"We won't get in trouble for this, will we?" Alonah asked her voice laced with the slightest worry as the others just looked at her with a smirk. Not exactly a reassuring sight, that’s for sure.
“You honestly worry too much. It’s fine! Don’t dwell on it too much, okay?” Ashton told her but it did so little to reassure her from her current feeling of dread. Even without Ashton’s response or her finally voiced question, she already had a feeling how all of these would end by the time they’re done.
Just like how it always ended when they do stuff like these.
It’s a wonder, really, how they were able to pull off almost all of their misadventures with minimal to no consequences. Alonah thinks that maybe it’s because they’re blessed with some kind of magical protection but since she knows better, she knows that it’s most probably because of how used most of them are when it comes to making trouble.
Take Kobe and Ashton, for example. Well, Lu too.
“You know that’s never going to work on me, right?” Alonah retorted, a series of chuckles filling her ears as soon as she said those words.
“Maybe this time it might.” Dominic grinned. “Just like how it worked on Hayes. Right, H?”
Hayes frowned. “I was just trying to be optimistic.”
“Not what you said earlier but alright. I guess I understand how you would say that so as to not make Ally feel more alone than she already is.” Kobe said with a sly smirk on his lips.
Throughout the years, Alonah learned that the best way to deal with her annoying friends was to just let them be. Stating your piece would only make them feel motivated (more than they already are) to annoy you even further—lest you one upped them, of course.
Still, Alonah just doesn’t seem to take her learning to heart.
“You honestly think that’s a great retort?” Alonah questioned. “Geez, you did so much better than those years ago. Getting rusty way too early, aren’t you?”
The glare Kobe threw her way didn’t really bother her much. How could she when said guy looked as innocent as a bird? She honestly had a hard time believing he could ever do this much trouble, but she was obviously proven wrong when she witnessed firsthand just how much of a handful he really is.
Guess what they say about ‘looks can be deceiving’ really is true.
Laughing, Ashton offered Alonah a high-five before saying, “Oh good times.”
If she was being honest, she felt pretty smug about herself right now. She rarely ever makes Kobe feel that way so what happened earlier was pretty much an achievement for her.
“Now,” Alonah started. “I would just like to ask one more time. We won’t get caught, right?”
Kobe let out a scoff while the others (minus Hayes who still looked as hesitant as Alonah) merely chuckled in their places. "Of course not. If we'll just be careful and not make much noise, then we'll be fine."
Still looking at him dubiously, Alonah said, “I'm still not sure about this, you know."
She heard Hayes sigh beside her and said, "So am I.”
“But we are.” Reese gave her a smirk. “Who do you think you’re friends with?”
“Some petulant bunch of misfits.” Came Alonah’s immediate reply.
Hayes let out a laugh. “Oh my god, I cannot even start to begin to say how true that is. Guess it’s really just the two of us who are normal here, right?”
While Alonah found Hayes’s statement to be amusing, the others thought otherwise. She honestly saw that coming, seeing as how it was about them but seeing their reactions to it is still the best thing there is for her.
The group are currently here on the corner of their school (where the plain wall is currently standing) at nine in the evening. It seemed pretty late for them to be here and they aren’t really the type of friends who enjoy a stroll around the school at this hour, so there could only be reason as to why they are currently arguing and talking amongst themselves at this very place: this is the plan Kobe told all of them at lunch earlier.
Upon hearing what they were going to do, Alonah immediately tried retracting her prior agreement to be part of their scheme, but her friends just wouldn’t have it. Hayes went along with Alonah’s decision of course, but since it was two versus five, they were already fighting a losing battle.
According to Kobe, this plan he came up with is foolproof (which Alonah thinks really isn’t) and apparently, they’re doing this as a favor to the principal since ‘this side of the wall is too plain, so we’ll give it a little makeover.’
Sometimes, Alonah really does wonder why she even bothers to let them convince her into doing stupid stuff like these.
As the friends now turned their attention back to the plan in front of them, Alonah turned to Hayes with voice lacing in plea as she asked, “Do we really have to do this?”
“I don’t want to, but we have to do this. We promised them we would join this stupid and idiotic plan of theirs, and you know that we never break our promises. So, we might as well get over this."
And with those words said, she covered her mouth and nose with the cloth tied to her neck, while shaking the can of paint she's holding. Then without hesitation, she started to paint the plain old walls, while Alonah just looked at her with astonishment and mouth hanging agape.
She wondered if her eyes were playing tricks on her. Did she really just see the sweet, innocent, allergic-to-trouble head cheerleader vandalize the sacred prison’s (that’s what they usually refer to the school as) wall? Is she really still living in reality?
Lu and the four boys turned to look at the still astonished Alonah, leaving Hayes to do what she was doing, and gave her an evil smirk.
"See? Hayes managed to do it. Why can't you?" Ashton asked, Alonah giving him a frown right after.
"Maybe because I'm still not used to it?" She replied, meaning to make it sound like a statement, but it came out as a question instead.
"Al, come on. We've been doing this for quite some time now, and you're still not used to it?" Reese asked, a bit of annoyance and frustration present in his voice. He was pretty playful just a moment before, but Alonah could see now that he was really just trying to rein in his increasing temper as he continued to hear the latter’s constant complaints.
And right now, Alonah knows it's impossible to not catch those. After all, after knowing the guy for quite some time, she knows that Reese is the kind of guy who makes something obvious if he wants to. He doesn't want to play dumb because he finds it stupid, which Alonah had to agree with.
She frowned once again and said, "I caught that, you know!"
Chuckling but choosing not to say anything in reply to her words, he tossed her the can of spray he was holding and turned around to ask Kobe into giving him another can of spray.
He gave the group a grin while pumping his hands into the air and said in a voice that dangerously sounds like an old drunken man, "Let's start this thing!"
The group laughed at his antics as they started to get ready for what they’re about to do. Alonah walked towards the empty space near Hayes and silently prayed that they won’t get caught in the act because she’s pretty sure vandalizing the school wall is a serious offense.
Covering her mouth and her nose with the cloth also tied on her neck while shaking the can in the process, she started spraying the can on the wall, making random things and shapes on the blank surface. She made a circular shape on the wall, following it after with any shapes she could think of.
As talented as she is, art is just not one of those talents. Even though her mother made her take art lessons when she was still a child, it just didn’t work. And with them doing this for six months now, it still proved to not be enough practice for her to get her art in the game. Not to mention that within those six months, they have never been caught even once. Not that it surprised her as much, seeing as they make sure to do it at night and somewhere just a bunch of people could see them.
She likes to think it’s thanks to their ninja skills, but she really is just kidding herself.
People just don't seem to see the significance of checking out this place here, so they don't really have any problems about being caught.
She stopped for a moment and looked at the others, who are working on their masterpiece one by one. Reese and Dominic made some kind of writing she didn't quite understand while Kobe made a saying that says, 'I am awesome and you're not, so, scram!'.
Seeing that made Alonah chuckle as she thought about how it seemed so Kobe-like to scribble those words.
As for the others, Ashton, well, Ashton, he made something that, let's just say, something totally not him. Lu also made so kind of wording, and she did it so beautifully and professionally like she's already used to things like this. Even the four boys can't seem to do it better than her.
Well, of course she would be better than them. Her and her childhood best friends have been this kind of thing way longer than they have. Four years is a lot of time and Alonah is pretty sure Lu had more than enough practice doing all of these. Lu even told Alonah about the times where they would sometimes get caught and they would run away as if their lives depended on it (because it did), with the cops hot on their heels. She could even remember when the latter told her that Xavier had to jump in a lake just to get away from the people pursuing them.
Recalling about that story made Alonah suddenly think about Xavier and the conversation she had with Lu during lunch earlier that day. She waited for Lu to tell her herself but it was too long that she already even forgot there’s still something her best friend has to tell her.
"I can't believe I forgot!" She mumbled under her breath, hastily running towards where Lu was.
She couldn’t help but be distracted and mesmerized by how beautiful Lu’s work was that she just had to stare at it for a couple of minutes to revel in the sight in front of her.
When she finally had her fill, she called her best friend’s attention. "Lu!" She said, making the girl in question look at her with both amusement and surprise clearly seen in her shining, brown orbs.
Lu took off the cloth that covered her mouth and nose before replying, "Yeah?"
Alonah mimicked Lu’s actions and slowly walked towards her with a sheepish smile, accompanied by the pink tinted in her cheeks. She’s suddenly thankful that it’s night time so there would be less chance of Lu finding the blush.
"About Xavier..." I started.
A slow, teasing smile immediately made its way onto Lu’s lips. "What about him?" She asked as she moved closer to Alonah.
Alonah honestly had no idea how to go about it but eventually just decided to go for it. "Well, you said that Xavier said something, so..." She trailed off, not wanting to sound too eager while trying not to embarrass herself too much. Because she does know for a fact that Lu would do anything so that she'll have a reason to tease her to no end.
She smirked evilly at her and replied, "You want to know, right?"
Swallowing the lump in her throat and trying to ignore the loud thumping of her heart inside her chest, she answered, "Yeah."
She expected her voice to come out confident and firm, but it only managed to come out in barely a whisper instead. All she could think about was: goddamn it all, really.
Lu smirked more this time--if that was possible--and leaned in so that their faces were just an inch apart. "You're nervous, aren't you?" She asked and instinctively, Alonah leaned back, making the former’s carefree laugh to escape her lips.
Realizing there's no point in lying to her, Alonah sighed in defeat, looking back at her shining brown eyes. "Fine, yes, I am. Happy?" She retorted, irritation clearly laced in her tone.
Lu laughed as she looked back at her with amusement. "It's alright. No one can resist Xavier's charm anyway."
Alonah snorted and said, "We'll see about that."
Lu just smirked at me one more time before continuing on finishing her work. As Alonah reassessed her best friend’s words, it genuinely amazes her how she's so confident with Xavier’s skill and expertise in that certain area. Maybe she's just really being honest about it or maybe she's overestimating Xavier's skills, but how would Alonah know, right? It's not like she can judge them right away just based on what Lu has told her. So as a result, she stayed silent for a while, until she remembered once more what her intentions were when she came to talk to her friend in the first place.
"So Lu, about what Xavier said..." She trailed off, resulting in Lu, who slowly dragged her stare away from her work and back to her friend, to smirk at her with that sly and confident smirk of hers.
"Still not over that, I see." Lu commented and Alonah just rolled my eyes.
Finally having enough of Lu’s commitment to stray away from the topic, Alonah sighed before saying, "Will you please just tell me?"
Lu laughed at Alonah’s eagerness while the latter could only frown at her. "Well, he told me that when the two of you will finally meet, he will be the guy wearing a white jumper and black trousers. He also told me that he will probably give you a box full of Snickers because that's his favorite snack."
At that moment, all Alonah could do was stare at her friend blankly. She honestly didn’t know how to process or what to react to the things her best friend just told her because it was insanely contrary to what she made her believe.
"That's not interesting at all!" She deadpanned while Lu just let out a laugh.
"I'm just kidding. But seriously though, that's also one of the things he told me. That lad really has a strange addiction for Snickers." She said and the former looked at her with raised eyebrows.
Alonah wondered why could Lu possibly be telling her about these things that she doesn’t even hold a bit of vital information. It was mostly just random things about him that she couldn’t even be bothered to know.
"Can you just tell me what he really said?" She asked while Lu just laughed at her friend again.
"Alright, fine. He told me that he's really attracted to you, and that he'd do anything to make you like him." She said, in the most serious face ever.
Deep down, Alonah knows that Lu's lying. She just knows it. A few seconds after this, she would throw her head back, laughing like there's no tomorrow.
But, she didn't. She didn't laugh, she just kept staring at Alonah with her poker face. Her brown eyes were staring straight in my darker shade of brown eyes, and the former could really feel that she's telling the truth.
"You're joking, right?" She asked, and Lu looked at me like I had two heads.
"Why would I be lying to you?" Came Lu’s inquiry, surprise present in her tone.
Alonah raised an eyebrow at her and replied, "Maybe because you're good at pranks and scamming people?"
Lu grinned sheepishly at her, but the former’s expressions changed almost instantly. "You know I would never lie to you about things like this. Sure, I lied to you about other things, but not when it's about love. I know what you've been through, and I don't want to cause you more heartbreak."
"You really are the best friend I could ever ask for." Alonah said, pulling her best friend in for a hug.
When they both pulled away from each other, Alonah asked, "Are you really sure that's what he told you?"
"Of course! Shocking, right?"
"What's shocking?" Reese asked, appearing out of nowhere and threw his arm around Alonah. The latter looked at him with a poker face, but he just looked at her with a cheeky grin on his lips.
She looked back at Lu, but she was already looking at both of us with an evil grin. Releasing a sigh, Alonah tried shoving Reese's arm away from her but to no avail.
Reese being well-built and maybe a head or two heads taller than her, he had the advantage of intimidating her and the advantage of not letting her go that easily.
"Reese, can you please let me go?" Alonah asked nicely, but he just let out a low chuckle.
"Sorry, Ally. But I can't just seem to let you go. You're too amazing to let go." He remarked, letting his voice be deeper.
At that moment, Alonah suddenly had the feeling that what he said isn't related to the one she’s referring to. Of course, she has no idea if what she observed was true, but it could be a definite possibility.
And, again, just like what happened in the music room earlier, her heart thumped loudly and violently against her chest while her stomach kept churning, making her feel very nervous and uncomfortable.
Someone cleared their throat and her head snapped up, only to meet Lu’s shining eyes, who was giving them a smirk and a suggestive wink.
"You know, Al, I really don't understand why you rejected Reese. The two of you look perfect together! And, he's basically the kind of guy that every girl wants, despite his short temper, and his sometimes unlikely attitude." She remarked, earning a laugh from Alonah, and a glare from Reese.
Seriously, it made Alonah wonder who's side is Lu on. Sometimes, she makes it seem like she's on Xavier's side, and sometimes, she makes it look like she's on Reese's side. She honestly just kept thinking what is wrong with this human being.
"You know the reason why I rejected him." She replied, earning a silent reply after.
There was an awkward silence after that, and Alonah just looked around anywhere but Reese. Then, she felt his arm slowly slipping away from her shoulders, until it finally reached his sides. She looked up at him and she could see the vulnerability in his eyes, as well as the sadness in his tensed muscles.
But, as soon as the vulnerability and the sadness showed, it was also soon gone. It looks like he didn't want her or Lu to see the vulnerability he was feeling, but Alonah already saw it before it fully vanished.
He cleared his throat and grinned. "Lu, would you like to tell me what happened when you and Scott talked earlier in the corridor? I heard that he was 'confessing' his feelings for you." He said, and Lu let out a snicker, but smirked nonetheless.
Looking at him now, Alonah wondered yet again another thing about her friend. She already noticed it before, but experiencing it again right now made her think about how this guy definitely has major mood swings.
"Confessing?" She scoffed. "Well yeah, I guess you could say that but it was more like he begged me to change my mind about rejecting him."
Matching it with a laugh, Reese smirked at her, while Alonah just shook my head, but smiled nonetheless. "There was another guy today besides Jacob?" I asked, making her face me.
She grinned at me and replied, "There was.”
“And? What did you do?”
“Broke his heart, of course. That's what I do. I rejected him in front of everybody, and it was so clear that he was beyond humiliated. It was funny, actually."
Reese released a loud laugh, while Alonah silently mourned for the boy. She didn't even know why he risked such a thing, when he knew that Lu is known as the heartbreaker in school. The girl basically has a stone for a heart. When it comes to boys, at least.
"Poor boy." She remarked, while Reese and Lu just chuckled.
A few minutes later, the others arrived, some of them covered in paint. She raised an eyebrow at them, but they just grinned sheepishly at her.
"It sort of went out of hand." Ashton explained and the others nodded in agreement.
"Uh-huh." Alonah replied, but he just grinned at her.
"So, are you guys done?" Kobe asked, and Lu, Reese, and Alonah nodded their heads.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go! We might get caught if we stay much longer." He said, making all of us instantly make a run for the car.
As they ran, Alonah could only think about how it’s nearly impossible now for them to get caught. What with them already on their way out of the place, the chances of them being spotted are zero to none.
When they were settled in, Lu sat beside her and grinned. "Did you find what I told you interesting?"
"Beyond interesting. I was even so astonished when I found out." Alonah replied truthfully, and Lu laughed.
"Well, that's Xavier for you." She said.
"I could tell he will be a piece of work." Alonah commented, making Lu let out a humorous laugh.
"You have no idea." She replied.
Something within her made Alonah think that maybe knowing and having Xavier in her life won’t be too bad after all. Who knows? Maybe it would be the best thing that has ever happened in her life. But another side of her, the pessimistic side, kept thinking that this just may be the worst thing that she’s going to get.
Aksara