Zenon's Game Chapter 114

"Are you crazy?" she responded, "That's where Draven works. AKA my ex-boyfriend who dumped me two weeks ago. I am not seeing that douchebag again."

But coffee.

My soul.

Hurts.

Heidi drove to school and left my soul in a coffee filter.

School had the usual morning bustle. I was taking my biology textbook out of my locker when he texted me.

You left home already?

Well hello. I texted back: First period starts in 5

Zenon: I've been waiting outside your house. Your mum said you were in the shower

LOL. My mum hasn't known my whereabouts since she lost track of my dad's.

I was about to close my locker, when I saw another text come in. He sent me a picture:

A photo of coffee in the cup holder of his car.

He'd gone to the Coffee Bean before coming to pick me up. That's why his car was gone when I looked for it this morning. My irritation disappeared and was replaced by guilt at doubting him.

In my defence, he's been a jack-a-ss so many times before, that I hadn't expected this from him. But I should. I should totally expect to be treated well.

I texted him: That's so nice! I didn't realize you were picking me up

Zenon: It's ok. I'll trade you that coffee for a kiss

Me: Deal.

I sat in biology, barely able to follow the class. It was too early to understand the Latin coming out of my teacher's mouth.

"A prokaryote is an organism without mitochondria-" Mrs Harris was interrupted by someone walking in. "Mr Albert, I don't believe you're in this class anymore."

Albert. Am I dreaming about him now?

"Sorry, Mrs B," he said in the voice that was unmistakably his, "Candace forgot her coffee."

My eyes shot open and I sat upright. He said my name. He said coffee. I stared at the handsome boy in front of the class. The boy I've kissed. The boy I've yelled at. The boy who dares to interrupt class with my coffee.

A confident, smooth-talking Zenon Albert. He caught my eye in his blue-eyed gaze and raised the cup in a small gesture.

A small gesture that meant so much more. It showed me that he took our deals seriously. Coffee for a kiss.

Twenty pairs of eyes turned on me. Chairs squeaked back so people could get a better look. The class was staring at me...

And I was staring at that coffee. My face lit up like a kid in Disneyland.

"Can't this wait until after class?" Mrs B asked Zenon, "You've interrupted my lesson for a very peculiar reason."

She wasn't angry. Mrs Harris was a friendly teacher who had taught Zenon biology last year. I could tell that she had grown fond of him.

"We both want your students to pay attention," Zenon replied, "And Candace's a zombie before caffeine. She can't help it."

That made Mrs Harris lecture me, "Well now that isn't healthy, Candace."

Thanks. Let's make this class discussion all about my unhealthy habits.

Mrs B gave Zenon a kind look and let him give me the coffee. She thought it was sweet of him.

In the silence of the classroom, he placed the coffee cup on my desk. There were a couple gasps as people realized that Candace was me. I was Candace.

He was a senior and I was a junior people forgot on the class register.

The sound of the coffee cup landing on my desk reverberated against the silent classroom.

Zenon said in his deep, husky voice, "I held my end of the deal..."

Right here? Mrs B was nice, but there's no way she'd let us make out. Right here. In front of everyone.

"So do I get that kiss now or later?" he said in a low voice.

"Later," I squeaked, my cheeks blushing at the stares we were getting.

He smirked.

"Alright, Mr Albert. That's enough. I'm sure you have class to get to now as well," Mrs B said, "And Candace, now that you've had your coffee, why don't you walk the class through your answer to question two."

My heart fluttered from his last words before he left. Audible chatter replaced the silence in our classroom. I just stared at the coffee cup in front of me. I couldn't believe what just happened. That's when I saw the name scribbled on the side of the coffee cup:

Candy.

I couldn't concentrate after that. The hours went by until lunch revived me. I ate lunch with Cynthia on the bleachers. It was getting cold, but I really didn't want to sit inside with everyone else.

"I feel like you're hiding from the inevitable," she said, wrapped up in three jackets and two scarves, "People are going to find out about you and Zenon."

"Some already have. He brought coffee into my class today," I said, stabbing my salad with a fork.

Rabbit food.

"No way. A declaration of love!" she exclaimed, making a whiplash sound, "Even when he was hooking up with Bianca he never-"

My expression made her retract her words, "OK, probably not a good idea to bring up his exes. Anyway, that's amazing. Bad boy gone good. I like it."

I never thought of him as a bad boy. He seemed like an obnoxious jock to me.

Five minutes before the end of lunch, and I was walking down an empty hallway. The sound of students in the cafeteria faded behind me the further down I went.

"Room 110... damn, I passed it..." I muttered to myself, reading the numbers on the blue doors.

I retraced my steps back. Classroom 108. This was the one.

I opened the door and walked inside. Bunsen burners and test tubes lined the shelves. The classroom shades sliced the light into strips along the floor.

Four minutes until the bell rang.

Someone closed the door behind me.

I wasn't alone.

Four minutes. Until then, I had four minutes alone with...

"How was that coffee?"