CASSY'S THREAT

The following day, I'm having lunch in the canteen with my friends. It's a typical lunch; the place is quiet as everyone settles on their own table. I'm starting to get used to it since I have Maddox, Luke, and Sam.

"Mad, have you asked Angel?" Samantha says when we start lunch. She looks at me and then at Maddox. I look at her back, squeezing my eyebrows, wondering what Maddox has to ask me.

"Oh, I haven't. Angel, I'm inviting you to our afternoon basketball practice after class. I can drop you home if it's convenient for you."

"Angel, please come; we can watch together; Luke is also one of the players." Sam chime in.

I take a long breath of defeat, knowing it would be hard not to accept. How could I say no? "Okay, I'll be there."

"Yes," Sam celebrates. "I won't be bored anymore; we can have girl talk while watching them."

"What is girl talk? Does it mean things you can't share with boys?" Luke asks as he pinches Sam's cheek, Sam's white cheek flushing to Luke's touch.

Though I know I shouldn't be uncomfortable, I lower my head in shame, but I can't help it; it's awkward and weird to keep eyeing them while they have a boyfriend-girlfriend thing. It must be natural to Luke and Sam even having us in front of them. Maddox, on my side, focuses on his food gripping his fork and spoon.

"Kind of, we girls love to keep things for ourselves sometimes, you know, so whatever we talk about later, I can't tell you."

"Is that so? What if I force you or even bribe you. What do you say?" Luke asks like a child as he wraps his arms around Sam as they sit side by side and opposite Maddox and me. I can't help but sneak a look at the two love birds.

"Hmm..." Maddox clears his throat and takes a sip of water, eyeing the two in the rim of the glass.

Sam elbow Luke which Luke whines in pain. Sam picks her fork and spoon and starts having her lunch, but before she can feed herself, Luke interrupts. "Let me." Luke feeds Sam with a twirl of spaghetti.

Unsure of what to do instead of focusing on my food and finishing it as soon as possible. The atmosphere is getting more awkward, but I admit that Luke and Sam are a sweet couple. I wonder why Maddox doesn't have a girlfriend since he is a lovely person and obviously a good-looking guy. The only thing weird about him is hiding his face from people. Maddox seems not a shy person, but he chooses who he associates with. I can consider myself lucky for being one of them, acknowledging he barely knows me.

"Hey guys, how's lunch?" Cassy appears wearing her sarcastic smile.

But none of us respond and instead focus on our food. Maddox didn't even glance at Cassy; even Luke and Sam ignored her, so I haste to stuff food in my mouth.

"Hmm..." Cassy clears her throat. "Hi, Mad." When I sneak a look at Cassy, she waves her hand a little, trying to get Maddox's attention.

"What do you want, Cassandra?" Maddox asks, his voice raise and firm in conviction, but his head stays down on his food.

"Nothing; I thought of asking you guys if you'd be present at this afternoon's basketball practice."

"Of course we will; Cassy, Mad, and Luke are Junior players, you know that, right? It would be best if you weren't asking questions with an obvious answer," Samantha retorts.

"Well, I'm sorry, just that I'm super excited having the three of you. As the cheerleader, I will be there, so; it would be fun, for sure," Cassy says; happiness clouded her features. She talks like people sitting at our table are interested in what she says; the truth is we feel the opposite.

"The four of us will be there, Cassy," Mad chimes in as he straightens his back and rests it against the chair. Cassy's face becomes sour, knowing I'll be there too. "Is that all you came here for?"

"No, do you mean the transferee will be there as well?" Cassy asks; she glances at me and darts her deadly look like she could cut me half with it. I refuse to give in with her silent threats and give her a dark look instead.

"Yes, and she has a name, Cassandra. Stop calling her transferee. Call her by her name Angelique or Angel, have some respect, and stop being arrogant."

Cassy snorts, shaking her head. "Over my dead body, I'm not acknowledging this girl as one of us; she's an outcast," Cassy snaps, pointing her fingers at me.

"Cassy, stop being a superior and self-centered rich kid; nobody wants to hear your opinion here. Go to your 3 idiot friends who are willing to listen to your annoying voice for the rest of the day," Luke says; his voice is intense, and his eyes bear resentment. It was the first time I saw him angry. He used to be a happy-go-lucky guy who only wanted to be with Sam whenever he got the chance. Unsure of what I saw, Luke seems to hoard anger towards Cassandra for a long time.

"So, you guys are favoring this bitch?" Cassy asks, pointing her finger at me again.

Maddox rests his hands on the table, fully facing Cassandra. "Cassy, this is my last warning. Leave, or else I will drag you away."

"See...? That's what she does to you 3; this cheap girl is pulling you down in every way possible, you lose your class. That's what you get by clinging with this whore."

Maddox stood up.

"Fine, I'm leaving."

Cassy gives me a death stare before she leaves. I don't know what it was, but something inside me felt anxious and terrified. Although I know my friend got my back, I can't underestimate what Cassy is capable of. I |have no idea what's going on in her head right now. If it's just me, I can face it, but not about my mom. Despite my little fear, I don't want to give her the satisfaction of believing she got me scared. I ignore her and get back to my lunch.

Sam reaches my hand and squeezes it a bit. "Don't listen to her, Angel."

I nod in response, trying to hide a little fear inside.

"We will have fun later; we have plenty of things to talk about, okay?"

"Sure," I reply as I press a thin lip smile. "Thank you, Sam, you are so sweet."

"No, wait 'till Maddox shows some love," Sam says it like a joke. But my heart takes it seriously; my heartbeat spikes, and I am unable to speak.

"He's gonna drop you home later after practice as we will end up early in the evening. Right, Mad?"

"Yeah," Mad agreed.

"No, no need. I can ask the driver to pick me up after your practice."

"It's okay; I feel like I need to talk to your mom since you'll come home late. We have to make sure she won't get mad."

He has a point, though. "But mom will understand; this is not the first time I'll be coming home late from school."

"Angel, please give the poor guy a chance to drop you home; we're friends. That's what friends are for," Luke chimed in.

I take a long breath as I look at Sam and Luke back and forth.

"I take it as a yes, so it's settled then," Sam confirms.