
"Well, you still don't have to talk to him exactly. You just do his school work," Tori said and I silently agreed. She did have a point. If things all go downhill, that’ll be my escape route.
"Okay, you've got a point there, but I'll be right back. I have to make a call, and I'm going to go get a salad," I said and the girls nodded.
"Wait, Clover! Can you grab me a cheeseburger?" Tori asked.
"Sure," I said and went to get my lunch. See, that's the wonderful thing about Tori. She can eat whatever she wants and will never gain a pound. It's nice for her, but I have to admit, I sometimes felt jealous since I have an agent who makes me run a few miles a day because I gained one pound.
One, not two, just one.
Ever since that one time, she's made me run almost every day to keep in shape and gave me a strict diet. One I broke last night with those fries and burger, but she won't ever know that.
"What do you want?" the lunch lady asked, staring blankly at me. Her flat tone showed off just how much she really likes this job of hers.
"Can I have a cheeseburger and a chicken salad, please?" I asked sweetly.
"$7.50," she said, handing me my lunch.
"Thank you and keep the change for yourself," I tell her, handing her a twenty-dollar bill, hoping it will brighten up her day a little. I walked over and handed Tori her burger, and I set down my own salad before heading off to make that call.
I had to call Mary back since I missed a call from her earlier. I stepped outside and dialed her number, waiting patiently for her to pick up.
"Hello," Mary said into the phone.
"Hey, sorry I missed your call. I was in class," I apologized.
"It's fine. I just wanted to let you know you're going to New York this coming weekend. We're leaving Friday."
I squealed from excitement.
"You can also tell Tori that she has been chosen to model one set, but since she doesn't have her wings yet, it will be only the swim line. It's the best Megan could get for her.”
I squealed again. "Oh, my gosh! Yes! I can't wait! I'll make sure to tell her. Thank you so much!"
I could hear the smile in her voice. "You're welcome. Now get back to class."
I nodded before remembering she couldn't see me. "Okay, see you later," I said before hanging up and squealing once more, jumping up and down.
I calmed down before going back inside, sitting in front of my salad. "I'm back; sorry, guys, had to call my manager for work.”
They nodded.
"Oh, and Tori, I have to tell you something important later, so make sure to meet me at my locker at the end of the day," I said, trying to hide my excitement.
"Okay and you're not going to believe this. My mom called me and told me I have to have dinner with her new boyfriend tonight. She thinks he's 'the one,'” Tori said, rolling her eyes.
I gave her an apologetic look. Her mom did that often, bringing home her boyfriends and claiming they were the one for her. It always sucked for Tori, since she lost her dad when she was little.
"I'm sorry, girl. Good luck and make sure to call me about it after," I said, standing up as the bell rang.
"See you later, Katy," I said before heading to science with Tori.
"Okay, I can't wait until the end of the day, so guess what!" I said, grabbing her arm and forcing her to stop and look at me.
"What?" Tori said, looking slightly amused as I was almost bouncing with every step I took. "I'm going to New York this weekend for the fashion show!" I whispered quietly.
"Oh, my gosh, you're so lucky!" Tori whisper-yelled. Then she winked at me. "See what I did there?" she added, making me laugh.
"I know right! But that's not it. My best friend, Tori, is going, too," I said, squealing.
This time, Tori joined in. "You're kidding, right? You have to be. There's no way I made it." She shook her head and I grabbed her hands, jumping up and down, not caring about the weird looks we were getting from passing people.
"Call Megan. She'll tell you," I said and she nodded.
"Uh, I totally will," Tori said before squealing, "I can't believe this is happening!"
She suddenly looked at me seriously. "You have one problem. What are you gonna do about Andrew all weekend?" Tori questioned as we began walking to our class again.
I frowned. "Forget about him. I can just tell him I won't be home, no big deal." I waved her off before letting a wide smile appear on my face. "We're going to New York, baby!" I whispered quietly, and she smiled so widely that I don't think it would disappear even if someone were to smack her right now.