Zenon's Game Chapter 85

I regret not answering my phone that night.  Zenon left for an away game the next day and I wouldn't see him for a couple more days. 

I wanted to speak with Jake first, because every time I spoke to Zenon, I thought about how open-ended I had left things with his brother.

They clearly had issues.

I know Jake and I were not dating.  But we agreed to go on a date and my antics had blown our date in a rude way.  It wasn't fair to Jake.

Zenon can make me feel so many things that I forget to be rational.  He takes rational and throws it out of the window.

Now I had messed up both friendships and been hypocritical in the process.

Not to mention that I now actually had to read the play for English Lit... instead of seeing it at the theater.

On Wednesday, I arrived at school with only half a chapter read.  But my day was completely derailed when I witnessed the boys about to do something unthinkable....

Axel, Jake and Bryce stood in the middle of the school hallway. They waited for the crowds to form before they unraveled the posters in their hands.

I was part of the crowd, lost within the sea of phones and whispers. I didn't know what they were doing. Everyone clamored for a view of the image. The boys raised it high and pressed it against the locker walls, pasting it for the entire school to see.

Many gasped.

Axel, Jake and Bryce looked attractive together, like some new boy-band I would pay to watch breathe.

They must have rehearsed their movements because they pulled it off seamlessly and simultaneously.

All three of them slapped the sticky poster against lockers and stepped aside.

The crowd swarmed around it.

It was a picture of Zenon, shirtless, with a one-dollar bill folded into his black boxers. They peaked out over his blue jeans. His eyes were closed, pretending to sleep, and the background was pitch black.

On his chest was the number 5. And on the corner of the image were the words: $1 Entry.

Jake saw me through the crowd. 

"Hey," Jake muttered as he approached me, "My brother and I don't get along, but we have your back."

"What d'you mean?" I asked, somewhat speechless, "It isn't over?"

"It hasn't even started,"  he winked, "Wait until you see my photo." 

We stepped further out of the way as more of the school crowded around the three lockers.  The basketball team had many more copies they would put up today.

"Jake?  Thank you.   I don't deserve this support," I said, and then took a deep breath, "Can we talk later?  About everything?"

"Sure."

The poster of Zenon's half na*k*ed body was quickly disappearing from the school grounds. Girls were ripping it off the walls to take home. He looked so hot.

And by lunchtime, new photos were up.

This time it was of Jamie in a b-ra with a $1 bill tucked inside. She had the number 4 painted on her stomach and the words $1 Entry on the corner of the poster.

A few hours later, a poster of Axel came up. Number 3 emblazoned across his strong chest and a smirk on his fake-sleeping face.

Bryce came next. He flooded the school with photos of himself. Instead of $1, he put a $100 bill in his boxers, though the slogan remained $1 Entry.

Last but definitely not least, came the photo of Jake. Shirtless and every inch of his body molded to perfection. His tattoos on full display; the ink carving around his perfect skin.

The fanfare went wild at this one. Girls had stuffed their lockers full of these posters by now. People had begun trading for their favorite, like they were Pokemon cards back in the day. 

Everyone was asking what it meant. "$1 Entry? For what? How do we get in?"

It was the hottest ticket in school, and no one even knew what it was for.

People thought I did. They kept asking me. Everyone believed that my photo was the beginning of a marketing campaign. They thought this was part of the plan all along. 

I tried not to get emotional.  

I had taken a stand when I posted my picture in the first place.  But now, I didn't have to face the humiliation alone.  In fact, they'd turned the humiliation into something everyone wanted to take part in.

"Grotto party," Axel said to me, when no one could overhear, "It's $1 to enter."

Grotto party.  

That's what this was?  I remembered the last one... and felt a trickle run down my spine.

They had turned the dirty '$1 entry' joke about meinto an actual paid party.  They had quite literally changed my image, from suggesting that I was a h-oo-ker to making it an ad for a clandestine party. 

Geniuses.

Before Axel walked away, I asked, "Will Zenon be there?"

He hadn't come back to school yet.

Axel hid his smile, "Don't worry Candace. He's coming back tonight."

What a difference a few months can make.

(1) Invited to Axel Thomas's house party; (2) Zenon Albert has fought over me; (3) My half na*k*ed photo has gone viral.

I sound kinda bad a*s*s...

But reality is far from it.

I've spent so long being left out, that when I did get included, I didn't want to close the door on others. I opened it... and invited Heidi, Julia and Cynthia.

They screamed at the invitation. My eardrums literally popped.

Before telling the girls, I had asked Zenon for Axel's number.  I wanted to be polite.  Zenon sent me Axel's number without any questions.  And I asked Axel's permission for a +3.

It was that simple. The boys were very chill.

Considering how worked up people get over being invited to this party, I was surprised to see how relaxed the host was.

But then again, it's Axel.

He's relaxed about everything.