Part 18 - Drifting Before Lunch.

The bell rang for the period, and kids swarmed over the quad. By the time they got to our age, they’d be taking classes in double periods, but for now, they flitted from class to class, nothing mattering too much. Just keeping grades up to a standard that would keep their parents off their backs for the half hour that The Simpsons was on when they got home. Used to seeing seniors lounging about on the mythical free periods, we passed unnoticed, while I tried not to notice the cluster of cute girls in the year below us giggling their way from the English department to the front building.

Things didn’t seem so complicated then. Less scheming, for one thing. But there were a few upsides to focusing on Jase’s potential love life. I could forget about mine for one. or lack of one. and hanging out with Amanda was still an upside, even if it meant getting roped into things I didn’t want to do. I had my History Extension notes out, pretending to read something before I committed to any particular plan of hers. Just staring at the same page.

A page that seemed somewhat darker. Shadow. Someone there. Look up.

‘huh?’

‘You zoning out again Keegan?’

‘Oh hey Pete. You bail on economics?’

‘Williams scratched the lesson, we’re all up to date and no-one was active.’

‘I shoulda picked eco, maybe I’d’ve learned something.’

Amanda spoke up, ripping on me. ‘If you stayed in class you might learn something.’

‘If there’s something worth learning, I’d learn it.’

Pete broke the tension. ‘I’ve been talking to Amanda here for like two minutes, and you haven’t said a word.’

‘I was learning.’ I said, pointing to the page I’d been staring at.

‘Sure you were. So anyway, I was wondering if you guys were doing anything tomorrow night. I was hoping to get a big group of us up to Tuggerah tomorrow night, catch a movie.’

Amanda chimed in. ‘And I was saying it’d a perfect opportunity to put Jase and Erin next to each other in a dark room and see if anything happens.’

‘So why do you want to go to the movies Pete? Anything in particular you want to see?’

‘Not really, Hollow Man, Scary Movie, American Psycho maybe but that’s been out a while, a few people have probably seen it by now.’

‘Psycho? Are you kidding? No-one’s old enough.’ Amanda said, dismissing the thought with a gesture.

‘Hang on, I’m making some connections here.’

‘Take your time Keegan.’

Big crowd, scary movie… ‘You wanna ask someone out but you can’t do a date.’

His voice dripping with sarcasm, Pete said. ‘Yes, that’s exactly right. You’re a freaking genius Kegs. I just told Amanda that.’

‘But who? No wait, don’t tell me. I’ve already got in enough trouble asking those kind of questions today.’

‘If I get a crowd up, then I won’t have to get burned if she’s not interested.’

‘if you get a crowd up, you might want to make sure that you don’t get crowded out.’