THE UNMARKED GEM; A Girl Nobody Desired

Chapter 35: The trap

The first period came and Audrey dashed out of the classroom, she needed snacks for her metabolism, change might have been inevitable but it was not that easy and that quick. She briskly walked through the hallways ignoring the eyes and murmurs from other students, that little act of defiance going out to her first party had not done much in terms of elevating her social status. They were looking at something on their phones and laughing at her, probably that shot of her kissing with Mason or maybe that dress she wore to the party was terrible and like Ivy alluded, those around her enjoyed seeing her embarrass herself and chose not to tell her that getting out of her comfort zone was such a terrible idea. She shoved all that at the back of her mind, the focus was snacks. However, getting them was going to be problem. The shortest route to the canteen had human obstacles.

Preparations for the inter schools’ friendly games were underway, the boys’ soccer team was at it with the coaches barking orders, the players were sweating under the mid-morning sun trying to put final touches to those passing and shooting drills. Not a competitive fixture...big lie, winning would guarantee them respect and put to bed the fierce debate of who owned the western side of fort canon. Now to Audrey’s Problem, balls were being kicked from side to side and she didn't want to attract much attention by being hit in the face this time, also, now this was awkward, Mason was close by. It was a matter of patience, waiting for the right time to make it to the other end of the field where there was a canteen. But a growling stomach was hard to keep at bay and she had run out of patience.

"Don't even think about going through that way!" One of the coaches bellowed, he had a smirk on his face almost like he enjoyed making her life a bit harder.

She froze and attracted the very attention she was afraid of. Everyone around roared with laughter and even the training stopped. That wall of confidence she woke up with became perforated and fear started seeping in, she heard and saw them laugh from a distance as though she wasn't standing there in their midst. Mason was looking on, unlike everyone else he was not laughing, he just looked sad and concerned. As a matter of fact, he wanted to walk right to her and take her away but for some reason he didn't. It had something to do with the glares from the coach and team captain. Audrey didn't need him. It's not how hard you fall that matters, it's that strength to get back on your feet.

"You can do this"

A familiar voice echoed in her mind. Twice, the third time was charm, she exhaled sharply and gathered up enough courage, then like a girl possessed by that evil spirit in the horror movie the Nun she walked right towards the team, of course they formed a barricade to prevent her from going through that way, a path actually as if the training field was not big enough already. But that didn't stop her from approaching, possessed was what she was. When they realized she wasn't going to stop they split and let her go through. Now, it depends on how you view it. Was that a bold step, facing her fears and stepping up to her bullies...everyone else was going through the same way without a problem from either coaches or players...or was she being rude again? The bottom line is Audrey got her snacks and respectfully walked further from the soccer field and yet still her problems followed her there this time wrapped in a handsome face of Mason Klein, his hair suit black and jell soaked, sweating profusely in a black singlet with the initials of his name white shorts black and white socks with pink Nike soccer boots on his feet.

"Hey, wait up"

Audrey pretended not to have heard him when all she was doing was buying herself sometime to gather up enough courage to face him. Her lips trembled and she felt like she was walking in dream land where no one, not even Usain bolt the former world fastest man is fast enough.

"You know I'm faster, don’t make me ran after you" he said still following her, "that was brave back there, can we talk I have a big game coming and I can't concentrate when am feeling this much guilt"

He realized she wasn't going to stop so he sucked it up and ran after her despite that blatant reptile-like side eye from his Head coach. There was a punishment of course, some twenty push-ups and a couple of laps around the field which was fair enough besides they couldn't bench their best player in such a competition, his presence only sent shivers down the spines of their opponents before he even showed them magic.

"Hi, it's me, Mason, your mango friend"

"Don't pull that on me"

"Oh, she talks...Look I'm sorry for the kiss. It was weird and shouldn't have happened"

"But it did and you ignored the hell out of me the entire Weekend…"

"Because I was afraid of facing you"

"Klein!" The coach had enough, Mason was a man out of time and Audrey was yet to get convinced.

"I got to go see you after the game?"

"Okay. Good luck"

"Luck's for losers, only good planning matters. Bye!"

Mason didn't wait to be ordered to run the laps, he willingly started off right away while Audrey kept walking back towards the academic section. Like a drug administered intravenous that talk with Mason did the trick, he felt free and light. Light like a heavy burden had been lifted from her heart. About her weight, she was still a roughly eighty-kilo teenager with a BMI that would have had any cardiologist screaming their head off. Funny how she still wanted to be one and lived a life very opposite of what she wanted to be. Did it worry her? Sometimes but she didn’t have that push to change and she didn’t have to wait so long, it was coming, painful, messy and with consequences.

“Guess who” Tina said after she pounced behind her and blocked her eyesight.

“Who wouldn’t recognize your pungent perfume”

“Damn it this perfume” she picked up a handful of potato flecks in her right hand and send them down her mouth, Audrey was staring at her funny, “What?”

“You didn’t even wash those hands”

“Oh! b***h save me the sham you didn’t wash your too and besides you don’t wear make up so am not worried of diarrhea”

“Hmm, how was your weekend ghost?”

Tina had her finger in the air taking her time to chew and swallow. It was downing to her that she her hand was not as small as she thought it was or wanted it to be.

“One day, one f*****g day we didn’t talk and you think I ghosted you”

“Yeah, besides you left the party early”

“Guess who was too busy with his crush”

“A lie”

“I wanted to get home on time so I drove away peaceful enjoying the night breeze”

They sat on one of those benches in the garden further from everyone. It occurred to Audrey that perhaps Ivy was right about Tina lying that her car broke down. She was stuck between asking and risking being called petty and not asking and risk doubting her best friend. That night of the party she had barely survived that prank of a secret that could end their friendship, Audrey smiled unknowingly after the realization that indeed Tina and her were friends.

“look at this hopeless romantic”

“It’s not every time someone smiles they are thinking about love”

“Hunnie love is the strongest emotion, it changes people for better for worse, turns them into zombies and makes them loose their minds. Its okay to feel love…give me the juice”

“What juice, I just remembered. Your car had broken down, how did you get home?”

Tina laughed in a whimper and stuffed more flakes in her mouth. She had been friends with Audrey for long to know that they were not going to talk about anything else unless she gave her a meaningful explanation…something she didn’t have. I mean she had but it was just not yet time to tell her the entire truth.

“yeah about that, it was minor so I fixed it myself”

“I don’t take you for a grease monkey and cars don’t self-heal unless it’s a transformer. Are you driving a bumble bee or something?”

“That’s not important girl, the most important thing is we are here” she coyly touched Audrey knowing how uncomfortable it made her feel, “there are n classes after lunch, were watching soccer”

“Perhaps I failed to mention I’m not a soccer fan”

“My bad I should have known you hate the game and love the players” Teased Tina, Audrey understood that subtle jab immediately and looked at her despicably, “Its Werner school God damn it. I thought you hate that school more than I do and everyone who does will be watching them get knocked off their pedestal”

“Ill be there. Speaking of Werner school, ran into our mutual friend Sean on the road today”

“There you go again. Can we talk about something else”

“Like why you hate Sean for no reason…”

“No Reason? He is a lying piece of s**t, stinking poor and a cheat. He is only attending Werner school on a scholarship and he had the guts to not play with my feelings but try and use me to catapult himself to wealth, he is a louse, a tick and flea sucking money from whoever he attaches himself on who shouldn’t be living with animals and not people. My father might have forgiven him but I have not”

Well, now you know just like Audrey did. In that angry outburst she had gotten more information about Sean than she needed. It was not hard to imagine Tina and Sean as a couple, she was beautiful among the prettiest girls at Bridgetown and her taste in boys was also pathetic.

“I’m sorry. He just doesn’t look that bad”

“The devil is handsome. And you’re too kind and naive like I used to be a few months ago therefore an easy target. That’s why Ivy has managed to fool you into believing you two are family but don’t worry am not going to let anyone mess with you”

Audrey was officially stuck in a conundrum. First it was Ivy who was warning her against Tina and now Tina was warning her against Ivy. Who among the two had her best interest at heart?