The new chatter lately revolved around security and how many "tools" and cameras you had protecting you and your home. Some parents in my opinion went bonkers, they had put trackers on their children and as an added measure trackers on their phones and bags too. These poor children couldn't even fart without their parents knowing about it. I believed my parents to be just the right amount of paranoid. I had to let them know when I left for school and as soon as I got home and if it was my turn to drop off the twins then I had to let them know when they got to school too. All in all I suppose I have more freedom than most. My parents trust me and that is something I don't take lightly.
As per usual we went to our spot in the library and as Mary and I entered, there in our now usual spot, sat James. He was talking to another girl who was standing mere inches from him. She is a tiny thing, she must be 14 years old at the most. She has all the classic "pretty" features guys are looking for at that age I suppose. She has fine features, and striking blue eyes and she is practically platinum blond and has a Chinese bob haircut. She isn't very tall and she looks starved almost, I wanted to buy her a burger just so that she wouldn't die of starvation. James was sitting on the table and she was practically standing between his legs. She was laughing uncontrollably at something he said and he was smiling ear to ear, showing off his dimple. Mary gave me a sideways glance and we kept walking towards the tables, deciding to walk past our usual spot and take a seat at the next table. James didn't even glance in our direction. He kept talking to his overly friendly friend. She tucked her hair behind her ears as she looked down at the floor. I felt a twinge of jealousy. This was usually my time with James, was this his girlfriend? Why didn't he tell me about her and why didn't he introduce us? I wasn't going to dwell on it so I decided to take out one of my new used books that we obtained from our latest shopping trip written by a Miss Brontë, not telling which sister though. I entered the life of a mousy governess and tried my best to drown out the rest of the world. The bell rang, pulling me out of my fantasy and I noticed that James had already left. My heart sank a little. Mary and I gathered our things and were off to our next class. "That was awkward", she said when we got to our next class. "What was?" I played dumb. "That puny person kissing James", she stated casually. Excuse me? She said what? I was shocked, they kissed, did I miss this much while reading? She was now looking at me for a replay and I wasn't about to give away that I was upset. "I must have missed that", I said as casually as I possibly could. She shrugged and we continued on with our day. She knows me better than anyone but she decided not to pry or give me a look and I was grateful for that.
I hadn't seen the kiss but I used my imagination and fixated on it, didn't he like me or was I reading too much into his kindness? Yup, there I go overthinking again. As our class ended, Mary came up next to me so that we could head to our last class for the day. "Oh..", I started "I wanted to ask you if it would be alright to give your number to Dean." "Who?" She asked, genuinely confused. "You remember the guy you reprimanded on our shopping trip?" I asked as politely as I could. "Oh, him." Mary looked as though she was thinking very hard. "He could use a little more discipline in his personal life", she stated. My eyes widened, "What? How many romance novels have you been reading?" I asked bluntly not trying to even hide any rudeness in my tone. "Well..., I started reading the Fifty Shades series", she confessed. Well, that explains a lot. "I don't wanna know", I said holding up one of my hands to indicate for her not to continue. "Fine, I won't tell you then. You can give him my number on one condition." "What?" I asked cautiously. " You and Michael have to join us for a first date."
Why? Why did I agree to her terms? What did I get out of this experience besides learning to be more social? Her reasoning for dragging me along was that she wanted a buffer if things were to go south and taking his friend was to make it less awkward for him too, although I doubt Dean would have minded having a girl on each arm. I bumped into Michael as I was about to exit the school. "Hey, ginger bug", he announced too loudly. "The name is Violet", I said dryly. "Your parents called a redhead Violet? That's weird", he said making a face. "You know my name, we've been going to the same school for years", I protested. "I know, I'm teasing you", he said as he nudged me with his shoulder. "So, any news to put him out of his misery?" Michael pointed to our right as he placed his arm around my shoulder. I looked in that direction and true to form there was Dean hiding this time behind the smallest bicycle I had ever seen. It was pink and had tassels. Next to him crouching behind this bike with his torso and head basically towering over it, was a little girl complaining that he was touching her bicycle. He was a lousy Ninja for sure and I'm not sure if the hiding behind these objects was done just to amuse or if he truly thought no one would notice him. I walked toward him and he lowered his head as much as he could with the little girl now hitting his arm impatiently. She was clearly not happy that he was still holding her bicycle hostage. "What are you doing?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest. Dean lifted his head and started looking left and right. He pointed to himself with a question mark on his face. "Yes, you", I said sternly. "I'm waiting for Michael", he said. "That is not what I meant." The little girl was now throwing a fit and I could no longer handle the screams and tears. "Give her the bike!" I practically screamed at him. He let go and stood up slowly. The poor girl jumped on her bike and sped off into the road. "Wait, wait for me!" I heard a boy shout not too far from us and he took off like a bullet after this little girl. "You should stay with me and not in the street!" I watched as he ran. This was probably his sister speeding off. It made sense as the kindergarten was across the street from the high school and he probably had to walk her home. But why was Dean stopping her from leaving? I pointed toward them and was about to ask when Michael interrupted, "Dean's cousins". Ah, that made sense.