Chapter 4

“Okay, so what’s the game plan this weekend?” Martin asked the next day during lunch. Unfortunately I was stuck with them but at least I could drag Valda along with me. I could see why Mandy thought there is something happening between but honestly, I just felt like she understood me for some reason and talking to her didn’t feel like a complete waste of my time. I was still her ‘guide’ for the week so I guess she’ll just have to follow me wherever I went.

“What are the options?” Felix asked. He was never really a social person but ever since he started working as a waiter he has enjoyed being out and going to parties. I wander whether or not that those two things are related.

“Movie marathon happening at the mall from Saturday evening until Sunday morning.” Mandy informed us then waved to a couple of girls walking past us. That was one of the reasons why I hated sitting in the cafeteria but the weather was apparently ‘not nice enough’ to sit outside like we usually did.

“Or we could do something actually fun like going to a party in The Avenues.” Martin replied which earned him a shove from his sister.

“Which avenue?” Carlene asked him. At least she was being sensible. She enjoyed parties and going out which is probably why she and Felix got along so well but she was always safe. She knew which areas were safe to party and she would never put herself in a situation which could cause any harm to her.

“10 4th Avenue.” Okay, that was still on the safe side. The Avenues didn’t have as much protection as Fork Road had but we all knew which sides and avenues were the safest and which ones weren’t. My dad gave me regular updates about which areas I was not to go to anyway.

“It’s safe, trust me guys.” Jessica said as she clung onto Martin’s arm. I guess they sorted out their issues.

“Who’s party is it?” Carlene was clearly taking the lead on this one so everyone else was silent. Felix even began tapping his finger against his jaw as he listened. It was a distracting habit of his but that was just another part of his character that was an enigma to me and frankly, I didn’t want to know why or when he started doing it.

“A friend of mine. It’s her birthday and her parents are only coming back home on Sunday evening so she’s throwing a party Saturday night.” Jessica explained. It sounded a bit sketchy but her friends weren’t exactly the worst people. My mind immediately went to a couple of people who were probably going to be there and might cause a probably though; Kevin and his friends.

“Is Kevin going to be there?” Carlene and I were clearly on the same wavelength.

“No. He is not invited and if he does show up then I will gladly show him where the door is.” Martin answered. That definitely made me not want to go to this party more than I already didn’t.

“Can’t you just stop fighting? He has been sorted out and dealt with.” Mandy stated. I didn’t know what she meant by that and I definitely didn’t want to find out.

“I’m just saying.” That’s as much words as Martin was willing to spend on it. One I knew for certain now, if Kevin did show up then Martin was going to beat him up.

“So we’re going to the party then?” Felix asked.

“Looks like it.” Mandy answered as she shrugged her shoulders. “The girls can come get ready by my house because I have the better outfits.”

“You don’t know what Valda has.” Jessica stated.

“Hudson can take me to her on Saturday then I can see and we can bring whatever we’ll need to my house.” Mandy clearly had this all worked out already. I turned to look at Valda but the confusion on

her face was priceless.

“What is going on?” Valda innocently asked.

“Don’t bother fighting it.” I unenthusiastically told her.

“Hudson is our designated driver.” And there it was. I had the biggest car so I was automatically the designated driver. Another reason why I hated having such a big car.

“Also, do you mind waiting for me after school? I have a meeting with the swim team.” Carlene asked me.

“I have a meeting with the student body after school as well so we can all travel together.” Mandy stated.

“Is that okay Hudson?” Carlene asked me. She was always looking for a way to get me to speak within the group no matter how many times I told her that I didn’t want to.

“I have a club meeting as well this afternoon so…”

“You did it.” I didn’t know whether or not she meant that as a question or statement but the smile on her face definitely meant that she was happy about it.

“Yeah. We joined the…”

“You and Valda?” This time it was Mandy that interrupted me with a devilish smile on her face.

“Yes.” Valda confirmed. I was glad that she took the lead now.

“Wait, am I the only one that’s confused now? Which club are we talking about?” Martin asked, almost eliciting a chuckle out of me.

“Debate and quiz, right?” Felix asked. I nodded my head to confirm.

“Well done guys. When are we going to celebrate then?” Martin was clearly looking for any reason to party but honestly, I was glad for his support right now. I was still debating whether or not I should stay in the club but knowing that I had their support actually put me at ease right now.

“After school on Friday.” Felix suggested.

“We should all be free then.” Carlene added.

“Friday it is then.” Martin confirmed as the bell rang ending our break.

“I have to run but I’ll see you guys later.” Mandy told us as she quickly grabbed her things and put them in her bag then left us.

“I guess we have to get to class as well. Don’t forget to wait for us after school Hudson.” Carlene reminded me as the rest of the group followed Mandy’s lead.

“Which class do you get now?” I asked Valda as we stood up.

“Physics, you?” She replied.

“Economics. They’re actually close to each other.” I began leading us but I was pretty sure she knew where to go already. If she didn’t know the layout of the school already then I really overestimated her.

“I know where the class is, you don’t have to walk with me.” I guess she did know the way already.

“You’re stuck with me chaperoning you all week so it’s my duty to do it.” She rolled her eyes at my reply which put a smile on my face. At least she was becoming easier to talk to. “I do apologize for my friends and for them forcing you to do things with us this weekend.”

“It’s fine. They’re just trying to be friendly and inclusive.”

“If you want, I could probably get you out of them.”

“I actually want to hangout with you guys this weekend. I haven’t really explored the town so I think it will be fun.”

“I don’t think we’ll be doing much exploring but if you want, I can chaperone you around the town sometime.” I offered.

“Are you asking me out on a date?” Her quick response immediately had me questioning what I had just said.

“Not a date, I’ll just be doing what I am doing now with you but around town.” I released a couple of chuckles as I tried to calm myself. I couldn’t believe that just happened. I never volunteered to do anything that would require me socializing or going into town anymore and yet here I was offering to do just that. What was happening to me?

“Sorry for just assuming.” She apologised as a blush crept onto her face.

“It’s okay. I hope this doesn’t make things awkward between us.”

“Awkward, why would things be awkward now?” Her sarcasm did not go unnoticed but I was glad she was trying to turn this situation around.

“Exactly.” I agreed as we finally reached her class. It wasn’t far from the cafeteria thankfully but that awkwardness made it unnecessarily far. “See you at the end of the period.”

“See you then.” She gave me a bit of a smile before heading into the class. I turned around and started making my way to my class but I couldn’t help laughing at what just happened. Valda was really changing me and for some reason, I liked it.

“Guys, listen up.” Geoffrey grabbed our attention as we sat in the school library after school. I honestly didn’t know why the school still had a library since this team was the only ones who used it and the computers were so slow that nobody bothered even trying to switch it on anymore. It probably was mandatory for the school to have a library but it was really pointless at this point. Thankfully though, since no one used it we were allowed to arrange the room the way we needed it and right now we pushed he tables together to form one big table so that there was enough space for everyone to sit at, not that we were a lot anyway. There was only a total of 13 learners in the team which was actually more than when I started.

“The first round of tournaments begin next week and I’ve already split us up accordingly. For the debate we will have Anne, Penelope, Micheal and Ian with me being the substitute. For the interschool quiz competition we will have Brian, Kelly, Mason and Shaun. For the new quiz tournament we will send our newbies; Hudson and Valda. Everyone else can decide where they want to help out but bear in mind that the new quiz tournament will require two more people in the later rounds so two of you will have to join Hudson and Valda.”

“Are you sure sending Hudson and Valda to the quiz alone is a good idea?” Michael asked Geoffrey once he was finished. Michael was the junior who spoke up yesterday as well so I guess he had a problem with us for some reason.

“They proved themselves yesterday so I’m confident that they can make it through the preliminary rounds without help.” At least Geoffrey was standing up for us.

“Do you ever relax Michael?” Shaun asked him, or at least that’s what I think his name is. I was still trying to match the names to faces right now.

“Just focus on your own competition. You guys have never reached the semifinals so stop questioning Geoffrey’s decision.” I am not even going to bother trying to get to her name because I honestly didn’t know her. She wasn’t exactly memorable; brown hair, brown eyes, fringe, neatly dressed. She did have a mole on her left ear though, that was a bit unique.

“Okay, before we kill each other, I want us to split into our teams and discuss how you guys are going to go about winning the tournaments. I’m also going to hand each team a list of the rules, how the competitions are going to run and the dates for each round.” Geoffrey instructed us. Everyone immediately began moving tables and putting them together in smaller groups so that they could have their meetings. I turned to Valda but she didn’t look like she was going to move so I decided to take the lead and grabbed a table then saw a spot close to the window and immediately motioned for her to follow me there. She grabbed our chairs then placed them around the table.

“I guess we’re not getting rid of each other anytime soon.” I decided to break the ice while we sat.

“At least you won’t have to walk me to class every period.” She replied.

“Wasn’t so bad, I enjoy talking to you.” That wasn’t a lie but I wasn’t going to go out of my way to see her next week.

“This is for you guys.” Geoffrey planted a page on the desk between us. “It looks like your first round is next Thursday so make sure you guys are ready. The first three rounds will just be the two of you but they should be easy and from there it will be the knockout rounds.”

“What are the categories during the preliminary rounds?” I asked him.

“They said that it is just general knowledge questions so you guys better brush up because each round they’ll be eliminating teams that aren’t good enough.”

“So no pressure then.” Valda’s sarcasm put a smile on Geoffrey’s face.

“I think you proved your intelligence yesterday so definitely no pressure.” Geoffrey seductively replied. He clearly enjoyed his exchanges with her, maybe he was interested in her. The starry-eyed looks he was giving her was clearly melting her strong character so I guess whatever he was doing to her was working.

“But good luck, even though you don’t need it.” He immediately left us then went to the next group to give them their instructions.

“You should ask him out.” I suggested as I read through the page he had left us.

“No.” Her quick response caught me off guard. I looked up from the page and instantly saw the embarrassment flushing her face. I did my best not to laugh but I let a giggle slip unfortunately.

“Are you sure?”

“We should focus.” She quickly stated then grabbed the page out of my hand. I released another laugh but decided to do what was instructed.