Page 9 of My Best Friend Prince Charming

4

Shannon

The bell rang as I slid into my seat in AP Calculus. Mr. Klaton finished writing some equations on the board and turned around to greet the class. I flipped open my notebook to a fresh page and clicked out a tiny length of lead on my mechanical pencil. The sound of the pencil scraping across the page relaxed me as I soaked up the new information. Frantic whispers distracted me from my train of thought, and I glanced over to my right to see the school newspaper editor, Lindsey Beck, talking to the girl in front of her. I caught the tail end of her conversation, and my pencil stilled on my paper.

“No, it’s true. I heard from Camille this morning that Ryker got cast in the Cinderella movie.”

“What, like as an extra?”

“No.” Lindsey leaned toward the other girl, and her platinum blonde hair fell forward, covering her face. Even though I couldn’t see her face, I still heard her words, loud and clear. “Get this. He’s the prince.”

“No way.”

“Camille’s uncle is the movie director. Look up Stephen Christopher online if you don’t believe me. Facts are facts,” Lindsey said, sitting back, crossing her arms. “Not that you need to take my word for it. It’ll be all over the internet any day now. Camille said he accepted the role yesterday.”

Mr. Klaton stopped talking, and I realized he was staring at the whispering girls. “Is there something you’d like to share with the rest of the class, ladies?”

“No, sir,” Lindsey said.

I felt tears welling up in the corners of my eyes, and I shot up from my desk before they spilled down my cheeks. I left my books and my bag where they sat. “Can I go to the bathroom?”

Mr. Klaton handed me a hall pass and jumped back into the lesson.

I felt like I was drowning, and I couldn’t explain why. Shouldn’t I be happy for Ryker? His news was overwhelming and incredible. I frowned as I walked down the empty hall past rows of lockers and posters announcing prom. I pushed open the door to the girls’ bathroom and slipped inside. I locked myself in a stall and took a few deep breaths.

When had Ryker found out? And why hadn’t he told me? I’d had to find out from idle gossip in math class. That meant Ryker had been keeping it from me. I’d texted him Saturday night, asking him how his audition had gone, and he’d been pretty vague in his response. Did he already know then and had consciously decided to keep it from me? Why would he do that? Lindsey had said that he’d accepted the role on Sunday. A day after his audition. Did he accept as soon as they offered the role to him, or had it taken him a while to decide? It hurt my heart that he hadn’t reached out for me to help him decide.

Ryker would be flying out to California. Probably as soon as we graduated. He had such a bright future.

The bathroom door opened, and I heard hushed voices.

“Shhh. Come on. Follow me.” A soft moan was emitted from the girl who was talking, and I covered a gasp when a male voice responded.

“I can’t tell you how long I’ve wanted to kiss you, Tabby.”

I'd recognize that voice anywhere. I stayed inside my stall, frozen in shock at what I was witnessing. The sounds of lips connecting sounded from the back corner of the bathroom, and I could tell the couple was moving into the handicapped stall. Tabby giggled, and the stall door bounced on its hinge.

Rage fumed inside me. I’d had a bad enough morning as it was, and my patience had completely run dry. Tabby Lewis was a member of the group called the MGs, short for Mean Girls, at Sweet Mountain High. She’d rightfully earned her placement in the group. And I had been the recipient of her pointless wrath more than once. Tabby wasn’t fond of my nerdy tastes and had been extremely vocal about it over the years.

I opened the door to my stall and then swung open the unlocked door of the handicapped stall.

“Austin!” I had to fight to keep from letting my voice get too shrill. He stood with his hand buried in Tabby’s jet-black hair, and complete shock registered on his face at being caught. “What are you doing?”

His jaw went slack as he realized there was no way he could talk himself out of this situation.

I was such an idiot. I’d ignored all the red flags with Austin. I should have known better than to trust him long ago. “You couldn’t get what you wanted from me, so you go behind my back with someone else? Well, excuse me for standing up for my boundaries. If you’d been worth keeping around, you would have respected that.”

“Oh, no. A lovers’ quarrel.” Tabby smirked. “Don’t let me come between you.” She slipped out of Austin’s embrace.

I glared at her as she left the bathroom and then turned my attention back to Austin. “I should have seen it coming because I knew you were a lying jerk. But Tabby? Really? She’s horrible, Austin.”

Austin shrugged. He didn’t have a shred of remorse on his face. He only looked a little uncomfortable at getting caught.

“You don’t care, do you? I’m such an idiot.” I groaned at my own stupidity. I should never have trusted Austin. But I’d wanted to prove to myself that I could stay in a relationship—that I was better than my dad, who gave up when it got tough. But this was too much. “We’re through, Austin.”

Before he could respond, I turned on my heel and left the bathroom. As I walked the hall back to math class, I breathed out the rest of my emotions and put on a mask of control. I needed to get back to learning if I wanted to keep my scholarship to UNC. I didn’t have the luxury of being sad when my grades were on the line. I slipped back into my seat and fought to keep my focus on the lesson for the rest of the class period.

When lunch rolled around, I met up with Ryker at our usual table.

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