The Game Changer (13 page)

Everything is awkwardly silent for a second as he slides me down from his arms. I turn slowly to face John, who’s standing behind me. I lower my arms from Luke’s neck. “Luke, this is John. We went to St. Bernadette’s together,” I say uneasily,
trying to make it sound like I was hanging with an old friend. I’m not sure why I do that. Luke knows I don’t have friends from my old school. John puts out his hand to shake Luke’s. “This is Luke,
my neighbor
, De’s brother,” I add, trying to sound casual.

Luke shakes John’s hand sternly. “How ya doin’?”  Then, he looks at me. I can tell by the look on his face something isn’t right. “I just wanted to stop by to say hi and make sure you were okay. I knew David was working and I didn’t recognize the car,” he says coolly.

“It’s John’s,” I reply quietly. I can tell his mood changed the instant he saw John. He isn’t happy to see me anymore.

“Oh... I’ll let you get back to doin’ what you were doin’. I just wanted to say hello. Nice to meet ya,” he says coolly as he turns to leave. Something doesn’t seem right, but I know I will see him in the morning at the docks. Then we can talk and get back to our normal routine.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Luke.” It’s more of a question, which I get no response from. Why do I feel like I just betrayed him? Why am I feeling guilty?

After Luke leaves, I can’t seem to get back into the same mood I was in before he arrived. I thought I was over my feelings for Luke, but seeing him again, the butterflies and chills through my body return stronger than ever.

“I’m going to head out, it’s getting late and you seem tired... I’ll see you tomorrow?” John asks as he gets up to go. Hopefully, he picked up on my mood change.

“Yeah, sure. I’ll call you before we head to the beach,” I answer, walking him to the door. He tells me that he had a good time tonight and I agree because it is true; right up to the time when Luke showed up.

***

I wake up early and race down to the docks, excited to hear about Luke’s trip. I knew they had done really well. Deanna kept me updated and the local paper had written a couple of articles. My dad would leave them out for me to read. I know he will have a lot of stories and I’m looking forward to hearing them.

I wait way longer than I should have, but Luke never shows. He had to have known I would be waiting for him. I finally go home feeling very disappointed. 

My dad is washing his car when I arrive home. “Hey, Sweetie, there’s breakfast on the counter for you.”

“Thanks, Dad.” He always makes me breakfast.

“Hey, did you know Luke’s home?”

I stop in my tracks. “Yeah, he stopped by to say hi last night, how do you know?”

“I was just talking to him. He just got dropped off.”

I want details. I try to act nonchalant as I interrogate my dad. “Oh really? Who was he with?”

“I didn’t notice. He was in a hurry. He said they did real good and he would catch up with me later. They finished up earlier than expected.”

“Yeah, that’s what he said.” I answer. I’m more than a little puzzled. I feel he is trying to avoid me, but why?

***

De and I catch the 12:30 bus for the beach. “Guess who’s back?” she asks.

“Luke?” I answer.

“Yeah, how did you know?”

“I saw him for a second last night. He stopped by when John was over.”

“For some reason, he’s in a crappy mood. My mom’s pissed at him, he didn’t come home last night and he didn’t call. How did he seem to you?”

“Fine… but like I said, it was only a second... you didn’t talk to him?”

“No, not really. Mikey picked him up while I was in the shower.

I realize when I get to the beach that I forgot to call John to tell him I was leaving. While we stand by the water watching Lori surf, Mikey sneaks up behind De.

“So did you miss me or what?” he asks playfully as he picks her up and kisses her on the cheek from behind.

She laughs as she turns to face him and gives him a hug. “Yes, I did, believe it or not. Did you guys have fun? I heard you did great!”

She really is happy to see him. I envy their friendship and how comfortable they are together. There is one person who doesn’t look happy with their friendship, though, and that is Timmy. He’s standing near us, playing catch with his friends. I see him glaring over at Mikey and De’s friendly exchange. Mikey continues to tell us about their trip, his version of how awesome they are.

“So, what’s got my brother in a pissy mood? My mom’s mad at him; he didn’t come home last night. Are you to blame for that?” she asks accusingly as she playfully pokes him in his smooth, broad, muscular chest.

Mikey’s eyes turn to me. “No, not this time.”

“Something’s got him twisted, maybe he was with Alexa last night,” she says as she rolls her eyes.

Again, Mikey looks at me when he answers, making me feel uncomfortable. “Nah, I don’t think so. He broke up with her awhile ago, while we were away.”

I’m shocked to hear this, but am careful to hide my reaction from Mikey. Why does he keep looking at me anyway?

“Really? Well, I’ve seen that a hundred times before,” De answers.

Mikey shrugs. What does this mean? He made it clear when he left, we are
just friends
. This can’t have anything to do with me, can it? Once again, my head is spinning. I have to talk to him... alone.

His ears must have been ringing because no sooner do I turn around than he is walking towards us with his arm slung around a beautiful brunette. Where the hell does he find these girls?  They all look as if they just stepped off the cover of a
Victoria’s Secret
catalog. Then again, look at him.

I hate him right now. Looking all cocky, wearing his sunglasses with his perfect body and this perfect new girl. He continues to walk past us without acknowledgment. He acts as if he doesn’t see us. Well, maybe he doesn’t, he is busy laughing with her. He doesn’t seem to be in a bad mood anymore. They sit a few feet in front of us, close to the water. I find myself hoping a giant wave will wash them away. I’m wearing my sunglasses, so I can spy and no one will be able to tell. Ah, how I’ve missed torturing myself.

Oh... and he is putting on quite a show. Paying way too much attention to her. He finally pulls himself away long enough to talk to Mikey for a minute, but as soon as Mikey glances over in my direction, Luke goes back to his brunette. That’s it. My mind is made up I’m going to approach him. Thank goodness all of my friends are occupied with other things. No one notices that I have been sitting here for the last hour fighting with him in my head. Finally, he leaves the girl’s side and heads towards the water. I get up, hurrying to catch up with him.

“Hey, Luke. Can I talk to you for a second?” God, I’m brave. I don’t know where I suddenly got my nerve.

He looks shocked and I can’t help but to feel glad that I caught him off guard. I’m sure he doesn’t think I have it in me. “What’s up?” he asks coolly, barely acknowledging me.

“Where were you this morning? I thought you were going to meet me. I waited a really long time.”

“Busy,” he states flatly, with no further explanation.

“Look, I don’t know what your problem is. Are you annoyed at me for some reason?”

“Nope… not at all,” he answers coldly, stepping up his pace.

“Then, what’s wrong? Everything seemed fine when you left. I thought we were
friends?”
I ask, trying to keep up with his long strides.

“Yep,
friends
,” he emphasizes coolly as he slowly turns to look at me… or… look through me.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Luke? I haven’t seen you in a month and a half. What’s with the attitude?”

“Well, J, you look like you have a lot of
friends
now, so go be with them. Uh… look… here comes another one. Go,” he says dismissively, shooing me away like a dog.

He walks away, leaving me standing alone. Wow, he crushed me. I feel my eyes starting to well up. As I turn to walk away I see John heading right towards me.

“Hey, you didn’t call,” he says cheerfully, giving me a peck on the cheek.

“Sorry. I forgot,” I say guiltily, suddenly changing my mood. I should be glad John is here.
Why waste my time on someone who doesn’t care enough to give me the time of day?
I think as I pull myself back together.

As much as I try, I can’t help but get angrier and angrier the more I watch Luke acting so smug.
I can play this game, too
, I think to myself. Now I’m almost certain his attitude is aimed personally at me.

“John, do you want to go for a walk?”

“Yeah, sure,” he agrees easily.

We hold hands while we walk towards the water. I make sure I walk directly past Luke and the brunette, practically stepping on their blanket. I also make sure it seems as if I’m having just as much fun as him, laughing as the cold foamy waves wash over my feet while I hold tightly onto John’s arm. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect when Mikey makes his way towards us, right in front of Luke. “Hey, Mikey, did you meet John?” I blurt out, loud enough for Luke to hear. “Uh, no, I didn’t,” he answers, seeming taken back by my sudden boldness. “This is my
boyfriend
, John,” John puts out his hand. Out of the corner of my eye I can see Luke’s head whip around and his eyes dart up. “Mikey’s a friend of Deanna’s... and
my neighbor,
Luke, who you met last night,” I say, pointing down at Luke as if he is no one important. If looks could kill, I would be dead from Luke’s glare. Mikey and John exchange handshakes then Mikey looks from me over to Luke. I immediately start to regret my actions. After the introductions, I quickly take John’s hand and continue to walk down the beach. What was I thinking? I can’t believe I just introduced him as my
boyfriend
. That is so not cool, and it isn’t fair to John to drag him into whatever this is between me and Luke. I’m hoping John doesn’t read too much into it because I already feel like crap for using him this way. I like him, but, by no means, do I consider him a boyfriend.

(Jesse)

Stepping into the crowded corridor of Bay Point High, I am overwhelmed by the size of the school and the amount of people spilling into the hallways. Deanna laughs off my insecurities, reminding me, once again, that every time I’ve done something for the first time since she has met me, my first instinct is to panic and, in the end, everything turns out to be fine.

We are supposed to meet Timmy outside of the locker room by the gymnasium. The football team and some of the other athletes arrive at school early to work out in the weight room before classes begin. I make her promise that she will not make me late for class on my first day.

I’m focused on untangling De’s hair, which has gotten caught in her necklace, when Luke unexpectedly walks out of the weight room. “Hey, Luke. Is Timmy still in there?” De asks. Startled, by the mention of his name, I glance up. We haven’t spoken a word to each other since that day on the beach. He avoids me at all cost.

“Yeah, he’s in there. He should be out in a couple of minutes,” he says as he walks past us and enters the locker room.

A loud whistle comes from the direction of the weight room. Of course, we both know who it comes from.

“Look at this, the two best looking girls in the school. You must be waiting for me!” Mikey teases as he exits the room. De and I laugh.

Timmy walks out behind him. The look on his face says that he doesn’t seem to think Mikey’s as funny as we do.

“I think they might be waiting for me,” he says quietly. He is too nice for the phrase to sound arrogant.

I’ve come to realize that Mikey isn’t a big fan of his, either. “See you girls later.” He enters the locker room just as Luke is walking out.

“Hey, Luke, can you take JJ to her math class? She’s not sure where she’s going,” De asks.

I want to kill her. I can’t believe she just did that to me. I know it isn’t on purpose; I don’t think she even realizes that we are not on speaking terms.

“Yeah, sure,” he replies as if she just asked him to go pick up horse shit. He turns, hardly looking at me. “Where ya goin’?”

“Geometry. C-7.” My voice cracks. I think I’m about to cry. I’m \ nervous enough, without having Luke ignore me as he is forced to walk me to class.

“This way,” he says, leading the way, walking fast. “You just need to look on the corners of the walls. See, each hall has a small letter on the end. That’s A. B is over there. And C is this way. You’ll get used to it in a day or two,” he says dryly.

Everyone greets him in the hallways. I walk slightly a step behind and I nod as he points out the different halls, I don’t say a word. I think if I talk, I will cry. I have that feeling in my throat, the one where you’re trying to hold back from crying because you don’t want anyone to know how scared you are. We reach my class rather quickly.

“You’re here.” He’s emotionless as he points to the room, sounding relieved to get rid of me.

“Okay, thanks.” I manage to get past the lump in my throat. I look at the classroom full of kids staring at me, the new kid, as I pause in the doorway.