Something Bad

Chapter Twenty-Four: Tim Gunn Would’ve Been Proud

      “And then he, like, told me that I was prettier than Taylor Swift and Megan Fox combined!” Piper gushed as I retrieved the required materials from my lockers. The way she was talking took the term “gushing” to a whole other level. Legit, this girl was oozing as she divulged an account of she and Matt’s latest date to me.

      “I’m, uh, so happy for you?” I ended with a verbal question mark, unsure if it was the right thing to say in the situation or not. I had never really been one for “girl talk,” for I always found it awkward and uncomfortable.

      “I know you are!” the girl beamed, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder as I slammed the wooden door shut, only to have it bounce back slightly. “So, what’s been going on between you and Luke lately? It seems like you two have been a lot clingier than usual.”

      “Uh, nothing,” I hesitated. Though Piper was my best friend, I wasn’t really ready for her to know about what was going on between Luke and I—whatever the undefined thing was.

      “You’re lying,” she stated, calling my bluff almost immediately. “Liv, spill, or I’ll go straight up to him and ask him myself.” And since she was Piper Kent, I knew that she was being completely serious. If I didn’t tell her, then she would actually pursue Luke until one of us finally caved in and informed her of what was going on, though we weren’t entirely sure ourselves.

      Thus, I decided that telling Piper might have been easier than having to deal with Luke telling Piper. “We kissed,” I stated simply, waiting for the aftershock by Piper Kent before continuing. She let out an elongated shriek, and then grabbed my arm excitedly. I shook her hold off, and then regretted the next words as they flowed from my mouth, “a few times.” She shrieked again, and then literally began to jump up and down as she clapped her hands like a seal. That was Piper, and that was one of the reasons that I happened to love her.

      “Did you use tongue? Was he good? Were you good? OMG! Liv, this is so exciting!” her enthusiasm then began to spew from her mouth in the form of words. “We’re not telling Preston, though. No way.”

      “What are we not telling Preston?” Preston Kent then popped in our conversation because it happened to be fate. He slung a loose arm over my shoulder, bringing me in closer to him.

      “Nothing,” I quickly brushed it off.

      “Whatever,” he muttered under his breath. “Um, Liv, I don’t know how to tell you this, but do you remember that project on morals and good and bad or whatever for English?”

      I nodded slowly, answering him. “Yeah, of course.”

      “Well, it’s due today,” he stated, dropping an explosive more detrimental than the atomic bomb.

      “No—it’s can’t be!” I suddenly exclaimed, just as Piper decided to leave us. She sent us each sympathetic smiles, winked suggestively at me, and then left with a grace only accomplishable by Piper Kent. “I thought it was due next week or something!”

      “Afraid not, Liv,” he shook his head. “I only know about it because Dr. G. sent me an email reminding me, like he always does before major assignments, so I had time to make a kickass power point. I was just assuming that you wrote a paper or something.”

      “Nope,” I gulped, “no paper. Nothing. Prest, what the hell am I going to do?” Normally, classes wouldn’t matter to me. I already took school as a joke, but English was the only thing I found useful for later in life, for I could see myself as a writer one day, or something in that field of expertise.