Unfortunate Friends 1: My Best Frenemy

Georgina

I sit in my AP Calculus class, glaring at the back of AJ’s head as he laughs and jokes with the guy sitting next to him.

If looks could kill, his stupid, perfectly styled black-haired head would have exploded within the first few seconds of the period with the hate I can feel pouring out of my eyes.

I just don’t get the obsession people seem to have with him. My so-called friends all swoon whenever he is near, but I really don’t see what the attraction is.

He is tall and obviously well built due to all the football training, but a fit body doesn’t make up for the lack of personality. All the rumors point to him being a typical hump and dump jock.

The obnoxiously loud and sexist rap music he constantly has pumping out of his car speakers makes me hate him even more.

The fact that he is in all of my AP classes, and is getting better marks than me in ~all~ my AP classes is a real sore point for me and just compounds all the other shitty things about him.

Ever since starting high school, I have done everything I can to fit in. I started wearing skirts and dresses every day instead of the jeans and shorts I lived in up till then.

My tops became tighter and brighter in color. I begged my dad to let me get contacts so I didn’t have to wear my glasses to school. I started wearing makeup and high heels.

The girls I have become friends with are all cheerleaders, so I joined the team too. I listen to the same pop music as them.

But it is all superficial. I have never invited any of the girls to my house, not that any of them have ever asked to come. I have never told them my mom was dead.

I have never told them that I actually hate their shitty taste in music and really didn’t care when One Direction split up.

None of them are smart enough to be in the advanced classes, so I happily sit at the back of all my classes on my own, usually with an earbud in one ear listening to music.

I drum my perfectly manicured pink nails on top of my textbook, waiting for the teacher to finish writing up the next batch of problems on the board.

“Can you not?” AJ twists around and pushes my hand off the hard card surface of the book, and I scowl as my fingers bang on the wooden desk.

“Oh, I’m so so sorry, AJ. Am I annoying you?” I tilt my head in fake concern.

“Yeah, I’m trying to concentrate, and your banging isn’t helping. I would have thought you’d need to pay extra attention so’s not to lose even more marks in this class.”

He snickers and turns back to the front, flicking his head slightly to move the longer front part of his hair out of his eyes.

I snort and start drumming my fingers again, this time with both hands of the wooden desk, so it’s louder.

AJ’s shoulders tense, almost ticking in time with my tattoo.

I smirk and start tapping my shoe against the metal leg of his chair, so it makes a metallic clink.

I can see the back of his neck getting red, so I switch to hitting my foot between the two back legs of his chair, the force moving it a little each time.

He pushes his chair back abruptly, banging into my desk and making my book slip off onto the floor with a loud bang.

“Mr. McGabe and Ms. Evans! Detention, both of you!”

“But, sir, it was him!” I protest at the same time as he whines.

“But, sir, it was her!”

“I don’t care. You are both causing a distraction, so you will both be staying after school.”

“Fucking bitch,” I hear AJ mutter under his breath, and I kick the underneath of his chair as hard as I can, aiming for the spot where his junk should be, making him jump.

Once the class is done, I send Macy, the head cheerleader, a text to let her know I would be late to practice because of my stupid detention.

I can’t believe that asshole got me a detention on the first freaking day of school.

And of course he’s already in the room when I get there. He smirks at me, so as I walk past his desk, I pretend to trip and hit his desk, pushing all his neatly laid out notes onto the floor.

“You stupid twat!” he roars, leaping to his feet and trying to gather the loose sheets together.

“Oops! Clumsy little old me.” I giggle, making sure to walk over them, kick them out of his reach, and make my way to the back of the classroom.

“You’re such a fucking bitch,” AJ spits as he sits back down, clutching his mess of notes in his hands.

“And you’re such a fucking…”

The teacher taking detention chooses that moment to enter and glares at me. I clamp my mouth shut, feeling my cheeks burn.

After having the riot act read to us about our bad behavior and how our actions now will affect the rest of our lives blah blah blah, I pull out my homework from the day. May as well use my time productively.

***

After what seems like forever, the hour is up, and I quickly throw my bag over my shoulder so I can get to cheerleading practice as soon as possible. As I go to walk through the door, I collide with something solid.

“What the fu…?” I look up and find AJ wedged in the door frame next to me. “Move, you big oaf!”

I try to squeeze past him, but he grabs my backpack and pulls me back, making me lose my balance on my stupid three-inch heels.

As my butt hits the floor, he looks down with an amused smile and walks through the now clear doorway, letting the door swing shut behind him.

I’m still fuming as I jog out onto the field, arms above my head, tying my long hair back into a high ponytail.

“What crawled up your butt and died?” My friend Katy takes in my scowl and red cheeks.

“Take a guess.” I huff and start stretching my muscles.

“AJ?” She giggles, her eyes wandering away toward the football pitch where AJ is now standing in the center of the rest of the team, talking animatedly. “What did he do now?”

“He managed to get me thrown in detention when it wasn’t even my fault, and then he just tossed me to the floor as I was trying to leave the classroom.”

I lower myself into the splits and lean over toward my right foot, relishing in the pull of my thigh muscles.

“I wouldn’t mind if he threw me on the ground… as long as he lay down on top of me.” Katy sighs, biting on her bottom lip as she lives out some sick fantasy in her imagination.

I pretend to gag.

“I don’t get how you don’t think he’s good-looking. He’s like sex on legs.”

“His awesome personality just overshadows his awesome looks, I guess.” I deadpan.

She purses her lips at me before flipping her hair over her shoulder and turning back to the rest of the team. “Whatever, Gina.”

After practice ends, I walk back to my car with Katy, Macy, and Robyn in tow. They are deep in discussion about the first party of the new school year that is happening on Friday at PJ’s house.

They have given up on trying to persuade me to go after I found out that AJ was going to be there, and I stated that I’d rather pull out all my fingernails than go to a party that he would be attending.

Too many nights, I’ve been DD at some awful party and watched as AJ and his friends got loaded and preyed on the impressionable underclassmen.

AJ even has his own sex lair at PJ’s house. If a girl disappears in there with him, everyone knows the next day that she was fair game. It is disgusting.

As head cheerleader, Macy feels it is her mission to hook up with all the football team and very much encourages it among the squad. Even more disgusting.

I unlock my blue VW Beetle, and the girls all pile in. As I turn on the engine and the gravelly tones of Tom Waits filter through the speakers, I mentally hit myself for not changing my CD when I arrived at school this morning.

“Ew! What’s with the old man music, Gina?” Macy wrinkles her nose before reaching across, ejecting it, and replacing it with a Taylor Swift one.

“Sorry, my… uh dad borrowed my car and left it in.” My friends seem to accept my lie and carry on their conversation.

Once I drop the last girl home, I immediately put Tom Waits back in, singing along with him. He is my dad’s favorite singer, and listening to him always makes me feel safe and comforted.

Plus, he is amazing. Beautiful words accompanied by melancholic melodies. By the time I reach my house, I am in a good mood again, AJ McGabe completely erased from my mind.

But not for long…