Part 13 - Ah, Crushes (Pause for Thought)

I mentioned earlier that I once had a crush on Amanda, and it came back to me for a moment when we were planning the tortures used to extricate the truth from Jase. I’d even gone to the trouble of writing a note, further than I’d gone for a couple of others, like the delightful Rebecca.
(um, you might need some clarification, dear reader. With four girls with the name Rebecca at school, and my unwillingness to use last names for fear of legal retribution, you’re going to have to deal with Bec, Rebecca, Becca and Beccy. Thankfully, they never really hung out together, so you’re not going to get confused by such lines as: Bec said to Bec, ‘Bec, we have to talk about Bec.’)
Rebecca was unbelievably cute, unbelievably adorable, and unbelievably out of my league. I treasured the precious moments when she walked within ten meters of me, and almost had a heart attack when she asked to try my drink. Sometimes you know the effort would just not produce any result, so you leave well alone and enjoy having something nice to stare at while you’re zoned out in Chemistry. Threat Level Blue, on the fridge-magnet scale. Alert for any hint of returned feelings, but don’t push it buddy.
Then there was your everyday standard crush, where you are convinced you like the girl, she may like you back if you put a bit of effort in, and she’s within all acceptable social standards. Amanda fell into this range for me, a yellow. Some girls would be more of a green, closer to the likely No of a Blue, and hence note-passing was resured for yellow or greater. You’d hook up with a green at a dance party if the opportunity arose, and there was a greater chance of your dancing circle moving into hers.
Orange was a step up, someone who you may have even hung out with a couple of times, and you’d be working up the courage to ask her out on a proper date. Until this year at school, that’s kinda the situation I’d found myself in with girls outside of school, hanging out, dating for a bit, then not working out.
Dear god, Red. I love this girl so much I could die with a single ‘No’ from her lips. Already I fear I’ve drastically killed the situation with Anna that I can’t talk to her like I can with other girls lower on the threat scale, but I want her more than anything I’ve ever wanted. And these two know that, Jase and Amanda. My Confession was wrought out long ago, after The Camp, and The Note. Our concern in this moment was that His crush was a Red, or worse, he felt Red about a Blue. If that were the case, we could talk him down to a Blue before he did something stupid. Like I did.

Part 12 - Confess!

Jase dropped his tray with a thud, a defensive action which shook his drink, and a bead of coke formed on that slight gap between the lid and the straw. He looked me and Amanda in the eye, in turn, and no-one spoke a word as both of us held his gaze. I slowly brought a chip to my mouth, and the crunch was overly loud in a momentary quiet of the crowd in the food court. If only they had tumbleweeds at Erina Fair. And someone to whistle that bit you hear in every western.

‘I’m not telling.’ Jase stated, attempting to cut us off at the pass, before we got started. Too late, the cattle were already stampeding, a storm of questions from me and Amanda:

‘Tell us what?’ ‘Who you like?’ ‘How much you like her?’ ‘Does she like you back?’ ‘Have you asked her out yet?’ ‘did she say no?’ ‘did she say yes?’ ‘she said no, that’s why you won’t tell us who she is?’ ‘how long have you liked her?’ ‘Is she single?’ ‘If you’re not going to make a crack at her, would you care if I did?’ ‘Keegan!’ ‘Sorry, I meant could Amanda have a crack at her as well?’ ‘Excuse me?’ ‘Fine, can Amanda have first crack?’, at which point she hit me on the arm, knuckle right on the bone. And there we both were, pointedly looking at Jase for a confession.

‘See this?’ he said, waving an arm in front of us. ‘Brick Wall. Deal with it. Your food’s getting cold.’
‘It’s a salad dear, it’s already cold.’ Amanda countered.

Hmm. Time for phase two of ‘Get Jase To Tell Us Who He Likes.’
‘Keegan?’ Amanda motioned for me to lean closer, and then she whispered in my ear, ‘He usually cracks after that, what do we do now?’ I’m trying to think of something, but all I can think of is her breath on my neck, the smell of her hair.
‘Hows about we whisper for a little longer to rattle his nerves?’ I ask, trying to stop my voice from shaking.
‘Do you think that’ll work?’ she asks, but what do I care? Just stay this close for a little longer.
‘There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?’
‘we might actually spend this time to think of something.’
‘aaah, good point. Hmm. Just a sec.’ Just another moment with her cheek a bare inch from mine. That bloody vanilla spray that Anna wears as well. Gotta pull out now, and make do with a plan that just dropped out of thin air.

‘If you don’t tell us, we’ll have to invent a rumour.’

‘Oh no you don’t.’ said Jase, looking worried now. Cracks appearing in that brick wall.

‘Everyone will think you like the girl we say you like, and the girl you like will think you don’t like her, but the girl you don’t really like.’
‘Huh?’
‘It’s a bad scenario, Jase.’
‘I’ll deny everything.’
‘That’ll only prove it, You know how gossip works in this town.’
‘School.’
‘Whatever.’
Amanda perks up, now she knows where I’m going. ‘So really, your only course of action is to confess.’
‘Really?’
‘Yup.’ He’s cornered now.
‘Damn.’