Band rehearsal that Saturday had been relatively brief, consisting of only a few hours, which was a change compared to all the time they’d put in during the tour but Cerise was glad it hadn’t taken too long. She enjoyed being in the band but she was really looking forward to rehearsals for Theatre Workshop. The Sound of Music was a great choice and she was super eager for all the costumes and classic songs.
She lingered at Tom’s house to discuss the awesomeness with him as the other guys took off and after a few minutes she went outside and whipped out her phone, intending to consult the STM site for the bus schedule.
“Need a lift?” asked Jeff, leaning against his car, which was parked across the street.
“Ok,” she said, wondering if he had an ulterior motive. She didn’t trust him, not after all the weird passes he’d made during their tour but a lift would be way faster than the bus.
“That movie reeks,” said Jeff after she’d told him what play they were doing at school.
“I like it!” she replied, adjusting the passenger sunshield thingy to keep the sun out of her eyes.
“You would,” he snarked.
“What does that mean?”
“You’re totally the type of chick who makes lolcats.”
“I so don’t! I don’t even like cats. I’m allergic to them.”
“Doesn’t stop you from liking whiskers on kittens and warm woollen mittens.”
“You have a pretty good grasp of Favorite Things for someone who thinks The Sound of Music sucks.”
“Well I mean who doesn’t like brown paper packages tied up with string? Am I right? Especially when they carry the dismembered body parts of Chinese exchange students.”
“You’re such an ass!” said Cerise.
“Hey, it’s important for Canada
“You’re gross.”
“So speaking of sociopathic killers,” he said as he stopped at a red light. “You still with that boyfriend of yours?”
Cerise sighed. “Jeff, don’t do this.”
“Do what?” he asked innocently.
“Say mean shit about my boyfriend.”
“Geez, relax, I was just kidding.”
“Well it’s not funny. And you know, it makes me uncomfortable when you…”
“Ok fine, jesus, sorry. What the fuck happened to your sense of humour?” he asked, not unkindly.
“I save it for when jokes are actually funny.”
“I bet you would’a laughed at something like that before you started dating a serial killer.”
“What the fuck…” she exclaimed.
“Relax! Man, that temper of yours…” he whistled.
“What about it?” she asked between gritted teeth.
“I missed it,” he snickered.
She sighed heavily. “You’re such a fucking ass. If you weren’t driving I’d punch you in the face!”
“There she is! There’s that feisty cherry!”
“Oh my god, shut up!”
She knew he was goading her and part of her was genuinely annoyed but another part was enjoying the banter. Terry had been right; this sort of thing was flirting, wasn’t it? This was the way she and Terry used to interact. But now Terry was always exhausted or taking care of Britt. Cerise wasn’t the least bit attracted to Jeff but it was fun to joke around like this.
He pulled up at her house and she thanked him for the lift, calling him an asshole as she undid her seatbelt.
“Anytime, bitch,” he replied.
“Fuck you,” she smirked.
Just as she was about to get out he took her hand and pulled her towards him, kissing her on the side of her mouth. She pushed him away and made a noise of disgust and he instantly raised his hands in defence, apologizing profusely with a wide grin that indicated he wasn’t sorry in the least.
“You can’t just go around kissing me and then cancelling it out by apologizing.”
“Well it’s hard. I mean it’s hard being around you sometimes, ok,” he said pathetically.
“Well what do you want me to do about it?”
“Just keep it hard, right here.” He took her hand and was about to place it over his crotch but she yanked it away just in time.
“Jesus fucking christ! You’re such a perv!” she screeched.
“I’m kidding, don’t hit me!” He covered his face with his hands.
“You’re such a dick,” she said, trying not to laugh.
He peered at her from between his fingers and chuckled. “There’s that sense of humour.”
“Goodbye.” She opened the door.
“Wait!”
“What?”
“Wanna make out?”
She gave him a grossed out look. “Are you gonna chill or am I gonna have to kick your ass?”
“I’ll take the ass kicking,” he grinned.
She rolled her eyes and stepped out of the car, forcefully slamming it shut behind her. She could sense him watching her as she walked up to her house and went inside. He seriously was an asshole. Why did she put up with it? Was she just a stereotypical girl after all? Pretending she was into nice guys when really she liked bad boys? God, she was such a loser. She decided to call Terry but then realized he’d be with Britt and it would be annoying to talk to him. So she sent him a text of smileys and hearts and then went to watch TV.
“Well, Cerise kinda thinks maybe I should move back in with one of my parents but… I dunno,” Terry shrugged.
“You know, it might have been an idea to transfer to a different school,” said Nick. “Like if you went to Dawson
“And leave all this behind?” laughed Terry, spreading his arms to indicate the JAC campus. He and Nick were doing their daily run around the track field but today there were no girls watching them so they could just be chill. “Besides, it’s just one more year. I might as well finish my DEC here. Next year I can go to Concordia. The Loyola campus is like two seconds from Vicky’s apartment.”
“You wouldn’t rather go to McGill?” asked Nick in surprise.
“I bet Concordia’s easier to get into.”
“Yeah, but wouldn’t you rather be a Redman than a Stinger? I mean, there’s more prestige with McGill. The Redman are like, the first hockey team ever.”
“Whatever fuck,” Terry snorted. “Like I give a shit about hockey. It’s not a given I’m gonna play at all next year.”
Nick stopped running and stared at Terry. “You have so much talent.”
“Shut up,” Terry scoffed, trying not to sound embarrassed.
“Seriously, I bet if you took it seriously you could go pro.”
“I’m an enforcer, Nick. I’m a fucking goon.”
“You don’t have to be.”
“Whatever. You have a cigarette?”
“Not on me. We’re supposed to be exercising. Besides, I thought you quit. I was gonna quit too.”
“Yeah, I quit,” he groaned. “Cerise would smell it on me in a second anyway.”
“That sounds like a complaint,” said Nick with a smirk.
“Nah, we’re fine. She can be intense but sometimes, I mean, no, it’s cool. That’s what I like about her, that she’s so intense. But sometimes it’s like fuck, chill, you know?”
“I guess,” shrugged Nick.
Terry sighed heavily and looked around. “We should go out this weekend. Get drunk, pick up chicks. That’s what I miss about being single. Just the fun of picking up chicks. So how ‘bout it? We’ll go out and you can pick up some chick and I can live vicariously through you.”
Nick chuckled. “It would probably work best if you did the picking up and then we blindfold them and I take your place.”
Terry looked at his friend dubiously. “You always say shit like that. Like I’m some fucking chick-magnet and you’re Quasimodo. Don’t act like you don’t know you’re hot.”
“Oooh, you think I’m hot?” Nick asked in a fey voice.
“For real, asshole!” Terry laughed. “All my chick friends are constantly drooling over you. You could have anyone you wanted. So fucking hook up with someone so we can talk about your love life for a change!”
“Ok, I’ll work on it,” Nick grinned.
“Hey!” said Leanne brightly, appearing out of nowhere. How’d she even know where Shauna’s locker was? Was she stalking her? That’d be funny, if Shauna had a stalker now. She sort of liked the idea.
Shauna returned the greeting and agreed when Leanne asked her to join her for lunch in the cafeteria. She’d never been to the cafeteria before. She didn’t even know where it was. Leanne was proving to be quite handy. Maybe they’d become best friends and always do stuff together all the time, like even on the weekends and everything!
Rehearsal was going awesome. They hadn’t gotten to any songs yet but Karine had done a scene at the convent and one with the kids and one with the Captain and they’d all been awesome. This Brady guy was ok. He had that sort of Ryan Reynolds smarmy quality that worked well for the Captain. He was charismatic but also slightly douchey. Karine decided he was well cast even though he was only first-year. Nadine’s Captain Von Trapp was Ed and he was a bit more filled out so he looked more imposing but he just didn’t have that it factor that Brady had. Karine was really pleased with her cast; it was way superiour to Nadine’s. Even though they were only a couple of weeks in, the class was already dividing itself into cliques based on cast. It hadn’t been that way with Alice
They were all hanging out in the Green Room after class and Brady asked her if she wanted to rehearse their kissing scene. She agreed and they jokingly made out while kissing their own hands. Everyone got a good laugh out of it.
“No but seriously,” he said. “You wanna hang out this weekend?”
She should have known he’d ask her out. She was the only girl in class pretty enough for the likes of him. But she wasn’t sure she wanted to go out with him. Oh, might as well. She needed someone to warm her bed while she tried to decide if she wanted to give Jay a try. She didn’t want to sound too eager though so she told him she was busy this weekend but free the next.
“Cool,” he smiled.
It was ballsy of him to ask her out in front of everyone. Not every guy would have the guts to do that. It was a very Terry move.
“So tell me your life story,” instructed Leanne as they took a seat in the crowded cafeteria.
“There’s nothing to tell,” shrugged Shauna, digging into her poutine.
“Bullshit. What was the deal with that blonde chick? How come shit was so weird with you two?”
“I dunno.”
“You have to actually answer questions if you expect me to learn everything about you.”
Shauna shrugged and stuffed her face with more fries so she wouldn’t have to answer.
“Ok, fine. I’ll start. I grew up in Baie D’urfe. I know, riveting so far, right? My parents are total hippies and they’re super supportive of me being gay, like sometimes they’re so into it I wonder if maybe they somehow made me gay. ‘Cause I’m adopted and they’re total hippies and so like, is it a coincidence that I got adopted by the most tolerant people ever? Sometimes it’s like they’re too supportive you know? Like they go to Pflag and all the parades and shit and sometimes it’s like they’re making it all about them, instead of me. I dunno, I shouldn’t complain. They’re good people. Ok, now you.”
Shauna stared at Leanne. She’d tried to forget the lesbian stuff. Was she always gonna make every conversation so gay? That would be weird.
“Where do you live?” asked Leanne.
“Pointe-Claire.”
“Where’d you go to high school?”
“St-Thomas and then BHS for my last year.”
“How come you switched?”
“Long story.”
“I’ve got time.”
“It’s not important,” Shauna shrugged.
“Translation: it’s crucial. I want all the gory details.”
Shauna just shrugged.
“Oh, you think you can deflect my curiosity. I’ll get you to spill your guts soon enough, don’t you worry.” Leanne laughed and smiled so happily that Shauna couldn’t help but smile as well.
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