1.11 Truce?

"Why do we need a doctor?" for some reason, my heart slams against my chest as David approaches the table, sitting on my other side.

"Brad," Calvin answers. I look at him in amusement this time. He reminds me of a kid, with his short attention span and haphazard look.

Noticing my gaze, Calvin leans towards me, eyes brightening, "Does Arnold Moon really have a Camaro?" he suddenly asks, putting down his Switch for a while.

"Yes," I say, slightly taken aback.

"Jinjja?! Woah." Calvin blurts out in excitement. "Can I go over to your house? Can I check it out? We're default friends now, right?

"Default friends?" I ask him, confused. What is it with this group and their weird language?

David is the one who answers, "Cal thinks that our friends are his default friends. He makes friends through us because he doesn't really talk to people that much."

I look at David. "Thanks, Mr. Janitor," I tell him and he gives me a smirk.

"I can go, right?" Calvin queries again and I turn my attention back to him.

Before I can come up with an appropriate excuse, David replies for me, "Of course. I'm practically friends with Arnold now too."

I narrow my eyes at David.

"He sure is talkative today, huh? Did he ever talk this much before?" Sebastian comments, looking between David and me.

"Nope. He doesn't talk unless necessary. He wasn't the type to get all friendly with people who he claims stole his wallet, too." Kier responds.

If David's look can cut glass, his friends would be in pieces right now. "I thought we were discussing what to do with her," he says.

"We already did. You're relieved from voting because you're the plaintiff and already said your piece." Sebastian says, still failing at playing lawyer. He looks me straight in the eye. "Dina Matthews, I pronounce you...not guilty of the crime this newly talkative guy has laid against you. We're also forgiving you for trying to chop David's head off earlier. Every single one of us wanted to do that at one time. Therefore, we will not call your parents."

"Ya!" David immediately protests while I raise my eyebrows at his friends. Not that I'm not happy with the results, but I've been at the table the whole time and I don't remember them taking a vote.

"Hey! That's unfair. There are three fries on the guilty side of the tray, but you ate one." Brad wails, throwing a tomato at Sebastian, who avoids it like a pro. My eyebrows draw together this time. What did he just say about fries? I look down at the center of the table. Sure enough, two plates are placed on either side of a tray, one with three pieces of fries on it and the other with only two pieces.

"Nope. I didn't." Sebastian answers, serious. "And don't throw the tomatoes at me. We're going to use it to vote on our next agenda."

"Yeah...that's our President," Ari comments as she follows my gaze. "According to this month's issue of View Magazine, he's the hottest genius of our generation. But, you know, everything's relative. He's weird. Like, really weird. And it's just incredibly sad that nobody out of this circle knows that. Until you, of course." she shares this information to me like it's the heaviest burden she's had to carry her entire life.

"I need to talk to Dina alone," David suddenly announces to the group and we all turn our attention to him. I notice he has his hands gripping the sides of his head as this whole exchange is happening. I look at his face, but it does not give anything away, as usual. He just stares at me expectantly.

Oh, hell. What is it now? Sighing, I grab my backpack, rising from my seat to follow him. Curious looks pass us as he leads me into a secluded corner of the cafeteria, and I try to distance myself from him. I don't want anyone to get the wrong idea.

"Look, Dina. I just want to apologize for today. I swear I had nothing to do with it. I just told them how upset I was with you. Because, you know...I thought you had my wallet. They mean no harm. They're just looking out for me." he tells me.

"You really believe that? You're not messing with me, right? The last time you said that you tricked me into carpooling with you and told my parents you're my boyfriend. Remember? It happened just this morning." I reply.

David smirks, "Come on, that was fun. I'm not saying sorry about that. But I really mean it this time. Truce?" he extends his hand towards me.

I look at him in silence for a while. He doesn't seem to be messing with me this time. I suddenly feel bad. This isn't his fault in the first place. I do have his wallet. He and his friends are completely justified for coming after me, no matter how clumsy their attempts are. But I can't tell him the truth, now, after all the fuss I made. My hand trembles a bit as I shook his.

Then, testing the waters, I tell him, "I'm sorry about your wallet. It must have been very important for you."

His eyes bore into me like no one's ever done before. As usual, I can't read him. I swallow nervously, maybe I shouldn't have said that.

"Yeah, it does have something important to me. Really important," he replies, gaze still intense.

My body sways a bit, gravitating towards him. I catch myself before I do something that will embarrass us both. "Really? Um...sorry to hear that. I hope you find it soon." I manage, the closest to my apologizing to him for stealing his wallet and the important piece of paper inside it.

Our gazes hold for a bit until I suddenly feel awkward. He must have also felt the same thing because we both look down at the same time. I clear my throat and fumble with the watch on my wrist.

"I'll drive you home." he suddenly speaks, desperate to change the air around us.

"It's okay. I can handle myself." I answer. "Go hang out with your friends some more."

He gives me another smile and a playful salute, just like he did that day in the hallways. He turns on his heels I watch him for a moment before walking the path opposite to the direction he's taking. Heart on my throat, I realize that for the first time in my life, I'm feeling guilty for what I'd done.