Good News
"Omigosh! You can't be serious!" Carrie screamed. Loud enough for all the students down the hall to hear. Loud enough that some of them were staring ar us. "Sheesh Carrie. Calm down! You're gonna get us sent to the nut house if you keep screaming like that!" I hated it when everyone stares at my direction. Doesn't matter if they're staring at me or not. If I'm anywhere near that place, they should find another spot to lay their attentions on.
"Okay, okay. I'll pipe down a lil'. But, are you serious? We're going on a vacation together? Down by the beach? In a resort? With no adults? Together? For free?"
"Yes." I could see that she was going to let her imaginations run wild again. I've only known her since forever. Carrie is the type of person that gets really excited easily. It's probably a good thing, especially if you had to get a whole group of people to respond to your crap. I remembered there were a few times when I tried to stuff the right amount of enthusiasm into everyone's head. Unfortunately, people these days are just too hard to please. All I got in response was the 'stare'. Carrie was the only one who hooted and jumped around. I'm not sure if she was doing it just to save me from the humiliation of being ignored infront of almost the whole student body or because she really thought that my crap was going to work out and be fun. But, it could be a bad thing too. Imagine someone next to you jumping up and down for nothing. Okay, maybe it's not for nothing, almost nothing would sound better. All the stares you get from people you know and you don't know. Imagine the lines running through their head, the mental notes made. Do not get too close with these creeps. I could just hear it screaming inside those heads when I pass by. But still, Carrie's the best of friends you can find.
"Bree, this is so awesome! I can't wait to tell my Mom. She'll definitely say yes. Oh, this is gonna be great! I can imagine it already." Bingo. Carrie was already staring into space, imaginations running wild. She's a wonderful friend. But, sometimes, you have to stop her from becoming too imaginative. Usually, I have to do that job.
"Carrie, snap out of it. We're gonna be late for class. Josh, are you there?"
No response. I really wonder what's up with Josh these few days. Sometimes he's so alert, and sometimes, he's so zombie-like. I was still trying to wake him up when suddenly, BAM. He hit his face at an open locker door. Everyone down the hallway were laughing. I would have laughed too if I hadn't known him. But, he was my friend. Swallowing back our laughters, Carrie and I helped him up and stand on his feet before we moved on.
"Sheesh Josh. What's up with you these days? You look like you've been abducted by aliens and lost all your...Josh? Hello? Can you hear me?" Alright, this is really starting to annoy me. I may not like attention much, but I definitely do not like being ignored by my best friend.
"Maybe he really was abducted by aliens from Mars!" snickered Carrie. Carrie's trying to make it seem like she's joking around, but behind those eyes, she's really worried. I mean, who doesn't? Your best friend who is usually a chatterbox is acting weird lately. Wouldn't you feel worried?
Josh was totally blank. Nothing at all. No response. No nothing. Just blank. It was as if we didn't existed. Like he was the only person in the hall. "Hellooo? Earth to Josh." I cupped my hand to make it look like I'm speaking through a walkie-talkie. Still no response. Irritated, I looked around, searching for whatever he was so focused on. That's when I saw it. Finally. A rational answer to his weird behaviour. A girl. Georgina Raveolli. The new transfer student from Atlanta. I don't really know her yet, but they say she's really smart. A genius. Beautiful, attractive, tall, slim and a genius. No wonder Josh's been a zombie. He's been hypnotized. I made a mental note to myself. Get to know her. We have a few classes together, maybe I should get to know her more. Maybe Josh would finally be human again instead of zombie. That is, if I had enough details to wake him up. Carrie understood immediately when she met my gaze. This is an emergency. It's time to de-zombie-fy Josh!
"Josh, if you don't snap out of it now, we're gonna tell her." Carrie said in a threatening voice. That did the trick. Josh was finally awake. Fi-nal-ly.
"Hey there, we thought we lost you for a while. When did this start?"
"Start? When did what start?"
"Oh, you know what we're talking about."
"As a matter of fact, I don't"
"Yes you do. Better spill it before Bree goes over there." Carrie's head was pointed at Georgina's direction. She's such a good actress. Maybe she should audition for the next school play. But, no matter how good her acting is, I'll always know if it's realy or not. Apparently, I have telepathic senses.
"Seriously, guys, I mean girls, I don't know what you're talking about at all!"
"Oh really? Carrie, why don't we invite Georgina to sit with us during lunch today? I'm sure Josh is fine with it. Right, Josh?" I could feel the smugness on my face. This may sound cruel, but I'm actually enjoying doing this. Really. We should do this more often. Josh is such an easy target. All you need is just a little threat and you'll get the info you need. Just a little more, and he'll spill the beans.
"Sure, no prob. I'll ask her later after class. Bye guys, gotta run. Seeya at lunch!" With that, Carrie ran down the hall, laughing.
"Carrie, wait! I.."
"What's wrong Josh? Can't wait to see Georgina?"
"Bree, I.."
"Don't worry, we'll make sure everything goes well. That's the only way to keep you alive."
Uhm, thanks. How'd you know?" See? I told you so. He always tell after a little threat.
"How'd I know what?"
"That I uhm, I, er, er, have a crush on Georgina?" Bingo. Again. My telepathic senses are working better than I thought they would. Which is great. I felt like laughing, but it would be really rude, and that would only hurt his feelings. But, seeing Josh stutter the words out was really funny. Too bad Carrie's not here. She would have enjoyed it. "Oh, I just know. Girl instincts. Besides, you've been my best friend ever since goodness knows when. Of course I know what you're thinking."
"Thanks Bree. But, can you do me a favour?" A favour? If it doesn't involve assassinating anyone or doing things I don't like, sure.
"Sure. What is it?"
"Don't tell Georgina that.."
"Oh, don't worry about it. We're not telling her anything. Yet. Relax. She won't be here during lunch. We'll find another time for you."
"Thanks. You can't imagine h-..wait, hang on a sec. Georgina's not gonna have lunch with us? Why?"
Boys. When will they ever learn? That move will only frighten her, which will probably end with bad results. Really. Guys should really learn more about girls before doing anything they might regret. "Because we barely know her yet. And, it would frighten her if we suddenly drag her to our lunch table and try pairing the both of you together."
"You told Carrie to invite her to sit with us for lunch. Not drag her over to our table." Sheesh, he sounds so sad. Maybe, if I said hello to her in class..Ugh. Cut it. No way. Too soon.
"Invite or drag, it's still gonna be the same. So stop complaining. We'll ask her when it's the right time. C'mon, we're gonna be late." Hmm, scratch that. We're ALREADY late. Mr. Barks should be in class by now. I wonder if there's a way we could sneak into class without being noticed. It's only the beginning of the day, and starting it with some lecturing from Barky is not what I intended to do.
"Okay then. But you promise that you'll ask her tho?" Josh sighed.
"Yes. I promise. Now let's go, Mr. Barks is so gonna bark our heads off this time!" And we started running all the way back to class.
