their way to english class. Raven shrugged.
"I have no clue. A part of me wants to but another part of me, a huge part of me, wants to
say no", she replied.
"Say no? Are you crazy?! Why would you say no?" Alicia demanded. Raven settled into a
seat in the very back in the last row and pulled out a pen and a notebook. Alicia sat down
in the seat next to Raven.
"Hello? Have you or have you not been my best friend since we were toddlers?! Lance
Bass is a pompous, materialistic jerk which is exactly the type of person I hate. Besides,
even if I did say yes, it'd turn into a Jerry Springer episode; everyone would freak out",
Raven explained, while pretending to pay attention.
"Everyone? Who's everyone?"
Raven rolled her eyes.
"You, Tia, Kerry, his friends and basically the entire student body", Raven clarified.
Alicia laughed quietly.
"I wouldn't freak out and neither would Tia or Kerry. I speak on behalf of everyone when
I say this; it's so obvious that you like Lance", Alicia replied with a sly smile. Raven
scrunched up her nose like she had smelled rotten garbage on a hot summer day.
"Well I speak on behalf of myself when I say this; I absolutely, totally do not like him."
Alicia's smile stayed on her face.
"And if I didn't know any better, I'd say that he likes you too. So if you like him and he
likes you then go for it. I mean, if I was in your shoes, and a hot guy like Lance was
begging me to go with him to something like the homecoming dance, I wouldn't hesitate
with an answer", Alicia wistfully answered.
"Ok, since you want to be in my shoes so much, then you go with him", Raven
sarcastically replied. Alicia shook her head.
"Me and Lance, as a couple? That's scarier than when Rachel Leigh Cook went blonde.
But you and Lance, now there's a connection", Alicia argued.
"Ugh, I-"
"GIRLS! Is there something you'd like to share with us?" Mr. Kannamela barked, his
wrinkly face stony.
Their english teacher, Mr. Kannamela, was an extremely short Italian man, with a salt and
pepper colored tuff of hair on his balding, shiny head, round, black framed glasses as large
as two satellite dishes and a nose that took up half his face. It was a commonly unspoken
fact that he spit when he talked, so Raven and the rest of his students favored seats as far
back as possible. His school attire was ninety eight percent of the time as follows: a pink,
or in his words, "salmon" colored shirt, khaki pants that could be dated back to the 1920's
and a silk tie with a picture of school bus full of overjoyed looking kids on it. He was
obsessed with fish, hence every square inch of the walls were plastered with fish pictures
or Polaroid�s of him and his latest fishing accomplishment.
He rarely gave detentions but usually asked misbehaving kids to step into his "office", aka
the hallway space outside his door for a little, friendly "chat." All of the students arrive
back to class, fine in appearance but few have been able to tell the whole account of what
happened during those terrifying five minutes.
So you can see why Raven and Alicia shut right up and forced their most innocent,
sweetest smiles on their faces and sadly shook their heads.
"No Mr. Kannamela, we were just discussing last night's grammar homework", Alicia
replied, with a tone that she prayed seemed sincere.
Mr. Kannamela's face suddenly brightened, a very rare site and smiled at hearing anything
to do with english.
"Speaking of grammar, let's all get out a notebook and pen and finish those participle
notes we didn't complete yesterday", he announced, turning his attention away from the
two friends.
Everyone groaned and the sound of zipping and unzipping of binders could be heard.
Raven turned back to Alicia, Mr. Kannamela too absorbed into the wonders of grammar
to notice.
"So, as I was saying, I really hope you're joking cause a blind man could see that there is
nothing between Lance and me", Raven replied. Alicia rolled her eyes and copied down
something Mr. Kannamela had written on the board, then focused her attention on Raven
again.
"No, a blind man could see the connection between you to. You just don't see it because
you're making yourself not to", Alicia answered.
Raven rolled her eyes and focused her attention on the board, annoyed with the way their
conversation was heading.
"Don't lie to yourself, Lesh. Mark my words when I say there is nothing going on between
me and Lance Bass." Alicia chuckled softly.
"If you say so...Mrs Bass", she teased. Raven forced back a tight smirk and ignored Alicia.
No, a blind man could see the connection between you to. You just don't see it because
you're making yourself not to.
But as her thoughts dwelled on their recent conversation, she began to wonder if her
protests of disliking Lance were nothing but a farce.
**************************************************
Raven stared at the midnight blue, cordless phone sitting on her nightstand. She reached
up and began twisting a lock of hair, her eyes glued to the idle phone. She tore her eyes
away.
{No. I can't.}
Her eyes slowly slinked to the phone again.
{It's just one phone call, that's all. But then why am I overcome with so much nervousness
that I'm ready to piss my pants?}Raven silently sulked. She let out a deep sigh. She had to
do this. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't run away from the question. He
had a right to know what she had decided.
She counted to three and then with a shaky hand, picked up the phone and punched in his
phone number. She had gotten it from the phonebook and because she knew his street
address, it had been easy to find the correct number.
She had told herself that it would be easier than tying her shoe; call him up, tell him her
final answer, apologize then say a quick farewell and hang up, then pray that he'd forget all
about it a couple of days from now.
Now, it wasn't as easy as she had thought. And the fact that her sweaty hands were
shakier than a San Fransico earthquake, added in with the sudden waves and crashes of
everything she had consumed today wasn't helping much either.
The phone rang and rang, each ring bringing her closer to reality.
{Maybe I can hang up before he picks up..}
Just as she was about to slam the phone down and pretend she was never going to attempt
to call him, he picked up. His voice flowed through the receiver, trapping her like a deer
caught in the harsh flash of headlights.
"Hello?" She was silent, her voice somehow stuck in the bottom of her throat.
"Hello??" Lance demanded, beginning to grow annoyed.
"Umm...Lance?" she cautiously asked.
"Raven?" Lance questioned in shock.
"Yeah...listen, I'm really sorry to keep you waiting for my answer about the dance", she
replied.
"Oh. So, what's the deal? Yes or no?" Lance anxiously asked. Raven took a deep breath
and cleared her throat. This was the part she hated to do.
"Uh...well...my answer is.........no."
"WHAT?" Lance cried.
Raven bit down on her lip.
"I'm really sorry but I think you've asked the wrong person. You'll have a much better time
with someone else", Raven calmly explained, hoping he'd agree and hang up.
"That's bull shit and you know it!" Raven's eyes narrowed, the old feeling of boiling anger
rising in her.
"Bull shit? Were you expecting me to fall at your feet, thank you over and over again for
giving me this sacred invitation to be in the presence of the supreme, almighty Lance
Bass? Well if you were, I highly suggest you go running back to your skanky girlfriend
cause you're speaking to the completely wrong person", Raven heatedly snapped.
"Raven, I-"
"You had actually fooled me you were half a decent human being but I guess I was lying
to myself all along", Raven added, cutting Lance short.
Lance let out a frustrated sigh.
"Raven, listen, I-"
"Fuck you Lance!" Raven exclaimed and slammed down the phone with all her might.
****************************************************
Lance gazed at the phone in shock. She had said no. He was pretty positive she was going
to say yes but she had said no. He threw the phone on the floor.
"SHIT! Thanks to little Miss Anti-Social, I can kiss my car goodbye", he grumbled,
running a hand through his hair.
"Not to mention now I don't have a date for the dance", he muttered as an afterthought.
He was actually looking forward to going with Raven; it would have been better than
going with Amber, who would have hung onto him like a leech and smugly showed him
off to everyone like a trophy. And he was beginning to think he was falling for Raven. But
with her sudden outburst fresh in his mind, right now he'd rather become a Priest than go
out with Raven.
[It's going to take a miracle to convince Amber to go with me now] Lance thought to
himself, annoyed.
He picked up the phone and began dialing Amber's number, when a slow smile spread
across his face. He stopped and turned off the phone. Like a flash of lightening, he had
suddenly gotten a great idea. A great idea that would have Raven going to the dance with
him quicker than you could say jump and his car safe and sound in his driveway, where it
belonged.
Back To Chapter Index
Back To Long Fiction