Jo
DEBATE CLUB IS booming with music by the time I walk in. Colored papers and cardboards are littered all over the table and bits of tapes are scattered on the floor. Everyone-including the odd number- is gathered around the table, scissors in hand or tape in the mouth. There's a phone right there in the middle playing a rock music and when I inch forward a bit, with an utterly confused expression on my face, Khalid is the first one who notices me.
"Come on. We need extra hands here," he waves me over and the rest turn to look at me, a few 'hey Jo's here and there greet me as I close the door.
"What's going on?"
Cass rips the small duck tape that is plastered to a scissors and turns to me. "We're making posters!"
"You know, like a publicity stunt," Khalid sighs. "It's like this club doesn't even exist."
I shrug as I take a seat next to Amanda who hands me a blank piece of paper. "We don't necessarily have to be a large club. I think we're enough."
Austin nods with an exasperated look on his face. "See."
"Can someone change the stupid song, already?" Mel whines from where she's seated. I'm pleasantly surprised she's doing anything to contribute because she's honestly just like the female version of Flynn in the club. Except I don't hate her. She has her elbow resting on her palm and she's writing on the pink paper in front of her. Her hair's twisted in a messy knot and she's sitting right next to Flynn who looks like he's actually enjoying himself.
"I actually think it's a good idea," Cass says. "We talked about it yesterday."
I frown. "There was a meeting?"
"Yeah, like on the group?" Amanda says before picking up a colored pencil. "You weren't active but we just thought you'd agree either way. Plus, Mrs Lenderman says it's cool."
Right. I switched off my phone for the better part of yesterday.
"Actually, Flynn came up with the idea," Cass smiles.
"What?"
"He's such a genius. Plus, he got us all this stuff. He really is changing," she gestures to the table and smiles.
I scoff. "He's not even in the group."
"Yeah," Mel says with a glint in her eye. "I added him. He's a member of the club, just in case you've forgotten."
Flynn finally acknowledges me when he looks up from the table and looks me up and down with the edge of his lips upturned. "I'm still hurt, Pryce."
"Poor thing," Mel says with a sad smile and I can't help but ask myself, What the fuck? in my mind.
"Skipped my mind." I grumble even though it's a lie and stare at the papers with uncertainty. There's a bunch of decorated posters and cards arranged in a stack and I reach out to take one from it. It's a small blue card decorated in cursive handwriting inviting students to join the club.
I turn it over, feeling thoroughly impressed by the creativity. "Wow," I say placing it back before going through the rest. "These are pretty impressive."
"Right?" Cass sighs and shoots Flynn another dreamy look. "Where'd you learn this stuff?"
Flynn shrugs without looking at her and then looks at me, before cockily saying, "Guess you could just call me talented."
I roll my eyes without even meaning to. It's like an involuntary action whenever he says something.
Mel drops her head on the table, probably fed up with whatever she's doing. "Mhm. I think you should run for captain next semester."
"You're joking," I say before I can help myself.
Mel smirks at me. "The position's not yours, Jo. Anyone can run for captain."
Flynn smiles at me. "I think I should, Mel."
Amanda nudges my shoulder with a small laugh. "I'd still vote for you."
"Alright, I think these should be enough," Flynn announces getting to his feet.
Khalid groans and snatches his phone away from the table before increasing the volume of the music. "Finally! My fingers are killing me."
Flynn gathers a stack of the large papers and cards in one hand and says, "Pryce, you're not useful here. Let's go, we'll distribute them together." And then without waiting for a response, he leaves the class.
Amanda shoos me away with a lazy grin as she stretches her legs on the table and I sigh before turning around and leaving.
Flynn is several meters ahead of me as soon as I close the door and his dark hair and black tee disappears behind a corner in the hallway. I glare at his non-existent figure before picking up my steps and going after him until I literally have to stop and catch my breath.
"Can you slow the fuck down?"
Flynn turns to me and hands me half of the stack of papers he's holding. "Time waits for no man."
I grit my teeth as I snatch them away from him and push my hair away from my face. "So here's how we do this-" he starts but I interrupt him.
"I'm captain just in case you've forgotten."
He meets my glare with one of his own and raises his brows. "Fine. Do your thing."
"It's a free period," I say as I walk forward, not caring if he's following me or not. "We should start here, then the cafeteria. Then the school grounds and finally, the empty classes. You know, where you guys do your business."
He feigns confusion. "Who's you guys?"
I don't respond. I only move forward.
"And don't you think that'd be intrusion of privacy?"
"It's a school, not a hotel. You can always do your business at home," I tell him as I hand a flyer to a student and walk past him.
"What kind of business are we talking about, Pryce?"
"Your type of business."
"I'm undecided, but my dad's an architect."
I sigh and plaster a paper to the bulletin board. A couple of students walk past me and my eyes unconsciously search for this week's winner of the best written article and I scan the words and the signature.
Felix Lennon
You have a voice. Pen it down. We are ready to listen.
I turn around, my eyes scanning the hallway until I see Flynn handing a paper to a girl who's ridiculously blushing at whatever's he's saying. She's leaning against the locker, purple hair tumbling down her shoulders and a piercing glinting in her nose.
I roll my eyes to the back of my head and attempt to move forward to remind him that we're advertising and not flirting but then, I hesitate when I see his eyes constantly darting above her head to a distance.
A beautiful redhead stands just a few meters from us with a couple of friends surrounding her. She's fiddling with the straps of her bag while she talks with them but she's distracted. Just like Flynn. Meeting his eyes and looking away until some guy heads over and throws his hand over her shoulders before steering her away from the rest of them.
Ah, I see what's going on.
"My name's Freya, by the way," the girl in front of Flynn says and she hands him a small piece of paper. "Call me." And then she leaves.
I clear my throat as soon as I'm an arm's length away from him and raise a brow when he turns to me. "You done?"
Flynn runs a hand along his jaw as he regards me. His eyes are distracted and a slightly sullen look falls across his face but it leaves as quickly as it comes. "Yeah. You?"
I dodge a couple of people as we move forward and hand flyers here and there. He's uncharacteristically quiet as he walks and as soon as I open the double doors and the sun rays shoot towards my face, I say, "You could just tell her you like her, you know?"
"What?"
The sun casts an orange glow on his face and he squints his eyes at the intrusion. He protects a part of his face by lifting his hand to face downwards and turns to look at me. Beneath the shadow of his palm, his eyes appear to be an ethereal pale green.
"Semia. You could just walk up to her and tell her you like her," I shrug.
His brows shoot up to his hairline. "You know her?"
The student I hand the next flyer to, promptly ignores me as he leaves the hallway. I place my hand on my waist and shoot him a look and then I wave my hands around, gesturing to the whole school.
"It's not that big of a school. She's kind of popular and besides, we share a class together."
"Wow," he laughs.
I fold my arms and frown at him. "What's so funny?"
"I'm surprised you know people. I don't think I've seen you speak with any other person apart from everyone in the club."
My eye twitches. "You don't know that."
"I do know that. I also know you have no friends."
My heart is in my throat. "That's not true. You don't know anything about me."
Flynn inches forward a bit and accusingly says, "I know you think you're tough. I know you've not made any attempts to make any friends since Hana moved and I know these things-" he points at the buds in my ears, "-are just a way to prevent people from talking to you. They don't actually play anything."
How did this conversation deviate from Semia to me? Who does he think he is?
"So you're stalking me now. That's what this is right?"
"See," Flynn grins. "You're deflecting."
I close my eyes for a second and breathe slowly before opening them with a new found fierceness. "Listen to me, Flynn Cauley. You're wrong and you absolutely know nothing about me. So it'd be nice to stop assuming things and allow us distribute these flyers in peace."
He steps forward, his expression unreadable and I step back into the sunlight as soon as he does. He notices this and then the corners of his lips lift before his hand wraps around my forearm in a gentle, yet firm grip.
My eyes widen but before I know it, he pulls me towards him in one fluid motion until my body is flush against his. His other hand snatches the earbud from my right ear and then he places it close to his ear. When he gets what he wants, he smiles and says, "I'm not assuming things, Pryce."
My face feels warm all of a sudden and I feel a gentle squeeze from the grip he has on my arm when he fixes the device back into my ear.
"Arm's length," I almost scream.
Flynn steps back immediately and chews hard on his lip but his eyes are laughing at me already.
I shoot him a murderous glance. "Something funny?"
He raises his hands. "Absolutely not."
I place the rest of the papers on the stack he has on his hands. I'm not surprised he hasn't given out much. His eyes do the talking. "I'm done."
He doesn't look surprised at all. "Sure, you are."
I turn around and leave the dirt before suddenly remembering something and turning back to him. He's the same as I left him. Standing tall next to the wall, half of the sunlight casting an otherworldly glow on his face and the other shadowed from the roof while his eyes study me.
"Can we have our sessions somewhere else?"
"Why? You don't like Rosie's?"
I like Rosie's. I love the view of Appleton you freely get when you look beyond the distant waves. I hate it as well because it leaves a hole in my heart. I can't tell him that. I can't tell Flynn that I don't want to go to Rosie's because it reminds me of my dad.
"I- no. Not really," I stammer and then clear my throat. "The library's fine. The town's public library. Plus it's closer to my house-" I narrow my eyes. "And I'm the tutor."
If he's trying to decipher why I've changed locations, he doesn't let it show. He simply nods and then he says, "See you tomorrow."
I open my mouth to tell him that he'd better have read the book by then but he's gone before I can say a word.
--â--