My Firsts With You

Chapter 17

RACHEL'S POV

It's been a week since our day at the beach and since Caleb asked me out. Yes, we go out on dates, but he's not my boyfriend yet. Kenneth is still against the idea of me going out with Caleb, but Kenneth is not my boss. He can scold me whenever he wants, but it won't stop me. Fortunately, he didn't bother me much for two days. "You're going out on dates, but you're not in a relationship yet," Jessica said in confusion. She's been saying this five times already. "Jessica, how many more times? Caleb is courting me, okay? We go on dates. He's not my boyfriend, and he's my suitor. You get it now?" I explained for the hundredth time. "Oh, so you're taking it slow. Old school, I see," she commented, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes, we're taking it slow. Unlike some guy who is in a relationship as soon as he confesses," I said, loud enough for Jeremy to hear. "Hey! That's rude," he said, and I chuckled at him. Jessica and Jeremy are getting closer again, but it's hard to tell if they'll be back together because we don't know how their minds work. "Ugh, I hate Tuesdays," Jessica complained and sulked. "You hate weekdays," Claire reminded. "Exactly! It ruins the fun times I had on weekends," she responded, and I shook my head at her. Jessica started going to parties again, but she had her reason this time. She told us that instead of crying in the corner of her room, she decided to distract herself so she would forget to bawl.

"Where's Kenneth?" Martin said as he sat down beside Jeremy. It's lunchtime, and we almost finished our food, but Kenneth is still not here. "We thought he was with you," Claire answered him. "Uh, he wasn't," he replied. Martin had just finished basketball practice. He's the basketball captain and the only one who joined a sports team among us. Jeremy chose to play the guitar while Kenneth was just Kenneth. Nah, I'm just kidding. He and Jessica are good at History. Claire and I? According to them, we're good at Math. I neither love nor hate Math, but there are times when I understand it and times when I don't. Anyway, enough about that. I won't use Math in modeling.

"You can eat without Kenneth if you're hungry," I told Martin. "Hey, guys! Did you eat without me?" Kenneth arrived with Sabrina? Why is she here now? "Food is more important than you," Jessica sassed at him, and he scoffed. "Sabrina, why are you here?" Claire asked her. Claire told us before that Sabrina is her cousin, and they love teasing her because apparently, Sabrina's a two-faced girl. "She's my girlfriend now," Kenneth answered, and we looked at him, surprised. I'm surprised because she lasted. "Seriously?" Claire asked in a dull tone, and Sabrina rolled her eyes. "You heard him loud and clear," Sabrina answered. Claire scrunched up her face in disgust as a response.

"So, you're telling us that you have a girlfriend? A serious one, right?" Jeremy asked, making sure that he heard it right. "Look who's talking," I teased him, and he sulked. "Will you stop doing that? You look disgusting," Jessica commented, which made Jeremy sadder. Someone stop him, please. "Can't you be nice to her? I didn't complain like that when you guys dated someone," Kenneth said, and they sat down, Kenneth in front of me. "Oh yes, you did. You did more than complain," I said and rolled my eyes at him. "Yours is different. Let's talk about that later, shall we?" he asked politely, and I scoffed at him. Mine's not different. I'm also trying to date someone, but Kenneth kept acting like my dad, who disagrees with everything I do.

"Should I get food for you both? I was going to eat until you came," Martin suggested, and Kenneth nodded his head. Martin left to get food for himself and the couple. "Is there dirt on my face?" I asked Sabrina, who kept looking at me since they sat down. She's starting to annoy me again. "Maybe because you're too beautiful, and she wonders if you did something like her," Claire responded, and Sabrina glared at her. Jessica and I stifled our laughs, and I saw Kenneth talking to me with his facial expressions. "Okay, stop that. You look stupid," I told him, and he stopped. "Claire, she's your cousin. Why are you treating her like that?" Kenneth asked. He must've wanted me to stop Claire or something when he was trying to talk to me.

"Kenneth, are you nice to your cousins?" Jeremy asked. Wrong response, Jeremy. "Yes, I am," he answered in disbelief, and Jeremy cleared his throat out of embarrassment. Kenneth is close to his cousins, especially the younger ones. "Okay, good boy. That's how Claire shows how much she cares about Sabrina, okay? She wanted to make sure Sabrina's with the RIGHT guy," Jessica remarked, emphasizing the word 'right.' "Sabrina's with the right guy, but not this one," Kenneth said and pointed at me. I rolled my eyes at him and stuck out my tongue. "Oh, please. Focus on your girl and stop being nosy," I retorted. "Fine," he responded, and Martin arrived on time.

He distributed their food and started eating. The rest of us decided to chat while the three were eating. "How about you? Will you introduce Caleb as your boyfriend soon?" Claire teased, and I rolled my eyes. "She can't," Jeremy said. "She can't date a father," Jeremy straightforwardly said, and Kenneth choked on his food. Martin immediately gave him water, and Kenneth drank it before looking at Jeremy. "Those are just rumors, right?" Jessica asked, and the mood became serious suddenly. What rumors? "You believed those rumors? I heard those girls were only desperate for Caleb's attention," Sabrina commented before taking a sip of her orange juice. This girl likes orange juice, doesn't she?

"Can we not talk about this? In case you forgot, I'm still here with you, guys," I said as I was starting to feel uncomfortable with what they were saying. "Here, drink this," Martin said after a few seconds of silence. He handed me a small carton of strawberry milk, my favorite. "Thanks," I told him, and he smiled. Kenneth cleared his throat and continued eating his meal. "Don't worry. Those are rumors, and I don't think they are true. You and Caleb look good together," Sabrina told me, and I gave her a small smile. That sounded sarcastic. Claire rolled her eyes at Sabrina and shook her head. "Be careful with my cousin. She thinks you're a threat to her because of how close you are to Kenneth. If she causes you trouble, call me immediately, okay?" Claire informed me, and I nodded.

I see. Sabrina couldn't stop looking at me as if she was killing me with her eyes. She has nothing to worry about because Kenneth is my friend, and I'm going out with Caleb. If she still tries to do something to me, I guess she doesn't have enough brain cells to understand it.

END OF CHAPTER 17