Building on Lies Read online

  At lunch, I got so desperate I sent him a text. I knew he probably wouldn’t get it until after school, because students weren’t allowed cell phones on during class time, but I felt I had to explain.

  “ Chan, the guy in the hall is my friend J. He’s just a cool guy. Nothing serious," I typed, hoping it didn’t sound like I was trying to cover up.

  “ What the heck is wrong with you, Nellie?" Ro asked, when I put my phone away. “ Why are you so jumpy?”

  We were sitting alone at our table. It would only be a matter of time before our table filled up with all of our girlfriends. And I knew they’d all be eager to talk about me and Joaquim.

  I gave Ro a quick rundown of what happened at the locker. “ And then Channing walks right past as I’m kissing Joaquim on the cheek! Can you believe my awful luck?" I whispered, even though there was no one around to hear.

  Ro didn’t look sympathetic. “ Gee, that does kind of suck”.

  “ Ro, what do you mean kind of sucks? It sucks all the way! Channing saw me kissing another guy!”

  “ Uh, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t Channing the one with the steady girlfriend? I don’t think he can get all upset with you over a harmless kiss on the cheek!”

  “ I don’t know if he’s upset. I just don’t like how he saw us together. I’ve never told him about Joaquim. For all he knows, Joaquim is this random guy I’m all of a sudden kissing!" I said.

  Ro shrugged. “ That would be the pot calling the kettle black, Nellie. He can’t expect you not to have male friends when he so obviously has female friends”.

  I wanted to say more but a group of our friends arrived, and they swooped down on me immediately, wanting to know what the deal was with me and Joaquim.

  “ I heard you two are going to the Winter Dance," said Ana Beatriz, waggling her spoon at me suggestively.

  “ He told Thiago he’s crazy about you!" added Emanuela, one of the most gossipy girls in school.

  It really didn’t matter what I told my friends about Joaquim. None of it would ever get back to Channing. I could tell them Joaquim and I were about to run off to Portugal to elope, and Channing would never hear about it. Cove kids and Ardsley kids just didn’t mingle like that.

  But it bothered me I had to pretend Joaquim and I were something more. I wanted everyone…Cove kids, Ardsley kids, heck kids in Bora Bora…to know how I felt about Channing. HE was the one I wanted to go to Winter Dance with. HE was the one I was crazy about.

  Only Ro understood my hesitance to talk about Joaquim. She kept trying to change the subject, but it was no good. Nothing caused more of a buzz than a new couple getting together.

  I told my friends I felt a headache coming on, and that I was going to go to the nurse's office. It wasn’t far from the truth. Stressing over Channing had me feeling out of sorts. And I really didn't want to be questioned anymore about Joaquim.

  I almost fainted on the spot when Channing approached our lunch table, before I had a chance to leave. My friends all fell silent as they watched one of the most popular guys in school…and an Ardsley guy, at that…come up and stand in front of me. Not to mention it wasn’t even Channing’s lunch period.

  I realized then Channing was just as confused about the Joaquim kiss as I was. I could tell by the way his hands were dug deep in his pockets, and the way his brow was furrowed.

  I honestly didn’t know what to feel. Elated he was talking to me in school? Annoyed he was only doing so because he’d seen me talking to another guy? Scared about why he was approaching me in the first place?

  “ Nellie, I was just wondering if we could meet after school. And work on our Sociology paper," he said, staring at me with his intense green eyes.

  “ Um, yeah. Sure," I stuttered, unsure of what to do.

  “ Because I’d really like to talk. About our paper. You know? I think it’s important if we…uh, talk about the paper," he stuttered, and I nodded. It was kind of unnerving to see Channing acting so nervously, when he was usually so reserved. Especially about a non-existent paper.

  “ We can talk about the paper," I said, and gave him a hesitant smile. “ You got my message about it, right?”

  “ Yeah, I got your message. And that’s why I want to talk. About it. The paper. OK. So, I’ll see you later”. He nodded at all of my friends and walked away.

  “What was that about?" asked Emanuela, her eyes wide with curiosity.

  “ Did you not hear?" Ro said, coming to my rescue. “ They have a paper they’re working on”.

  “ He seemed kind of nervous," Ana Beatriz commented, watching Channing as he exited the cafeteria.

  “ Probably not used to coming over to the Cove side of the cafeteria," Ro said, with a snort.

  “ Does he still go out with red headed girl? Samantha St. John?”, Emanuela asked no one in particular.

  “ I think so," I replied, looking down at the tray I still had in my hands.

  “ Funny he didn’t even bother to go and talk to her. She has the same lunch period as we do," Emanuela said, and she looked around the cafeteria. “ See? There she is”.

  I glanced over to where Emanuela was staring. I’d temporarily forgotten Samantha had the same lunch hour as I did. It was during lunch break that I managed to watch her, and take inventory of how her makeup looked and what she was wearing.

  I felt my heart sink to my knees when I realized Samantha was staring back at me as well. I could tell by the expression on her face she’d seen Channing talking to me. I looked away, but there was no mistaking the hostility coming from her, even though she was sitting all the way across the cafeteria.

  I could guess what she was thinking. Why was her guy talking to a Cove girl, and why hadn’t he bothered to say hello to her?

  Chapter 4

  I couldn’t get out of the cafeteria fast enough after I noticed Samantha St. John glaring at me. It probably would have been better if I’d stayed at the lunch table with my friends, and acted as if Channing’s surprise visit meant nothing. Running out of the lunchroom most likely made her suspicious, but I don’t handle pressure very well. At that moment, I just wanted to be far away from Samantha, and even further away from my curious friends.

  There was still thirty minutes left to my lunch hour, still enough time to go to the nurse's office. I could feel a tension headache coming on. So I excused myself from my friends and hurried out of the lunchroom.

  Ro followed me out of the cafeteria, and grabbed me by the arm.

  “ Nellie! What the heck was about?" she asked me, incredulously.

  “ What?" I asked, even though I knew she meant Channing.

  “ Your guy!" she whispered. “ How could he just walk up to our table like that, acting like a complete weirdo?”

  “ I guess he was really bothered by Joaquim," I said. “ I told you, Joaquim was leaning over me like he was my man or something”.

  “ Well, Emanuela and Ana couldn’t stop talking about it. Trust it’ll be all over school by the end of the day”. Ro sighed.

  “ What can they say? Chan wanted to work on a paper for a class we have together? What’s so crazy about that?”

  “ Hello, you two aren’t the only ones in Sociology class. I’m in it too, remember? And so are a bunch of other kids. We don’t have a paper due!" Ro pointed out.

  I groaned, and rubbed my temples. “ Ro. I feel a major headache coming on. I hope the nurse has some pain medicine”.

  “ The nurse isn’t allowed to dispense medication without a note from your parent, dummy. Come on, let’s go to my locker. I have some Tylenol," Ro said, and put her arm around my shoulder.

  “ I just wish things between me and Chan weren’t so complicated," I said, leaning my head Ro’s shoulder. “ I just wish we could be a normal couple”.

  “ I don’t know, Nellie," Ro said. “ You two have been seeing each other for a while now. How much longer are you going to sneak around? Until senior year? This is crazy!”

  “ I know. But, he isn’t goi
ng to leave Samantha. And I don’t want to give him up.”

  “ Then expect a lot more headaches in your future, girlie," Ro said, shaking her head.

  We reached her locker, and she dug around for some Tylenol. She had some bottled water, which she handed me as well. I swallowed down some pills, hoping they’d work soon.

  “ And another thing…how are you going to meet with Channing after school when we’re going to the mall with Joaquim?" Ro asked. “ You can’t stand Joaquim up”.

  “ Shit!" I cursed, then clapped my hand over my mouth when Ro looked at me disapprovingly. “Ro! You have to cover for me!”

  “ I am not," Ro said, firmly. “ That wouldn’t be fair to Joaquim or to Tommy or to me.”

  “ But Channing wants to talk!" I protested. “I need to explain to him what happened this morning!”

  “Then tell him you can’t talk until AFTER we come back from the mall," Ro said. “You should text him now and let him know.”

  I sighed, and reached for my phone, which was in my school bag. I quickly wrote Channing a text, telling him I wouldn’t be able to see him right after school. Hopefully he would understand.

  “ Good girl," Ro said, once I was done. “ Listen, I’m going to head to the library to see if I can catch Tommy before the bell rings. Don’t look so upset. I’m sure Channing will understand”.

  Ro kissed me on the cheek then headed for the library. I sat down in a chair in the corridor, and put my head in my hands. The medicine still hadn’t kicked in. A headache had formed around my eyes and forehead, and I rubbed at my temples again, hoping it would go away fast.

  I was busy trying to relieve the pressure in my head so I didn’t pay any attention to footsteps approaching me. It was still lunch hour, and the bell hadn’t rung, which meant the halls were empty. I figured the footsteps were a hall monitor or school security. If it was, all I had to do was show a copy of my schedule to let them know it was my lunch hour, and I wasn’t skipping a class.

  I looked up, though, when a pair of trendy high heeled boots stopped in front of me. I lifted my head up, and was shocked to see Samantha St. John.

  I tried my best to not look shaken, or even worse, guilty. It wasn’t easy to be approached by the girlfriend of the guy you’re fooling around with. I gave her what I hoped was a quizzical expression.

  “ Hey, I’m Samantha," she said, sweetly. Her voice was breathy, and high pitched, like a little girl.

  “ Hi," I said, cautiously.

  “ I couldn’t help but notice my boyfriend was talking to you in the cafeteria," she went on, still smiling at me. It was strange, but her smile appeared to be genuine. “ And I was wondering if everything was OK? He seemed nervous?”

  I was so unnerved by her question all I could do was stare at her blankly.

  “ You mean Channing Sutton?" was all I could think of to say, when I managed to get my thoughts together.

  “ Yeah," she nodded. “ I’m sorry, yeah. Channing. He’s my boyfriend. I was just wondering why he came to talk to you. He’s supposed to be in his Art class this period, so I thought maybe something was wrong. He didn’t even come over to say hi”.

  “ Oh," I said, and I waved my hand dismissively. “ We’re in Sociology together. And we have a paper due. He was just asking me when we could get together with some other kids in our class. For a study group. He’s the group leader and he wasn’t able to reach me. Tracking me down in the lunchroom was his last resort”.

  I was impressed by how easily I was able to lie to her, and the lie sounded pretty convincing, even to my own ears.

  “ Oh, OK. Makes sense," she said, running a hand through her long red hair.

  “ Channing is one of those serious students," I rambled on. “ I always wait until the last minute to get my papers done, but it seems like he’s more organized than that”.

  “ Oh, he definitely is," Samantha agreed. “ He’s used to pulling all A’s. Sorry if he pressured you about the paper. I’ll tell him it’s definitely not cool to chase someone down during their lunch period”.

  I pretended to laugh, and shrug it off. “ It’s no big deal. I really should have made more of an effort to meet with our study group”.

  “ What’s your name, by the way? I’ve seen you around the halls but I don’t know you? I’m sorry, but I was so worried about Channing I forgot to ask you before”.

  I felt my face grow red when she mentioned being worried about Channing. It made me realize she probably cared about him as much as I did.

  “ Um, it’s Nellie," I said, my voice getting a little wobbly. “ Nellie Depaola”.

  “ Nice to meet you, Nellie," Samantha said, giving me another friendly smile. “ I’ll see you around. Good luck on the paper!”

  “ Sure. Thanks," I said, and got up from my chair. I walked away from her as quickly as I could, feeling sick to my stomach.

  I looked over my shoulder once I got to the end of the hall, but she was gone. The bell rang, and I practically sprinted to my next class.

  My morning classes had been consumed with worrying about Channing. In my afternoon classes, I couldn’t stop thinking about Samantha. I’d been watching Samantha like a hawk ever since Channing and I had started seeing each other. I had to admit a part of me was a little obsessed with her, because she seemed so different from me. I wanted to know what it was Channing saw in her in the first place.

  But even though I’d spent a lot of lunch periods surreptitiously watching Samantha, and taking mental notes on her hair and her shoes and makeup, I never thought I’d ever have actual contact with her. Never thought I’d exchange words with her. We moved in entirely different circles. It was easy to cheat with Channing when Samantha was just a girl I saw in school, but talking to her and seeing how nice she seemed made me feel differently about her.

  Maybe I wasn’t being fair to her.

  I tried to push the thought to the back of my mind. The things Channing had told me about her made it seem as if she wasn’t really that nice of a person. Channing never came right out and told me he hated her, but I always got the feeling he didn’t like her at all. He was only with her because of how unstable she was…

  It was hard to visualize the girl I’d spoke to earlier as an unstable person. A crazy girl, if the things Channing had told me were true. The girl who had approached me seemed normal enough, kind of friendly for an A-girl, actually.

  I was grateful when the final bell rung, and school was out. Every part of me wanted to go home, and curl up in my bed. I didn’t want to go to the mall, or even talk to Channing. I just wanted to forget about all of my problems and sleep.

  But Ro was waiting for me by my locker, probably thinking I was going to bail on her and Tommy and Joaquim. I didn’t tell her about my encounter with Samantha. I knew it would just make her go into a whole lecture about how wrong my relationship with Channing was.

  “ What’s wrong?" she asked, though, because she is my best friend and knows me better than anyone in the world.

  “ My head still hurts that’s all," I replied, but I took a deep breath, and tried to make myself look cheerful.

  “ The Tylenol didn’t work?" she asked, frowning.

  “ Not really, but I’m fine," I said.

  “ Nellie, honestly. What’s happening to you?" she said, with a concerned sigh.

  “ Ro, I’m okay. Maybe I’m just hungry," I said, and waved to Joaquim, who was waiting by his truck. He smiled and waved back.

  “ Nellie’s not feeling well, so we can’t hang out too long at the mall," Ro told him, and I shot her a grateful smile. She knew I wouldn’t feel like myself until I talked to Channing.

  “ Aw, that’s too bad," Joaquim said, stroking my hair. “ Well, if you girls know where to get your dresses, then we shouldn’t take long”.

  “ I think we should head straight for Alice Fashions, right, Nellie? The dresses there are pretty and don’t cost too much," Ro suggested.

  “ Nellie, I just want you to know I’ll p
ay for your dress," Joaquim offered. “ I don’t want you to worry about the cost”.

  I felt my face grow hot…Joaquim was so nice! I knew he worked with his father at the fishery, and he was saving all of his money to be able to pay for community college. It wasn’t easy for him to spend money frivolously.

  “ Joaquim, you don’t have to," I began to say but he cut me off.

  “ No, Nellie, I’m serious. I’m really glad you agreed to come to the Winter Dance with me, when you could have gone with any guy you wanted," he said. “ You’re the prettiest and nicest girl in school, Nellie. Most guys would kill to go out with you. I’m flattered you chose to go with me”.

  Ro grinned from ear to ear at Joaquim's words, but all I could do was smile weakly at him. If he only knew how not nice of a person I could be… for the last three months, I’d been nothing but a liar and a cheater…

  “ Joaquim, pare isso! Stop it!" Ro laughed. “ You’re going to give her a big head!”

  “ It’s all true," Joaquim said, pushing a strand of hair away from my face. It was like he couldn’t stop touching me.

  “ Thank you so much, Joaquim. I feel the same way”, I mumbled.

  Tommy appeared at that moment, and the subject changed, much to my relief.

  “ So, Nellie, I heard an A-guy came up to you in the lunchroom. What was that about?" Tommy asked. A-guy was what Cove kids called the boys from Ardsley Park, like Channing. Emanuela and Ana Beatriz had wasted no time in telling everyone about Channing approaching me in the lunchroom.

  “ It was no big deal. You know Channing Sutton? One of the twins from A Park? He was just asking Nellie about a paper they need to work on," Ro jumped in with an explanation.

  “ Oh," Tommy said, nodding his head. “ I thought maybe he was trying to ask you out or something”.

  “ Why would a rich A guy like that ask out a Portuguese girl?" Joaquim scoffed.

  I pursed my lips together, and looked out the car window.

  “ I’ll tell you why. Because they think Cove girls are easy, that’s why," Tommy said. “ A guys are always trying to hit on Cove girls, because they think they can impress them with their money and their flashy cars”.