Zenon's Game Chapter 46

Mondays are brutal. 

I wasn't quite ready for school. It takes a certain attitude to wake up in the mornings and know that no one will say a good word to you. Everyone else has friends to talk to and people to be with. And you? Well, I mean, me. I really hope not you. Me, I have no one.

No one spoke to me all morning. Not a single word or greeting. My vocal cords got a bit rusty -- maybe a cobweb or two - from lack of use.

Not funny?

I sat by myself at lunch. Julia texted me to join the LUCKY group table, but I knew she would bring up Zenon and Jake in front of the other girls. And I didn't want those girls to only care about me because of who I knew. 

It's toleration by association.

Khloe was among them; the 'K' in LUCKY.  She was still riding the rumor mill as the girl from our year who was co-counselor with Zenon this summer. She never mentioned me in any of the stories. In fact, people believed she was the counselor who lived with him. 

That's how little I exist in their eyes.

My last class was English Lit. I filed in, bored and ready for this day to end. We were still reading Hamlet. I opened the play on a random page in Act III. Hamlet murders Polonius. He was losing grip on reality, pondering his own mortality.

I leaned my head against the palm of my hand.

"Funny scene you're on," Jake commented, staring down at my pages.

My hand slipped and I sat upright, surprised he was talking to me. I forget that Jake is a nice guy.

"What?" I asked, confused.  I looked down and read what he was referring to:

Hamlet: Lady, shall I lie in your lap?Ophelia: No, my Lord.Hamlet: I mean, my head upon your lap?Ophelia: I think nothing, my Lord.Hamlet: That's a fair thought to lie between maids' legs.

Shakespeare getting erotic.  Ookay.

"No wonder you're daydreaming," Jake murmured.

Oh wow. Didn't expect that.

I closed the play. "I don't get off on Shakespeare."

"How do you get off?"

"That's none of your business."

"That's right.  It has nothing to do with business..." he left the implication hanging in the air between us. 

Didn't he know he could get so many more attractive girls than me?  Why was he doing this?  And why so inquisitive? 

"Are you reading Act IV after class?" he asked smoothly.

"No. I work part time at a clothing store."

"When do you finish?"

"8pm."

"I'll pick you up then."

"What?" I spun around to look at him properly, "We're doing what then?"

He raised his hands in surrender, "Nothing crazy.  We'll go to the Surfside Shack."

I'm sorry, but when no one ever wants to hang out with you, you start to believe that you're not worth hanging out with. 

I had to be in debt before Zenon even remembered my name.

"Why?" I asked, still shocked. 

Jake looked relaxed, one arm over the book on his desk.  His eyes glanced at the teacher, as a reminder to me to stay calm or else attract the teacher's attention. 

"Everyone hangs out there after school," he said. 

I was more asking about why us, but ok.

Everyone hangs out there?  He's only been here 2 weeks and he's already plugged in more than me.  Though that's a low bar.

I tried concentrating on some homework, parking my math book by the cash register at Lola Rae.  I was writing sentences with the numbers on my calculator. Typing in formulas and turning the calculator upside down to read it:

77.34 / 100 = HELLO

32664 + 2342 = GOOSE

So definitely nothing productive. I wrapped up at the store, having watched the time slide towards 8PM. At 8 sharp, I stepped out of the mall and into the parking lot, feeling a pit of nerves rise in my stomach.

Part of me thought Jake would forget to pick me up. He's had all afternoon to come to his senses. If he was on any medication during English Lit, they've surely worn off by now.

"Candace!" I heard Jake call my name.  I looked around.  None of the parked cars had a driver in them.  "Candace!"

No.

A giant, sleek motorcycle purred to a stop by the parking lot entrance. He took his helmet off and his soft hair tumbled over his eyes.  He waved me over. 

No, thank you.

Is there a bus?  Maybe we can take the bus.  Or my car.

He saw the fear in my eyes and waited patiently for me to get closer.  When I did, the first thing he said was to take my mind off the bike.

"Have you been to the Shack before?  It's mostly seniors, the basketball guys and their crew," he said, watching my eyes trail the motorcycle suspiciously. He was letting me get comfortable with the idea. "Some of the guys surfed there this summer and it became a good hangout spot.  Used to be a place for gangs."

I translated his words in my head:   The basketball guys... Zenon.  The surfers... Axel.  And the biker gang.

Finally, my eyes met his. "So we're going there?"

I haven't been to the Surfside Shack since... the last time. You know; milkshakes, biker gang, failed getaway car. Good times.

He nodded and I noticed how hot he looked in a black leather jacket, his foot casually leaning on the footrest. 

"The Mad Batter bakery does a really good red velvet cupcake," I offered a calmer alternative.

Going to the Shack with Jake... where Zenon, Axel, Bryce, Bianca, Stacey, my sister... any of them could be, was such a bad idea.  

"Live for a thrill." He offered me a helmet.

It was a black helmet with two signature red streaks on the side. I stared at it and slowly, reluctantly, took it in my hands. 

Live for a thrill.