Episode 11

I'm curling out of the backseat to reach my phone but Shaden is too adamant about wiggling away from me.

"Yes, yes. She is okay." He assures my mom which throws me into rage.

I'm not okay!

He rushes the conversation to an end and blows his cheeks in irritation as he examines my phone with a contemptuous look before twitching it in his grip, trying to lock the screen. You see, this boy has such low frequencies that even my phone started glitching. It is a bit old but it still has no serious problems. Well, had... until 'someone really smart' laid his hands on it.

"Damn. It's the first day and you already create me lots of problems." After waiting for a right moment he finally releases a hiss at me like a snake, slithering his pierced tongue out to lick his dried bottom lip while I'm stuck on a pause, mentally cursing his reflection in the car mirror.

He for a second catches my frowning face and yanks the steering wheel to the side, pressing the gas in one abrupt motion so I almost bang my head on something again.

I knew he wants my death.

Shaden throws himself back to his seat as he releases the tension and lets out an exhausted groan.

"Calm down. I anyway don't know your password. I can only answer the calls." He rolls his eyes at me when he fixes the speed to an average pace and pushes my phone down the pocket in his pants, probably thinking I'm stupid.

"Give it back!" I take the liberty to bark at him but he can't care less as he stares at the road, his brows knitted in a stern arch.

"Okay. You can take it back." He mocks, pointing to his pocket but I refuse to shove my hand in his pants, admonishing the idea of my hands touching him.

"You don't touch the idiots or you become one," I grumble, trying not to show my inconvenience as I push myself back, crossing the arms on my chest in defeat, thinking how much I hate him already but all he does is shaking his head just like I'm the crazy person here.

"Sush. Don't be a crying baby on the plane. We are about to fly high."

What plants is he smelling? Definitely not the chamomile flowers. The least I hope for is to get home alive.

"Are you even mad at me?" He arches one of his jet dark thick brows."If you want I can throw you back at the changing room and go sleep there on the bench. Do you think it's my problem?" He huffs the issue away as if it's nothing that disturbs him.

"No. I'm enjoying the ride as the whole world turns toward the inevitable disaster," I say in reply to what he lets out a chuckle.

"You have a sense of humor. Seems we will vibe."

"Piss off. " I growl at the back of my throat.

"Why are you neglecting my rules? A girl like you should have at least a basic set of manners. It's not nice. I think I'll have to discuss this with your parents. You are still underage." He reprimands me like a child which under the weight of his intonation makes me feel extremely uncomfortable so I stay silent.

"Just imagine. You nodded off like a dead pig in front of me with this shit smeared all over your face."

I stroke my hand over my face and don't find it to be sticky or dirty as I expected. I press my forehead to the chilly side of the window and succumb to listening to his boring podcast.

As if I have a choice.

"It was already getting late and I could not leave you wallowing there in the middle of the party when all those idiots started dancing and drinking. Who knows what could happen. After all, you are my girlfriend now."

My forehead instantly shrinks. I flinch under my skin at the only mention of this word.

"How considerate of you," I reply, narrowing my eyes under the heavy eyelids."Thanks for the help but you are not my boyfriend. If it is one-sided then let's assume you just have a crush on me."

"I found no other alternative than to sacrifice my precious minutes and bring your fat ass in my car. You must be thankful." He doesn't accept my correction and keeps on explaining, playing with the compulsive tones of his voice and I wince again at his poor choice of words.

I bring my finger to rub my eye and find my hand quite freezing.

"I just wanna go home." I blurt, melancholy wrapping around me.

I must have taken too many anxiety pills. I contemplate, trying to find an excuse for this awkward problem. Thanks to the Lord, the wheels are rolling closer to my house and I now can prepare to crawl out of this stuffy cage as soon as we park.

I kick the door open, reuniting with the fresh air and as I clamber out to breathe it in I'm feeling an independent human again. The perfume the whole saloon filled with is so nasty. You can't even imagine. This guy obviously needs to lessen the dose. Of his sass. Of his perfume. Of everything.

He now has no choice but to give me back my phone and go the hell away from this street before I throw my python on him.

And if you wonder... yes! I have a little terrarium in my room which again makes everyone think I'm slightly abnormal but I love Bob and he is always ready to protect me not worse than an average dog with a couple of fangs would.

"See you on Monday, piggy face."

I examine him with a dismissive look and roll my eyes.

"See you..." I say and then add silently under my breath, "Hopefully never."

Why is he calling me animal names? That's so foolish of him and I've already worked a nauseous reflex whenever I glance at his face.

He hands me everything that belongs to me, including my bag, and settles back in his pearl white Mercedes.

Amazing! Now he even knows where I live. No privacy in this world.

My parents didn't seem to arrive yet so I step into the empty house and throw the bag on the couch in an exhausted fury. The next thing I want to do before setting my mind to solving the enormous problem that fell upon me is to change into comfortable home clothes and brew a cup of tea.

On the way to the bathroom, I notice that the door to my room is open and it makes me cautious because I never leave it this way.

"What is it?" I flinch around to check the room when I hear some shuffling noise emitting from the pile of unknown garbage that appeared on the floor during a short period of my absence.

"Bob? Is that you?" I shout out, coming closer, relieved that it is just the snake. "My good little boy, what happened?"

When he catches a sound of me approaching, he tilts his skull up, ready to swirl his massive body around in circles when I stretch my arm toward him.

"Why are you here?" I ask, stroking my hand over his beautiful skin covered with yellow spots, confused why there is such a mess in my room and why Bob isn't in the terrarium.

"Little imp. Lately, he has been super brave." I furrow my brows when I stumble against the trace. I lift my little brother's favorite candy wraps from the floor and shake my head. He couldn't even obliterate the traces of his undoings. Now he will see... I'm not going to leave this without justice!

***

I sip my cranberry tea as I sit on the corner of my bed, watching the street movement from the window and wonder: why there are such moments in our lives when everything seems to be against us. If only there was a magic button we could press to rewind a certain period of life or even better... What if we had an option to restart a life?

Hey, back to reality! Maybe after a couple of thousand years, it will be possible. But that's not how it works now.

I plummet my back to the bed.

"No way I take part in this competition with a dimwitted crackhead like Shaden. He seems like a kind of the person who juggles his personalities from one day to another," I mumble indignantly in a tired breath as I haul Venus's dress to the laundry bin.

If he didn't exist, at some points life would be easier.

I stop myself on the idea that I just can wait till Monday and go to the school entertainment council, say that I can't participate in the challenge, and maybe this way I will save my ass.

I'll solve the problem by myself and hopefully, everyone gets what they deserve. As to stupid idiot, Shaden: who does he think he is to play these tricky games with me? He carries no mind in his scalp box. It was bold of me to assume he was a smart student.

Urg, I just want to go sleep all weekend off...