My Firsts With You

Chapter 18

RACHEL'S POV

"What is this?" I asked as I arrived at my seat. A white piece of paper was resting on my table with the words, "Stay away from him." Huh? What kind of lunatic put this on my desk? "That's strange. Is it from one of Caleb's fans?" Jessica asked as she took the piece of paper. "If it was from one of his fans, I could've gotten one last week. That's a first," I explained and decided to ignore what the paper meant and who put it on my desk. A few minutes later, Kenneth arrived and sat next to me. "Did you have fun last night?" I asked him. Whatever you're thinking, it's not that. They went to the amusement park last night. "Yeah. I'm glad she liked it," he answered in relief.

"Rachel received something," Martin suddenly said, and I turned to him, saying 'no' with my face. "Received what?" Kenneth curiously asked, and Jessica passed him the small paper. He read it and furrowed his eyebrows. "Who gave this?" he turned to me and asked. "No idea," I answered as I shrugged my shoulders. "Are you trying to steal someone's guy?" he asked. I scoffed at him as I felt offended. "Dude, do you actually think I would do that? I'm offended," I defended. "I was making sure. No one will give this to you if you're not doing it," he said plainly. Does he really think I would do that kind of behavior?! "But I didn't! You know what? You're being boring these days. Please don't talk to me," I said and ignored him.

He tried to talk to me, but I still ignored him. He's acting strange lately. Yesterday he was scolding me about Caleb, then now he's accusing me of stealing someone else's guy. Who cares? He's still a flirt. Our teacher arrived late, but he started the discussion as soon as he entered the classroom. My mind spaced out after a few minutes of listening attentively. Our class is history, which makes me lost after listening to the beginning parts of the discussion. After a few more hours of listening and suffering, finally, the bell rang for lunch. Kenneth approached Sabrina, who was at her locker, as soon as he went out. Ugh, they're disgusting now. Not that they're kissing, but with the way Sabrina flirts, I understand what Claire meant when she told us about Sabrina's personality.

"I'm gonna skip the rice," I said as we sat down at our usual table, and again, Sabrina was sitting with us. "What? Why?" Jessica asked as if I was starving myself. "I'm gaining weight, and I can't handle that," I answered and slightly pouted as I looked at the visible belly fat. Mom's going to lecture me if she finds out, but in a calm way, okay? She's not strict with my diet. "So you're going to eat your boring salad and what?" Jessica asked in a judging tone. She hates my diet, but sometimes she asks about what I eat to lose weight. "Chicken breast," I said in a slightly dramatic tone. I could eat salad, but not plain chicken breast. I always eat chicken with seasoning, and eating it plain and boiled doesn't excite me.

As Jessica and I continued talking about my diet, I saw Sabrina rolling her eyes. Seriously, what is wrong with her? Should she really focus on me instead of being lovey-dovey with her boyfriend? "Hey, Caleb!" I called as I saw him looking for his friends. He looked at me and smiled. "Hey," he greeted back. "Come sit with us," I offered, and Jeremy choked on his food. Kenneth glared at me, but I ignored him. "Is it okay?" Caleb politely asked, and the girls nodded. Martin didn't say anything and showed no interest. If Kenneth scolds me a lot about going out with Caleb, Martin, on the other hand, gives me the silent treatment whenever I mention Caleb.

Caleb sat beside me and began eating his food. "That's Sabrina. Kenneth's girlfriend," I introduced her, and she gave a little wave to Caleb. "Yeah, MY GIRLFRIEND," Kenneth sternly said, and I could see him stabbing Caleb with his eyes. Caleb looked back at him, and they looked like they were fighting with their eyes. "Caleb! Is the food delicious?" I interfered, breaking their intense eye contact. "Yes, you want to taste it?" he offered, but I politely shook my head. "I'm gaining weight, so I need to monitor what I eat," I explained, and he nodded in understanding. "So, Caleb, our friend. What did you like about our princess?" Jeremy asked, and I glared at him for saying, 'our princess.'

He chuckled, and I laughed with him awkwardly. "Of course, Rachel is beautiful, and everyone knows that," he replied and the three (Jeremy, Jessica, and Claire) nodded in agreement. I heard Kenneth scoff before taking a bite of his food. "She's also kind and sweet despite her intimidating personality, as other people would say," he explained, and again, the three nodded in agreement. "Intimidating personality? Why would they think that?" I asked, surprised by the information that is not exactly new to me. "You rejected many guys, so obviously, some people would find you intimidating," Sabrina responded. "Oh," I reacted, and the three laughed at me. We talked for a while, but not to the point where Jeremy and Caleb grew close. I know that will never happen. They hate Caleb.

"I'm going to the restroom," I informed them, and they nodded. I badly need to take number 1. I went inside the restroom, and luckily, no one was around. If all the girls were here, it would take forever to wait. I entered a stall and released all the liquid I had. "Oh, that feels comfortable," I commented and finished before checking myself in the mirror. When I left the stall, I was surprised to see Sabrina. When did she arrive? "How long have you been here? I didn't hear a sound from you," I asked and stood beside her. I washed my hands and checked my face for any dirt or something. "It doesn't matter. I wanted to tell you something," she said. "Go on," I gave her permission to continue what she was saying.

"Nothing much. Just a friendly reminder. Stay away from Kenneth, okay? If you don't want to do it for me, do it for him," she said in a threatening tone. "Were you the one who sent me that note?" I asked, slightly annoyed with how she's acting now. I knew she looked creepy because of how she stared at me. I wasn't even distracting them on their dates! What is she going on about now? "Who else would send you that note? You know what? Focus on Caleb, and you will stay out of trouble," she said. "Hold up. You don't get to tell me what to do. Kenneth is my FRIEND, so I can't stay away from him as you want me to," I retorted and gave her my pissed-off look. I can't handle this girl. Somebody stop me from doing something I'll regret, please.

"Fine. You asked for it. I hope you'll have a good day tomorrow," she monotonously responded and walked away. What kind of childish and cliché act was that? Is this some teen movie or something? That was so frustrating and cringy. I scoffed and continued what I was doing before going back to our table. I saw Kenneth and Sabrina acting lovey-dovey again, and I rolled my eyes. "It smells fishy in here. Can you leave, sweetheart?" I sweetly told Sabrina as I sat down beside Caleb. All my friends looked at me in shock because of my sudden change in attitude towards Sabrina. "Rachel, what is wrong with you?" Kenneth asked calmly. "What is wrong with YOU? You know we feel uncomfortable with your girl sitting with us. I suggest that you sit somewhere else instead of acting cringy in here," I snapped, and he looked at me disappointedly.

Why did I say that? "Fine. It's fair if we take your suggestion since I don't want that guy sitting with us," he annoyingly replied. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. Kenneth pulled Sabrina from her seat and left to God knows where. "That was sudden," Jeremy commented and sipped his drink. "Are you alright?" Caleb asked worriedly, and I nodded at him.

If Kenneth doesn't want me to date Caleb, I don't want him to date Sabrina. I can peacefully sleep if he dates someone better than that b*tch. How dare she threaten me? I won't sit still if she and her minions do something to me. She's messing with the wrong girl.

END OF CHAPTER 18