21 Bonds - Part 1 (1/2)

She's as perfect as ever, isn't she?

Jennifer Swift: the most popular freshman girl at Sunchester High.

Her good looks coupled with her charismatic energy have already earned her a reputation as one of the most popular girls in school after only a single month. She's everything that a fake like me could ever hope to be.

It's only thanks to her that I've somehow managed to fit in among the other cool kids. Her name alone has so much influence that I've already become something like celebrity myself, and it's all because I'm standing by her side all the time.

By her side, huh?

I guess that's all I've managed to amount to so far.

Jennifer Swift's friend.

Her right hand gal.

And though it has gotten me my fair share of popularity, there's also a bit of infamy that comes with riding her coattails so shamelessly.

Jen has been sitting among a small group of girls ever since the final period of the day had concluded. This is her typical routine on Monday afternoons. The girls in this class are more than obsessed with chatting with Jen, so much so that they'll usually try to keep her back after class to discuss the usual pleasantries. And for them, those pleasantries tend to involve school status and drama.

”Hey Jenny, are you friends with the Student Body President?”

”Uhh, I'm not really close with him. I do talk to his secretary, though. She's like, really cool! We started gyming last Saturday and she gave me a few work out tips. I doubt I'll ever have to worry about wearing a bikini again.”

”Really?! You're that close?! Where do you two go?!”

”That's soooo cool! I'd love to know too!!

The girls light up with excitement at Jennifer's words. I guess the whole idea of spending time outside of school with the two of them was an attractive thought.

But she ends up frowning in disappointment instead.

”Sorry, she's not a fan of big crowds, so I don't think that's a good idea…”

”Awwww…”

They all groan in unison.

Though I'm hanging back with Jen, it's obvious enough that she's the only one they're interested in. The group seems a little upset that I'm ”taking up” the spot as her best friend.

In their heads, they probably deserve to be at her side much more than I do. It's the kind of thinking you'd come to expect from girls in groups like those.

It doesn't matter much to me though, I don't like them all that much either. They're the kind of girls that would stick needles into custom-made voodoo dolls of their friends. Sure, I'll smile and throw in a few remarks every once in a while, but that's the about as far as my relationship with them goes.

So why am I even here to begin with, then? Well, hanging out with Jen is always a good opportunity to learn how to socialize as a popular kid.

She's a real crowd pleaser, to the point where it could almost be called a spectacle. The way she steers the conversation, shifting the topic away from any personal questions that they might have and into something else without anyone noticing is a form of art. From an outside perspective, it almost feels as if she was born to lead, or at least to stand above other people. As if just by being born, she had already earned that right a long time ago.

But as I'm thinking that, a strange song sounds off from within the crowd of girls. The sound signals the end of the conversation as Jen turns away from the other girls.

”Ah, that's my phone. Sorry, we've gotta go. Let's head out, Scarlet.”

She slips her hand into her bag to pick out her phone. The song, which I can tell at this point is by Ariana Grande, can be heard more clearly throughout the room until she finally answers the call.

”Heyyy, it's me!”

She stands up from her seat and begins walking off.

”Okay.”

I stand up and begin walking off besides her.

”Okayy, bye Jenny!”

”See ya, girl!”

The girls wave their hands while smiling at their idol, who couldn't even be bothered to look in their direction anymore.

”Aaahhh, Jenny is sooo gorgeous. She's like a real model!”

”Riiight? We have GOT to find out how she does it!”

We hear them talking among themselves as we leave the classroom.

The moment we pass through the door, Jen finally removes the mask she's gotten so used to wearing all day and speaks more like her usual self.

”God, I thought those losers would never shut up. Thanks a lot for that.”

Jen rolls her eyes and hangs up the phone.

”It's fine! They were kinda getting on my nerves too.”

I remove my hand from my pocket. It's not the most honest way of ejecting yourself from a conversation, but it works so what can you do? Excuses like these are better than making the other person feel bad by just straight up leaving.

I've kinda learned from Jen that even something as small as this can go a long way in making people feel comfortable around you.

”Them bringing the Student Body President up like that just proves how much they only care about hanging out with the popular kids. It's all about their egos. That's so damn boring. Why would I waste energy making friends with losers like them when they don't even care about me?”

”Haaa, you said it. I thought I was going to die of boredom back there.”

Seriously. It went on for a good fifteen minutes after class. How could they go on and on about all of that stuff for so long? I could have easily missed my bus had it gone on for another fifteen minutes.

”You know, you might say that, but you weren't talking all that much. You should speak up more! It'd make things more fun for me at least.”

So you didn't feel it huh? How much they hated my guts, that is.

But she lets me off with a sigh then continues.

”It's all just drama with them. They're like, totally not even interested in me. Just who's dating who, who's friends with who and who hates who. They don't care about me as a person at all. Being popular honestly kinda sucks. It feels like I can't let my guard down anymore.”

”Well maybe but, you kinda let your guard down with me didn't you? What if I was only after your popularity like they were?”

”Of course I'd let my guard down around you. Cuz you were Momo's friend first.”

Momo, huh?

”You might not know it, but that girl doesn't make friends easily. What you did was actually kinda big.”

”R-really? She seemed pretty normal to me.”

”Mhm, and that's what was so special about it. Like, most people see her as a weird, gloomy, quiet kind of girl. Don't get me wrong though, she isn't bullied for it. She doesn't care about anything around her, but she's still so cute and moves with so much style that it's just… It's kind of intimidating, isn't it? Like, she's so naturally beautiful that her zero interest in everyone and everything makes it feel like she's just sooo above it all. It's a royal air that makes most people too nervous to even go near her unless they really have to.”

”Her beauty makes her… intimidating? I don't think I understand… Like, I get the part about her being beautiful, but why would her not caring about anything make her hard to approach? If anything it should make her more interesting right?”

”Hmmm.”

She places her a finger on her chin as she decides how to best go about persuade me. As if intimidation was something to be explained rather than felt. Of course, not being able to feel something doesn't mean that it isn't real. It might just mean that I'm immune to it.

”I dunno, she's just one of those people I guess. Introverts are usually hard to talk to, but with geeks it just feels like social awkwardness right? Like, you feel like you're forced to control the conversation since they're way less talkative, otherwise it's awkward for them.”

”Mhm, I get that. So?”

”Now imagine that, but with someone like Momo. She's always sitting by herself, and she's always reading something while listening to her music. Never really saying anything to anyone else. And she looks so damn gorgeous while doing it. ,Kinda feels like the pressures on you to make yourself cool enough for her to speak up, doesn't it?”

Ah, I kind of get it. Basically, her looks and attitude make people see her as royalty? I never really looked at it that way.

”That's just the kind of girl Momo is. It was like this in middle school too. She never really spoke to anyone until she met me, and while we've been really good friends since, even I feel a bit intimidated talking to her. It's like, you can never tell what she's thinking, I guess?”

”Well I get that, but… to be honest I didn't feel any of that the first time I spoke to her. I did think she was kinda cool for someone so different, but that's about it. To me, she's just another high school girl.”

”Mhm, and that's why I didn't feel like I had to keep my guard up around you. You're a real people's person for seeing her that way, Scar. I can tell just by looking.”

”…”

I suddenly feel uncomfortable. Sharp pangs of guilt spread throughout my chest. The whole sensation is making me sick to my stomach.

And the reason for that should be obvious.

It's because me befriending Jennifer was something I'd done because I was chasing after her popularity. Meeting Momo before that was just a coincidence.

”Our darling angel Scarlet is so above the rest of us. You even dated an invisible geek like Chase, right? How romantic. Haa, I'm so jealous! I wish I was deep enough to see what you see in that nerd.”

”G-grass hopper…”

”Ah, I'm sorry…”

She looks away and goes quiet, and things are suddenly a bit awkward between us.

Jennifer's teasing habit hasn't been quite that easy to get rid of. I suppose I should take it as a compliment since it means she's completely lax around me, but she usually ends up saying rude things like that without even realizing it.

Which is why we came up with a safe-word so that we could stop it before it gets out of hand. We happened to choose grasshopper because we saw one nearby at the time.

Her coming up with methods of dealing with it only shows how determined she is to treat me better than before she did before. I can't help but feel grateful to her for all the steps she's taking.

And all of it is thanks to Chase.

”Speaking of which, I haven't seen the two of you together these days. Are you fighting or something?”

Of course she'd notice… I never told her about it because I don't like how much she judges my every move with him. Honestly, it feels like I have someone constantly watching my every move when it comes to the whole Chase thing.

”Mmm, I'm not sure if fighting is the right word… Things have just been kinda awkward between us since last Tuesday.”

”What? A whole week?! Girl, what are you doing?”

She pulls me by my arm suddenly and forces me to a stop.

”H-huh?”

”Don't 'huh' me. What do you think I mean? Are you trying to lose him or what?”

”Lose him? O-of course not…”

I mean, we aren't really dating to begin with, but…

”Listen Scar, you've gotta go talk to him right now. This isn't the time to be relaxing.”

”Wait, slow down a minute. What's gotten into you all of a sudden?”

For a moment I thought she was going to bite my head off because of how calmly I was acting, but instead she just lets go of my arm and looks away.

”… I really didn't want to be the one to break it to you.”

”Huh? Break what?”

”You know how both Momo and Chase were missing all day? And you were worried that the two of them had gotten into a fight, ended up in the principal's office, and had both gotten suspended?”

My imagination was kind of running wild back then, wasn't it?I guess I was worried about her starting something with him since I told her that he was avoiding me.

”Uhm, yes. You said that Ms. Bell had the both of them running errands, right?”

”Well no, that isn't actually true. I lied.”

Huh?

You what?

Then…

”I'm sorry but, Momo told me to keep it a secret so I had to find a way to settle you down when I got back from seeing her.”

Well, if Momo said so then it couldn't be helped I guess.

”Okay, fine. Where were they then?”

”Well, I don't really know how to tell you this, but…”

She looks away for a moment before deciding to face me again.

”They were, um… skipping class together in Chase's nerdy club room.”

”… Eh?”

They were doing… what now?

Skipping class? That girl who's always avoiding people?

And…

Chase?

”She wouldn't tell me what they were up to, but she made sure to tell me not to tell you about it. Kind of sneaky of her if you ask me, but I guess she didn't want to make you worry.”

”Y-yeah.”

I gulp nervously.

”Hey, I don't think they had anything bad planned, but it's also true that they might have hit it off in there. Especially since you and Chase haven't been on good terms for a while.”

”Yeah…”

I… can't believe this.

I-I mean, it's not that I care that the two of them were spending time together like that, right? But…

What if he said something stupid to her and ruined the whole thing?

Yeah, yeah! That loser, that's not cool at all! We had a deal, right?!

”So? Are you gonna go check on the nerd room?”

Oh, right. I probably should, huh?

It's important for me to find out what happened for appearances' sake. It's not that I'm jealous about it, because we're totally not dating for real.

”Y-yeah, I'm going. Only because I planned on heading there myself though. Not because you suggested it or anything.”

”Oh, is that how it is? Okay, okay. Suit yourself. I have to prepare for the class president vote next week Monday so I'll be skipping cheer practice today to print some things out.”