Free What's In It For Me by Nelvie Soliven Page B

that wouldn't be necessary," I was
not keeping my narrowed eyes off of Andrew, "I quit."
    "See, she quits," Tara
shrugged.
    I was just about to turn when I
calculated all my extracurriculars in my head. There's ballet club,
the school paper, debate team and the
take-no-credit-just-for-the-art poetry club. That won't do. I
really need to be a cheerleader so I can easily pass gym.
Apparently, my gym coach does not believe that yoga gives me all
the fitness I could get without being all sweaty and worn-out.
That's despite of all the articles and health magazine cut-outs I
showed her.
    "On second thought," my heart skipped a
beat, "I think I'll stick around."
    Andrew raised an eyebrow.
    "When you lose your game against
Jackson High, the view will be better here," I was more confident
now. Despite being a loyal member of our school's student body, I
am not a fan of our football team. The simple explanation to that
was Andrew Alleyn being a huge part of it.
    The cheerleaders were shocked. They, as
I've noticed for the past three years, were very sensitive when it
comes to this issue. They were like the football team groupie, if
you will.
    "We don't talk like that," Tara told
me, wide-eyed. Of course you don't.
    "I know. But I do," I kept my evil eyes
on Andrew, who just stared back. There was a brief clash of blue
and green.
    "That'll never happen as long as I'm
there playing, Sherlock," Andrew said confidently.
    "We'll see, Alleyn," I challenged,
"we'll see."
    ***
    "Go away, Sherlock!" Bruce Benet was
yelling from the other side of the fence. He was the captain of the
Greenvale football team. He was very famous for his six-pack, which
started out as a rumor but was then confirmed when Jon Dover, the
school paper photojournalist [accidentally] slipped into the boy's
locker room and got a clear snapshot.
    "Please Bruce, I need this for my
senior thesis," I pleaded, "I promise I won't include your
name."
    "I already told you, I'm not into
steroids!"
    "Are you sure?"
    "Go away or I'll sic the dogs on
you!"
    I backed off a little. He has said the
magic word. I've always been afraid of dogs since I was a kid,
"Fine! But if you ever changed your mind, you can see me at school
or -"
    "Just go away already!"
    "I'm going!" I have to yell back. I
can't just let anybody shout at me like that. Even if they have a
legendary abdominal area. I clutched my commonplace book tighter
and started to head back home. The wind blew harder and within
minutes, cold rain was pouring hard. I looked around me for shelter
and there was this coffee shop I have never been before. The inside
of the shop was very warm and smelled of cappuccino.
    I felt worse than the day a guy named
Jason Bland told me to leave him alone because I'm not his type. I
mean, I was just telling him, hypothetically, that if he would ever
ask me out he should let me pay my own bill. As if I'm really
looking forward to dating him. He was this psychotic rich kid who
thinks everyone's in love with him. That kind of attitude was so
Andrew Alleyn, so male dominancy thing. They think they're better
than everybody. I rested my head on the table and closed my eyes,
taking in the sweet smell of milk smothered caffeine. This coffee
shop, which was basically empty except for me and an old couple on
the far side, felt like a sanctuary.
    "Would you like a comforting cup of
coffee, Miss?" a voice said from out of the blue.
    I knew very well who had just spoken,
even though I haven't had a glance of the person. The voice was
very familiar, only the tone was different, almost friendly. I shot
my head up and looked into the blue eyes of Andrew
Alleyn.
    "Well, well, well," his tone quickly
changed from friendly to snide as soon as he saw me, "what are you
doing here, Sherlock?"
    "I didn't know you work here," I told
him. To be honest, I was even shocked that he's working.
    Andrew sat on a chair opposite me,
"Maybe you don't know everything about me, Sherlock."
    I gathered my things and stood up. I
have no