Secondary Characters (Novella) - By Rachel Schieffelbein Page 0,9

sliding out of the car.

Later that night I’m staring at the ceiling of my bedroom, playing over the evening in my head. The horrible dinner. The movie. Mabel leaning in so close to me our noses almost touched. There is no way I’m going to fall asleep.

I was totally ready to ask Mabel out again before Amber hauled her away.

I realize I could still ask her out, just the two of us, but I know she only went along this time because Amber talked her into it. I think if we hung out some more I’d maybe have a shot, but now? I don’t know. She’ll have the rest of the weekend to remind herself she doesn’t really like me.

If Nick hadn’t been such a freaking loser, we could have planned another double date. I go back and forth between being pissed at him and feeling sorry for him. I know he feels even worse than I do. I have never seen him act so stupid in front of a girl.

He must really like her. Personally, I don’t see it. I mean, Amber’s hot and all, but the truth is she’s kind of boring, too. Mabel is gorgeous and actually fun to hang out with. Not that I’ll get another chance to do that.

I roll over and pull the blanket over my head and groan. This sucks! I need some excuse to talk to her.

Then suddenly it hits me. I can help Nick and myself.

With a plan in mind, I finally fall asleep.

***

I’m standing at my locker on Monday morning, pulling my books out of my messenger bag, when Lance shows up. I’m a little surprised at just how happy I am to see him. My lips curl into a smile like they have a will of their own, even though I try to play it cool.

“Hey,” he says, leaning against the locker next to mine and lowering his voice. “So, how did you think the date went?”

“Um, well.” So much for playing it cool. My tongue is totally tied. What the hell is wrong with you? It’s Lance. My God, get it together!

“Yeah, pretty bad,” he says with a sigh. “Nick is totally crushed.”

Oh, their date. Not ours. I have an urge to smack myself. Not for assuming he meant us, but for being so disappointed that he didn’t.

“Poor Nick,” I say sarcastically.

Lance laughs. “Yeah, he’s not exactly used to disappointment. It doesn’t come often to the Golden Gods. He’s been a huge baby about it. It’s been a lot of fun for me.” This time he’s the one being sarcastic.

I know how he feels. It’s been a pain in the neck dealing with whiny Amber this weekend, too. She spent so much time analyzing every moment of the date, speculating on everything from who he was texting to whether or not it would have gone better if she had worn her hair up, that I almost fell asleep with my phone on my face.

“Well, maybe he should have turned his phone off and actually said more than two words to her,” I say, slamming my locker shut. I spin around to face him and almost smack my face into his chest. His shoulder is against the lockers, but he leans forward. I fall back against my locker and try to recover my breath.

“Cut him some slack, he was nervous,” he says with a shrug. “She’s like Aphrodite to his Zeus.”

Of course he would see her as Aphrodite. I don’t know why I’m feeling jealous. It’s not like ours was a real date anyway.

“Ares,” I say under my breath.

“What?”

I sigh and look up at him. His forehead is all crinkled up and he looks totally confused. And totally adorable.

“Aphrodite didn’t go with Zeus. Actually, she hooked up with a lot of Gods and mortals, but not Zeus.” I sort of went through a Greek God phase in junior high. Other girls my age were writing “I heart Zac Efron” on their notebooks while I was daydreaming about Eros.

He stares at me for a minute. “Do you always have to make me feel like an idiot?” he asks, one side of his mouth turned up a little.

“No. But it’s fun,” I say, trying to keep a straight face.

He pouts, slumping his shoulders and jutting out his bottom lip just a little bit. “Maybe I should talk to Amber instead. She’s much nicer to me.” He glances over his shoulder like he’s trying to find her.

“Okay, what do you want, Lance?”