Page 170 of Withered

Thewholeschoolisbuzzing with enthusiasm and passion for tomorrow’s soccer game. The organization team, with the help of event management, has decorated the school in red and white. It’s lunchtime, and the hallway is packed with swarms of people like never before. In the cafeteria, most of the crowd is gathered near the jock’s table.

“Where did all of these people come from?” I mutter under my breath, looking around. There aren’t this many people usually.

“Those are our fans, boo.” An arm wraps around my shoulder. Tyler speaks while holding his lunch tray. “The whole school came out today.”

“You need to stop calling me that,” I say.

A girl from the sophomore year waves awkwardly at Tyler, and he just winks back. She turns to her friends, who fan her, and I snort at that.

People part for us as we make our way to the table. I locate Emily and Ava at our table once we arrive. “Hey, guys.” I cast a glance toward their table and find it almost impossible to spot.

“How do you feel about being a celebrity?” I ask Tyler, who is now seated next to Kristy.

Before he could reply, Kristy beat him to it, her mouth set in a hard line. “Way too much attention.”

“Yeah,” he chuckles, pecking her lips. “Just from you.”

Emily and Ava adore the two of them as I eat my lunch.My priorities are in order. Wait a minute.

“Where’s Jake?” I ask, looking around the table.

Emily and Ava both shake their heads. Tyler and Kristy both shrug. Jake and I both had Math class in the morning. He was too considerate of me yesterday, but today he continues taunting me about anything and everything.

“There he is,” Tyler says, looking at the distance.

I follow his gaze, and surely Jake is making his way toward the table. I don’t miss how Olivia is only three feet ahead of him. What confuses me is the expression on her face; she isn’t like her usual self. She looks rather the opposite—shocked or scared, I don’t know. She wanders off somewhere while Jake joins us, his face tense.

“Why was she with you?” To my surprise, Tyler asks, his voice laced with an unmistakable edge. He narrows his eyes, and even Kristy is amazed.

Jake looks confused. “Who?” Tyler tips his head toward Olivia. “I don’t know. She must have entered before me. I didn’t even notice.” He shakes his hand furiously.

“What’s wrong with your hand?” I take his hand in mine to look at it closely. His knuckles are all red and bleeding slightly.

“What happened?” I ask, worry taking over. I grab a handkerchief from my bag, soak it in water, and clean up the blood drying up there.

“Are you going to answer me?” I voice my question when I don’t get a reply from him and add, “I need an ice pack.”

“Does it hurt?” I look at him.

He doesn’t reply; he only shakes his head in denial. I wonder what he’s thinking, as he isn’t even speaking. His eyes are trained on me, and he has a serious expression on his face.

“Argh… I want a boyfriend,” Ava says, her tone eager, which Kristy laughs off.

Emily mocks her by looking around the cafeteria and asking, “Are there any good ones left?” Tyler chuckles at that.

Ava lowers her head, then straightens up. “I feel like we’re third-wheeling here.”

Emily says, “I second that.”

“Are you going to tell me what happened?” I ask him.

“My locker,” Jake chuckles. “That stupid thing won’t shut.”

“So, you punched it?” I ask, to which he nods. I shake my head and laugh softly. “Idiot.”

After that, the day goes by swiftly. I ran into Professor Caleb twice, and both times he reminds me of something he had told me earlier. Who is he to say what I should do?

He didn’t say anything the first time, but the second time he said, quote, “This thing between you and Jake, it’s about to get messy.”

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