Colin pov
Over the next few days, Colin and I met up every day. I noticed that as the days went by, he grew less irritating. Slightly less irritating.
He did not seem to be scatterbrained and nonchalant as I had thought he would be. He was actually quite dedicated. He asked a few times, if he could compile and edit. While I had initially agreed to see if he would flounder, he was actually really good and it was nice to see him take charge, as weird as that must have sounded. The only problem was he still gave me a bit of attitude whenever we met up. It felt like he loved seeing me angry. But we were able to tolerate each other so that we could get the work done on time.
Finally it was Monday, the day of the submission, and we both presented the journal to Mr. Mike during lunch time. He was very impressed with our work and said it was the best one he had seen so far. Although, he added a disclaimer that he needed to read our content first before he could properly grade us, I wasn't too worried.
"Well, I said as we exited the teacher's office into the hallway, "I guess we don't have to see each other anymore.
He raised an eyebrow. "You just couldn't wait to get rid of me huh? Fine by me."
"Good. See you around," I said as I walked away from him. Then I added, "Or not."
"I still don't like you," he shouted back.
I turned around. "Believe me the feeling is mutual."
When I walked into the cafeteria, Sarah and Lucy were sitting on a table near the vending machine, with their lunch untouched in front of them. They seemed to be arguing like they always were. Things were finally back to normal and my mood suddenly had become very bright.
"Good morning," I said sitting down between them. "Isn't it such a beautiful day today?"
Lucy looked at the rain drops splattered against the window panes and looked at me like I was crazy. "It's raining heavily poppy. You hate the rain."
"Exactly," I said. "I am finally free of Colin Williams."
Lucy laughed. "For someone who wasn't that bad, you sure are happy to not spend time with him anymore.
"You do agree that he is quite easy on the eyes?" Sarah added.
"You guys are never gonna let this go, are you?" I groaned.
"No, we are not," they said in unison with wide grins on their faces. "Jinx!"
I sighed in exasperation. There was no stopping these girls.
"Sarah you said you had something to tell us?" I asked leaning my elbows on the table.
Sarah grinned. "Okay so I found the cutest pair of shoes at the mall. They are so gorgeous and perfect for home coming."
Homecoming was a big deal to her. This year, Sarah was one of the members of the planning committee, which even made her more excited.
"Not the homecoming thing again," Lucy said, leaning her chin on her hand on the desk. "Sarah, no offense but that is for losers."
"You are only saying that because you don't have a boyfriend yet." Sarah rolled her eyes and whined. "You guys are so boring. Come on it will be fun. Poppy already has a boyfriend. Now it is just left for both of us to find dates."
"Like that will be any kind of problem for me." Lucy said as she flipped her hair. We all knew she was right. Lucy would not have any problem getting a date. "But good luck convincing my parents to let me go to any kind of homecoming especially when there is going to be lots of boys and alcohol." she said the last parts with her fingers making quotation marks.
She might be one of the hottest girls in school, but her parents would flip out. They were one of the strictest parents I have known. Lucy is rarely allowed to do things without guaranteed supervision. The only reason her parents allow us to hang out is because they trust us and our parents aren't involved in any 'shady businesses'. She wasn't a straight A student, but she did well enough in school. Still, that was never enough. When she hypothetically brought up pursuing something other than law or political science, like fashion design for instance, she received the worst lecture of her life.
"It is a miracle they let me have a job," she continued.
"I am going to start a petition," Sarah said while making a note using her tablet. "I would like to see what your dad has to say when he sees two thousand signatures saying you should go for homecoming."
I choked back a laugh. "Where are you going to get the signature of two thousand people? And besides, it seems ridiculous."
Sarah slammed her hands on the desk which caused both of us to flinch. "This isn't about knowing two thousand people. It is about justice. No parent has the right to prevent their daughter from attending homecoming. That should be illegal." Her voice goes higher and higher as she speaks.
Lucy snorts. "You are such a clown."
"I am a clown who loves you," Sarah says as she bumps her shoulder into mine, which was her way of asking for support.
"She is right," I chimed in. "If we have to kidnap you ourselves, we will. I could probably fit you in my purse. It would take a little squeezing on your part but it is doable."
"Oh my god does that mean we are doing it?" Sarah said nearly screeching in my ear. A few people from other tables give us dark looks, and I smiled apologetically. "It's official we are going to homecoming."
"Why didn't I think of that?" Lucy sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. My best friends may be weird but I wouldn't trade them for anything else.
Lucy bit her lower lip, which she did when she was thinking deeply. "I really wish I could go but with my parents I don't know."
Sarah, who was on my other side, interlocked her fingers with mine and squeezed my hand. "When there is a will, there's a way. We would definitely think of something."
Lucy snorted and rolled her eyes. "Why are we even talking about me. What about poppy and her new best friend Colin who I noticed has been staring at our table for some time now?"
I looked ahead and Colin seemed to be staring in my direction. We make eye contact for a while before he breaks it off and starts talking to Dan.
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and try to deflect the conversation away from me. "Don't you guys have homework to catch up on?"
"Oh shit." Sarah said suddenly searching her bag for her notes. "Did either of you understand the Math homework? I am so lost."