Zenon's Game Chapter 39

Espresso poured through the thick foam of steamed milk, entwined with a caramel drizzle.  I inhaled the aroma of coffee to satiate my daily craving.

"Do you need a room?" 

Zenon broke through the tender moment I shared with my caramel macchiato.  He was watching me from the driver's seat of his car. 

If he thought I was weird before, it's definitely been confirmed now.

"Not if it makes us even more late for school," I said, eyeing the electric clock on his dashboard. 

8:02 AM

We're late.  

"Nowyou're concerned with time?  You didn't seem too focused on it before."

"That was the BC era.  Before Coffee," I said, reinventing the definition of the Latin calendar.

Zenon switched playlists and drove me to school, possessively making sure that I didn't get a speck of coffee on his fancy leather seats. I faked a spill once or twice, just to get to him.  I enjoy annoying him, like I used to this summer. 

These were rare moments. We've returned to our normal pre-summer-camp lives, where Zenon hanging out with me is a computational error. He had resumed his place at the top of the hierarchy. And when the view from the top is so beautiful, why would he ever come down?

That's why I enjoyed moments like these. Moments where I would forget that he was Zenon Albert, the basketball hotshot, and think of him as Zenon, my friend. They were rare. But they were special. 

Sort of.  He was still a pain in the a*s*s.

He pulled up to the front of the school steps. "You can get out here and I'll park."

"Why?  So that we won't be seen walking in together?"

He sighed, "So that you don't miss any more class than you already have. It's 8.11 and counting."

"Shoot," I cursed, unbuckling my seat belt and sliding out the door.

I ran towards the school's front steps but his voice stopped me.

"Candace," he called out through the open window, "You still think I'm embarrassed by you?"

I stopped and slowly, very slowly, nodded. Why does he care what I think anyway?

"Then come to a party Axel's throwing tonight," he said, "You can meet my friends."

"Tonight?" I exclaimed, "But it's a weekday!"

"I'll pretend you never said that."

Matt, the coffee bean barista, must not have class first period. What a win. I need to copy his schedule senior year. 

That's all I thought while I was begging my way out of another late-with-no-late-slip class entrance. I was mid-beg, when the door opened behind me and someone else walked in even later than me.

He didn't apologize. He went straight to an empty seat.

"Excuse me," the teacher said, interrupting my apology, "Last week I specifically said that I will not tolerate tardiness in this class."

"I wasn't here last week," he shrugged, making himself comfortable.

I stared at him alongside the entire class. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to give Zenon a run for his looks - but this guy was a challenger.  Brown hair that fell over hazel-green eyes.  A charming megawatt smile and a small nose piercing. (image above)

"You must be Jake, our new transfer student," the teacher realized. "Candace, will you just sit down? I'll deal with you later."

I realized then that the empty seat he sat in was the one next to mine. I received envious stares as I walked towards it. 

It's not my fault that no one ever wanted to sit next to me. I never begged to be so unpopular that the seat next to me would be free for any transfer students who looked like a hollywood bad boy. 

"Did you move from LA?" I asked him, as I took my seat. 

I thought I was being casual but apparently that's weird. 

"Minneapolis," he answered. "Did you randomly guess a city?"

Yes.

I felt nervous with his gaze on me.  He had tattoos inked on his arms, signs and symbols that I couldn't read. As the professor continued with class, I buried my head in my open book of Hamlet.

He smelt so good.

"Candace."

I looked up.  Was he going to ask me to marry him?

"Do you mind sharing? I haven't bought the book yet."

OK, so maybe not marriage.  But he did remember my name - which was rare.

I nervously pushed the book between us. Our fingers touched. I blushed violet.

"Thanks," he said, scooting closer to me.

He was smiling at my reaction to him. I guess because of my experience with Zenon, I thought all hot boys would be jerks.

What a pleasant surprise.

I was thinking about the party Zenon invited me to. Party at Axel's... What do I wear? 

I could use my 20% employee discount from the store, but the Lola Rae dresses would still be $300+. Think of that in terms of my Coffee Bean allowance. 75 coffees, almost 3 months supply!... which goes to show (a) how much coffee I drink and (b) how good my math is JK it's an expensive store.

"Hey Heidi," I put on a super friendly tone as I approached her that evening, "Do you have a dress I can borrow?"

She was on her laptop in the living room while my mother was doing pilates on a yoga mat nearby.

Heidi didn't even look up from her screen. "My dresses are not to be worn for nerd club." 

"It's for a party," I explained.

My mother extended her left leg and kicked it to the ceiling with a pointed toe. "Darling, you won't be able to fit into Heidi's dresses."

"It doesn't matter," Heidi said, "She's lying. There is no party tonight or I would know about it."