Chapter 9-Rumors and Secrets

This chapter is by far the longest I've written in "Chocolate Ice Cream". Don't forget to rate and review! =)

            Tiana and Krystal weren't waiting for me at the flagpole the next day. I thought that was strange, but I shrugged it off and headed into the building. I glanced around. Most people weren't there, yet. I was going to ask Ms. Plurmington what was going on, but I decided against it. Instead, I counted down the minutes until the bell rang, and still, only a few people came in. We were missing half the class. I discreetly texted Tiana and Krystal, and shoved my phone in my backpack.

            Ms. Plurmington started class, and I started stressing about our project. We were going to have to meet up soon, or we wouldn't make the deadline. We were supposed to be meeting on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and today was a Tuesday. But why was everyone absent? If we were supposed to meet today and everyone was sick, then we would miss a day. Ms. Plurmington was worried about why everyone was absent, too.

            I heard rumors the whole day about why everyone was missing. In second period, I had been looking around hopefully that Krystal might be there, but of course, she wasn't. I heard someone say that there was a flu outbreak. Of course, I started worrying about Krystal and Tiana, but they had really good immune systems because they ate healthy foods and exercised a lot. I was probably more prone to getting the flu than they were.

            In physics, people were saying that there had been a huge earthquake the other night that made houses fall down. Obviously, I didn't believe that because my house hadn't fallen down and I hadn't seen rubble anywhere.

            In language arts, the class started filling up. I asked the girl next to me what had happened. She said that there was a fight between these two guys, but she didn't know what it was about.

            After PE and Drama, I ran to the lunchroom to meet Krystal and Tiana. I glanced around the room. Everyone was buzzing. Apparently, behind the school, there was a fight about a girl. I rolled my eyes and glanced at our table. I frowned. That was strange, usually they were the first ones there because they had Physics, which was right next door. I quickly asked a guy who I was pretty sure was in my language arts class who was involved in the fight. He told me the girl's name was Tiana and those guys were Justin and Steve. WTH?!? I ran to the office and asked the secretary if a girl named Tiana was in the principal's office. She nodded in response, then asked me who I was. I replied that I was Tiana's friend and I needed to see her right now. She agreed to let me in, and I saw Tiana in tears, with Krystal beside her.

            "Tiana what happened?" I asked her. She was crying too hard to answer, so I turned to Krystal. She told me how Justin and Steve had both been trying to talk to Tiana, but they had gotten angry at each other and decided to duke it out. They were both going to be suspended from school for three weeks. I asked if they had seen Eric and Tiana shook her head. I took my phone out from my bag and texted Eric if he was sick or something. A few seconds later, he said that he was and wasn't I still in school? I ignored his text for now and focused on Tiana. She looked terrible. Her eyes were puffy and her mascara was running. Krystal was silently rubbing her back. I handed her a tissue. I sat down on the third seat outside the office.

            "Why did it take so long for the fight to end?" I asked.

            "At first, they were just yelling at each other, and people started taking sides. Then, they started to hit each other. I don't know who started it," Krystal said to my curious glance, "but I do know that they don't seem like the type to let this go."

            "I am so over Justin," Tiana sniffled, "You know, Eric's kind of cute." I stared at her. She had just been in the center of a huge fight and she says that she likes someone else? No. Just no. Not Eric. What am I thinking? I asked myself. I didn't have a good answer for that. I gave him her number!! my mind kept screaming at me. It's just because I don't think she should change her mind so easily, I told myself.

            "Eva? Are you okay?" Tiana asked, "You seemed out of it when I mentioned Eric..." she trailed off.

            "No, I'm fine. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night," I said. Krystal glanced at me curiously. She was obviously thinking that I looked fine, but she wasn't going to ask me about it now. Later her eyes said. I looked away.

            "I didn't see him there," Tiana continued, "at the fight. I wonder if he's okay."

            I had to say something. But I couldn't. She had just been through a traumatizing experience. What would I even say? Before I could make up my mind to speak or not to speak, the principal's door opened. Justin and Steve came out, escorted by...police? It must have been pretty intense. Tiana stood up to go in without looking at Steve or Justin. Krystal didn't look at Justin, but she did smile at Steve. What?!? I yelled at her mentally. That guy's a delinquent! I knew I was exaggerating, but it felt good to yell at something.

            I followed Tiana and Krystal into the office.

            "Please sit," Ms. Walker, the principal, said, "Now, I understand that there was an incident involving you, Ms...?"

            "You can call me Tiana," she said, instead of supplying her last name.

            "All right, Tiana. Can you tell me what happened?" she asked. Tiana told her what she could recall, which was that they had been yelling, then suddenly, Steve and Justin were rolling on the blacktop throwing punches. "Do you know what started the fight?" Ms. Walker asked.

            "I think it was me. I was just talking to them, and then Steve asked Justin if he could talk to him for a minute. They walked a few yards away, then talked to each other a few minutes. Then, they started shouting, then finally they were fighting. That's all I remember." Tiana said.

            "Thank you, Tiana. I will have to inform your parents about this, you understand?" Ms. Walker asked. Tiana nodded. "I would advise you to take the day off and talk to your parents about this. You are dismissed."

            "Thank you," Tiana said. Krystal left school with Tiana, since she had basically missed the whole day, too. I hadn't got to eat my lunch, but I ran to fifth period and made it just in time.

            After school, I remembered to reply to Eric's text. I started taking out my phone, but what would I say to him? I shook my head and left it in my bag.

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            "Lily, why are you looking at me like that?" I asked. She was grinning mischievously. 

            "Someone left a message for you," she winked and pressed the play button on the home phone.

            "Hey, it's Eric. Why aren't you answering my texts? I can't make it to the meet today for our project in homeroom. Can you tell that to Tiana and Krystal? Do you know what's going on with Justin and Steve? They haven't told me what happened at school today, like if I missed anything. Call me or something. Oh, this is Eric. Did I say that already? The Eric from homeroom and physics. Just if you know more than one Eric and you're confused. Oh and this message is for Eva. Sorry if I got the wrong number, but I'm pretty sure it's the right number. Umm..anyways, yeah. Bye." There was a click, then the message ended. I glanced at my cell phone that I had taken out while listening to the message. There were five messages.

            "Well, it looks like you're a bit busy, so I'll be in my room if you need anything," Lily said, "Oh, and Michael's coming over for dinner, so be presentable by six."

            "Sure, no problem," I said. His texts basically said that I shouldn't be texting in class, what was going on at school, and why I wan't answering. Another message popped up asking me that he wasn't going to be at the meet and if I got his voice message at home. I didn't feel like replying to all those messages, so I just called him. It was halfway into the first ring when he picked up.

            "Eva? What's going on? Did you get my message? Do you know where Steve and Justin are? You shouldn't text in class, you could get in trouble. What took you so long to call me?"

            "Geez. Aren't you supposed to be sick?" I asked instead of answering his questions.

            "I am sick. But it's just a cold," he said, "and answer my questions."

            "Well, at school there was a fight between Justin and Steve, so that's probably why they're not telling you anything. It was over Tiana, by the way. And it took me so long to call you because I simply didn't want to," I said bluntly.

            "Really? Are they okay? Is Tiana okay? Why wouldn't you want to call me?" he asked.

            "Yeah, everyone's fine. I have to go," I said in a monotone.

            "Wait I still want to talk to--" I hung up. My phone started ringing again after a few minutes. I turned it off so it'd go straight to voice mail. I went into my room and lay down. I turned on my iPod and took out my book. I lost myself in the world of Shadowhunters.

            DING DONG!! Who could that be? Not Mom and Dad, they had the house keys, besides, it was only four. I ran downstairs to get the door.

            "Hi, Eva!" Krystal said, "Can I come in? I wanted to talk to you."

            "Hey, Krystal. Yeah, sure. You can keep your shoes on," I said. We went up to my room after she insisted on taking them off. Whatever.

            "So...you reacted very strangely when Tiana mentioned Eric," Krystal said slowly.

            "And you reacted very strangely when you saw Steve," I said, "I thought you liked Justin."

            "Yeah, but he got in a fight," she said.

            "May I just say, so did Steven," I said pointedly.

            "I know, but I don't think he started it," Krystal said, "he just seems more..tamed."

            "Wow, you talk about them like they're animals," I rolled my eyes, "You know, Eric seems more tamed than either of them."

            "Oh yes, about that matter.." Krystal said, "You like him don't you?" I immediately denied it.

            "No! Why would I? It's not like he even likes me, he likes Tiana." I said.

            "How do you know that?!?" Krystal screeched, "It's not possible! That's so not fair! She always gets the guy!"

            "What are you talking about?" I asked, "It's not like I even like Eric." I started thinking about my reaction to Tiana saying she liked Eric, and how I wanted to run away.

            "Eva!" Krystal said, "I know that look. You do like Eric. You're just too afraid to admit it to yourself. I think Eric likes you, too."

            "He doesn't," I said firmly.

            "I'm betting that message on the answering machine is from him. Let's go find out." She ran out of my room and played the recording. She listened silently, then nodded in confirmation. "He definitely likes you," she said.

            "Like a sister, you mean," I said stubbornly.

            "Does this sound like brotherly concern?" she asked, and played it again.

            "It sounds like he's frantic about his friends who won't answer his means of communication," I said.

            "Where does he live?" she asked, "I'm going over there right now and asking him if he likes you o ler not."

            "Please don't," I said, "Plus, I don't know where he lives, and neither do you."

            "But I could ask Steve or Justin right now," she held up her phone.

            "No, no, no," I tried to grab her phone from her, but when I looked down, I saw that she had already sent the text. I groaned.

            Five minutes later, we were headed to 516 Edgewood Drive. It took us quite a while to find it, but when we did, it looked perfect. His house was plain white with rose bushes edging the driveway, and there was a willow tree in the middle of his lawn. The eaves were draped with with wisteria. I saw a curtain flutter upstairs. Krystal rang the doorbell.

            I gave it one last shot. "I did mention that Eric's sick, right?" I asked Krystal.

            "What?!?" she yelled. I stepped back from the door.

            "Yeah, so if we could just--" I was cut off.

            "Who are you, and what do you want?" a girl asked. She was pretty, and she looked a bit younger than Eric, but she was tall. She had dark eyes and hair that went to her elbows. I realized she was waiting for an answer. I looked at Krystal. This was her idea. She swallowed.

            "I'm Krystal and this is my friend Eva," that was all she had to say.

            "Oh! Eva? I've heard a lot about you. You're doing like three projects with Eric, right?" she asked as she led us inside. Krystal looked at me as if saying, See? I knew Eric liked you. I didn't have time to answer, because she started talking about how Eric always exaggerated his sicknesses.

            The house was as nice as it looked outside. There was a white and black checkered theme in the living room. There was a black piano in the corner, near a wide window. The kitchen was picture perfect, with yellow see through curtains. The counter was made out of tile, with hardwood flooring. The staircase was lined with pictures that were from the past to present. I thought I saw Eric dressed up for a dance, with a girl, but before I could get a good look, I was pushed from behind by Krystal. We finally stopped in front of a door.

            "Eric's in here. I don't know if he's sleeping right now. Probably not, he was on his phone for the longest time after school," she said. She knocked and stuck her head in the room.

            "What do you want, Julie?" I heard Eric's voice ask, annoyed and slightly nasally.

            "People are here to see you," she said, and ushered us inside. The first glance around, my first thought was, Wow, he must play a lot of sports. But when I looked around again, I realized that there were instruments, too. There was a guitar next to a football clock, his lamp was soccer ball based, there was a pair of soccer cleats near the dresser, and his bed was plain navy blue. His walls were totally covered over with sharpie drawings. It was very artistic. Krystal crossed the room and opened the shades. Eric blinked at the sudden harsh light. His face was flushed.

            "What are you guys doing here?" Eric asked, then coughed.

            "Well, if you must know.." Krystal began.

            "We just wanted to know how you were doing," I quickly cut in. Krystal glared. Her facial expression said, that is so not what I came here for. Mine said, I don't want you to ask him. Her eyes were pleading. I glared. Eric looked back and forth.

            "Are you guys going to tell me what's really going on?" he asked.

            "No," I said the same time Krystal said, "Yes!" He turned to Krystal. She got straight to the point.

            "Who do you like?" she asked. He looked taken aback. He looked at me like, She isn't serious, is she? I looked away. "If it's Tiana, just spit it out," she said.

            His eyes widened. "I don't like Tiana! Where'd you get that idea?" he asked incredulously. I could tell that he really didn't like her.

            "Well maybe because you asked for her number. Maybe because you asked if she's okay. Maybe because she said you're cute!" my voice raising with every word. I realized how much I had wanted to say that for the longest time.

            All he said was, "She said I was cute?" I felt like slapping him. Instead, I kept my composure and walked out of the room. I heard him ask Krystal, "What happened? Was it something I said?" She huffed like, "Boys are so blind."

            "Eva doesn't usually act this way, so you'll have to forgive her behavior. And just answer the question. Who do you like?" she asked. I could hear how much it took her to keep her cool.

            "Why would I tell you?" he asked her, his voice questioning. He sneezed. He really didn't understand that with Krystal, if you just told her what she wanted to know straightaway, it made things easier for everybody. She'd never give up.

            "Because I'm pretty sure I know who you like and I want to confirm it," she said.

            "Does Eva know, too?" he asked calmly. So that settled it. He didn't like me.

            She hesitated for a millisecond. "No."

            "I'll tell you," he said, "But you have to swear not to tell anyone, not Eva, not Tiana, not even the wind."

            She debated for a few seconds. "Fine. I swear." Should I go in? Do I want to know who he likes or not? I never had time to find out what would have happened if I went in. Krystal opened the door and I nearly fell onto his carpet that had a basketball design.

            "Done?" I asked quietly. She nodded.

            "Hey, can I talk to you for a second, Eva?" Eric asked. I turned and I looked at Krystal. She nodded.

            "Yeah, sure," I said it in a light voice. He waited to speak until Krystal left.      

            "Look, I don't know what I said or did, but I'm sorry," he said.

            "It's not your fault," I said, "I overreacted."

            "I would tell you, you know," he said seriously. I looked at him blankly. "Who I like. If you really wanted to know," he said in reaction to my blank stare.

            "No, it's fine," I said. I had an inkling of who it was, anyways.

            "If you say so," he trailed off, "Maybe we could hang out again sometime."

            "Maybe," I said quietly.

            I met Krystal outside. We didn't say much. I watched the scenery go by. All of the houses on his street were picture perfect. It' wasn't that many blocks away from my house, actually. I thanked Krystal for the ride, and ran up the steps. I wondered if she would keep her promise. I knew she would want to, but sometimes, it was hard for her to keep her mouth shut.