Nick was yet to arrive. Sarah and Charlotte were in the living room. Charlotte was talking about something but Sarah wasn't paying attention. Her mind was clouded with many ways to confront him. She knew she couldn't do it in front of Charlotte. She didn't even know how to start.
I saw you with a girl.
Too straight forward.
Nick, I want to talk to you.
Sounds rude.
Hi, Nick. Can I talk to you about something?
Sounds nice.
But do I need to sound nice?
"Sarah!" Charlotte yelled.
Sarah jerked up and turned to Charlotte. "What?"
"Nick is here." Charlotte said.
"Oh. Um, let's go then."
The girls carried their bags and went out to meet Nick.
"Hey ladies." Nick said.
Charlotte walked towards him and pecked him on his cheek. Nick winced at it. Sarah looked at Nick in disgust but pitied Charlotte.
If Charlotte knew, her heart would be so broken.
They got into the car and drove to school. All through the ride, Sarah kept glancing at Nick. She didn't want to believe what she saw but her friend was involved. She couldn't believe he could even do something like that.
They finally got to school. Sarah got out first and Charlotte and Nick later. Charlotte kissed on the cheek again.
"Bye, Nicky boo." Charlotte said.
"Nicky boo?!" Sarah said in a high pitched voice.
"Yes. I gave him that name." Charlotte giggled.
Nick's face turned red. He turned to Sarah "Let's go. You don't want to be late."
"Of course." Sarah said and the trio walked in.
Charlotte kept holding his arm as they walked in. Everyone's eyes were on them.
At least they are not on me. Sarah thought.
They reached their classroom and sat down. Charlotte sat in the middle of Sarah and Nick. The teacher soon walked in and class began.
It was lunch break and the trio decided to go to their special spot. Nick brought out some muffins and shared it with them. After that, Sarah was completely left out of whatever conversation Nick and Charlotte were having. She really wanted to talk to Nick but couldn't do so while Charlotte was around. Soon, luck came on her side.
"Oh my gosh." Charlotte said while holding her stomach.
"Are you okay?" Sarah asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine. It must be that muffin I ate."
"The muffin?" She turned to Nick. "Nick, do the muffins have chocolate inside?"
"Um, yeah." Nick answered.
"Oh no, Nick. She is allergic." Sarah said.
"Is she going to be alright, though?" Nick asked.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need to go to the bathroom." Charlotte said and rushed to the bathroom.
"It's okay. She's fine. Just a mild allergy. Stomach cramps and a bit of vomiting." Sarah explained.
Everywhere was silent.
Now is my chance.
"Nick, I want to…"
"I'm really sorry. I had no idea she was allergic to chocolate." Nick apologized.
"Huh? Right. Like I said, she's fine." Sarah smiled.
Talk to him. Her inner voice said.
"Nick, I want to…"
But Nick interrupted again.
"I have to go. Lunch break is almost over and I have class soon."
"But, I…"
"I'll see you later." And he left.
He didn't even let me talk.
Sarah sighed. She would have to wait till the end of the day.
Charlotte came back but didn't see Nick.
"Hey. Where did Nick go?" She asked.
"Oh. He has class after lunch break."
"Okay." Charlotte said hesitantly.
They left the spot and went for their own classes. Soon, school was over and the girls were outside, waiting for Nick to come. After waiting for a few minutes, they didn't see him.
"What is taking him so long?" Charlotte asked impatiently.
"Maybe he's caught up with something." Sarah said.
"For how long?"
"We should go inside and find him." Sarah suggested.
"You go. I'll wait here. Maybe I will see him here."
"Okay." Sarah agreed.
Where could he be? Sarah thought as she went to search for him in the classrooms.
He could be at the special spot.
She decided to head in that direction. As she went, she heard Nick's voice in the music room. She hid behind the wall and peeped in. She saw Nick talking to someone on the phone.
"No, you can't. Dad, just listen. Dad!" And the person on the other line hung up.
Nick groaned in frustration. His hands were on his forehead as he turned around. Sarah yelped and she tried to hide away but ended up hitting her head on the wall and falling down, hitting her elbow on the floor.
"Ow!" She cried.
"Sarah, what are you doing here?" Nick asked, surprised.
"Looking for you. What are you doing here?"
"Nothing."
Nick moved towards her and helped her up. Sarah rubbed her hurting elbow.
"Does it hurt?" Nick asked as he touched it.
Sarah hissed in pain. "Yeah, it does."
"Sorry."
"Nevermind."
Sarah realized that they were alone in a room. She decided to take this opportunity.
She took a small breath and let it out quickly. "Nick, I want to talk to you about something."
"Alright." Nick said.
Sarah cleared her throat. "I… it's about, um, y-you and Charlotte."
Nick nodded as he kept on listening.
Sarah bit her bottom lip nervously. "And I want you to be honest with me."
"What do you mean?"
"Are you cheating on Charlotte?" Sarah blurted out.
Nick's eyebrows raised in surprise. His mouth opened as though he wanted to say something but couldn't. There was an awkward silence before Nick could finally get a word out of his mouth.
"What?"
"I saw you and Ella, the girl you were with, in the park. I went there on Saturday."
Nick tried to say something but Sarah interrupted.
"Now, Nick. Don't lie to me. I saw you. My eyes never lie to me."
"I don't know what you're talking about." Nick denied.
"Nick…" Before Sarah could say anything else, Charlotte walked into the room.
"There you are. I've been looking for you guys."
She walked towards Nick and put her arm over his. "Come on, let's go."
Charlotte pulled him outside and Sarah followed behind.
The ride back home was silent. Charlotte was on her phone, Sarah watched him and Nick stared outside the window, avoiding Sarah's eyes.
Sarah finally got to her house. She waved them goodbye and went inside. While in her room, she thought of texting Nick.
No, he would ignore me.
It was better to do it face to face.
And I was so close today.
She just had to do it tomorrow.