Chapter 5: The Bet *Compromise

Another trailer --->

The song is If You Can’t Live Without Me, Why Aren’t You Dead Yet by Mayday Parade.

Happy Reading :)

Chapter 3 *Compromise*

~ Sophia

“What do you don’t understand in the lesson?”

I am forced to tutor Drake because he doesn’t understand A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare, the play we are currently analyzing in Literature. We’re just on Act 2 Scene 1 but I already finished reading it. I don’t know why he doesn’t get it; it’s quite simple, really.

Drake is looking at me like he’s trying to figure me out. I try to act confident, and not be intimidated by his presence. After Literature, we agreed to meet in the library after both our classes ended. He suggested that we should meet at the coffee shop across the school but I refused.

So here I am, sitting across from him, staring at his awfully handsome face as he tries to read the play.

How can this guy be Driana’s twin? Yeah, they have the same sapphire eyes which look good on them. I don’t know anyone else sharing the same hue as theirs.

“You know,” Drake says, interrupting my thoughts and looking at me, “I can’t think properly when I’m hungry. So why don’t we eat first, and then you can teach me later?”

I start to protest but he cuts me off. “It's on me.”

Hah! What does he think of me? Someone he can buy? A gold digger? Someone who will go with him because it’s free? My ego is hurt. I push my chair off and stand up. As I’m about to walk away, he grabs my arm to stop me. I look pointedly at his hand but he doesn’t let go.

“I’m sorry," he says quickly, "I didn’t mean to--”

“If you want me to teach you, listen carefully,” I say through gritted teeth. “First, let go of my arm.”

He looks at me hesitantly but still let go. I cross my arms across my chest to stop them from shaking.

“Second, I have a lot of things to do and place to go, so please cooperate.” The last part is a lie, but I know he doesn’t notice.

“Okay Ma’am,” he says under his breath.

He still has the nerve to joke. “Lastly, don’t kid around.”

That earns me a bored look from him. I hope he gets my point. He resumes reading so I sit back on my chair. I don’t know why I over reacted but he shouldn’t think low of me. I get him to be speechless - one for Sophia, zero for Drake.

He knows nothing about me. He doesn’t know that after class, I usually go here, in the library, to study. I don’t have anywhere else to go; going home is not on the list. As far as possible, I want to stay here as long as I can, but the library closes at six in the evening. So whether I like it or not, I have to go home and study there.

But I cannot. How can I study if there is constant yelling and screaming in the background? So when that happens, which is always, I put my headphones in their full volume so as not to hear my parents fight. I’d rather have loud music as my background noise instead of them. There are some days and nights when the house is silent. That means one of them is not home. I tried to runaway but I have no where else to go so I end up coming back.

Home. Home. Home.

Where is that? Before, my home was where he was. My refuge, my hero, my first love.

I still remember that day, the day he told me he loved me. That he couldn't live without me. I was so sure of him; I loved him with all my heart, more than I loved myself. He knew about my family, our situation, and he filled those gaps. I was blinded by his all consuming love.

But I forgot that life is cruel. Nothing is here forever. My friends told me he doesn’t deserve my love and that I’m better off without him. He couldn’t be trusted. He will just break my heart and will leave me like his past girlfriends. But I didn’t believe anything they said. I defended him, fought with my friends, and accused them of being jealous.

Because of him, I lost everything.

“Pie? Pie?”

~ Drake

“Pie? Pie?”

She can’t seem to hear me. “Are you okay?” I ask.

She’s staring at nothing in particular, maybe she’s day dreaming; how girly. I’m glad my plan worked. Knowing she’s intelligent, I took it to my advantage and started there. I know beforehand that Mrs. Coelho will pick Pie as my tutor because I was the one who checked her paper in the previous test. I wonder if she has any other things to do besides studying. I snap my fingers a few inches from her face to get her attention. Thankfully, it does.

She looks at me in bewilderment. “What did you call me?”

“Pie,” I answer automatically but carefully, afraid she might snap at me any second. This girl has an attitude. I can’t read her.

“Don’t call me that!” She says irritably, scowling at me.

“Why? Isn’t your name Sophia? Pie is an appropriate nickname.” Pie is a sweet nickname. I wonder why she doesn’t like it.

“It’s not! Just call me by my whole name.”

“But Sophia is kind of mouthful.” Arguing with her is amusing. She doesn’t want to lose and I’m not one to back off either.

She starts to say something, but I can sense that she decides against it. She let it go by saying, “Whatever Draky,” mischievously.

I stare at her blankly, trying to process what she just said. She looks at me smugly in return. How did she found that Draky . . .

“Driana,” I mutter darkly, so quiet Sophia didn't hear it.

Closing my eyes, I try to control my anger. I don’t know where Driana got that stupid moniker.

But how does Sophia know?

Oh! I slap myself mentally for forgetting what Andre told me. Sophia and my twin evil sister are friends, and that, I can get to my advantage. But I have to get the help of my sister. If she will help me.

I have to relax to think properly. “How about we compromise?” I ask Sophia, having an idea to make her comfortable with me. I’m so smart, I can easily think of something.

“Compromise?” she says slowly.

“You know, the win-win situation, where both--”

“I know that!” She snaps, cutting me off.

Being with her makes smirking a habit.

“What I meant was,” she continues, “why would I compromise with you?”

Pretty clever. Indeed, why would she compromise with me? She has not even heard of it yet and she already declines.

“You can call me Draky when it’s just the two of us," I say, "And I can call you Pie in return then.”

“I can call you Draky whenever I want,” she says smugly.

A cute dimple appears on her right cheek as she smiles. I didn't know she has a dimple. But how can I know before? I just saw her yesterday. I didn’t even know she is friends with my sister if Andre didn’t tell me. Suddenly, I feel like all those years, I am the center of my world, not knowing the outside forces.

“So I’ll start telling our classmates then that they can call you Pie from now on.” This girl can play games, but she can’t beat me.

“You cannot!” She says, slapping the table impulsively, to my surprise.

On cue, the librarian walks towards us. She chastises us. I can see that she seems fond of Pie and put the blame on me, saying that this place is called Library (as if I don’t know) and we should lower our voice and not do unnecessary things so as not to disturb others.

Am I the one who slapped the table? Am I the one who nearly shouted?

The students look at us sheepishly and mutter things only God knows what. When the librarian, I forgot her name, is clearly contented that we’re going to behave, she walks away with a look of disdain on her face.

Pie looks at me and mumbles, "Sorry". Her pale face reddens in embarrassment when the full blast of what she did sink in.

My lips twitches upward as my next words tumble out of my mouth. “So, is it a deal?”

She looks at me dubiously and bites her lower lip. After a moment, she finally says, “Okay, deal.”

One for Drake, zero for Pie. I pinch my thigh to control myself from grinning. Pie is smart, she might know something’s off when I look so smug about our compromise.

“Good,” I say, standing up. “You have my word then.”

“Wait!” She says, standing up as well. “Where are you going?”

“Home,” I answer, like I have anywhere else to go. It’s a school night.

“But I haven’t tutored you yet,” she says, frowning.

“There’s plenty of time for that."

One step at a time. I’m so proud of myself; I made a progress this day.

Soon, you will fall in love with me.

*****

PIE is pronounced as p-i-e, like the food :)