21 Steps to Get the Wrong Guy

"I think he's pretty cool," Lilly said as we sat in a group during our last class. We had the same sub for months and free time was endless so we took advantage of it.

Our real teacher was out on maternity leave. She was only here for like the first month of school and we haven't seen her since.

"Really? I think he's completely annoying," I muttered back as I rolled my eyes.

Brett and Heather laughed. "I thought you would like him. After all, he is cheesy and annoying like you," Heather teased.

I stuck out my tongue and she laughed again. "Hey isn't he friends with Christian?" Brett asked me as Heather's laughter subsided.

I nodded. "Come to think of it, he was standing right beside Christian when I fell. Maybe he tripped me instead," I brought up the idea.

Heather and Lilly shook their heads. "I saw it with my own two eyes. It was for sure Christian's foot sticking out purposely," Heather assured me and brought down any sliver of hope that Christian was not the one to cause me immense embarrassment.

"That's not what I was getting at," Brett reprimanded me for interrupting his idea. "I was going to say maybe he could help you get to know Christian better. He must know Christian pretty well," he offered.

I thought about it for a moment and realized he was right. "That's a great idea. Maybe I'll hang out with him tomorrow and get him to introduce me to Christian," I said, starting to build up some courage although there was something in the pit of my stomach saying that I would chicken out the first chance I get.

"I know that look," Heather stated with a triumphant smirk.

"What?" I asked her as she gave me the all-knowing look.

"You're already chickening out," she replied.

I quickly shook my head. "No, I'm going to do it," I promised. She still held up that look, adding crossed arms to the equation. "I mean it. It's a pretty easy thing to do. Give me some credit, I don't chicken out from everything."

"What about that time you pretended to be on your period just so you wouldn't embarrass yourself by trying to play volleyball during PE?" Lilly recalled.

I smiled shyly, remembering the look on Coach's face all too well. He looked very uneasy but let me sit down nonetheless.

"That was one time. I wasn't feeling well that day," I stood up for myself. Sure, I wasn't on my period but who cares, it worked right?

Brett laughed. "I didn't hear about that. I heard about the time she pretended to have a dead frog and that's why she didn't want to dissect one in class. I can't believe Mr. Io fell for that," he recalled.

I found it pretty funny that my science teacher last year was named Mr. Io and he taught us a segment on astronomy. Then everyone made a joke about him being stupider because he was from Jupiter and all those stupid rhymes they teach you when you're in elementary school.

"It's animal cruelty," I defended.

"You know you didn't care about those frogs. You just didn't want to touch anything slimy. You said it yourself," Brett pointed out.

"Those frogs were dead anyway. They're just putting good use to their dead carcasses," Heather announced.

I gave out a small horrified gasp. "Heather, they have every right to live as much as we do," I justified.

She shrugged her shoulders. "We die too and maybe they should use dead bodies for testing stuff rather than animals," she said.

I will never understand that girl. First, she's justifying death of animals and then she's standing up for them.

I find it confusing.

"Weren't you just-"

"Yea she knows she's confusing us," I said, interrupting Lilly's question.

Heather smiled. She loved to confuse us, mostly Lilly. Her blond moments were many and very close together and Heather loved to take advantage of it.

"But she was just saying animals should die and now she's sticking up for them. I'm so confused," Lilly said.

Heather smirked happily. I don't think I have ever met someone so harsh but she's cool.

It's actually weird how we met. We were kind of forced to talk to each other in English class during 7th grade.

She and I were in the same group with two other people. Our parents were the only ones that would let us go to other people's houses so we ended up working on most of the project and finishing it together.

"You're good people," she said to me.

I smiled. "Thanks, you're cool too," I admitted.

When the project was over, we still talked and she told me her real age when her birthday was coming up. I automatically assumed she was turning twelve like every normal person in 7th grade.

She told me she was only turning ten and I was shocked. Since then she's been my sarcastically funny friend.

We met Lilly freshman year. She was the silly blond that asked us for directions, thinking we were sophomores.

Ever since then, we've been inseparable.