Zenon's Game Chapter 65

Cynthia shoved me into a stall and locked the door. We were in a tight space, with a toilet in between.

Cynthia was cool but I'd only spoken to her for the first time 3 minutes ago. Yet here we were, locked together in a tiny toilet. And I had no idea what she was going to say.

"A hot boy just asked you out," she summarized. "Now you need to get your act together and destroy those insecurities, girl. He asked you. He wanted you. When you go on that date, you show him what he's been missing."

I didn't know what to say. She clearly witnessed my insecurities first hand when I couldn't accept that Jake wanted a date with me.

She comforted me, "I can tell that you haven't had much experience with boys, so this is girl code right here. The boy's lucky to get a chance with you. Not the other way round. Internalize that."

I stumbled to convey my emotions. All I could say was, "Thank you, Cynthia. I didn't expect this."

"You should expect it. Girls support girls. We need to have each other's backs."

She unlocked the door and held it open for me.

"Uhh," I blushed, "I actually need to use the bathroom. That's why I was in line."

"Oh yeah, of course. Stay in then," she waved goodbye.

I wanted to stay in there all day. I could hear the whispers outside my bathroom stall. I had gone from being invisible to visible. People suddenly knew my name and were nice to me. 

People nodded hi to me when I passed by. It felt good to be acknowledged.  To know that my existence is registered.  I know it may sound silly.  And if it does, it means you're lucky.  It means you haven't gone through this.

And just when I thought things couldn't get any wilder, someone came up to me and said:

"Zenon just found out. He heard that his brother asked you out. And he's p*ssed."

Oh frick.

I was losing my head. Jake Albert asked me on a date.

And Zenon Albert wanted to kill me for it.

I tried not to think about Zenon, but people kept saying his name.  He's hard to escape.  I felt like Zenon hurt me.  We had shared sensitive moments together.  I know we never kissed but I'm not oblivious.  Almost-kisses count.  The almost-romantic conversations count. 

The there's no quitting us and the I'll protect you until you don't need me lines were lies if he could say them and then say we barely knew each other like he said to me yesterday. 

I had poured my feelings out to him yesterday and he didn't even bother to address it - he just greeted Jamie and invited her into his home. 

At 10PM. 

I don't know what they did or did not do that night, but a girl going over to a guy's house alone at 10PMis a flirty move.  And it's disrespectful since he's been flirting with me.

I won't take that.  

So he can stay with Jamie and stay behaving the way I always expected him to.  He's a player.

And I don't. play. games.

People were talking to me like they knew me now, like we'd been friends for years. They wanted to know every detail about my life – especially if it was scandalous. 

High school is so fake: Yesterday, no one cared I existed.

Truthfully, it felt good at first.  People were being nice to me.  That's a rare and pleasant feeling.  But then, I realized that they were digging for all the dirt on me.  Unfortunately for them, there's not much. I've lived a very boring life before this summer. 

It became overwhelming. There was not a single friendly face in the crowd. I couldn't concentrate with all the whispers. Everyone was staring at me; I felt like I had a giant zit on my face.

This wasn't how I wanted things to go down. I liked my anonymity.

I think.

"What does she have on him? It must be blackmail because there's no way he could naturally be attracted to her."

"There's nothing natural about Candace and Jake."

"Wasn't Zenon in the hallway with her last week?  How does she know him?  It's insane."

Those were the sentences I overheard wherever I went.  It's like they waited to talk about me when I was present, just so I could hear the cruel words.  

I needed somewhere to breathe. I wanted space. The combo of losing my trust in Zenon, Jake asking me on a date and the school ablaze with my name was too much.  I needed time to heal/process/get used to this.

At lunch time, I panicked. The gossip, the stares, the cruelty. It was too much. All this attention was like a shock to my system. I ran out into the car park and rushed to my car. If I can just get away, everyone can calm down. I started the engine and looked up.

Zenon Albert was standing in front of my car. 

Somehow, he knew I'd be making a run for it.

"We need to talk."

I shook my head. The last time I saw him was at his house, when I threatened to run him over.  I was in a really good position to follow through with that now.

"Get out of the car, Candace," he said, pulling the door open.

I slammed it shut again. I stared up at him through the glass window. He made a sign for me to open, but I refused. I couldn't face him. 

I revved my old cranky engine and powered out of there as fast as this ancient metal box could go. Which was not that fast. I made it on the open road but then the sound of a motorbike roared behind me.

My heart stopped. I saw a sleek black bike speed into my rearview mirror. The driver was in a black helmet with a red stripe on the side.

Jake.