Give Me a Reason to Believe
Chapter Eighteen
We walked down the hallway slowly, talking, laughing, and having a great first day.
This school was nothing I imagined it to be. Everyone I'd met so far was polite and tolerant of how different we were; and a lot of them were just like us.
Gerard and the guys warned me that there WERE the occasional homophobes, racists, sexists, and just plain assholes here that I should just ignore.
We had about forty-five minutes before class started. Gerard made sure we all got there early to congregate with and introduce me to some of their old friends, and Frankie ran around like a madman introducing me to people they'd never seen before.
I never would have met half so many people if it wasn't for that crazy ass Skittle addict.
"Why, Zherard. You sought you could juss ignore me zis entire summair and zen just come back az if you didn't break my poor 'eart?" I heard quite a strong French accent flow down the hallway from behind us. Gerard's face lit up at the sound of it and turned around.
A small, pale, brown haired beauty ran down the hallway towards him. They hugged and she kissed the air on each side of his cheek, French style.
"Odelette, how are you?" asked Gerard brightly.
"Well, why don't you tell me what you 'ave been doing wiss your break and I will tell you 'ow I 'ave pined away for you zis 'ole time?" she joked, flashing him a bright smile, white teeth behind bright red lips.
She was definitely the epitome of the French stereotype.
She stood at about five feet even, very petite, very bright and bubbly. Her beautiful shiny, wavy, dark brown hair was cut at an angle, on the right side, it reached just below her shoulder, and was layered up until on the left side, it just barely reached her jawline. She had the biggest, glossiest red-brown eyes I had ever seen, and they twinkled and smiled warmly. 'Odelette' looked like quite the artsy type, with black pants and a plain black t-shirt, a black beret perched on one side of her head, and a brightly colored silk scarf tied around her neck.
To put it bluntly, I was mad with jealousy.
"Well, we haven't been up to much, lately. Me and the guys have been hanging out with this lovely lady here; Odelette, this is my girlfriend Elena. Elena, this is my friend Odelette. She transferred here from France in ninth grade. I had to show her around the school, and she hasn't really left me alone since," he finished, with a knowing wink at the Frenchie.
"It iz seartainly a pleasure to meet you, my dear Elena. 'Ow are you finding our lovely skewel?" she drawled. She kissed me in much the same way she had greeted Gerard. She had a large smile on her face, and I could tell she was trying to be genuine.
But behind the happiness at meeting a new friend, I saw other emotions.
To the male eye, she couldn't have been happier, but to a woman, those emotions of pure hurt and betrayal were poorly concealed.
"Oh, this place is awesome. I've met so many new friends already. And now I've met one more!" I said cheerily, trying to make her feel a little better. Her eyes brightened a bit.
"Vell, you must promise zat you and your charming new friends will come and vizit me at lunchtime today. I 'ave been ever so lonely zis summer! I must catch up wiss my dear boys!" she flashed us another beautiful grin and waved her way off.
Gerard watched her flounce down the hallway, and I felt a sharp pang of jealousy course through me.
Dude, he's a guy. She's hot. He's gonna wanna check her out whether you like it or not. I'd like to see a guy who wouldn't check out that French little slice!
I told my mind to shut up and went back to being jealous and irrational.
"And who is darling Odelette?" I asked condescendingly.
"Haha, sweetheart, she's just a friend of mine. I helped her adjust to American life, and she feels a debt to me, thats all," he smiled reassuringly. Somehow I didn't get that vibe from her. I didn't sense any real malice or jealousy, but she seemed real upset that dear Gerard had been taken.
"Oh," I said simply.
He gave my shoulder a little squeeze and kissed the top of my head as we moved along.
Eventually the bell rang and we had to part ways. They led me to my first class, which of course -- how could the universe let me have one MOMENT of security-- I had with Odelette.
As soon as she saw me she waved, gave me a bright smile and motioned for me to sit at the same table as her. I complied and threw her a grin as I placed my bag beside me and made small talk with her as we waited for our teacher.
After all, I didn't have anything against the girl except her obvious want for 'Zherard'.
"Darling, vat are your classez for zis semestair?" spoke her strong French accent as she handed me her schedule.
I got mine out and looked both of them over.
8:50-9:50 - Math 20.
9:55-10:55 - History.
10:55-11:10 - Break.
11:15-12:10 - English A.
12:10-1:10 - Lunch.
1:10 - 2:10 - Art.
2:10-3:15 - Drama.
"Ah, so I see we 'ave all of ze same classez wiss ze exception of Drama and Mass. For you see, I am not seatrically geefted, and I must stay in French... oh, what is ze word.. French... Eemerzhun?" I could barely make out the last word, but I assumed it was Immersion. I could see why. Her English wasn't that great and her accent was worse.
"Oh, lovely, so you can show me around a little more during the day," I said, trying to be cheery. I really didn't like the vibe I got from this woman.
I had History and English with Bob and Ray, and Art and Drama with Frank, Mikey and Gerard. Nevertheless, the day dragged on.
At lunch, Ray and Bob had to go to the locker they shared, and I had to use the bathroom tremendously. They said they'd meet me at the cafeteria, and made sure I knew the way. I took my time in the bathroom, trying to look a little perkier. I hadn't gotten much sleep and my face was wan.
When I got to the cafeteria- they said they'd be at the table at the back- I walked towards them and stopped short when I saw dear Odelette under MY boyfriend's arm. They were joking and laughing, and she saw me out of the corner of her eye. She looked a trifle guilty, even though they hadn't been doing anything. The look in my eyes was condemning enough. I was pissed. She gave me a weak smile and waved to make sure that I could see her, and I started towards them again.
"Gerard, I need to talk to you, outside. Now."
This school was nothing I imagined it to be. Everyone I'd met so far was polite and tolerant of how different we were; and a lot of them were just like us.
Gerard and the guys warned me that there WERE the occasional homophobes, racists, sexists, and just plain assholes here that I should just ignore.
We had about forty-five minutes before class started. Gerard made sure we all got there early to congregate with and introduce me to some of their old friends, and Frankie ran around like a madman introducing me to people they'd never seen before.
I never would have met half so many people if it wasn't for that crazy ass Skittle addict.
"Why, Zherard. You sought you could juss ignore me zis entire summair and zen just come back az if you didn't break my poor 'eart?" I heard quite a strong French accent flow down the hallway from behind us. Gerard's face lit up at the sound of it and turned around.
A small, pale, brown haired beauty ran down the hallway towards him. They hugged and she kissed the air on each side of his cheek, French style.
"Odelette, how are you?" asked Gerard brightly.
"Well, why don't you tell me what you 'ave been doing wiss your break and I will tell you 'ow I 'ave pined away for you zis 'ole time?" she joked, flashing him a bright smile, white teeth behind bright red lips.
She was definitely the epitome of the French stereotype.
She stood at about five feet even, very petite, very bright and bubbly. Her beautiful shiny, wavy, dark brown hair was cut at an angle, on the right side, it reached just below her shoulder, and was layered up until on the left side, it just barely reached her jawline. She had the biggest, glossiest red-brown eyes I had ever seen, and they twinkled and smiled warmly. 'Odelette' looked like quite the artsy type, with black pants and a plain black t-shirt, a black beret perched on one side of her head, and a brightly colored silk scarf tied around her neck.
To put it bluntly, I was mad with jealousy.
"Well, we haven't been up to much, lately. Me and the guys have been hanging out with this lovely lady here; Odelette, this is my girlfriend Elena. Elena, this is my friend Odelette. She transferred here from France in ninth grade. I had to show her around the school, and she hasn't really left me alone since," he finished, with a knowing wink at the Frenchie.
"It iz seartainly a pleasure to meet you, my dear Elena. 'Ow are you finding our lovely skewel?" she drawled. She kissed me in much the same way she had greeted Gerard. She had a large smile on her face, and I could tell she was trying to be genuine.
But behind the happiness at meeting a new friend, I saw other emotions.
To the male eye, she couldn't have been happier, but to a woman, those emotions of pure hurt and betrayal were poorly concealed.
"Oh, this place is awesome. I've met so many new friends already. And now I've met one more!" I said cheerily, trying to make her feel a little better. Her eyes brightened a bit.
"Vell, you must promise zat you and your charming new friends will come and vizit me at lunchtime today. I 'ave been ever so lonely zis summer! I must catch up wiss my dear boys!" she flashed us another beautiful grin and waved her way off.
Gerard watched her flounce down the hallway, and I felt a sharp pang of jealousy course through me.
Dude, he's a guy. She's hot. He's gonna wanna check her out whether you like it or not. I'd like to see a guy who wouldn't check out that French little slice!
I told my mind to shut up and went back to being jealous and irrational.
"And who is darling Odelette?" I asked condescendingly.
"Haha, sweetheart, she's just a friend of mine. I helped her adjust to American life, and she feels a debt to me, thats all," he smiled reassuringly. Somehow I didn't get that vibe from her. I didn't sense any real malice or jealousy, but she seemed real upset that dear Gerard had been taken.
"Oh," I said simply.
He gave my shoulder a little squeeze and kissed the top of my head as we moved along.
Eventually the bell rang and we had to part ways. They led me to my first class, which of course -- how could the universe let me have one MOMENT of security-- I had with Odelette.
As soon as she saw me she waved, gave me a bright smile and motioned for me to sit at the same table as her. I complied and threw her a grin as I placed my bag beside me and made small talk with her as we waited for our teacher.
After all, I didn't have anything against the girl except her obvious want for 'Zherard'.
"Darling, vat are your classez for zis semestair?" spoke her strong French accent as she handed me her schedule.
I got mine out and looked both of them over.
8:50-9:50 - Math 20.
9:55-10:55 - History.
10:55-11:10 - Break.
11:15-12:10 - English A.
12:10-1:10 - Lunch.
1:10 - 2:10 - Art.
2:10-3:15 - Drama.
"Ah, so I see we 'ave all of ze same classez wiss ze exception of Drama and Mass. For you see, I am not seatrically geefted, and I must stay in French... oh, what is ze word.. French... Eemerzhun?" I could barely make out the last word, but I assumed it was Immersion. I could see why. Her English wasn't that great and her accent was worse.
"Oh, lovely, so you can show me around a little more during the day," I said, trying to be cheery. I really didn't like the vibe I got from this woman.
I had History and English with Bob and Ray, and Art and Drama with Frank, Mikey and Gerard. Nevertheless, the day dragged on.
At lunch, Ray and Bob had to go to the locker they shared, and I had to use the bathroom tremendously. They said they'd meet me at the cafeteria, and made sure I knew the way. I took my time in the bathroom, trying to look a little perkier. I hadn't gotten much sleep and my face was wan.
When I got to the cafeteria- they said they'd be at the table at the back- I walked towards them and stopped short when I saw dear Odelette under MY boyfriend's arm. They were joking and laughing, and she saw me out of the corner of her eye. She looked a trifle guilty, even though they hadn't been doing anything. The look in my eyes was condemning enough. I was pissed. She gave me a weak smile and waved to make sure that I could see her, and I started towards them again.
"Gerard, I need to talk to you, outside. Now."