Chapter 5/

The laughter went for approximately 2 hours, including the times when we went out of class and were heading to our lockers.
Maybe they weren't laughing, I thought to myself, maybe it was my head that was radiating different sorts of snorts and giggles. Yeah, maybe it was my hormon impairments.
Chyeah, right.
A redhead with big nerdy glasses held on to a guy with a unibrow for laughing too hard. Okay, even if I did like Tom, it wasn't that funny. Anyway, the overall picture was that I had made myself a fool on the very first day of school.
"Uhm," the recognized voice was directed behind me as I grabbed my books and was heading out the door, "I'm sorry for the..."
I turned around slowly, to really avoid his gaze. "Tom, I'm sorry I even started this. I'm just - "
"You shouldn't apologize," and that's when my eyes crept to meet his, "it's your first day at Zelcosh and you're made known for something so embarrassing."
It was silent, before I realized what he meant.
"Oh my gosh, no. I don't mean like it's humiliating for someone to like you. In truth, I don't see how anyone could not like you." I said softly, and placed a palm on his shoulder as his head was slumped down.
"Everyone says that, but nobody really means it." Then he started looking up and walked away. That was awful, those kids laughing at him. Or me. But I think, the worst part was that I wasn't the victim.
Well, not really, since I never really let it get to me. But clearly, he did. Let his guard down, and let the whole thing get to him. Things like these never cease to end. They just keep coming to ambush you and lower your self-esteem.
I walked away after him too, and went for a search for Becks. As I was heading for 708, Jen was already there by her locker, looking at the mirror hung by her locker door. She looked like she just came out of a runway model than a bored-to-death class, and she looked so pristine and polite. I'm just wondering if she is, besides her aerosol spray for that hair that is consequently spoiling the world.
I decided, maybe, to just go up and say hi. Walking to my locker, I opened the door to face her and dropped my apple that rolled to her heel. Aw man, what now? Kneel down and retrieve it?
Jennifer bent down after knowing something hit her, grabbed it up, looked around, spotted me, and gave me a dirty look.
"What?" she demanded.
I closed the door to get a better view of her since I was peering at her through the holes in the locker door that provided me only a view of her brows, her nostrils, and her upperlip. But it did look pretty good then, too.
I shrugged indifferently, "That's mine, and I'm sorry for, letting it roll." I tried to joke.
Operation: failed.
"Ugh, klutz. I hate klutz. Just, take it." And she one-handedly threw the apple towards me and it hits me on the chest.
"Oh, ow, uh thanks."
As she turned away, her mouth that was a snarl automatically turned upside down and she smiled her best at the reflection shining back at her. I opened the locker door and smacked my forehead, loathingly threw that stupid apple back at the back of the locker, grab some more books and whispered, "Drama queens, I hate drama queens. Just, put a sock in it." Then I shut the locker door, and walked away to my next class without glancing a look at you-know-who.
"Delia!"
Huh?
"Wait up, Delia!" Becks shouted.
Great, now Jennifer knows my name and can now attach my name to a voodoo doll and stab me to death. If she knew how to spell Delia, of course.
"Yeah, Becks, I'm waiting." I stopped walking without looking back, and within seconds, she was right next to me. And she wasn't even gasping.
"Guess what?" she gushed.
"No, what?"
"I'm in the cheerleader's team!" she screamed. I wanted to puke at the obscence of the scene reeling in my head, but I congratulated her anyway. "Wow, girl, work it!"
And she did, as she pulled off a few dance moves.
"I mean," I dished out, "not now."
"Oh." and she stopped.
*
"Hi, I'm Lauren."
I shook her hand and said, "Hi, I'm Delia. Nice to meet you."
We unfold our hands and without any hesitations, she asked, "So are you going out with Tom?"
My throat tightened then. Jerks. She just came to ask me that, what was her issue? "Well, are you going out with him?"
She rolls her eyes, "Pfft, no." And she swishes her hair like it's such a stupid question. "So, are you?"
We were in the science lab, and I was partnered with this girl that had interest only in one thing: Gossip.
I could see it in her eyes, that went and scanned the whole room, afraid that anyone would eavesdrop. I know why, either. So she could be the one who's spreading the news, if I was really dating Tom.
Which, I wasn't.
"No, I'm not." I smiled warmly at her, "and now, let's get back to this acidic solution here." I swiveled the chair to face back to our apparatus, but unfortunately, she wasn't done asking.
"What? You sound like you wanna." she slaps her hand on the table and her soft green eyes shot me like a laser. And my mouth was clammed again. I didn't even know what to say. "I'm just asking. Why? You look so disturned, so alerted, so...guilty..." she added.
"Oh, just shut up, Lauren! I barely knew you, let alone tell you whatever you think that comes out of my mouth are just lies!" I said, pretty loudly. The whole class didn't quieten down, because I wasn't loud enough. But that had put Lauren into a very amazing mode, she actually did shut up.
"I was just asking..." she said softly now, and didn't look at me. Then she poured some acid into the alkali and we started working in silence.
"What's wrong with Tom?" I asked, involuntarily. "It's okay if you don't wanna answer."
Screw that, because as I said that, she really took it seriously. She didn't talk to me ever since then.

The dance club thing was still whirring in me. Do I really want to join? Maybe it wasn't my thing after all. Or maybe it'd be too difficult.
Maybe, it was going to be too easy since I've had ballet to the 5th grade, and stopped because I had hip-hop lessons.
And then changed to ballroom dancing.
So, what is Adam L. going to contribute? New style of dancing? If he was, I would join. If he isn't, then I'd probably need to wringe my brain for another new club.
It said in the poster that I could approach Ms. Jan. So maybe, I would. You know, just to know what's going on in the club and whatnot.
Becks came up to me then during free period, when she crept into my class and started making origami.
"I'm so excited, Cheer Practice is on for tomorrow."
"Oh wow, well, good luck to you and break a leg!" I whispered, as everyone else didn't notice that Becks was in the wrong class.
"Huh." she snorts, "Like I need any." And then she stares at me intently, before we laughed.
"What're you making?" I offered a question as she flopped and iron another crease with her fingers. The day had so far, gone out to be unproductive, with a pinge of drama here and there.
My first day of school, history.
"Idk." she said back.
"Do you like abbreviations that much?"
"And what's with the big words? ABBREVIATIONS? Dude."
I kept quiet at that.
"You know, I can kinda tell you're pretty troubled by today." she said indifferently. "Just chill. Everyone gets it."
I couldn't take it anymore, the surge that was rising to tell her all the awful things that happened to me. "Number one: I'm rumoured to be dating my buddy."
"Mohawk guy?"
"Yeah, mohawk guy slash my granola biter."
She looks at me like I was insane and get back at her origami. "Number 2:" I continued, "my apple dropped, rolled and landed on Jen's heels. She gave me the monkey face and if I was not mistaken, she actually notice my existence. And does not appreciate it."
"Monkey face?"
"Not the point, Becks."
"Wait, like this?" And she shows me a pretty horrendous version of her cute face. And I started laughing out loud, and she hurriedly compose her face to normal again before anyone sees.
"S..sure, number 3: I've made history in this school in my very own first day."
She didn't comment on that. And after awhile, she presents me her unicorn origami, which I must say, is pretty impressive. I've never been interested in paper folding, or sports like golf that includes swinging a small white ball to a faraway distance;dusting dust off the way, or even drawing when I know I can't and my drawings are thus being thrown away or recycled.
"Delia, maybe you should see it in another different light. You know it's going to die down, the rumours, I mean. Besides, it's not a big deal. They say you're going out, but you're not. So really, who's the dumb one here?"
"I'm guessing it's them."
She nods her head like she knows it all. "And about the apple rolling thing, who cared. Maybe if she dropped an apple, rolled it and it landed on your heels and you're having a bad day, you're probably going to flip too." she smiled assuringly and laid her arms on my shoulder.
"Becks, she was checking herself out on her mirror. I don't think she was really having a bad day if she's checking herself out."
"Okay, so scratch that. Can you just accept the theory that she's a bitch and if you let an apple rolling on her heels get to you, she's probably flipping with excitement now." She says, her eyes widening and she starts shaking her hips.
Which looked weird.
"Or," I suggested, "she might just be getting a mani/pedi."
She nods her head, "True."
I thought for awhile as she started another origami. There were a few more minutes left before our last lesson before we can go home. Becks' right. If I let an apple-rolling thing get to me, then I'm probably going to handle a lot of things in the future, as they're so petty. And then maybe get shipped into anger or stress management because my life would be pretty messed up then.
And no, I don't want to spend my life in rehab like Amy Winehouse, thank you very much. I'd rather drink Starbucks with my peers and go and watch guys with their antics.
Or maybe watch The Kardashians on E!. They're entertaining, you know? And it makes you realize what an amazing and sane life you have. Not that they're insane, they're just...actually, they are insane.
"Thanks, Becks." I hugged her with one arm and she hugged me back. "Anytime, babe."
I smiled as the minutes tick and last period was starting. "Hey D," she randomly says with a bolt of energy in her voice, "maybe you should elect yourself as class president."
I looked at her blankly, like '-.-'.
"Yeah, maybe."