Chapter 23: Woe to the Deceiver
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~~~ [START]
"You guys didn't have to sleep here," Ash said, moving toward his bed and fixing the sheets. "And Eric, please… stop with the constant drooling."
Eric laughed when he heard him, holding his gut in pure amusement.
"Hey man, I'm better," Eric said, leaning and wearing the clown costume's red socks over his normal ones. "At least I'm not the one bringing a girl named Bianca into the room in your absence." He laughed, but Ash instantly frowned.
"Bianca?" he questioned, staring at Eric, who now stood up, making his way to the other boy, helping with his makeup.
"Yeah, you know… Xavier's girl," he continued.
"You mean ex," the boy he was helping corrected.
"Yeah… It's the same thing." Eric slapped the boy with a clown hat, looking away as though it wasn't intentional.
Ash immediately ignored their scramble as he made his way to the bathroom; the sound of the shower ringing was evidence that Xavier was taking a bath.
But he had grown too impatient.
SQUICK!
So, he opened the door, not bothering to look inside or walk near the entrance with any part of his body.
"What do you want?" Xavier asked from the shower, now already immune to Ash's impatient tendencies.
"Your girl," Ash said, slightly hesitant. "Did she… did she touch my stuff?"
There was a pause on Xavier's side for a moment, only broken by the falling droplets from the shower's tap.
"She didn't," Xavier replied, twisting the shower tap to make the water hotter. "I was watching her the entire time."
Ash almost asked. He almost questioned. He almost didn't believe.
But he took a long breath, one that proved much longer.
Then, he instantly shook off the frown that was now housing his face and turned away, closing the bathroom door.
He stared toward them; the boys were seated in the room.
Some helped each other with their outfits, while another was headfirst in the fridge, unashamed of the fact that it was food he didn't pay for.
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{MINUTES LATER}
"Okay, as long as you wear these… you'll probably be fine," Eric said as he assisted Ash with wearing large floaties.
"Yeah, but…" Ash hesitated, trying by all means to ignore their giggles, "Why is it pink?"
"It's the only one we could find," Ajax walked in, also smiling, "and besides, you should've told us earlier that you couldn't swim."
"OKAY, EVERYONE," Principal Weems said from the speaker, "IT'S ALMOST TIME TO START, SO GET INTO YOUR BOATS."
Ash and the others nodded at each other. But unlike the rest, Ash didn't wear a clown hat or any head covering. He only colored his hair with white paint, then used makeup to make himself appear pale by asking Ajax to paint the coolest Joker-like appearance he had ever painted in his life.
As a result, Ash looked different from the rest. While the others dressed and seemed like more brute and ugly jokers, he seemed to be the most visibly appealing, still hideous but appealing to the eyes.
They moved to their boat and sat in their assigned seats.
"Ash," Ajax called from the front, "don't forget, all you have to do is paddle…"
"Bro, really?" Ash stared at him, half in disbelief. "I'm not stupid."
And everyone laughed at his words, everyone, including Ajax, who was the one responsible for the sentence.
Ash giggled, shaking his head as his eyes landed on Xavier, who was staring daggers at Wednesday, the same girl Ash was trying by all means to avoid.
And unexpectedly, as though karma had turned to worse, Wednesday's eyes turned to Ash, who instantly looked away, eyes now staring at the sky as though counting the stars, which were hidden by the morning sun.
Xavier raised a brow as he noted the shift in Wednesday's glare. It wasn't looking toward him, but at the lad the school considered most favored by looks.
He ignored it, turning his eyes from her and looking to the front, trying by all means to focus.
But, unknown to him or anyone who gathered there, Enid was finding it difficult to decide who to focus on: Ajax, the boy who she thought had some kind of interest in her, or Ash, the one who showed no signs of affection in the slightest.
But then, Ash's mind suddenly drifted, so overwhelmed by his unstable hormones that it placed its gaze on someone else, or, in a way, her ass.
"Careful, man," Eric said from the back, causing Ash to turn a glance at him. "That's Bianca… Xavier's chick."
"Huh?" Ash stuttered, his eyes immediately turning to Xavier, who was now shaking his head, trying with all his might to ignore what they were talking about.
"Thick, isn't she?" Eric continued, causing everyone on the boat to laugh, excluding Xavier, of course.
"Damn, man," Ash spat, looking at Bianca up and down, unashamedly measuring her figure. "Didn't know you liked them like that."
They continued their laughter, which was not bullying, but signs of friendship disguised as jokes.
Or, in a way, partial friendships, for none of them could have ever guessed that they were sitting with a mimic, a pretender.
"LET THE POE CUP BEGIN!" Principal Weems suddenly announced, which caused all of them to realize how much of her speech they weren't actually paying attention to.
The paddling began, with boats moving side by side, perhaps hoping to win; something which, unknowable to them, had already been decided.
Or, what was to come.
~~~ [END]
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