Chapter Eight
"Guess what!" Aleesha said excitedly as she ran up to Catherine and Jess the next morning.
"What?" Catherine asked. "Don't tell me you're not gonna go through with it at lunch."
"No, nothing like that," Aleesha said. "AJ asked me out!"
"You're kidding, right?" Catherine said.
"No, I'm serious," Aleesha stated. "He called me before school."
"Well I hope you told him you're with Devin," Catherine said.
"But I'm not," Aleesha stated.
"But you will be when he asks you out today," Jess added.
"He's gonna ask me out today?" Aleesha asked.
"Yeah, totally," Catherine replied.
"So what am I gonna do?"
"Catherine, can we talk?" Brad asked as he approached them.
"Yeah, of course," Catherine said as she followed him into an empty classroom.
"What do you want to do?" Jess asked.
"I don't know," Aleesha replied. "I mean, AJ's so nice and I think I really like him, but Devin's so popular."
"Just do what you want and what you think is right," Jess advised.
"Okay, well, I'm gonna go with..."
Suddenly Brad stormed out of the classroom, leaving Catherine by herself.
"What happened?" Jess asked as she and Aleesha ran in to see what had happened.
"We broke up," Catherine said quietly as a single tear rolled down her cheek.
"Why?" Aleesha asked, putting her arm around Catherine's shoulders.
"Coz he kissed that bitch Tiffany," Catherine stated angrily.
"Well you're better off without him then," Aleesha said.
"You know, that doesn't make me feel much better," Catherine cried.
"It's okay, darl, don't cry," Jess said. "Aleesha's right, you're better off without that bastard."
"Guys, I kinda wanna be alone for a little bit," Catherine said. "Is that alright?"
"Yeah, of course," Aleesha replied as she and Jess started to leave the room. "Hey, and about lunch today, we can forget it if you want."
"No, I wanna do it," Catherine stated.
"Okay, that's cool," Aleesha said. "If you're sure."
"What are you ladies up to?" Kevin asked as he came and stood by the door.
"Nothing," Jess replied, stepping in front of him.
"Hey, Catherine, what's wrong?" he asked, noticing that she was crying.
"Nothing's wrong," Aleesha replied. "Kevin, just leave it alone."
"Aleesha, it's alright," Catherine said. "I'll see you girls later."
"Okay, bye," Aleesha said and she and Jess brushed past Kevin and walked down the hall.
"So, Catherine, you gonna tell me what's wrong?" Kevin asked as he sat beside her.
"Me and Brad broke up," Catherine replied quietly as the tears started roling down her cheeks again.
"Why?" Kevin asked.
"Coz of Tiffany," Catherine said.
"He broke up with you to ask out Tiffany?"
"No, I broke up with him BECAUSE he's going out with Tiffany," Catherine cried.
"I'll kill him," Kevin stated as he got up from the tble where he was sitting.
"No, Kevin, let it go," Catherine said, grabbing his arm. "Forget about it."
"I'm not gonna let him get away with hurting you," Kevin said.
"Kevin, I mean it, don't do anything," Catherine said.
"But are you alright?" Kevin asked, sitting back down next to her.
"Not really," she said quietly.
"What classes have you got first up?"
"I've got two frees," Catherine replied.
Do you want me to blow off English to keep you company?" Kevin offered.
"Nah, I just wanna be alone," Catherine stated as she got up and walked out of the room.
"So what are you gonna say to Devin when he asks you out?" Jess asked as they slowly walked to class.
"You'll see," Aleesha replied.
"C'mon, you gotta tell me," Jess whined. "PLEASE?"
"Nah, you're gonna have to wait, just like everybody else."
"Fine," Jess said. "But totally off the subject, don't you think that's so way harsh what Brad did to Catherine?"
"Yeah, totally," Aleesha agreed. "And with Tiffany - could he go any lower?"
"I know," Jess said. "I'll be in class in a sec, I just gotta do something first."
"Yeah, okay," Aleesha nodded. "What?"
"Don't worry," Jess replied. "I'll see ya later."