do or die

    “      that’s a lie.  it’s cheating even if you don’t get caught.   if you never get caught in a lie, it’s still a lie.      ”     sure, the subject changed but josie is still on it.         “      if you never get caught eating an apple, you still ate it.      ”   she stops for a moment letting herself think.   “      if you never get caught going to the doctors, you still went.  i’m just saying !”

“You could ask… or you could look right behind me,” Tristan points out, wanting to roll his eyes at how unaware this girl is. You’d think the fact that he was rummaging through it earlier would be a dead giveaway. “I’ve gotten a few admirers,” he shares proudly. Mostly freshmen. Some sophomores that don’t know any better. “I’d sign you no problem,” he quips, smirking. “Anything for a fan.” Again, he winks.

“Seven hundred? That’s cake. I suddenly feel so less stressed.”

“do you want to give me the money for a better lock?  —  uh,  if you want and have the time….”

“There’s not a lot you can’t get away with if you believe in yourself. You’d be surprised. I think maybe because there’s less options in the area? Either that or the rich parents pay off the school. Actually, it’s probably that. – I was just asking! If you’re going to commit you need to be able to throw in a ‘my mom’s in the hospital’ every once in a while.”

“do you plan on going away to college?”

“who wouldn’t be jumpy when you pop out like that out of the blue?” the girl protested, sighing deeply at the other before she started rolling her eyes; but out of pure AMUSEMENT if anything. “yeah, i know.” she assured, chuckling a little herself. “ —anyway, what were you saying? i didn’t catch it.” 

“you know you can easily open those,  right ?”

Jackie never really cared who was listening, or if they actually were. As long as she got out things in almost a venting sort of manner, and they agreed she was right. That’s all she needed. “If you’re being sarcastic, I’m choosing to ignore it because I completely agree. I didn’t even mean to key their car. They’re just too fucking sensitive, you know?”

hearing a voice that DEFINITELY did not belong to her father, nat finally regained some consciousness as she opened her eyes, and made a face. “yeah, i know..” she lied, rubbing her eyelids a little as she slowly moved her head up from the desk. “i can’t.” she then confessed, sighing. “ —i can’t allow myself to get lower gpa, so i have to attend. even if i do fall asleep.” 

“You know where my locker is, you find me,” he counters. He is the talent after all. He doesn’t need to waste his time sifting through the locker. “If you can’t slip it through the slot, I’m on the field. Number #19. I sign things if you bring ‘em.”

“Are they? The only thing my cat ever shreds is my skin when he wants attention. She’s also eaten paper. They put everything in their mouths. I don’t think they can hear me over all the homework they’re drowning in. Cool people just fail their classes instead.” He joked.

“ very DESPERATE, it seems,” she tilted her head at the girl. bee was an intellectual person,  it’s just that she didn’t know how to communicate that in assignment’s or exams. she was better creatively. “ but, i am going to need payment UPFRONT, in cash, today. “

“A number of things, my loyalty to getting the paper done, maybe?” 

“You good in any other subjects?” He questioned her with a tilt of his head, shrugging his shoulders. “Maths, science? We could do a one for one.”

“Give me a paper of yours that you actually did write, and I’ll do the rest,” Tristan assures simply. He’s no novice at pretending he’s of lesser intelligence to successfully pass off work. He’s done a paper or two for some of the jocks to keep them on the team. You can’t succeed if you’re not flexible after all. A mind as conniving as his is no stranger to putting himself into a role and acting accordingly.

Anika simply nodded her head in agreement, feeling a little guilty at the mention of how much she was charging. It wasn’t like her to be hard on people nor greedy but she’d taken advantage of the opportunity that had presented itself and now there was no turning back, she was committed. “Right,” she agreed, “Not on my top ten fun things to do in Northlake listicle either,” she assured her, just in case there was any mistaking Nik’s willingness to do the essay for enthusiasm or excitement about doing it. “Always concerned- actually, I don’t think I have a reputation…but I still don’t want a bad one,” she explained, wincing a little at the thought of her suddenly developing a terrible legacy in Northlake. She tucked her hands into her pockets and sighed, there was no easy way to explain herself, if there was even a way to explain herself at all, “It’s complicated and weird and if I tell you, I’m worried it’s going to come back to bite me. That’s the honest answer,”