Zenon's Game Chapter 195

Jake and I were leaving when Yoona appeared next to Khloe and asked, "So did she say yes? Did you say yes, Candace?"

Yoona seemed nice. Out of all the LUCKY girls, she always seemed the nicest in my opinion. But then again, I didn't really know them.

"No," Khloe answered for me, giving me the once over.

Yoona replied, "That's such a shame. Would've been fun to have some girl chat."

I whispered to Jake, "Let's get out of here before more of them show I up."

He didn't need further encouragement. We headed out of the classroom and I overheard Khloe say, "I don't get how they match. Zenon's so serious and she's a clown."

Jake put his hand on my elbow, "Don't react to that."

I didn't. It shows how little they knew Zenon. Zenon is even more playful than me. People really think they know him, when all they know is his social media.

"OK Candace, do you want to explain this?" Jake asked as we walked into the school hallway.

He showed me his phone and opened our chat.

I read out loud the last text I sent him, "When you're seventeen and don't know what your dream is."

I sent him that after my date with Zenon yesterday.

"I don't know how to reply to these," Jake said, scrolling up to a few other similar messages.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked, "I'm sending you ideas I have for song lyrics."

"You've got to stop treating my phone like a notepad," he said before he read out another text, "A banana is a berry, but a strawberry is not."

"That was more for your information," I explained, "Like an FYI."

"Thanks, yeah, really needed that," he commented, "Or when you texted me that roasting coffee is like a dre-"

"Oh hey, look, a friend!" I waved at Cynthia who was rushing towards us.

She ignored my wave and announced, "I've come up with a plan to get my parents to agree to Dubai, but we're going to need adult participation!"

"OK, this is where I'm out," Jake waved, mocking the gesture I had just made.

"Wait, no, aren't you coming to Dubai too?" I asked him.

Surely, Bryce invited him for New Years' as well?

"No, I'm heading home in six hours," he told me.

"Dupont Ave?" I asked hopefully, already knowing I was wrong.

"Minneapolis," he said, "I'm spending the holidays with my mom."

He was already heading off down the hallway. I didn't know if this was the last time I'd see him before the new year, so I called out, "Happy holidays!"

I bit my lip, annoyed with myself. I shouldn't have said that so happily. Cynthia didn't know the back story, but Jake's mother hadn't been able to keep raising him, and that's why he came here.

"Can we focus on the situation at hand or are you going to start singing carols now?" Cynthia asked me.

"I wish I could sing," I said, pointing at Jake's retreating form.

"I'm not kidding over here," she said, "Have you even thought about how we're going to pay for the flights?"

"Do we have a plan?" she repeated.

"And when you say 'we', do you mean you and me?" I clarified, "Because on my end I got nothing."

"That's why I'm freaking out. We haven't even discussed outfits and are you going to be sleeping with Zenon?" she saw my surprised expression and added, "In the same room I mean."

"I don't know," I said, realizing that Cynthia was right. We were about to travel to another continent and I had no clue where or how.

I hadn't spoken to Bryce about any of this. I didn't know where his place in Dubai was or how many rooms it had. I hadn't even bought flights, which is the main problem, since I'm guessing they'd be very expensive right now.

"Well I can't share a room with a guy. My parents would never allow me to go on a trip like that, so I have to be rooming with a girl and if you're with Zenon, that leaves Bianca..." Cynthia left the words unspoken.

We both shivered.

"And Oma!" I added, perking up at the idea that Oma would be joining us to dilute Bianca's toxic vibes.

"You need to speak with Bryce," Cynthia told me, "Like ASAP. I'll look into outfits and I have to grovel to my parents for the plane tickets. But this is going to be incredible. I'm hoping that New Years' eve will end up with you and Zenon and me and Axel at midnight."

~Axel's POV~

What do I do?

This conversation's going to suck and there's no way around it. I've avoided Zenon and Bryce all day, but now's the end of the rope.

I walked into the parking lot and saw them near their cars. That front row parking made it an easy hangout to wait after school.

Music was playing out of Bryce's car and I wondered if his chef stocked up the mini fridge in his car-

Focus Axel.

But I'm hungry.

And I didn't want to dampen the mood, but I needed to speak with them.

~Axel's POV~

What do I do?

This conversation's going to suck and there's no way round it. I've avoided Zenon and Bryce all day, but now's the end of the rope.

I walked into the parking lot and saw them standing near their cars. That front row parking made it an easy hangout to wait after school. Music was playing out of Bryce's car and I wondered if his chef stocked up the mini fridge in his car-

Damn I'm hungry.

People were hanging out in the parking lot, enjoying the last day before winter break. You know what, maybe this isn't the end of the rope. Maybe the rope is a lot longer. Yeah. We can do this another time.