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Jeremy
Kind of. There’s a lot going on.
In my fantasy world, where Jeremy and I are dating and not just involved in this weird friendship, he sends me a thoughtful gift for Christmas. Something small and sweet that tells me he knows me. But that’s not reality. Besides, he’s away skiing in some Swiss resort with his family.
Anna
Send me photos of the snow. It’s just grey here.
And he does, beautiful photos of white, tree-lined mountains, pretty blue skies, and even a selfie of him in his goggles.
Jeremy
Not quite the science glasses LOL
We continue to text through the holidays, and I’m excited to go back to school. I’m sure, after the study session, and now Christmas, that things will change. They have to.
But they don’t.
He’s his usual self in the classroom, but outside, he’s a jerk. He doesn’t smile or acknowledge me.
Our game is getting old. And no matter how much I wished he’d change, it’s growing clear he won’t. He doesn’t have a problem with what he is doing. He gets to live both lives how he wants, but it’s not fair that everything is on his terms.
As a test, I work up the courage to pass him my biology test paper in the hall — the one he helped me revise for. He looks at me like he’s always done at school — as though he doesn’t know what I’m doing talking to him outside of a science class. No sign of the boy who held my hand through the end of Shawshank Redemption.
It’s hard on my heart, but the worst thing is I don’t know why he is being so cruel. So what if he gets stick from friends at school? If they are real friends, they won’t care that we are friends. And I’m not even asking him out. It’s pretty messed up.
He’s not been with anyone else publicly at school, and we still text all the time, so I’m pretty confident he doesn’t have another girlfriend. The rumours have even shifted towards — no doubt from some disgruntled girl — him thinking himself too good for any of the people at St Clare’s.
So, I form a new plan, one that distances myself. I don’t return the text messages so quickly. I feign a smile or two in class and leave before he can ask what’s wrong. And it kills me inside.
It takes a few weeks for him to catch up to my mood — five weeks after coming back from the Christmas break, in fact. But I’m not quite ready to give up — not completely. So, I send him a text, asking if he wants to come over at the weekend. He doesn’t respond.
And he doesn’t text me again for the rest of the week.
Maybe he’s fed up. Moved on. Whatever the reason, it hurts.
On Friday, I go up to him in the common room at break time, with all his friends around him. This is the ultimate test. The last time.
“Are you coming over tomorrow?” I ask out loud and cross my arms.
The guys around him start to laugh.
“And why would he do that, Little Miss Anna?” Derek chips in.
“Because we’re friends, and we hang out,” I state.
“Anna—” he starts, but I don’t want to hear it. I can tell from his tone that I’m going to be disappointed.
“No. Simple question. Simple answer. Yes or no?”
I hold his gaze, as I hold my breath, desperate for something, some sign that he’s not going to do this. But he just shakes his head and walks off. No answer, no explanation. But the guys don’t lay into mocking me as they would have in the past. They look confused.
And so am I. What’s the big deal about him spending time with me? Is his reputation that important to him? At least I know where I stand now. Absolutely nowhere when it comes to Jeremy Archer.
“Are you okay?” Sammy asks. “That couldn’t have been easy.”
I hadn’t told her my plan, but I know she will approve.
