The Pull of Destiny (50 page)

Next Day at School.

I had to wait until Shazia
and Robyn were alone (i.e. without CiCi) before I could approach them. When
that finally happened it was almost lunch time and I was just giving up hope,
then I spotted the two at Shazia's locker.

Robyn saw me first and folded
her arms across her chest as I came up to them.

“Well, well, well, if it
isn’t Douchebag of the Year,” she drawled coolly, giving me a head to toe look as
I stood in front of her. “You know, you make me sick. How can you use a girl
like Celsi for your own selfish needs like that?”

“I didn’t use her,” was all I
could come up with. Two sets of cold, brown eyes were fixed on me, and that was
making me nervous.

Sniffing derisively, Robyn
muttered, “A likely story.”

“What do you want from us?”
Shazia's voice caught me off guard.

Swallowing my pride, I said,
“I need your help,” in a soft voice, looking surreptitiously around, just to
make sure that nobody was listening.

Robyn ran her fingers through
her thick blonde hair. “Unless you’re looking for a way to kill yourself- I’ve
heard that arsenic is painful- we don’t have anything to say to you.”

“Look, guys, I feel terrible
for what I did to CiCi-,” I started, scratching my neck nervously.

Shazia cut in, swinging her
bag onto her shoulder. “So why’d you do it?”

“I just- peer pressure got to
me, I guess,” I replied. “I didn’t know what to say.”

 It
had
been all about
the peer pressure, just not in the conventional way. And the only person I
planned on telling the whole story to was CiCi, if she would ever talk to me
again.

Scornfully, Robyn said, “How
about the truth, that you and Celsi are actually friends?”

“They wouldn’t like that,” I
said defensively, even though I wasn’t too sure what I was being defensive
about. “You know what they’re like.”

“I know what you’re like when
you’re not with them,” Shazia told me, shaking her hair over her shoulder and
giving me a piercing look. I stared at her as she continued. “Do you really
have to act like a jerk to look cool?”

As hard as it was for me to
admit it, I knew Shazia was dead on. I did act like a jerk to look cool. I did
say a lot of things I didn’t mean to feel accepted. I just hadn’t planned on
anyone seeing through that deception, especially not my friends little sister.

Shrugging, I said, “It’s what
everyone thinks I am, so- what else can I do?”

Robyn watched us, her eyes
wide as Shazia shook her head.

“But you’re not, Luke. I used
to think that you were but now I see through your ‘spoilt little rich kid’
act.” She put her head on one side, looking into my eyes. “You’re not the guy
you make yourself out to be.”

I couldn’t even say anything
as Shazia spoke. Everything she said was true. How the hell did she know that I
was a big phony?

“Preach, Shaz babe,” Robyn
grinned, slinging an arm over her best friends shoulder.

Shazia smiled at me. “If you
show Celsi that you can be humble and not care so much about what your friends
think, you might be able to win her back.”

I gave a rueful grin. “I
think it’s too late for that,” I admitted. “I was just hoping that you guys
could tell her that I didn’t mean what I said and I never meant to hurt her.”

“It’s never too late,” Shazia
said, a ghost of a smile on her face.

“And we’re not doing your
dirty work for you.” Robyn gave me a fierce look, putting her hands on her
hips. “Tell her yourself.”

Oh, like I haven’t tried
about a thousand times already!

“She won’t listen to me,” I
said, striving for calmness when all I felt like doing was throwing a tantrum
and screaming ‘help me’! The girls were being no help at all!

Robyn pursed up her lips.
“Honestly, Luke, does that surprise you?”

I sighed, feeling lost. “You
guys have been tons of help. Thanks.” I started walking away. Now what?

“Remember what I told you,”
Shazia called after me. “Drop the act and you’ll be fine.”

Feeling frustrated, I headed
for Math class. So much for
that
plan. I understood and respected the
fact that Shazia and Robyn probably didn’t want to get mixed up in the mess
that I was responsible for creating and they had a loyalty to their friend, but
that meant I was now officially stuck.

“Dave Renfrew, please report
to the locker room.”

Or was I?

The loud voice over the PA
system made me stop dead in the hallway. As cursing students bumped into me, an
idea was starting to form in my mind. A very stupid, potentially embarrassing,
exceedingly dangerous idea that just wouldn’t quit.

Shazia's earlier words echoed
in my head.
‘If you show Celsi that you can be humble and not care so much
about what your friends think, you might be able to win her back.’

I stared up at the ceiling,
looking up at the speakers that were hooked up to the PA system, shaking my
head at my plan. There was no way I could get away with doing this. I would be
expelled for sure. But if it meant clearing up things with CiCi, I would take
the expulsion. There were plenty of nice schools in NYC. Maybe I wouldn’t even
need to go to another school, because my dad would probably kill me if I got
expelled. I shrugged carelessly. Fuck it. I was gonna do this. Not only would
it prove that I was serious about my friendship with CiCi, it was also a way to
knock one more thing off of my list. Making up my mind, I turned around and
headed towards the PA room.

 Luke’s Bucket List- Make a
complete and utter fool of myself

Celsi’s Point of View

“So he was trying to get to
me through you guys? That low life!”

I shook my head in disbelief.
Why was Luke approaching my friends? You didn’t see me going to his friends and
asking them to tell him to stop being a jerk.
Probably because you know they
would run you out of town, Celsi.

Wrinkling up her nose as we
passed the Science lab, which smelled of ammonia, Robyn said “IDK, he seemed
pretty legit to me. Too legit. Too legit to quit.”

Shazia giggled behind her
hand at Robyn’s spontaneous outburst of foolishness and I rolled my eyes at her
naiveté.
Obviously Luke seemed legit
. He could pull off the puppy dog
look better than anyone I knew. That didn’t mean he was telling the truth, it
just meant that he was a great liar.

“He’s a good actor,” I said
as I tightened my ponytail.

“Nobody’s that good. You
should have seen the look in his eyes when he said he thought it was too late
for him to try get back on your good side.” Shazia patted my shoulder. “Trust
me. He’s torn up that you won’t talk to him.”

A vindictive pleasure swept
through me. “Good! Let him be torn up,” I said spitefully, then paused, giving
Shazia and Robyn searching looks. “Wait a minute. Is this part of your plan
with him to get me to forgive him? Because it ain’t happening.”

“What’s going on between you
two is your own business. Robyn and I aren’t involved and we’re not helping
him,” sensible Shazia replied calmly.

“Shaz gave him advice on how
to win you back though,” Robyn said in a sing-song voice, hiding behind me and
sticking out her tongue at Shazia.

I stopped walking (not easy
in a crowded hallway with other students elbowing you out of the way) and
stared at Shazia.

“Win me back?” I asked
suspiciously.

Cheeks flushing, Shazia
nodded slowly. “I might have used those words, yes.”

My curiosity was piqued. What
on earth had they talked about?
No wonder my eye had been twitching all
through Music.

“Why’d you give him advice to
win me?” I asked.

“All I said was for him to
humble himself-,” Shazia started.

I snorted. I couldn’t help
myself.
That’s unlikely.

Furnishing me with a dirty
look, Shazia continued. “-And not care about what his friends think-.”

Snort.

“Okay, can you
not
snort?” Shazia exclaimed exasperatedly.

“We all know there’s no
chance in hell that’s gonna happen, so I don’t have to worry about him winning
me back. Now, let’s forget about that sucker and go grab some lunch. I’m
starved.”

I linked arms with Shazia and
Robyn and we started walking again, but not for long.

“Good afternoon school. This
is Principal Herman with an awesome announcement: You're all expelled!!!” A
student in the hallway screamed as, instinctively, we all looked up at the PA
speakers in shock. “No, I’m just playing, just a little joke. Can you imagine,
though?”

Robyn frowned slightly,
tapping her nose with her finger. “That’s not Principal Herman,” she said.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Shazia
agreed, also squinting up at the PA speakers like that would solve the mystery.
“In fact, it sounds like-.”

“Luke. It sounds like Luke.”
I stared at Robyn and Shazia. “What the hell?”

“Okay, so I lied. I’m not
Principal Herman even though I think he’s doing a really great job. I’m
actually Luke Astor.”
Knew it!
Luke’s magically amplified voice boomed
through the hallway as crowds of students stood around, listening and wondering
what Luke was up to now. I was one of them. “You might know me from gossip
around campus but here’s your tip for the day: don’t believe everything you
hear.”

A couple of students standing
near us said, “What the hell is he doing?”

We didn’t have long to find
out.

“So, you’re probably
wondering why I’m on the PA. Well, a few days ago, I did something evil to one
of the nicest people I’ve ever met.” My mouth dropped open. Oh no he isn’t!
Oh
yes he is!
“Now she won’t talk to me coz I really messed up bad.”

“Oh my God he’s talking about
you,” Robyn exclaimed in an awed whisper. I shook my head. He couldn’t be. He
had to be talking about someone else.
Had to be.

“You all know Celsi Sawyer,
right?” Students started to murmur and I hid my face in Shazia's hair. “I call
her CiCi but she told me not to after our- incident. She’s the tall girl with
the hazel eyes and the kind heart.”

“With a description like
that,
everyone
will know who you are,” Robyn whispered sarcastically.

But it seemed that more
people knew who I was than I thought, because faces started turning towards us
and several people pointed. Oh, what I would give for an anonymity filled life.

“-took advantage of that kindness
big time.” Luke sighed. “I’m a snob, okay? I admit it. I hang out with rich
people and I don’t want to mix with people outside my clique. That’s something
most of us are guilty of so don’t judge me. But I had an opportunity to get to
know Celsi and I realized that I’m a jerk. Because when my friends started
confronting me about why I was hanging with her, I lied and said she was the
one who was sticking to me and I was just using her to piss off my dad. Can I
say ‘piss’ on the PA?”

“No! My 5 year old sister
goes here!” a jokester in the crowd yelled. My mouth was wide open and my
eyebrows were raised in a classic stunned expression. Was he serious? Why was
he doing this?

“-want to clear this up
because I tried apologizing in person and she won’t hear me out. I don’t blame
her. So here it is, folks, you’re all my witnesses. Celsi Sawyer is my friend. 
If anything, I’m the one who sticks to her! I didn’t ask her to the charity
ball to piss off my dad, I asked her because I enjoy her company. So if anyone,
especially Ahmed, Joanna, Wendy, Denise and Jake has a problem with that, you
can all suck it. Seriously. Celsi, I’m sorry.”

I jumped as he addressed me
personally, the PA only amplifying the remorse in his voice.

“I know I hurt you. I know I
keep on hurting you and I shouldn’t. I won’t. You really don’t deserve that,
especially from me. Please forgive me. You don’t even have to talk to me again
after this if you still don’t want to, but please forgive me. I’m holding the
PA room hostage so that I can apologize to you coz you deserve it. I don’t care
about what anyone else thinks about this.”

Eyes bright, Shazia nudged
me. “I told him that!”

“Shhh!” Robyn waved Shazia to
silence as Luke continued.

“The whole school should know
that we’re friends. So, what do you say, Celsi? Just one more chance.”

“Oh my God, this is so
humiliating,” I whispered to the girls.

Robyn gave me an ‘are you
nuts’ look. “I think it’s sweet! He’s making a total fool of himself over you!”