A Game of Love

Chapter 1

ANIKA

"Don't be such a party pooper, Anika. C'mon, drink this!" I sighed. Here we go again. How many times do I have to tell them that I don't drink alcohol?

I was really right. I shouldn't have agreed to this stupid idea. I really didn't want to attend this party. I don't even know who's party it is. I should be sleeping now, it's past my bedtime. ugh!

I was in my room when these three went to our house uninvited. They even lied to my parents and told them that it's a compulsary team bulding and anyone who will join will get an extra credit from one of our professors. And because they like Carlie so much, they actually believed her. So here I am, watching them get drunk and enjoy this 'awesome' party.

Rolling her eyes, my bestfriend Carlie took the bottle of beer that was for me and drank it straight.

"You guys know that this Virgin Mary doesn't drink anything with alcohol, right?" she said while shaking her head. She really knew me that well.

I was about to say something, but she pointed her finger at me as if saying that they already knew what I was going to say.

"Thank you, Car. We don't want to hear her lecture about the pro's and con's of drinking alcohol, blah blah blah." my other bestfriend, Jonas commented.

But Stacey groaned and protested.

"You guys should stop treating her like a baby. For God sake, Anika, you're already 17 and you're still depriving youself of drinking alcohol? Trust me, A, alcohol ain't that bad." she told me while trying to hand me over a beer again.

"She's right, Anika. You should try to act as a normal teenager sometimes." Jonas commented.

"I am pretty normal, thank you very much." I playfully told him.

"Yeah. She is. Wake up, shower, eat, go to school, home, doing home work, sleep. That's her f*****g daily routine. And that's normal for a boring nerd like her." I gave Stacey a stern look when I heard her say that.

I am not a nerd. I just really need to study hard because I need to retain my scholarship. And I am not into socializing. I'd rather read a book in my room than socialize with people I don't know.

"Stace, no." I smiled. There's my savior over there. I know Carlie is always on my side. "Anika is not a nerd. She's just uhm, boring." now it's Carlie's turn to be the receiver of my pointed look.

She looked at me while chuckling.

"They have a point, A. We all know how important that scholarship is, but we still have a week before the school starts. And this will be our last party before going back to our boring student lives. So why don't you try to loosen up and have fun." she said.

She has a point, I know. I just stayed home during our school break, and this is the first time that they were able to drag me to a party.

"Drink this." she handed me a bottle of beer.

I was still contemplating when I heard them chanting.

"Drink it, drink it, drink it, drink it, drink it, drink it!" oh wow.

I took a deep breath before I took the bottle of beer from Carlie.

I tried to take a sip but I almost spit it out because of how it tasted.

"Ew, it tastes awful! How could you even drink this?" I whined.

"Because you're thinking that it tastes like that. Why don't you try imagining that you're just drinking your favorite soda?" Really Stace? Who will fall for that? It doesn't taste like soda!

"C'mon baby girl, drink it." Jonas encouragingly told me. "It won't hurt, I promise."

"Listen to Stacey, Anika. Try to stop thinking that you don't like the taste and drink it straight. Trust me, you'll enjoy it." it was Carlie's turn to give me some words of encouragement.

And because I knew I wouldn't win, I closed my eyes and drank it straight.

Oh. That wasn't so bad. It tasted weird, but in a nice way.

I heard my friends cheering for me and when I opened my eyes, I was shocked to see our other classmates were also clapping their hands when I finished drinking it. How supportive, lol.

Jonas and Stacey hugged me while jumping and clapping. When I looked at Carlie, she was looking at me proudly.

Wow, that felt good. For the first time in my life, I felt so free. Well, not because of the alcohol but because I deprived myself for I don't know how long of something that I might actually enjoy. They were right. I really need to loosen up and have fun sometimes.

"And since our baby girl is now drinking and having fun, why don't we try to hook her up with someone tonight! Then bid your goodbye to your virginity!" Jonas excitedly said.

I gave him an incredulous look.

Was he out of his mind? They all know that I wouldn't do that. As in NO! NEVER!

My virginity is sacred. I will just give it to someone I truly love and the one that I want to be with for the rest of my life.

"Looks like our little baby is protesting, but I'd agree with her, Jonas. It's too early for us to lure her in darkness. And I do believe that she wouldn't give her virginity to someone she just met in a party. She just learned how to drink alcohol, give her some time and she'll give in. Baby steps, Jonas, baby steps." I frowned. How could they talk about virginity as if it's just an ordinary thing to lose. They should learn how to be a little sensitive sometimes.

I was about to say something but they all got silent and looked at the front door.

When I saw why they all stopped talking, I shook my head. Just because the jocks and cheerleaders are here, they really stopped what they were doing to just look at them? Pathetic.

"Oh my God, did you see how handsome and sexy Mike is? Did you see the way he looked at me? I think he's about to take my virginity this evening!" I winced when I heard Jonas' comment. Seriously?

"First of all, Mike isn't into guys, Jonas. He's straight. And second of all, you lost your virginity to some girl when we were still in grade school." I chuckled when I heard what Carlie said. She was right. I can still remember how Jonas cried when he realized that he actually had s*x with a girl. He was drunk and he didn't know what he's doing that time. He thought he was making love with his boyfriend.

"But he's right. I'd totally DO Mike if given a chance. Did you see how big his feet are? It just means that his—" what the hell?

"Oh my God, Stacey. Stop fantasizing about him. Did you guys forget that he has a girlfriend? Monique, remember? Beauty queen Monique, straight A-Monique, head cheerleader Monique. Ya'll know how perfect she is and Mike wouldn't you over his girlfriend." if I didn't see how devastated they looked because of Carlie's comment, I would actually agree with her.

Who wouldn't choose Monique over anyone? We all know how popular, gorgeous, smart, sexy, and rich she is. And even though we're classmates, we're not in speaking terms because she only speaks with her friends and with the people that she likes.

"Wow, thanks for ruining our dreams, Carl." Jonas sarcastically said.

"You're very much, welcome."

I was listening to my friends and how they bicker when I accidentally saw Monique and Mike kissing. Well, they're at the table across us and I got the perfect seat for the perfect view.

I know that it's rude but I couldn't help glancing at them especially when I saw Monique looking at me while she was kissing her boyfriend.

I tried to look at the back to check if I was just imagining that she's looking at me. Maybe she's looking at someone else.

I looked at them again, and she's still looking at me. I creased my forehead as if asking why she is looking at me like that when she was having an intimate moment with her boyfriend.

I just shook my head and looked away. I tried listening to my friends, but I couldn't help myself and glanced her way again.

She's now drinking a beer and it's as if she felt someone's looking at her, she looked at me again and before I looked away, I saw her smirked.

I nervously took a bottle of beer and drank it straight while trying to forget what just happened.

But seriously, what the hell was that?