Page 13 of You + Me – Against the World

It makes me smile, and I hesitate to throw the message into the water swirling down the toilet. In the end, I carefully fold it back up and tuck it away, then close my eyes as a thrill of excitement creeps up the back of my neck.

I leave the restroom and dash across campus to get to my next class, where I finally track down Clémentine.

“I don’t believe it! Stuff like this only happens to you. It sounds like a romantic comedy with a hint of drama.”

“Yeah, well, I’m not really sure I want to be the heroine.”

“Yes, you do, it’s going to be amazing! Usually in the movies, the girl falls for the bad boy but only realizes it when she sleeps with the nice guy. It sucks of course, so she ends up telling Mr. Nice Guy she can’t marry him.”

“I’m not going to sleep with anyone, and I’m definitely not marrying anyone!”

“Ah, so sex is more likely… just not with the person we’d have thought. You’ve already got it bad, Alma!”

“What do you mean?”

“Take a guess!” she yells in the middle of class.

“Shh! Clem, I’ve known you for fifteen years, and you still haven’t mastered the art of whispering!”

“Lancaster, D’Aragon, I’m not holding anyone prisoner here. If you’re not interested, you can leave,” snaps Mr. Abrams, who is clearly not having a good day.

“Sorry, Professor, that was me,” Clémentine says with a smile.

“Do I look like a cop? I don’t care if you own up to your crimes. Just like I don’t care if you skip class. Lancaster, you need to tell your partner that he’s throwing his year away. I’m not the one paying your tuition, though. D’Aragon, can we resume, or do you have more yelling to do?”

“I think I’ll be fine,” she replies, holding back a fit of giggles.

Vadim didn’t set foot on campus again for the rest of the day. I still have no end-of-term project to present, still haven’t achieved my third goal of the day, and still haven’t decided what to do tonight.

After class, Clem and I go hang out at the Sunset with the basketball players for a bit. She drags me there because she’s infatuated with Cassius Banks, a tall, sweet Black guy with little dreadlocks that bounce around on his head. “The most ripped arms on the whole team and the nicest butt,” according to my friend. Tank tops that are way too loose and baggy pants worn way too low, according to me.

But sitting next to Tim, I find I can’t get into the conversations going on around me. The schedule for the season’s upcoming games, the captain’s legendary dunk, the new cheerleader’s feats, and the latest Jordans with crazy cushioning… I’m indifferent to it all. Even the gossip about the coach dating a player from the women’s team doesn’t interest me. And Tim’s fully loaded new car only makes me think of Vadim Arcadi’s old beater.

Everything makes me think of him.

Why doesn’t he even have a light in the cab of his pickup? Is that part of the trap?

I sit there, swinging my legs and listening to the discussion without joining in. From afar, I watch Clémentine playing with Cassius’s dreadlocks. He doesn’t seem to mind the attention. From time to time, I feel Tim’s hand caressing my back, my side, my thigh. I discreetly dodge it.

Why did I let Vadim pull on my cardigan when I knew what he might do?

The conversation loops endlessly around the usual subjects: sports, money, parties, and romance. I don’t remember it ever bothering me before. I think I was even kind of proud to be the girlfriend of the captain, the best player, the cutest and most popular guy on the team. Proud that he chose me, happy to be able to fit in, content with the idea of having someone to protect me, to guide me.

Why has that one hour locked in a car, deep in conversation, started to make everything else feel superficial, bland, and uninteresting?

I’m bored. I’m suffocating. I wonder what I’m doing here, suddenly feeling like I don’t belong. So, I get up and pull Clem by the arm, dragging her with me to the restroom.

“Clem, how about we say we’re doing a girls’ movie night tonight?”

“Ah, so you’ve made up your mind!”

“I think so…”

I see the pride in her eyes.

“I’m done with being here. Do you want to go?”

“You’re joking! Cassius Banks is this close to kissing me!”