Searching for Love, Found Wealth

Nancy really didn’t come to school all through the next week. It was Friday, the last day.

I spoke with Chloe about everything. I could finally tell her about my family. Though I made it sound like I was totally unaware till I got the invitation.

She had out a fit of rage saying she would have turned Isabella to toast if Baby John had been injured. And she did get to see Baby John, I don’t think she’d ever recover from his cuteness.

“You mean J-twins were at the party, and they couldn’t help a damsel in distress?” Chloe’s voice resonated, along the hallway.

I grabbed her mouth. Was the girl’s voice getting louder by the second?

“Yes, and why should they? I told you I got Nancy and my mom with me already” I answered, while clasping her face in my hands. She made muffling sounds which were cute so I let her go.

I tried phoning Nancy again. Her line remained switched off.

“Stop calling her. You thanked her already didn’t you? Don’t make her your bestie now” Chloe pulled my phone from my ear.

Was she feeling jealous or anxious that’d make Nancy my bestie? She shouldn’t worry, she’s the only one I have now.

I haven’t told her that Nancy was my cousin. I didn’t trust her with that yet. She was a good person but with a loud mouth.

Chloe, in het feat of madness, began singing loudly. We were at the field now.

We had no class left for the day but would still hang around so I let her sing her madness away.

If it’d make her feel better. I still wondered why she was super active these days.

She was singing to ‘Thunderous’ by Stray Kids and ‘Icy’ by ITZY. Chanting the iconic lines “I’m not sorry, I’m dirty” and “They keep talking, I keep walking”.

Those were obviously diss lines and I was loving them. I wondered if Chloe was dissing Isabella for my behalf though.

“Hey!” Reuben appeared in front of us. I didn’t know he had been trying to catch up with us for a while.

I was more comfortable around him after our little bond on our way to the party, with my mom.

Chloe folded her arms and stopped singing.

“Do you know Isabella from somewhere?” was the first question he asked me. I was disappointed.

If he had seen me in brawl with Isabella, the other day, and haven’t even bothered support me, shouldn’t he, at least start with asking am I okay or something?

Or was it only cute male leads in movies that thought that way.

“Oh, so you saw her being bullied by Isabella? From what she told me, she didn’t know you noticed her there?” Chloe answered with a question.

I kept a straight face as I glared at Reuben’s soul and said, “I don’t know her. I came to party only to be harassed by the drunk girl”.

He looked down, “I was just asking, that’s all”.

He was about leaving but then Chloe decided to make a deal about it.

“Oh, then won’t you ask if she’s okay? Or you’re just concerned about Isabella?”.

I didn’t care much anymore but I was glad she was making my point.

“Chill, I know. But I wasn’t really around when the fight happened. Jasper told me…”

“Oh oh, so Jasper saw it and did nothing. I thought you were her friends. Yet you watch her get publicly bullied?” Chloe dragged me away from him before I could add to what she said.

I just left Reuben with a heart wrenched gasp. He looked apologetic but I didn’t think much of it.

I bet Jasper had been watching a show while I got humiliated. Wait till I get him.

“Rich people ways defend other rich people” Chloe sighed.

“Yeah, I guess. Did I forget to tell you Cara was at the party? They’re all alike” I rolled my eyes.

Chloe turned to me with a shocked expression.

“Oh” I gasped. I guess I did forget to tell her Cara was at the party. I gave her a new rundown on how I met the nasty Cara Adams as bestie of Isabella.

They seemed really tight so either Isabella transferred bad characters to Cara or vice versa.

“I think Isabella is the real meanie here” Chloe announced.

Her lips pressed together like they have made an important discovery. I made the ‘what-do-you-mean’ face.

She explained how the Martinez family always had a history for being mean, manipulative and rude but Cara’s family isn’t like that.

Her parents were quite nice people. Her aunt was a disciplinarian, and for Cara saying she was suspended, I guess her aunt really is.

Her brother had also once shunned Cara for being rude to her friend. Maybe she’s just the bad one. Caused by a bad influence.

“Like who gets shitty to a person you’re just meeting for the first time. Isabella did that. Cara wouldn’t. Remember she never had a real argument with you till she knew you longer?” Chloe added.

She was really good at analyzing this sort of stuffs. The detective, puzzles thing fit her. I nodded and shrugged.

If I should cancel out Cara and her chicken-walker team called me to the back of the school to threaten me.

And then began a ‘Barbie fight’. If I should cancel that then yeah, Cara always ignored me.

She was an attentions seeker, troublemaker, mean but not someone who’d run around searching for a ‘beast’ title for herself.

“Why was Cara turning to be like a good person now. I mean, Jane still got punished after their fight. To be fair, Cara was too.

“Oh my” Chloe groaned after looking at the person who was calling her. The name on the caller ID was “My guy” with a blue heart.

On the phone, Chloe sounded annoyed and made short replies. My eyes widened when she said, “No baby. I’m still mad at you”.

She met my gaze and smiled. Was it her boyfriend? Well, Chloe drinks alcohol at seventeen, so she can as well have a boyfriend. I shouldn’t be surprised.

When she was done, I right off asked who the guy was anyway.

“Oh, it’s your bestie, Charles” she said, she watches me intently. I was yet to understand her answer.

“That’s Charles. The one I introduced you too?” I askes, confused.Nôvel(D)rama.Org's content.

“Hmm. We are not dating though. He was supposed to show me something as a prize of something but kept me standing outside” she rolled her eyes.

I kept staring at her. Charles had taken her to a ‘not-a-date’ outing. And it meant she could call him “baby”. Am I jealous? Do I feel I am jealous? I’m not jealous.