I sighed deeply, trying not to get myself worked up as I felt the cold sensation running down my chest and the complete annoyance that sparked shortly after.
"It's fine," I said, smiling tightly at the freshman girl who stuttered out her apology to me. "Really, it's no big deal."
So this must have been what Jonah had felt when my soda decided to acquaintance itself on his chest. It was cold as hell (hell? But isn't hell supposed to be burning in fire?). I shifted my body slightly as my wet shirt pressed into my skin uncomfortablyâespecially since some of the liquid somehow had made its way inside my shirt and my bra, resulting in some tickling feeling I felt as the liquid trickled down my chest.
I caught Jonah's eyes from where he was sitting, and immediately narrowed my eyes at him at the slight amusement on his face. I shook my head and unsuccessfully tried, again, to pry the freshman girl's hand off of my shoulders.
"Hey, I mean it. Just... go," I told her, peeling her hands off my skin. "I'm not gonna eat you alive or anything, god. Unlike some people, I'm actually forgiving." I didn't tell her that if she kept on touching me and apologizing to me for the next five seconds, I would probably maybe really eat her alive.
Jonah's snort wasn't loud, but I heard it anyways since I was anticipating the sound. The freshman girl unsurely nodded her head at me, before saying her last apology and scurrying off, far away from where I was standing.
I sighed and walked over to Gina and Bey who were already staring at me sympathetically. I dropped my tray on the table and plopped myself on the chair, heaving out another loud sigh.
"I don't suppose any of you have a spare shirt I could wear?" I muttered, shoving French fries into my mouth to suppress my slight anger at the wet shirt I was still wearing. The only shirt I had in my locker was the school's gym uniform, and it was so tight I could barely tolerate the squeezing feeling of my boobs during the gym period itself.
"I just used my last stash of fresh clothes in my locker last week," Gina said, cringing.
Bey's expression was more or less the same. She didn't have to say anything, but I knew that even if she did have some spare clothes, I wouldn't be able to fit. She was so petite, standing only at 4' 9". Me, I wasn't all that tall either, but I was sure that my 5' 6" figure would have a hard time wiggling itself into her tiny sized shirt.
"This is why I need more girlfriends!" I groaned to myself.
Thankfully, the soda that the girl dumped on me wasn't brightly coloredâin fact, it wasn't colored at all. I think it was sprite or something similar like that. Still, it left my whole chest feeling sticky and there was this sugary smell that came out from the soda, and I wasn't so much of a fan of it.
Needless to say, the soda left me with a terrible mood for the rest of the day. I almost felt really sorry for Jonah now for putting him through the same thing last month. I really almost did. Then again, he did dump soda all over my hair, so I guess I really didn't need to feel all that guilty after all.
Hours rolled around and it was already almost the end of school. I just got out from Chemistry class, my terrible mood still not getting any better, when I felt Jonah's presence calmly appearing next to me as I put my chemistry textbook into my locker.
"What?"
"Have you worked on your vow yet?" he asked.
"No." I glanced at him questioningly. "Why?"
He shrugged. "I was just wondering if I should search some matching vows on the internet."
I shook my head. "Nah. I'll just write it myself."
"Write?" One of his eyebrows was shot up into his forehead.
"Yes, Jonah." I shut my locker door. "I'm writing the vow myself. It feels weird to just copy-paste some other people's vows from the internet."
"I mean... it's just for a school project. Not like it's... you know. Real." His forehead knitted slightly. "Should I do the same?"
"I don't know. I don't care. Just do whatever."
He glowered at me. I glowered back at him. He then glanced at the wrinkled front of my shirt, his nose probably sniffing the smell of the soda that was still present, despite the fact that the shirt was already dry. There was a small, mocking smirk on his face as if he was recalling last month's soda incident.
He said, "Alright, I'll see what you can come up with."
Before he fully left, I called out his name, and he turned around. "Have you picked out your suit yet?"
He nodded slowly. "Yeah."
I nodded back. "Okay."
"Alright." He paused for a few seconds before turning around and finally left.
I watched him until he finally disappeared from my sight, and a small smile formed on my lips. That was until the smell of the soda breezed past my nose, and my face curled into a scowl.
Stupid soda.
[]
It was Thursday evening, and I was still drawing blank on my wedding vow draft.
I couldn't seem to find the right words that would be good enough to say for the wedding. Maybe because it wasn't even a real wedding and Jonah and I didn't really love each other. But I really didn't want to resort to copying other people's vow because no matter how fake this wedding was, this should be my vow to Jonah.
I groaned into my hands, spinning on my study chair. The wedding was tomorrow and I still didn't know a thing to say. I wonder how Jonah was doing with his vow.
I grabbed my phone and speed-dialed someone who I hoped could help me with this. The call was answered within the second ring, and the perky voice that greeted me instantly made me smile, no matter how annoyingly nasally the voice was.
"Leann," I sighed. "I need some help."
She fake-gasped. "And here I thought you were calling me because you missed me," she said in an offended tone, before her tone changed into one of scolding. "You almost never called, missy."
"I know! I'm sorry," I said sheepishly. "I do miss you, and you know it. When are you visiting?"
"Mm, probably during Thanksgiving. But I can't guarantee you that. However, I can guarantee you that I will be home for Christmas and New Year," she told me. "And I miss you too."
I grinned. "I bet you do. How's Hollywood life a-treating you?"
She giggled over the phone. "Everything I imagined it would be. I know I'm just one of the lucky ones, because most people don't really make it here but somehow I kinda do and it's so fun!"
"I'm glad you're happy," I said, smiling to the phone. "I'll follow you right up there once I graduate."
"Mhm," she hummed, and I almost could picture her nodding and twirling her blonde hair with her finger. "I already have a room ready for you, you know."
"You're amazing," I gushed. "Just a few more months... just a few more months."
"Just a few short months," she echoed. "And you'll be here with me."
"I can't wait," I sighed. "Anything new there?"
"Well, you've seen some of my commercials on TV," she listed off. "I also just signed up to model some print ads and stuff like that. You know all the big stars mostly start with modeling, and I'm not too bad at that, so that's where I'll start, too."
"Send me a copy of the ads once they're out!" I said excitedly. "How about the movie and TV show auditions?"
"I've been doing a lot of auditions, but no luck so far." She sighed. "I'm just gonna fill up my resume with all this modeling stuff I'm currently doing. Hopefully I can get there within a few months..."
Happy with her optimism, I nodded even though she wouldn't see it. "Of course you will. You're a freaking talented actress and you're gorgeousâjust like meâ" she snorted, and I grinned, "âso, yeah, I know you'll get there. Just don't give up."
"Never," she emphasized. "This is what I wanna do in my life and I'm not gonna stop until I get there."
"That's the spirit!"
She giggled one last time, before finally asking, "So, what do you need me to help you with?"
"Wedding vows," I stated simply, almost laughing when I heard her gasp.
"YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED?!"
"No!" I chuckled, and she sighed in relief. "It's just for some Life Skills assignment."
"Oh." She paused, and I imagined her curling her nose in confusion. "But isn't it just a baby project? What does it have to do with wedding vows?"
"Well, the new teacher decided to add some little twist. I'm already currently engaged with my project partner. Tomorrow we're getting married and I don't even know what to say for the vows!"
"Oh my god! Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" she asked. "I remember being paired with that jackass Colton Maine, and he almost got me an F because he kept dropping the stupid doll," she sighed. "Who's your partner?"
I bit my lip to keep my grin before saying, "Jonah Gibbs?"
"The guy you've been in love with forever?" she gasped in excitement.
"Can you imagine mu luck?" I shrugged with a smile. "There's a twist though. He kinda hates me for dumping soda on his shirt and so he dumped the same soda all over my hair and then we kinda sorta just hate each other but we don't? I don't even know. You know I like him but I think he still hasn't forgiven me because I keep on annoying him. Oh and by the way, I'm a redhead now."
Leann paused to let everything sink in. "Damn, you should've called more often."
"Yeah, I totally should. There's so much that's happened," I agreed, nodding my head. "And now I need a wedding vow!"
She sighed at me almost patronizingly. "Why would you think I could help with the vow?"
"I don't know, because you're more experienced in men than I am?"
"Men never stick with me for more than like two weeks," she informed me, but it was old news. She didn't say it with any hint of bitterness or sadness, just very matter-of-fact. "I should be the last person you should ask to help you write a damn vow."
"Yeah... I see that now," I said with a sigh. "I'm just so, so, so hopeless."
"Why don't you look up the internet?"
"I want it to be as real as possible and I also don't wanna copy someone else's vow. It's kinda rude."
"Hannah, I think nearly everyone's vows are just the same," she said. "Do you have any idea what his vow would be like?"
"I don't," I told her. "And I don't wanna know. Ruins the element of surprise."
She sighed, and something told me she was rolling her eyes at me. "You know what? I really miss you and I wanna hear all the stories I haven't heard. Why don't we just put the wedding vow thing on hold, and let's talk until the sun rises like we always did?"
I sighed, but smiled anyway. "Alright, Lee. But if I get an F, I'm blaming it all on you."
[]
I woke up with a horrible growling in the lower part of my abdomen, and I instantly knew that today was not going to be a great day.
I had stayed up until about 1 A.M. last night, talking about everything to Leann on the phone. We only hung up because she realized that keeping me awake until morning came wouldn't be good for me because I got all cranky if I lacked sleep. It all didn't matter now though since I wouldn't be on my best mood today anyway.
I managed to get her to help me write down some cheesy lines for the vow. It completely embarrassed me what I'd written, but as she had encouraged me; it was better than coming up with nothing. So I guess that was what I would be using to seal my marriage with Jonah today.
Clamping a hand over my lower abdomen, I crawled out of my bed with a groan, checking the date on my phone. Great, I was right. My period was almost due. Some people experience the worst cramps during the week of the period, but not me. The most horrible pain struck about one to three days before the period, along with the mood swing and the sudden need to cry at everything. It went on until the second or third day of the period, until I finally came back to normal. It completely sucked, and I totally hated myself during those times, but it was what I had to deal with for the next one week or so every freaking month.
I really should've known that it was coming. Usually, it would start with the whole mood swings; the crying and the sudden anger at the world without explanation. Earlier this week, I cried watching Ted with Gina and Bey. Fucking Ted. I didn't even understand how, but I guess I should have. Then my dad got a spat because he misplaced the shampoo in my bathroom with a conditioner. My innocent brother also got the end of it when he asked me to pass the orange juice two nights ago.
Realizing it now, I scolded myself for being such a monster. Maybe this unbearable pain in my stomach was just karma for treating people so horribly. Then again, it wasn't me who was to blame. The hormones! Blame the fucking hormones!
I barely made it to the bathroom, and I tried to finish showering as soon as possible so I could go back to lying on my bed for another five minutes. And I did, while still in just my towel. I almost fell back asleep had my mom's call for breakfast hadn't jerked me from my half-asleep state.
I quickly slipped into my underwear, not forgetting to slip a pad in just in case the blood flow really would come in waves today. I chose the comfiest outfit possible, which was a loose t-shirt and loose pants so it wouldn't squeeze any part of my body that was all hurting right now. Gina would probably have my head when she knew I was wearing the closest thing to sweatpants to school today, but whatever.
Once I got downstairs, I immediately plopped into one of the dining chairs, still holding my stomach. "Mom? Do you have some Advil or whatever?" I croaked weakly.
Mom, who was cooking up some omelet, turned around to glance at me. "Is it time of the month again, sweetie?"
I groaned in response, and she eyed me sympathetically. She had these kinds of pain, too, as well as Leann. I guess both Leann and I got it from Mom, who got it from Grandma. The women in the family suffered horribly during their time of the month, from what I could tell.
She turned off the stove and put the omelet on the plate, sliding the plate to me before turning to look at the drawer where she put all the medicines. She went back and handed me a bottle of Advil, and I thanked her before taking some and gulping down some water.
Mom squeezed my shoulder gently. "Take the pills with you." And then she looked at me worriedly. "Is it bad?"
"I don't know, I have a feeling it's gonna be worse than usual, though," I admitted. The pain slowly lessened and I sighed in relief, even though I knew it was only temporary.
"You can stay home if you want."
I shook my head. "No, it's fine."
She was still looking at me unsurely, before sighing. "If that's what you want. Just give me or your dad a call if you want me to pick you up, alright?"
"Yeah, Mom. Don't worry," I assured her. "I'll be just fine."
[]
It turned out that I wasn't.
During Math, which was the class I had before Life Skills, the pain intensified a hundred fold. I took another dose of the medicine, but it still didn't work to help relieve the pain, and I really didn't wanna overdose on Advil. I managed to keep myself from screaming out until the end of the class, but it still didn't keep people from asking if I was alright.
Apparently, the grimace on my face wasn't unnoticeable. A guy asked me if I needed help to go to the infirmary room, but I shook my head.
I didn't wanna skip Life Skills. Jonah would flip out if I was absent during the day where we were getting (fake) married.
I leaned my feverish forehead on the cold surface of my locker door, breathing heavily as another jolt of pain shook me. I was right about the pain being worse than usual. I felt like my stomach was tearing itself inside, and it wasn't even my period yet.
My body automatically was bent forward, because standing up straight felt like ripping my abdomen into two. I bet I got looks from people, but I was too focused on trying not to think about the pain to think of those sympathetic eyes on me.
The bell rang, signaling the start of the next class, and I cursed in my head. I finally lifted my head up a little bit, only to realize that the hallway was nearly empty. Slowly, I tried to stand up straight, bracing myself for the long walk to Mr. Herberg's classroom, but I ended up crawling on the floor pathetically, crying out a muted scream.
It was excruciating.
I sat up and leaned on the locker behind me, because lying on the ground in a fetal position was too pathetic, even for me. I realized now that I couldn't possibly go in to the classroom like this, and I was way too weak to stand up anyway.
So I just sat there, with my arms wrapped around my stomach, praying to god that the suffering would soon end before it drove me literally insane.
That was, until I heard footsteps nearing where I was sitting, and my bleary eyes fell on a pair of familiar white sneakers.
God heard my prayers, it seemed.