Boyfriends Are Not Tests (Chapter 5)

Meanwhile, it was Debra's turn to tell her boyfriend the truth. Debra knew that Drake was going to find her because he knew what she had for last period. So when that ended, Debra stood by the door without getting into people's way. She waited almost a minute for Drake to arrive. He greeted his girlfriend with a smile and leaned forward to kiss her. But she leaned back, sending him quite a message.
"What's wrong, Debra?" asked Drake.
"A lot," Debra replied. "A lot is wrong."
"Oh, tell me."
"It's kind of hard to tell you."
"Come on. You can tell me anything. I'm your boyfriend."
"See, that's what's wrong. You're my boyfriend and I never said once told you that I was your girlfriend."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I moving too fast?"
"No, you're not moving too fast. I should be the one moving too fast because of what I'm about to tell you, I should've told you a long time ago. Drake, I don't want to be your girlfriend."
"Harsh."
"Yeah, I know. No, I don't mean for it to sound so harsh. I did like you. I liked you how I like peanut butter with jelly. But my feelings for you dramatically changed. You know our friend Kyle?"
"Yeah."
"He wasn't at my home just to return my book. While he was there, I realized how much I liked him and we shared a kiss... before you came to my house and kissed me."
"Oh. You kissed Kyle before you kissed me? So basically, I kissed Kyle?"
"Pretty much?"
"Okay. I'm not happy about that."
"See, this is what I was afraid of. I should've told you right there that I didn't want to be with you anymore. I strung you along and I'm sorry. I feel really bad about it. I felt really bad about it."
"Well, at least you told me the truth. Who knows how I would've felt about you if we kept this relationship up."
"You would've loved me which is not what I wanted. I mean I love being loved but not in a situation like this."
"Okay, thank you for telling me."
"You're not mad?"
"I mean, I liked you a lot so of course I'm a little mad. But something tells me that I'll get over it pretty soon. I hope that we can still be friends."
"Of course. If you need anything, you can always call me."
"Thanks, Debra. You're a good person."
Drake hugged Debra in a friendly embrace for a little while. When they pulled away, he said:
"And since I can tell you when I need something, can you spare me some money so I can buy some cologne? I could use a rebound."
"Drake--"
"I'm kidding. Bye, Debra."
"See you, Drake."
He gave Debra a smile before walking off. As Debra watched him leave with a soft smile on her face, she felt a pat on her shoulder. She turned around and faced Kyle.
"I heard everything," he said.
"You were eavesdropping?"
"No, I just happened to be listening."
"Eavesdropping."
"Yeah, I was eavesdropping."
"I'm sorry for playing with your emotions like that."
"Hey, it's fine. I know you didn't mean it. Do you really like me?"
"Yeah."
"More than Drake?"
"More than Drake."
"More than peanut butter and jelly?"
"I don't know about that."
Kyle chuckled. Debra laughed along with him. "I'll take that as a yes," he said. "Debra, I've been wanting to ask you this ever since we met three years ago: will you be my girlfriend?"
"First, if you're going to be my boyfriend, you got to stop stalking me."
"I don't stalk you. I just want to know what you're doing... at all times. I like you; what do you want me to do?"
"Nothing 'cause you're mine now."
Debra reached out to Kyle so he could hold her hand. Slowly, they walked down the hallway with interlocked fingers.
"So you can honestly say that you never tried to stalk me?" asked Kyle.
Debra shrugged. "I look at your Facebook once or twice a week."
"You are crazy; I'm so lucky."

Boyfriends Are Not Tests (Chapter 4)

When lunch was over, Andrea texted her boyfriend, Marty, that she wanted to talk to him quickly after school. He received the text and agreed. When school ended, the two met up on the second floor by the corner of the hallway near the exit. Andrea was nervous; Marty had no idea what was coming to him.
"Hey, babe," said Marty.
"Hi," responded Andrea.
"What did ya want to 'tawk' about?"
"Uh, this is hard to say but--"
"Before you tell me, my buddy, Cheddar, is having a lil' 'pahty'. Do you think you'll make it?"
"No, I can't make it to your party. Marty... I think that we should see other people."
Marty paused. "In what way do you mean that?"
"I mean that I'm breaking up with you."
"What?! Why? I thought everything was goin' good."
"It was."
"Then why are you breaking up with me?"
"Because I haven't been honest with you. I've been seeing someone else."
"For how long?"
"A week or two after we hung out."
"What's his name?"
"Kevin... Spacey. He doesn't go to this school."
"Hmm, he sounds like an actor. How can you do this to me?"
"I wasn't thinking. I just got tangled up in all these feelings and did the most selfish thing I could do in my life. I'm sorry. You don't have to forgive me but I just wanted to let you know." Andrea took off her gold chain bracelet. "You can take this back."
"Oh! Why are you giving it back?"
"Because I thought you would want it back."
"But now it's official!"
"I'm sorry, do you want to stay together?"
"No. I'm mad at you. As a matter of fact, I should be the one breaking up with you."
"Fine. Then break up with me."
"No! You already did it!"
"Okay. Then let's get back together so you can break up with me."
"No, it's not the same. You already did it so you can't take it back."
"What do you want me to do then?"
"Nuthin'. Just nuthin'. Give me this." Marty snatched the jewelry out of his ex-girlfriend's hand. "I'm-a give this to a honey who won't turn out to be an A-bomb."
Marty marched past Andrea who had a look of remorse. She looked down and played with the sleeves of her jean jacket until she felt Kevin sneak up behind her a minute later.
"Hey," he said when Andrea turned around. "I heard everything."
"You did?" she asked.
"Yep. Now we can be together." Kevin cupped Andrea's cheeks with the palms of his hands and leaned down to kiss her. But she turned her head and resisted. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"I can't do this anymore."
"What do you mean? Yes, you can. Marty is out of the picture."
"Yeah, and now you have to be. Do you know how messed up it is to leave somebody for someone else? Especially when that somebody doesn't deserve it? I did something evil behind Marty's back and I did that evil with you. I was supposed to quit you a long time ago and now is a better time than ever to do so. Sorry, Kevin, but it is what's right."
"You know, when I told you I loved you, Andrea, I meant it."
"So did I. But sometimes, if you love something, let it go."
"Well, I guess this is goodbye."
"I guess it is."
"See you at science."
Kevin turned around and walked away deep into the hall. Andrea just stood there, watching him as he never turned his head once. She then looked down at her wrist and clicked her teeth.
"Man, if I knew Marty was going to buy me a dope bracelet, I would have never cheated on him."

Boyfriends Are Not Tests (Chapter 3)

    The day after, the girls found themselves at lunch again. DeMarcus was with Lizzie but the boyfriends of Debra and Andrea were not seen. Debra was staring hard at Andrea while stabbing repeatedly into her bowl of salad, making Andrea feel awkward and uncomfortable. She had a cheeseburger in her hands but she couldn't eat it while acknowledging Debra's eyes on her. The rest of the gang felt the awkwardness but couldn't understand why.
    "Are you going to eat your salad, Debbie?" asked Skye.
    "Yes. Why?" responded Debra.
    "You're murdering it."
    "I like to chop my salad up a little before I eat it."
    "I like to chop up my pizza before I eat it," confessed Lizzie. "Madeline told me it decreases calories."
    "I'm so glad you like pizza," said DeMarcus. "But I mostly enjoy devouring those pepperonis on your face you call lips."
    "Oh, DeMarcus..."
    "Why aren't you eating?" Madeline asked Andrea.
    "Because not eating decreases calories," answered Andrea.
    Madeline looked at Debra -- who was still looking at Andrea -- then glanced at the Latina. "Okay, what are you guys hiding?" she asked.
    "Nothing."
    "Are you two dating?" queried Lizzie.
    "No!" replied Debra.
    "Guys, it's okay if you're lesbians," said Madeline. "I like lesbians. I'm a fan of Ellen DeGeneres, Rosie O'Donnell, Melissa Etheridge..."
    "All old people," mentioned Skye.
    "We're not lesbians," said Debra. "Me and Andrea just need to talk."
    "Then talk," said Skye.
    "We need to talk in the bathroom."
    "Are you having bathroom problems?" asked Lizzie.
    "No," answered Andrea.
    Debra got out of the table and grabbed Andrea by the wrist to pull her out. She dragged her out of the cafeteria into the small lavatory across from the entrance. Debra let go of her friend then faced her.
    "What do you wanna talk about?" asked Andrea.
    "You know what I want to talk about. I caught you cheating on Marty with Kevin. You think I'm just going to shut up about it?"
    "It would be nice."
    "Well, it's not going to be that way because what you're doing is-- What is that?" Debra noticed the gold chain bracelet around Andrea's right wrist.
    Andrea caressed her new bracelet. "Oh, it's a bracelet."
    "I know what it is. Where did you get it?"
    "Oh, Marty gave it to me."
    "And you accepted it?"
    "Yeah. He wanted me to have it."
    "He wanted you to have it because he thinks that you're a good girlfriend who is faithful and respectful to him."
    "Okay."
    "Okay, and you're not. You're cheating on him and letting him buy you expensive jewelry?"
    "Hey, this was not expensive. He said it cost, like, three-hundred dollars."
    "That's a lot."
    "In poor people world."
    "You sound just like Madeline. Speaking of Madeline, if you're not convinced that what you're doing is wrong, I'm going to have to tell the girls because they deserve to know as well. And when I tell them, you'll be forced to hear what I said, just out of three other people's mouths. Four if you include DeMarcus."
    "Look, I don't want to lie to our friends but they can't know I'm cheating on my boyfriend."
    "Then stop cheating on your boyfriend. Boyfriends are not test; you can't just cheat on them. Andrea, do you understand that you will be causing emotional hurt for the person when they find out something is wrong? Two-timing people is manipulative and selfish and totally crooked."
    "Okay. If two-timing is so bad, then why are you doing it?"
    "What do you mean?"
    "Uh, you're cheating on Drake with Kyle."
    "No, I'm not! Kyle is not my boyfriend."
    "But you like him and you want him to be your boyfriend but instead, Drake is your boyfriend. Even though Kyle is not your boyfriend, you have feelings for him and not Drake. Therefore, you're gonna cause emotional hurt for him when he finds out that you don't actually like him. Boom! Logic."
    "Okay. No, you're right. I am playing with Drake's emotions while toying with Kyle's emotions as well. Man, I am such a whore!"
    "You're not a whore, you're a bohemian. Just less Woodstock-y."
    "I know what I'm doing is wrong but I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings."
    "How do you think I feel? I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings either."
    "How about this? I'll tell Drake if you tell Marty."
    "Done."
    "But we have to tell them today."
    "But I haven't worn this bracelet long enough."
    "You want to be a good person or a gold digger?"
    "Is there a third option?"

Boyfriends Are Not Tests (Chapter 2)

A few days later, Debra found herself walking in the halls, destined to go to her next class through many roaming students. She was a minute away from her assigned classroom before she felt a tap on her shoulder. She stopped, turned around and saw Kyle, who was shyly smiling.
"Oh, hey," greeted Debra, too calm to be nervous.
"Hey," Kyle greeted back.
"How are you?"
"I want to say fine but I'm not fine but I'm gonna say it anyway. I'm fine."
"Oh, Kyle--"
"What happened to last week? Did what we did mean nothing to you?"
"No, of course not. It meant a whole lot to me."
"Then why can't we have that right now?"
"I don't know. It's just that Drake really likes me--"
"So you're going to date him out of pity?"
"No, I mean I did like him."
"So you don't like me?"
"Wait a sec. You're confusing me."
"You're confusing me! You know that I like you and you should be with me. Not with Drake."
"I just don't want to hurt Drake's feelings."
"So it's okay to hurt mine?"
"You know, when you say it like that, you make it sound so bad."
"Wha-- It is bad!"
Out of nowhere, Drake popped up and put his arm around Debra, which caused her eyes to widen. Kyle was put in an awkward spot once again. Drake, on the other hand, had no clue whatsoever.
"Hey, Debra," Drake smiled.
"Hey, Drake," Debra smiled, in an uncomfortable way.
"What's up, Kyle?"
"What's down?" reacted Kyle. "Ever thought about asking that?!"
He stormed off with Drake and Debra watching him leave until he disappeared, which didn't take long.
"What's wrong with him?" Drake asked.
"Oh, he has really bad gas," Debra lied. "It's really bad."
Drake looked up while nodding. "Oh, okay. I got to get to class. Wanna come with?"
"No, I feel like standing."
"Okay. Well, I just wanted to say hi to you." Drake pecked Debra on the cheek. "Bye, babe."
"Bye... you."
Drake smiled at his "girlfriend" before walking away. Debra watched him leave so she could go to class without him around her. For a second, she looked in front of herself and noticed something off. Far away, she saw the janitor's closet open and out came Kevin who looked very suspicious. Debra tried to make it look like she wasn't paying attention and waited a little while to look again. Her second glance, Kevin was nowhere to be seen and the closet was closed. But a few seconds later, Andrea opens the closet and linked eyes with her friend, Debra.
"Andrea?" Debra said loudly.
Andrea froze with wide eyes before secluding herself in the closet again. Debra ran down the hall and opened the janitor's closet. She walked inside and closed the door behind her. She was face-to-face with a nervous Andrea.
"Hey, Debbie, what's up?" she asked. She then reached for her friend's head. "I love your hair."
Debra slapped Andrea's hands away. "There's nothing different about my hair. What were you doing in the closet with Kevin Christie?"
"See, what had happened was that he wanted to talk but the hallway was too rowdy so he insisted that we talk in this closet."
"You still talk to him?"
"No, he was the one that wanted to talk. So I let him talk, then I slapped him so he left. And I just happened to leave a minute after him."
"Andrea, do you expect me to believe you?"
"No but it was worth a try."
"What are you doing with your ex-boyfriend?"
"Alright, when I tell you this, you can't judge me. I was getting my mack on in the closet with Kevin."
"You did what?"
"I said you can't judge me!"
"How long has this been going on?"
"A few weeks. A couple months."
"A couple months?! This has been going on since the start of fall? I thought you said you were finished with him."
"I did say that. But after breaking up with him, I realized that I love him. And he loves me."
"Andrea. You can't love someone else when you already got a boyfriend."
"Oh, isn't that the pot calling the kettle African-American? You're the one with the two boyfriends."
"I don't have two boyfriends. I have one."
"Oh, yeah? Which one is it?"
"Uh..."
"Exactly. You're no worse than me."

Boyfriends Are Not Tests (Chapter 1)

                On a regular school day, lunch time had began for the students. The girls found themselves in the cafeteria, sitting and waiting for Madeline. She was always the last to arrive but never late to arrive. She came in, looking ravishing as always, and sat herself down at their table.

                "Hey, girlies," she grinned, opening her lunch box.

                "Hey," all the girls greeted back.

                Soon, DeMarcus arrived and sat next to his girlfriend, Lizzie. "Hey," he said.

                "Hey!" Lizzie grinned.

                DeMarcus put his arm around Lizzie and kissed her cheek.

                Unexpectedly, Debra's "boyfriend", Drake, arrived and seated himself next to Debra. "Hey," he said with a smirk.

                Debra moved her eyes idly."Hey," she said in an uncomfortable voice with an authentic smile.

                Drake put his arm around her and attempted to kiss her lips but she moved her head, making him kiss her cheek. Drake didn't notice the resistance; he was smitten of her, which was a clear problem for Debra. Kyle even entered the cafeteria and stopped when he saw the couple. He shook his head in disbelief but at the same time believed what was happening in front of him. He sighed and walked off, causing discomfort for Skye and Lizzie who was able to see him.

                "Oh, hey!" Andrea smiled, looking at the door, gazing upon a cute guy with a heavy tan on his skin and black hair gelled into upward spikes.

                He came up to her and pecked her cheek. "Hey," he said flirtatiously before sitting down next to her.

                "Guys, you all know Marty."

                "Hey, Marty," everyone said.

                Marty nodded.

                "Yesterday, he asked me to be his novia," said Andrea, "and I said, 'Alright'. Now I'm his novia!"

                "Oh, congratulations, you guys!" smiled Lizzie.

                "Thanks," Marty replied in his heavy Jersey accent. "Y'know, when we first met, we instantly hit it off and that's when I knew that she's a keeper. Besides, she's not a grenade so I got to have that, know what I mean?"

                "Yes, I do know what you mean."

                "Shouldn't you be in class?" Andrea asked her man.

                "Yeah, but I couldn't stay away from my piece of candy," he responded.

                "Aw, well, that's what happens when you take a bite out of Candy Andy."

                "What's 'Candy Andy'?" asked DeMarcus.

                "Oh, it's my nickname. I call myself that because I'm tough on the outside but I'm sweet on the inside."

                "You sure are," said Marty, wrapping his arm around his girlfriend's waist.

                Andrea giggled and gave Marty several Eskimo kisses.

                Instantly, Skye's cell phone, which was set on the table, started playing ethereal rock music.  She picked it up and pressed a button under the screen. The music stopped and a voice came out.

                "Hey," Jeffrey said through the phone.

                Skye smiled when she heard his sweet voice. "Hey," she said right back.

                "I get it!" shouted Madeline. "Everyone has boyfriends!"

               

                Later, when lunch time ended, the girls went their separate ways to their separate classes. While Andrea walked alone, yards from her assigned classroom, she felt a tug on the back of her shirt. She turned around and was immediately infuriated when she laid her eyes on the charming, fair-haired, hazel-eyed snake known as Kevin Christie, Andrea's ex-boyfriend.

                "You!" she snarled.

                "I need to talk to you," Kevin asserted.

                "Well, too bad!"

                Kevin grabbed her arm and forcefully dragged her down the hall. Using her other arm, Andrea hit Kevin on his forcing arm and chest repeatedly while shouting angrily in Spanish.

                "¿Que estas haciendo? ¡Aléjate de mi! ¡Te odio! Quiero que muerto! Yo no te puedo creer. Consiga sus manos de encima. Usted es una bestia. Suéltame, bestia!"

                Eventually, Kevin pulled her into the open janitor's closet. Until they both got deep inside, Kevin closed the door and Andrea stopped yelling. In a nanosecond, the two went at each other at the same time and started kissing each other in a tight embrace. After a good twenty seconds, they pulled away without letting go of each other.

                "I missed you," Kevin admitted breathlessly.

                "I missed you, too," agreed Andrea.

                "I know the last time I saw you was two days ago but sometimes I forget what it's like to taste my Candy Andy."

                "Oh, well, you know I can't resist my revvin' Kevin."

                "Vroom, vroom!"

                Andrea giggled before making out with her ex-boyfriend again.