Page 36 of The Rebel
“I hear Paris is playing in Europe,” the girl said, putting her hand on the page preventing me from closing it. “Hey, it’sreallygood.”
“Yeah, he’s in France now,” I muttered, shy at someone seeing my art.
“Awesome,” the girl said. She smiled and breezily walked away.
My phone pinged and I fumbled in my pocket for it, reading a text from Kelsey:Where are you? Why weren’t you in class?
Crashing back to reality, I made my way to Algebra. I had no idea what I would say about my absence and decided to wing it. With a bit of luck, Mrs. Fox may not have noticed. For now, I was more invested in how Gabby would act. We always sat next to each other in Algebra.
One of the first to the room, I sat in my usual desk. I pulled out my phone and texted Kelsey:Can you send me the lesson plz?
Kelsey responded straight away:We only watched a video, where were you?
Me:Something came up.
I couldn’t risk incriminating myself by revealing where I’d been. Better to play dumb, the less anyone knew, the better. That way, no one could snitch on me.
My chest jittered as kids filtered into the room, nervous as to how Gabby would behave. She came into the room her usual sparkly self, but her gaze was deliberate in avoiding me. She chatted to Tom Richfield like they were friends, yet she’d once called him a jerk. Her footsteps were tentative as she slid into her desk, her interest more in her backpack zipper than me.
“Hey,” I whispered, my heart in flutters. “Did you have a drama meeting?” I’d decided to pretend all was good and take thenothing-is-wrong-between-usapproach.
Gabby cleared her throat, placing her text book on her desk with pedantic care.
I was desperate to hide my desperation. “I wondered where you were. Are...you okay?Are we okay?"
Gabby sniffed, her lips pursing as she smiled weakly. “Yeah...we are. But it’s Scott you should apologize to.”
I froze, trying very hard not to show the emotion that was brewing inside me.
I should apologize to Scott?
Yet he was the one who’d cut me down, mademeout to be a fiery and unhinged maniac! But because my friendship with Gabby was the most important thing, and to prove that I did not possess those abhorrent and undesirable traits, I bit down on my lower lip, my teeth on the verge of drawing blood.
“Sure,” I murmured, coaxing my lips into an upward curl.
I was relieved that we were given a worksheet and ordered to work in silence. But for the life of me, I had no clue of the valueof x, yandz,all my energy suppressing the bitterness bubbling inside, not sure if my anger was directed at Gabby or Scott—or both.
Not wanting to lash out and say something I might regret, I kept my head down, but when the bell rang, it was Gabby who packed her books up in a rush.
“I’ve got the community garden now,” she muttered, “and I’ve got early band practice tomorrow so I’ll be going to school withScott.” The careless dismissal and precise enunciation of his name caused my heart to crack wide open, creating a rift which had seemed inconceivable, but the fact of the matter was plain to see—Gabby was choosing Scott over me.
And without waiting for me to respond, she dashed off. Stunned at her hasty departure, I stood motionless, confounded how I’d been cast as the bad guy.
Adrenaline raced through me, my heart speeding up and my chest tightening. This wasn’t supposed to be happening, Gabby and I were besties, we should’ve made up. No way would a boy come between us.
Though it wasn’t just any boy—it was Scott, someone I’d liked, which made my blood boil more. I’d been crazy to have a crush on him!
Snatching up my backpack, I crammed my books into it, somewhat dazed. But a fire was stirring in my belly. I decided I’d go and find Scott. Gabby wanted me to apologize to him, but I’d tell him just what I thought of him and his conniving ways.
Guessing he might be in one of the music rooms, I headed across campus to the music department, my blood roaring in my ears. I followed in a group of students and peered in the windows of the small practice rooms. He’d likely be in one of these rooms with his trumpet, and I’d be telling him just where to stick it.
In the first room, a kid was pounding on a drum kit. I was thankful they were soundproof. I moved along, bypassing rooms of cellos and keyboards. Down the end of the hallway, resigned to the fact that I must’ve missed him, I had a fleeting peek into the last window.
I steadied myself against the closed door, because Scottwasin there, but his lips weren’t anywhere near his trumpet. Oh no, Gabby who was supposedly planting kale seeds in the greenhouse, was wrapped in his arms, planting kisses on his lips.
Completely blown away, I shrunk back, my heart not merely broken, but crushed and ground to pulp. This was it—the ultimate in betrayal from my bestie. Shewaschoosing Scott over me. Oh boy, was I a fool. I’d put my friendship above everything, but Gabby had demoted me for her boyfriend, the pinky promise pact we’d naively made back in ninth grade obviously forgotten:If any of us gets a boyfriend, he will always come second to our friendship.
Yeah, well, guess things had changed.
