Crushing on the Geek(16)

“Ignore them,” Hayden said, appearing on the stairs beside her.

“What do you think I'm doing?” she snapped.

“Are you?” Cindy said appearing on her other side.

“Am I what?”

“Trying to sabotage us, just because you lost your team?”

“No! I told you all why I'm here! My mom's making me!”

“Sounds like an excuse or an alibi!” Cindy said.

“You can think whatever you want, four eyes, but I promise I wouldn't be part of your little Geekville team, if I had the choice!” Tamara said, taking the stairs two at a time trying to escape the screech of Cindy's voice.

“Don't call my girlfriend, names!” Greg called after her.

“Leave her alone, Greg!” Hayden said. Tamara could hear him pushing his way through the crowd trying to descend the stairs and leave for the day, but she kept pushing forward even though her final destination would offer her no sanctuary. Running stretched her muscles and allowed her a moment of solitude.

“Tamara!” Hayden called after her.

Tamara turned the corner and pushed open the door to room five eighty five and nearly tripped over a desk that lay on its side at her feet. She held tight to the door frame and caught her balance. Every desk in the classroom had been moved to awkward places and laid on their sides. Besides the entrance they blocked the bookcases, the teacher's desk, and a stack of them lay piled in front of the blackboard. One chair was still upright. It was on the table Sir Bedivere stood. The wooden knight statue had been placed atop of it, as if it were a throne. Did the knight now want to be king?

“What the…?” Hayden asked, nearly colliding with Tamara.

“That's what I was wondering,” Tamara said, righting the desk and scooting it out of the way.

“What the hell did you do?” Cindy demanded, pulling away from Greg.

“I didn't do anything! It was like this when I got here.”

“Cindy, she wouldn't have had time to move all the desks,” Greg said, entering the room and beginning to right the rest of the desks. The rest of the club slowly filed into the room and began to help him.

Tamara looked up at Hayden and began to speak, but he stopped her, “The statue couldn't have done this.”

“But… Who else would have done it?”

“I don't know,” he shook his head and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

Tamara pulled away. He was cute, but given the circumstances she wasn't sure who to trust. Did Greg sneak into the room and rearrange it before the meeting? Would he do something like that just to prove his own theory? Perhaps, it was Hayden. He was angry at Greg and the others for blaming him for the team's defeat on Saturday. Tamara bit her lip. Neither of her suspects had committed the act in question anymore than they had put the hand prints on her mirror.

“Let's just get started, guys,” Greg said once the room was more or less returned to its original condition.

“Sorry, I’m late guys,” Mrs. Kelly said, upon entering the room.

Tamara waited for Greg or one of the others to mention the prank, but no one spoke.

“I'm not feeling well,” Tamara said, “I think I'm going to have to skip today's practice.”

“Are you okay?” Mrs. Kelly asked.

“Yeah, I just don't feel well, right now,” Tamara lied.

“I'll excuse you from this meeting,” she said, “but if you find time this week try to practice on your own, okay?”

“Okay,” Tamara nodded and left.

Once out of Mrs. Kelly's sight she sprinted down the stairs and retrieved her cellphone from her back pocket. Her fingers moved quickly over the keypad, dialing Amber's number. Not that she believed her BFF had really cast a love spell last month, but Tamara had no one else to ask.

“Hey, can you meet me?”

“Aren't you at chess practice?”

“Um… I was, but that's what I need to talk to you about.”

“Did Hayden break your heart already?”

“No. It's nothing like that. I just need to talk to you, like in person,” Tamara said, jogging out of the school, “Will you meet me or not, BFF?”

“Of course, we'll meet you.”

“No, 'we'. Just you. Okay?”

“Is everything, okay, Tam?”

“Yeah. I just need to talk to you.”

“What if Josh and I pick you up and then he drops us off at my house? Will that work?”

“Will your dad be home?”

“Most likely not.”

“Okay, then. See you soon, please.”

“We'll be there ASAP, Tam.”

“Thanks,” Tamara said and ended the call.





Chapter Six





An hour later, Tamara sank onto the edge of Amber's bed and spilled her guts. She hadn't planned on telling Amber about her argument with Hayden after the tournament, but once she began Tamara found that she couldn't stop herself. After weeks of not talking privately with her BFF, the words poured out of her mouth before she could filter them. Her cheeks flushed as she spoke and her words became rapid, making it hard to know where one ended and the next one began.