The Flynn Effect

46 | jealousy, jealousy

Jo

"GOD, SHE ANNOYS me. Does she know what the time is? Mrs Lendermann's child is already fifteen minutes old." Cass murmurs beside me as we stare at the Semia's lavish looking house from Khalid's van. We were supposed to meet at a coffee shop but apparently she woke up late and coerced Khalid to drive down to her house to pick her up instead. Now, we're thirty minutes behind schedule but we're all seated in Khalid's van and gladly waiting for her to appear at the front of the door of her house after sending a text to the group chat saying she was almost ready. She being a part of the group chat was Mel's doing last night.

It's always Mel.

I pull my head warmer away from my head out of annoyance and suck harder from the straw in my milkshake.

"She's got a nice house though." Khalid says, messing around with his fro-yo and Amanda sneers.

"Khalid, if she isn't out in five, I'll kick your ass out of that driver's seat and drive us to the hospital myself." Amanda warns and Khalid shoots her a naughty grin from the mirror up at the driver's seat. Austin is sitting next to him at the passenger seat with a headphone around his head while he plays a video game with every form of aggression possible.

I glance at the gift hamper behind us and sigh before leaning further into the seat. Thank God it's pink. Fifteen minutes ago, Mrs Lendermann shot me a text telling me she had put to bed and also a meme saying 'IT'S A GIRL!!!!'.

"Anyway, good news is we made enough money at the fundraiser yesterday and we're definitely having a winter formal." Amanda beams and Cass snorts.

"She's excited because Tony asked her out to the dance yesterday."

"Who's Tony?" Khalid asks, turning his head backwards to look at us and Cass pushes his face away.

"Shut up. This is girl talk."

"Oh yeah, he did alright. He gave me a cake at the bake sale yesterday that said 'dance with me?' He's so cute." She gushes and I smile at her enthusiasm.

"Sorry Manda, I just threw up in my mouth." Khalid barfs. "If he really wants you to go to the dance with him, he should do it like this—" he turns back around and gives Cass a funny look.

"Cass, you either dance with me or you dance with no one."

The three of us laugh at the same time and Cass rolls her eyes to the back of her head. "Okay, stupid and I'm agreeing because we're both pathetically single."

Khalid grins and leans forward with a fist and she bumps it with hers.

The second I check my watch and lean forward on the chair out of annoyance, the front door opens and reveals the cause of my irritation dressed in a short, polka dot gown while a red scarf is wrapped loosely around her neck. Everything is perfect. Her hair, her makeup, her dress and I hate that I find it perfect.

I divert my attention back to my milkshake and suddenly find the cup fascinating. At the passenger seat, I hear her speak at the window.

"Hey, I prefer shotgun. Exchange?" She sweetly asks Austin and Austin being who he is, doesn't argue. He gets out of the car and joins us at the back and takes a seat next to the hamper before going back to his video game.