18 Truth - Part 5 (2/2)
Ah, that's so mean. My poor stomach is being tortured…
”Hey, aren't you being a bit too friendly with Momo?”
”Huh? What are you talking about?”
”You're dating Scarlet right? So what the hell is all of this? I don't know why Momo wants you to stay here with her, and quite frankly I don't care. But shouldn't you be a bit more reserved with other girls?”
”…”
Her question hits me in the face like a truck. Completely out of left field.
I hadn't anticipated it at all.
And worse than that, I can offer no response.
She's right.
At the moment, I'm supposed to be acting as Scarlet's boyfriend.
Even if in reality I have no such ties with Scarlet, I should be trying my best to act as the model boyfriend that Scarlet Sterling deserves.
”What are you talking about Jen? It's not like we're acting lovey dovey or anything.”
”Well, maybe not but… I mean, think about how Scarlet would feel if she saw this.”
”Scarlet will be fine. I'll let her know what happened here tomorrow. You don't need to worry about it.”
”Yeah, but…”
Jennifers eyes shift nervously towards me then back to Momoka, but all she can do is sigh.
”Sorry, I'll trust you. That was my bad.”
”It's fine, I understand. You don't need to dwell on it.”
Geez, this is new.
It's actually almost unnerving to see Jennifer submit like that.
In the time I've known her, she's always been the dictator of every conversation's pace. She would never compromise or give in to someone else's flow no matter how hard they tried to force it. Even if the conversation was about you, the direction it took was always controlled by Jennifer Swift.
Seeing her give in like this so easily twice now was somewhat of a surprise to me. That just goes to show how powerful Momoka really is.
She quickly stands up.
”I'm bored. Gonna head back to meet up with Scarlet. If you need anything else then please let me know. And if he so much as tries anything…”
I won't, I won't. Seriously, even if I've said a few things that I'd like to take back, there's no way anything like that is going to happen between me and this devilish woman.
Momoka takes a small bite from her lunch then stands up to walk Jennifer to the door.
”I don't know what's forcing you to lock yourself up in here with that geek, but please stay safe.”
”You worry too much Jen. I can handle myself perfectly fine. Let me enjoy playing with Chase for just a little longer.”
”Um, sure…”
Jennifer seems a bit disappointed in Momoka's fixation on staying here alone with me, but she doesn't purse it for much more.
”By the way, a senior called Ryan was looking for you a few minutes ago. This wouldn't happen to have anything to do with him, would it?”
Oh god.
He's actually looking for her?!
He's committing to what he said earlier then?
If that's the case, then locking herself in here was the right idea after all.
I glance at Momoka as I try to conceal my fear, but strangely enough I don't see anything resembling surprise in her face.
”Ryan? I've never heard of him.”
She looks about as indifferent as ever I'd say. She might actually be less worried about herself than I am if she's lying so brazenly like that.
”Really? It sounded like he needed to speak to you really badly. Anyway I gave him your number before I left the cafeteria so you can talk to him there.”
”Thanks, you did me a huge favor.”
Did she really, though?
Jennifer smiles bitterly at her words.
”I can never tell what you're thinking, Momo. To be honest, it's kind of scary.”
Once the door is unlocked, Jennifer sees herself through.
”Take care of yourself, 'kay?”
”I will. See you.”
Just like before, Momoka closes and locks it with the key and slips it back into her pocket.
”You can't really blame her for being worried. You're locking yourself up in a room with a guy your own age after all.”
”I won't bother her with the truth of it. She's going to be running for Class President next week so she needs to focus on campaigning.”
She walks back to her seat slowly.
”Not that I see anyone running against her.”
You've got that right. Running against Jennifer is the most pointless thing someone could do. With her popularity, the vote won't be even remotely close no matter who goes against her.
”And anyway, regardless of how she feels, the current state of affairs was set in stone the moment I lost control of my temper. I may not look that way, but I'm actually disappointed in myself that things turned out this way. I'd like to apologize to him too but with the way you claimed he worded his threat then it probably was for the best that I waited here until he calmed himself down.”
Waiting until he calms down, huh? She's approaching this scary situation rather pragmatically.
I take a bite out of my burger, making sure to swallow before I reply.
”Well, that is assuming he ever calms down… Speaking of which, did you get any messages on your phone just then? You know, since Jennifer gave him your number and all.”
”That's a good question. My phone has been on silent for a while so I haven't been notified of anything. I'll take a look now.”
She pulls out her phone and begins tapping at her screen.
”Hm. Seems he's already sent me two text messages. Should I read them to you too?”
I swallow my food in one gulp and nervously nod my head.
At my affirmation, she opens up the first text and begins reading aloud.
”'Momoka. You must think you're real cool for pulling that one on me. I'm not gonna let you get away with that shit. Find your pretty ass back in the cafeteria so I can teach you a lesson.' Wow, he must really have it out for me.”
Okay, I won't comment on how odd all of that sounded coming out of her mouth. Actually, in a way, I think her deadpan voice suits that kind of thing. She sounds like a female Tony Montana.
”Oh.”
”Eh? What's wrong?”
”The second text. It says, 'I'm outside. Open up.'”
The moment she says it, a violent knocking sound travels through the room from the locked door.
My hand stops just as I was about to take my final bite of the burger.
This is bad.
”U-uh… What should we do? There's no place to run anymore.”
Seemingly ignoring my words, Momoka stands up and pulls the key out of her pocket.
”H-hold on Momoka, what do you think you're doing?”
”Isn't it obvious? I'm letting him in.”
”Wait! Don't do that! This is dangerous! Beyond dangerous! For both of us!”
At my words, she can only sigh.
”This is exactly why you're a spineless chicken.”
She walks toward the door and inserts the key, just like she did with Jennifer moments ago.
But before she opens it, she turns toward me with a smile.
”Don't forget about our deal. Make sure you protect me. Even if it kills you.”
Without giving me a chance to respond, she turns the knob and opens the door.