The Locker Wars

The morning was crisp and cool, but inside the gym, Adele, Kirsten and Riley were running laps.

“It’s what they told me,” Riley sighed.

Adele groaned. “Not even. Diane and Talia dropping out of the war? I thought they... I mean, it was...”

“Yeah,” Kirsten cut in. “It’s not like it matters. There’s nothing going on right now. I mean, Adele, what did you decide again? When’s it going to come back, or not come back?”

“I don’t know,” Adele huffed. “I hate laps.” She stopped and bent forward, her hands on her knees, huffing out long breaths. Kirsten and Riley stood by her, and they got a chance to sneak a peek at the boy’s gym class.

They watched a few familiar faces go by, like Michael and Jason. William was off talking to some other guys. And who Adele was really looking for; Skyler was playing basketball with a few other students as well.

“Adele, you’re so checking him out,” Riley joked.

“Not even,” Adele sighed. “I don’t even know, he’s... he’s like, nice.”

“They boy has a nice ass and you’re staring right at it!” Kirsten pointed out, shrugging.

Adele pouted. “Wow, Kirsten, I don’t think the guys heard you. Speak louder, would you?”

“Just saying,” Kirsten shrugged. They kept looking at the other gym class until the teacher blew a whistle.

“Adele! Kirsten! Riley! Back to laps!”

The three groaned before continuing with running.

* * *

“Two days until you-know-what-day,” Riley taunted during World History class after lunch. She rolled her eyes and let Adele follow them to Skyler.

“You shut up,” Adele growled through gritted teeth. The one particular day that took a lot to ignore was the one that Adele really wanted this year. It wasn’t like she was negative and hated Valentine’s day; not when guys would send her flowers or chocolate and realize too late that she was only into the books and nothing else, but it was something else. Something like if she did something once and only once, like falling in love for the first time, it had to happen with someone right.

Someone right behind her.

Skyler whistled to get Adele’s attention as the bell for the next class rung. Everybody jumped to their feet and began shuffling out of the class, but Skyler’s hand on Adele’s shoulder kept her seated.

Riley quirked an eyebrow. “Coming?”

“Could I have some privacy with Adele?” Skyler asked.

Riley’s eyes went wide, and she watched as Adele mirrored her action, only with a scared look on her face. Riley only nodded and left the class.

“I was thinking,” Skyler started, leading them out of the class, “Wait, where’s your next class?”

“I don’t have one, I have a spare,” Adele recited her schedule. She’d only memorized it at the beginning of the year last semester.

“Cool! I have a spare as well,” Skyler grinned. “I was wondering if maybe we could like, you know, walk and talk? And it’s really cold. You wanna go for a coffee? My treat.”

Adele was about to die on the spot. Something about him, something about this perfect-looking boy with the weird name, made her accept his invitation.

“Yeah,” Adele nodded. “I mean, let me get my coat and stuff.”

“I’ll come with you,” Skyler offered, and Adele couldn’t resist his blue eyes.

“Thanks.” She blushed, and it was an odd, new feeling that made her see only him in the sea of crowded people.

* * *

Adele sprinted inside just as Skyler’s car drove away. She kicked off her wet boots onto the mat and threw off her coat. She didn’t care, because she was floating away on cloud 9 just about then.

She grabbed for the phone in the living room, ignoring every other presence. The first number that came to her mind was Riley’s, so her fingers dialed shakily.

As soon as someone picked up, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Adele,” Mrs. Bradlee’s voice suddenly cut in, “Honey, not here. We’re talking.”

Adele only nodded, listening with pure bliss as Riley attacked her for screaming so loud, as in, “It better have been a damn good date of some sort and he better have done something, because you just damaged my eardrum so fucking bad that I probably won’t be able to hear anything for the next ten years!”

“Oh my god, oh my god,” Adele sang into the phone, skipping out of the room. She screamed down the line, “He asked me out for Valentine’s Day! I mean, that day! Oh my god, it’s... you have to help me, okay? Get looking all nice and stuff.”

As Adele rushed up the stairs to finish her conversation with Riley and start yelling and squealing all over again with Kirsten, Mrs. Bradlee shook her head.

“I thought she’d wait until college to start getting into boys,” she shook her head, smiling.

Mrs. Beckett laughed. “That’s what I thought. I guess talking to her today won’t be much help unless you want to get squealed at, right, William?”

She elbowed her son lightly. William sat slouched on the couch beside his mother, facing Mrs. Bradlee and her incredible collection of doilies around the room. He’d been listening the two ladies go at it like that for over two hours, waiting for Adele to get home to start a conversation of some sort. And then Adele came home and she was like that.

William didn’t answer the two, only grunting and waiting for this to be over.