Page 35 of Chase

“Gee thanks Rhys. I’ve been sitting alone for almost five years and now you decide to move a chair over here for me,” Ally says, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Don’t start, you’ve always known you could sit with us. You just decided not to,” Rhys spits back.

“I know, what about a tiger?” Arden asks excitedly.

“No.” Yasmin, Rhys and I respond collectively.

“Where the hell are you going to get a tiger from?” Ally asks.

“You guys suck.” Arden pouts. He spends the rest of home room shouting out random ideas. Every time the answer is a unanimous NO.

Once home room is over, I kiss Yasmin goodbye.

“I’ll see you in shop class,” I tell her, reluctantly letting her go. Ally is lucky she is in almost all of Yasmin’s classes.

“Yep. See you soon.” She stands on her toes and kisses my cheek before linking arms with Ally and walking in the opposite direction.

“Strippers. Every eighteenth birthday party needs strippers,” Arden says again.

I punch him in the shoulder and walk past him to go to our next class.

“So that’s a no?” He asks as he rubs his shoulder.

“Hard no.”

“Asshole!” He yells behind me.

***

Arden is quiet during our morning classes until we walk into shop class. He’s been itching to show me the new designs he worked on last week while he was refusing to help me.

This class has nothing to do with design, but Arden doesn’t care. While I’m doing an oil change, he’s picturing how the car would look with new body work and repainted. He has some serious talent; his sketches are amazing. His passion for design shows in all his work. I flip through his sketch pad on our way out of the change room.

“These are amazing.” I compliment.

“Of course, they are.” I roll my eyes at him. Flipping through some more pages, I stop on his sketch of Wander. He’s laid her flat and changed the colour.

“Wow. Wander looks good.”

“I know right. You think Yasmin will let us do it?”

“Maybe. Why don’t you wait and ask her after graduation? I don’t think she’ll want to start a project on Wander until she settles into Uni.”

“Good idea. Hmmm guess that means the house needs to have a good garage.” He says as he pulls out his phone to start his google search.

Arden convinced Rhys, Ally and I to move in with him next year. His dad will buy us a house to stay in while we’re all studying and working. Arden still hasn’t found a house that suits his plans.

I wonder if that vision now includes Yasmin. I don’t like the idea of her sharing a room with a stranger next year. I want her with me.

Speaking of Yasmin, I watch as she walks over to Mr Williams to find out what she’ll be doing today. Yesterday she mentioned that she hoped he would finally let her help work on the cars.

They speak briefly before making their way over to Arden and I.

“Chase, Yasmin will be helping you this week. Since your partner isn’t much help.” He says directing his comment at Arden. I have no issue with Yasmin working with us. I want to see what she can do.

“I’m offended. I offer moral support to Chase. My manicurist would murder me if I got my hands dirty. Not to mention my skin care products are expensive and don’t go well with oil.”

Mr Williams slaps Arden across the back of the head and pushes a packet of baby wipes into his chest.

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