Secondary Characters (Novella) - By Rachel Schieffelbein Page 0,4
Amber is so excited, Nick is all kinds of stunning. I look at her, then back at Nick again. They do make a cute couple. With their shiny hair and perfect smiles, they look like a toothpaste ad.
It’s just a movie, right? And it’s not like Lance thinks it’s a date, either. He’s just being dragged along by Nick. Besides, he’ll have to be quiet during the movie. Right? I hate people that talk during movies.
I bet he talks during movies.
I’m staring at the back of his head when he glances over his shoulder and catches me staring. I immediately drop my head back down to my book. Was he looking at me, too?
I wonder if Amber’s right, if he’s dreading Saturday night as much as I am.
So you’ll come to my house to get ready tomorrow, right?” Amber asks in front of my locker after school on Friday, checking her face in the mirror of her compact.
I drop my forehead against my locker door. “When exactly did I agree to doing this?”
Suddenly I hear a confident male voice behind me. “See you tomorrow night.”
Nick grins at Amber. His whole face is lit up. Lance stands behind him, his hands in his pockets.
“We’re looking forward to it!” Amber says.
Lance rushes forward and picks Nick up, swinging him over his shoulder. “I’ll make sure he gets there on time and behaves himself.” Nick slugs him in the back and Lance drops him back on his feet. They head down the hall laughing and taking swings at each other.
“See you tomorrow, Mabel,” Lance calls down the hallway between slugs.
I turn and glare at Amber. “Oh yeah, this is going to be big fun.”
We’re sitting in Amber’s room on Saturday night as she picks out eye shadows and the perfect shade of pink lip gloss. She insisted on doing my hair, and now my dark locks are in a long, loose side braid that hangs over my shoulder. I’m wearing a new, deep-red sweater that looks great against my dark olive skin. Amber’s pale blue shirt was specifically picked for the way it makes her eyes look even bluer.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” I say for probably the eighteenth time since I got here. I don’t know why I bother to repeat myself. I said “no” about five hundred and six times this week and it did me no good.
“It’ll be fun.” She dismisses my comment with one wave of her perfectly manicured hand and finishes perfecting her make-up.
“You know, you keep saying that. And yet, somehow, I am still unconvinced.”
“Oh come on, Maybie. Lance is a nice guy. Plus, he’s totally hilarious. He’s pretty cute, too.” She says that last line like a footnote.
“He’s a nimrod,” I grumble at the floor.
She tilts her head back and laughs. “Who says ‘nimrod’?”
The smell of barbeque hits us as soon as we open the door to the restaurant. The boys are already there waiting for us and I have to admit she’s right about one thing. Lance is pretty damn cute. He’s wearing a somewhat tight, long-sleeved Henley that totally shows off his broad shoulders and muscled chest. For some reason his eyes look especially blue tonight. His light brown hair is falling across his forehead and he’s smiling. He actually has a really, really nice smile. Dimples and everything.
Too bad it’ll be ruined when he opens his big, dumb mouth.
No matter how cute he is, he pales next to Nick, who looks like an ad for The Gap with his dark blond hair, tan skin, and perfect white teeth. Seriously, I keep waiting for them to “ping” and make a little starburst in his mouth. He’s almost too good looking. I glance over at Amber.
I always look a little more plain standing next to her.
Her blonde hair hangs down her back in waves, like some sort of fairytale princess. Her eyes are blue and surrounded by dark, thick lashes. Her pale-pink lip gloss perfectly accentuates her pouty smile. Nick is looking at her like pretty much every guy looks at her: like she’s a Victoria Secret model. They are grinning at each other with big cartoon hearts in their eyes.
Sometimes I’d really love to hate her, but she’s just so sweet. It’s annoying as all hell.
I may not be stunning perfection, but I actually do look pretty good tonight. Too bad it’s being wasted on Lance.
I sit in the booth next to Amber. Nick and Lance sit across from us, staring