Love, Lust and A Baby

Wild Thoughts

Joan stared at me as though I had developed an extra head. 

"You can't be serious" she eyed me incredulously.  

I stifled a groan, trying to make my voice reasonable.

 "Believe me, Jo! you don't want to miss this for anything..." I paused "think about the fun, the sun, the new faces you'd meet, its just summer camp, not death row" I argued.

My best friend was devasted by my idea of spending the summer in a summer camp volunteering. Not her usual type of place. Usually, Joan is a people person, had a lot of friends and her idea of summer holiday would have been on a cruise, a beach where she could flaunt her perfect summer body, an exclusive resort where of course there would be plenty of young and handsome men or something that has to do with people our age. 

"Come on Al!" she pleaded making puppy eyes at me "how about we just go to Hawaii, she could meet a lot of people there and you know just have fun" she winked at me. 

"No!" I rolled my eyes plumping on one of my easy go chairs "my mind is made up"

I watched her closely as she struggled between friendship and sanity. 

"Ok..." she sighed "I'll go, but you owe me, big time babes, real big time". 

I squealed with delight as I crushed her in a bear hug. I had no idea why I wanted to go volunteering. Not that I needed the money, I just needed a break from everything; from my breakup, from the internet and maybe from people. A summer retreat may not be the perfect solution, but it might work.

"Okay!, so what's next," she asked me flopping on the bed. 

"Well..." I paused "a while ago I was browsing through the internet for openings and one particular summer camp caught my eyes" I stood up, grabbed my laptop from my dresser and walked towards the bed flopping beside her. 

"Its called CHESTNUT BEAVER CAMP few miles from home but within MA". The camp is going to be something more of your style cos it has a lot of facilities according to what I read and saw on their website" I finished showing her the website.

she dragged my laptop to her side of the bed as she scrolled through the pictures of the camp. 

"It's perfect" she whispered, her "meet Joan" smile playing on her lips. 

"cool, I will just apply for the both of us then," I said, bringing the laptop back to my side of the bed.

***

I looked up from my laptop where I was applying for as summer counsellor for I and Joan; thank God for the internet. 

Joan had thrown a pen at me. She made a what are you thinking gesture in the air. 

"Nothing" I mouthed. 

The application had a lot of questions and I didn't want to let Joan know else, I might just say goodbye summer camp.

She covered her mouthpiece with one hand and shouted from across the room.

"do you think you can register Paul, Amy and three other people?". 

WTF...typical Joan. In seconds I crossed the room, collected the phone and threw it on the coffee table on my room after ending the call.

"Joan!" I was almost screaming.

"This whole summer camp thingie is supposed to be just me and you not the whole f*****g MA" I took in deep breaths trying to control the anger boiling inside me. Is it too much to just want your friend to yourself? 

Joan simply stared at me with her perfectly arched brow slightly raised. 

"Hey, girl! you need to chill okay" she shrugged her shoulders "if you want to go with just me, just say it what's with the drama" she queried slightly. Speaking into her phone.

"That's what I just said" I threw my hands in despair. My friend is something else.

I finally finished with all the application processes and looked up to see Joan pacing my room, she was on the phone arguing heatedly. 

"I am sorry Tris, but we have to break up because I am going to cheat on you" She paused again.

"I'll be gone for a couple of weeks and I don't want a death sentence hanging on my neck because I am in a relationship" she rolled her eyes "I won't ever miss an opportunity to have fun, so please just forget about me and remember I love you" she hung up the phone. 

"Whew!" she laughed "that's the longest relationship I have ever been in". 

"Are you alright?" I asked her worried that she may be trying to cover up her grief. 

"Y-yes, I am fine" she eyed me momentarily before looking down at her phone.

"Babes! you just broke up with your boyfriend and you're looking all cosy and warm" I exclaimed. 

"Listen to me..." she started. She had her lecture face. 

"We're just dating, having fun, making out and doing normal things people do at our age; a lot of breakups come with this age and it's the fun in being 19" she finished. 

"you have to loosen up Al, get laid, get drunk and act normal; you're wasting your beauty" she grimaced going back to her phone.

15th July 2017

I hated Mondays, and Mondays hated me. I had Trig for the first period, my brain and I were not in the mood to deal with numbers. I sighed as I closed my locker, trying to look less miserable.

"Hi ..." deep green eyes stared at me, I wondered how long he had been standing there. 

I tried to say Hi back or maybe hello, but I knew I'd cry. 

"I know you're angry with me," he said softly " if you'd just give me 5 minutes, I'll show you how sorry I am". 

"You liar!" I screamed silently. I ain't spending a minute with you listening to all your lies.

"Maybe after school, I've got Trig now" I heard myself say. what is wrong with me?.

"Hi" a blond cheer-leader stood in between me and Archie, she was very beautiful.

"last night was great Arch" her hands roamed around his chest stopping briefly at his n*****s.

Archie had a gentle smile on his face as he regarded the flirtatious girl. It would have been better I disappeared because both parties pretended like I wasn't there.

"Last night was great, perhaps later, I am with my woman" Archie removed her hands from his chest.

"C'mon Arch, why you hang out with this junior and a total loser beats my imagination, what on earth do you see in her?" She eyed me up and down.

"Brenda..."Archie growled "careful what you say about my girlfriend".

"Oh...spare me" she rolled her eyes at me.

"See you at Chemistry" she stood on her toes and planted a kiss on Archie's lips; the nerves!.

"So long grinch," she told me and stalked away. 

I regarded Archie whose eyes were fixed on the disappearing figure.

"Sorry about that, she's in my class" he explained.

"Absolutely fine" I shifted the weight of my book to the other side of my body.

"Al...I owe you a lot of explanations, I tried my best to be there yesterday but...".

"Archie..." I interrupted "it's totally fine for you to miss my birthday, not like I am the most important thing in your life". I tried to hide the tears at the back of my throat.

"Al..." He started again.

"It's fine Archie, I'll see you after school" I interrupted gently.

"Okay babe, see you after school," he said kissing me on both cheeks. 

I watch his retreating figure as the tears welled up in my eyes. I didn't think I'd be able to face what was going to be the outcome of whatever he wanted to tell. 

***

"What's up, babe?" Joan whispered to me as soon as the Trig's teacher's back was turned.

"I saw Archie" I replied defeatedly.

Joan covered her hands in my trying to soothe.

"The bastard!" she cursed. 

"What is his excuse this time around?".

"I didn't bother to hear him told him we will meet after school". I replied.

"Miss Pat, it seems you understand the lesson more than I do, would you be so kind as to come to explain to us how knowledgeable you are?". The trig teacher had a smile that didn't reach his eyes.

"I am sorry sir, I was just asking Joan for an extra pencil" I lied trying to look remorse.

"It's either you just love using a pencil or this is the only line that comes to your head every time?" He had the evil grin again.

"Sir, I...".

"Sir, if I may, my friend Allie is going through a lot now, yesterday was her birthday and no one in her family remembered". Joan interrupted.

Everyone was making sympathetic noise as they regarded me with pity. 

"Is that true?" the Trig teacher asked with pity written all over his eyes.

"Yes," I whimpered as a tear slipped to my cheek.

"I am so sorry dear" he patted my back. 

"Do you want to go home?" he asked again.

"No, I am really fine, I need to be around people especially".

"Okay," he nodded and continued with the lesson.

Long after Trig, Archie's calls came in sporadically and text messages asking me where I was. 

For once, I needed to be happy, so I turned off my cell phone. 

I never met him after school; a tit for tat just like how Joan would say it.