You Give Love a Bad Name

The next day I was sitting down at my Foods classroom, jotting down notes on lasagna that Mrs. Dalton provided for us a couple of minutes ago, when Melanie bounced up to my table, a cheery smile on her face.

"Whatcha doing, sexy?"

I cracked a smile, dropping the pencil next to my can of tomato juice to stretch my stiff limbs. "Taking notes, hot stuff."

Melanie rolled her eyes and sat down on the edge of my desk, shifting around and making herself right at home. "I still can't believe you and Logan are together."

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes. "Not you too. Cara was already on my case about it earlier today."

Both of us turned our heads to see Cara talking to a couple of people not too far off, twirling a strand of her black and blue hair on her manicured finger.

"Well, I don't blame her," Melanie brushed her own dark brown hair away from her face with a frown. "I would have thought you'd tell someone that you liked Logan like that. At least Cara."

"Well," I smiled up at her, trying to make a goofy face so she'd laugh, "to make up for that, you have one wish. Anything you say, I do."

Melanie's green eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yep."

"Like a genie?"

"Just like a genie."

"Okay," she looked thoughtful for a moment, but then a bright smile eased itself oh her face. "You, Logan, Mikey, and me. Double date. Friday."

"Melanie," I groaned, starting to shake my head in protest, "don't do tha-"

"One wish. You're a genie, remember?" She looked at me sternly. "You better do what I say or I'll...I'll..."

I crossed my arms on my chest with a small smile. "You'll what?"

"I'll start describing every make out session that Mikey and I ever have," Melanie finished with a growing smirk.

My eyes widened. "What time do you want me to be ready on Friday?"

"I know you'd see it my way in the end," Melanie patted my head, hopping off my desk and knocking my can of tomato juice in the process.

"Oh my God," she looked at the red stain that was spreading on my otherwise white shirt with horror. "I didn't mean to do that! I'm so sor-"

"Hey, don't sweat it," I tried to calm her down and lift the soggy part of my shirt away from my body at the same time. "This shirt is like three years old, anyway. It's a sign from God that I need to throw it out. I'm just gonna go to the bathroom for a second."

Melanie still looked unconvinced. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Nah, I'll be fine."

With a last smile in Melanie's direction, I stood up and walked towards the door, taking a bathroom pass that was hanging on a rusty nail besides it and walking out to the dim hallway of my school.

I made my way past several classrooms, my footsteps echoing eerily throughout the deserted hallway, before I reached my destination.

Pushing the girls' bathroom door open, I stepped inside the cold, narrow room, walking straight towards the sinks.

As I began to rub the red stain with a crumpled paper towel, the sound of a toilet flushing interrupted the otherwise still silence of the room, making me look up from my shirt and at the reflection of the person in the mirror in front of me.

Manda walked out of the stall, her fiery-red hair falling in two braids down her back.

My heart stopped beating for a second as our eyes connected, my stomach tightening noticeably in anticipation.

Last night, when I saw Manda, she wasn't exactly my biggest fan. I didn't know the girl well enough to know if she could cool down in a day to a point when she wouldn't start screaming 'whore' in my face.

Without a word, she waked up to the sink next to mine, turned on the water, and calmly started to wash her hands.

"I wanted to apologize for the way I acted last night," she started, her voice even and strong, "I should have known better."

I stooped scrubbing my shirt and turned to face her in shock. "What?"

Manda sighed and turned the water off, grabbing a few paper towels before finally meeting my eyes. "I know you probably think that I'm one of those preppy, air-head, bimbo girls, who would rather talk about cute guys, or whatever, over stuff that really matters," she paused, but continued when I didn't say anything, "but I want you to know that the reason I reacted like that last night is because I really did care about Frank. I still do."

"Um," I tossed the crumpled paper towel in the wastebasket, trying to ignore the irritating wet stain on my abdomen. "I'm not...following you?"

"Look," she started to play nervously with the oversized black beaded necklace that adorned her neck, "I don't know you that well, but after I calmed down last night, I kinda realized that out of all people, you are the least likely the person that Frank would cheat on me with. You just don't seem like the type."

"I'm not the type," I assured her, glad that she finally listened to the voice of reason. "Trust me. Besides, how do you know that Frank was cheating on you anyway?"

"Oh, he was," Manda laughter was short and humorless. "I guess what I want to say is that I'm sorry and that I want us to start all over. Like, I know that we're not gonna be best friends or anything like that, but I don't want there to be any hard feelings between us."

I flashed her a quick smile. "I'd like that."

"Good," Manda started to walk towards the door, her high heels clanking on the tiled floor. "Oh and Lena?"

"Yeah?"

"I heard about you and Logan," she gave me a sly grin. "Almost every heart in the school is broken. That boy is gorgeous."