Lip-Locking in the Library

Glo was sitting on her living room floor before her TV, game controller in her hand. It jostled in her hand as she aggressively pushed buttons and flicked joysticks, her eyes fixed on the glaring screen. 

    She did not flinch when she heard her front door open and close. Footsteps sounded from the kitchen. 

    Must be Matthew back from college, she thought. 

    “Glo!”

    She dropped her controller at the sound of that familiar voice.

    Ooh, even hotter.

    Into the living room came a tall, lean guy with dark hair and blue eyes. Glo stood up and faced him. 

    “Something wrong?” She frowned. 

    “No. Why would you assume something’s wrong?” He shrugged. “Nothing’s wrong.”

    “Really? ‘Coz you’re doing that cute fast blinking when you’re stressed.”

    “I’m not stressed.”

    She narrowed her eyes and propped her straight arms on his shoulders. They stared at each other for a moment, noses an inch apart.

    When he blinked, she gasped and reeled back. “Liar! You are stressed!”

    “Okay. I’m not stressed, just confused. You will not believe what Audrey told me in advanced math an hour ago. I got a free period so I’m here now.”

    “Huh. I got a free period after homeroom so I came home. But then I missed third period and didn’t bother going to fourth.”

    KB followed her into the kitchen. “Anyway, Audrey told me that someone saw you and Ivan… y’know…”

    She leant against a counter as he stood before her. “No, I don’t know.”

    “You know!”

    “No. I don’t.”

    “Someone saw you and Ivan… well…”

    “KB! Spit it out, you wimp!” Glo snapped.

    “…kissing! In the library. Last Monday,” KB sighed, leaning against the opposite counter.

    “What! Ivan!”

    “Right? That’s why I was confused.”

    “I would never kiss Ivan! I mean, sure, he’s tall and muscular and is crushing big-time on me and he’s way hotter than you…”

    He gave her a blunt look.

    “You know I’m messing with you,” She grinned, punching his elbow hard. “We’ve gotta find who started this rumour.”

    “How the heck are you gonna do that?” He murmured, browsing the cupboards.

    “It’s obvious. You said Audrey told you this, right?”

    “Yeah, so?”

    “That’s where we’ll start. To the cafe!”

    Glo grabbed KB’s wrist, dragging him through the kitchen and out the front door.

“There you go,” Audrey gave a warm smile as she put the cup and saucer on the customer’s table. “One chai latte on almond.”

    She went behind the counter as the cafe door opened and rang the bell. In walked a brunette girl with a vivid purple streak slicing through her hair and a dark-headed, blue-eyed guy by her side.

    “Hey guys,” Audrey said, adjusting her ponytail of dark strawberry-blonde hair. “What can I get you?”

    “Can I get a half-strength flat white?” KB asked. “You, Glo?”

    “I’ll have a long black, extra shot,” she shrugged.

    “You two are polar opposites,” remarked Audrey as she put the order into the iPad. “What a couple. Now, that’ll be eight dollars fifty.”

    “I’ll pay.”

    “No, I’ll pay,” KB said.

    “Seriously, I’ll pay.”

    “I insist, I’ll pay.”

    “Fine, you’ll pay,” she gave him a crafty smile.

    As KB tapped his card on the EFTPOS machine, Audrey narrowed her eyes. “So you two came all the way across town to the seventh-best cafe in the city just for two coffees?”

    “Actually, no,” Glo said. “KB told me that you told him that Ivan and I were pashing in the library last Monday!”

    “So it’s true?”

    “No!”

    “Oh, phew. Good, because it had me confused. I mean, Ivan over KB? Didn’t think so.”

    “So then who told you the rumour?” KB frowned.

    “Xander told me. We were paired up for P.E.”

    “Of course he’d tell you, you’re his crush,” Glo scoffed.

    “What?” Audrey’s eyes widened.

    “Nothing! She said nothing,” KB laughed nervously as he clapped a hand over Glo’s mouth.

    She went through a staff door.

    “You better watch that mouth of yours,” he turned to her and lowered his voice. “Gloria Mack, you’re a piece of work.”

    Glo rolled her eyes. “Not the first time I’ve heard that before.”

Xander dribbled the basketball twice before taking a shot at the hoop. It sank clean through the net.

    He caught the ball and threw it again, watching it bounce off the backboard and across the court as his fingers ran through his black Hawaiian hair.

    To his subtle surprise, Glo was standing there and caught it.

    “Five bucks says I can make this from mid-court,” she gave a sly grin at the incredibly tall and lean Xander.

    “I know that smile,” he smirked. “Take your best shot.”

    She came at him dribbling and he attempted to block her throw, but she spun out of his way and popped it over the rim and through the net.

    “I owe you a purple Lizzy,” Xander sighed, holding the ball on his hip. “Never could block a shot of Glo the Great.”

    “You can just buy me a slice of pizza for lunch tomorrow.”

    KB came from the car parked on the curb. “Hey, Xander.”

    “Glo and KB, the forbidden ship that defied the odds,” he remarked. 

    Glo sighed. “I thought we weren’t gonna talk about that crappily dramatic period of our lives anymore.”

    “You may have thought that, but I didn’t. What can I do for you two?”

    “Audrey told us that you told her that Ivan and I were making out in the library last Monday,” Glo scowled. “Explanation. Now.”

    “I thought it seemed likely. I mean, everyone knows you and Ivan have had a flirtation going, since before ‘that crappily dramatic period of our lives’. But I didn’t know what to believe, so I just got it off my chest by passing it in to Audrey.”

    “And then she told me,” KB folded his arms. “But why Audrey?”

    “Well, because…” Xander seemed to grow uncomfortable. “She’s, you know—trustworthy.”

    “Oh-ho-ho, she’s a lot more than that,” Glo cackled.

    “Shut up.”

    “So who told you the rumour?”

    “Vicky did.”

    “Vicky?” KB frowned. “Why would she spread rumours about her best friend?”

    “Dunno,” Glo shrugged.

    “Well, I guess that’s our cue.”

    “Got that right, woo!” Glo leapt into his arms with a possibly maniacal laugh and he carried her off the court to the car.

    Xander laughed as he watched them leave, shaking his head.

    “Weirdos.”

    He threw the basketball and sunk another perfect shot.

Vicky was hunched over her desktop in her dark bedroom, the screen bathing her determined expression in ghostly white light.

    Her fingers were blurs over the keyboard as she typed aggressively, striving to finish her school report at the last minute. They stopped to brush her pale bangs out of her face and scratch her Brazilian nose before returning to clicking at the letters.

    She groaned and slammed her head on the tabletop when she heard the front door open and close.

    It’ll be Mum back from work, she thought. I’ll never get this paper done in time for tomorrow.

    When someone knocked on her door, she yelled, “It’s open.”

    In came Glo and KB, which surprised her.

    “What are you guys doing here?” She asked. “I thought you were my mum.”

    “I don’t know if I’ve just been complimented or insulted,” Glo narrowed her eyes.

    “Why is it so dark in here?” KB felt around for a light switch, and when he turned it on, Glo and Vicky began to groan and hiss, blocking their eyes from the bright light.

    “I had to skip sixth period to try get this paper done,” Vicky sighed. “And I’m still not finished.”

    “We’ll make this quick then,” Glo shrugged. “Did you tell Xander that Ivan and I were kissing in the library last Monday?”

    “You two were kissing in the library?”

    “Ugh! No! But did you tell Xander that?”

    “I don’t think I did… or maybe I did. I’m so tired, I can’t remember.”

    KB and Glo exchanged uncertain looks.

    “Oh! Yes! I did tell him that.”

    “So who told you that?”

    “Let me think… it was… Elijah. He told me.”

    “Wouldn’t think of Eli as a gossip type, yet here we are,” KB shrugged. “Let’s roll.”

    “Close the door behind you.”

    As the room plunged deep into darkness, Vicky rubbed her eyes and returned to her vigorous typing.

“Do you think this would be nice for my mum’s birthday?” Teneil remarked, taking a nice scarf off the shelf.

 “Yeah, it’s nice,” Elijah nodded. “What’s your mum’s favourite colour? Maybe you could get her a coffee mug.”

     “I do really like this scarf… I know. We could get her both.”

    “Good plan.”

    Teneil tied her long, straight blonde hair up in a bun before Elijah put his arm around her shoulder and they walked through the store to the checkout.

    “When do you go visit your family back in Nigeria?” She asked.

    “In six weeks,” he said. “There’s a lot of extended family that I’ve never met before, so it’ll be an experience.”

     Teneil frowned, looking down at her buzzing phone.

    “Glo wants to FaceTime me,” she said, accepting the call. Glo’s face appeared on the screen.

     “Hey, Tilly,” she said.

     “Hey, Glo,” Teneil smiled. “How have you been?”

     “Pretty mediocre,” she replied.

     KB’s head appeared leaning on her shoulder, smiling. “Hey, Teneil.”

“Oh! Hey, KB.”

     “Hey, guys,” Elijah looked over Teneil’s shoulder.

     “Oh, good! Eli’s with you,” Glo said. “So did you tell Vicky that Ivan and I were lip-locking in the library last Monday?”

     “Did you?” Teneil’s eyes widened in surprise at her boyfriend.

     “Now that I think about it, I did,” he stroked his chin. “You told me about it and then I must’ve mentioned it subconsciously to Vicky when we were studying for the history paper due tomorrow.”

    “So you got it from Teneil?” KB’s eyes widened on the screen.

     “I didn’t think it was true!” Teneil said desperately. “It was bothering me so I confided in Eli, but I didn’t know you would go tell Vicky.”

     “Sorry, but I didn’t mean to.”

     “So then where did you hear it from, Tilly?” Glo asked.

    “Mandy told me. We’re in French together. She said that she had been on her way to the library and saw you pinning Ivan against the wall. I didn’t know what to think.”

“Mandy,” Glo and KB growled in unison. “Of course.”

“It’s so obvious now!” Glo said. “Mandy hates me.”

“So what? A lot of people hate you,” KB looked at her.

“Yeah, but Mandy’s the queen of haters. Thanks for the heads up, Tilly. Gotta go!”

“Bye!” Teneil and Elijah said.

They hung up.

Glo marched begrudgingly through the school halls as the students cleared the way for her, KB jogging in her wake.

“Where are you going?” He asked her.

“Where do you think? I’m gonna find Mandy.”

“That’s it? That doesn’t sound like Glo.”

“Deal with it. And if I have time, I’ll beat her like a schnitty.”

“That sounds like Glo.”

“Ivan!” Glo spied Ivan talking to a group of students. She grabbed his wrist and whisked him away down the hall with them.

“Glo?” He frowned, fingers running through his blonde surfer hair. “What the heck?”

“Don’t you start,” she snarled back at him, her hazel eyes flashing with irritation. “Mandy Boyd has been telling everyone that you and I were making out in the library!”

“We were?” His eyes widened, his Californian accent slicing through the student whispers of the corridor. “I think I’d remember that.”

“You weren’t ever, at any point, making out with Glo!” KB cried. “She’s spreading false rumours.”

The three came right up to Mandy by her locker, who swivelled around with eyes of surprise at the trio.

“Can I help you?” She scoffed.

“Shut your face for just a minute, Mandy,” Glo snapped, spitting in her face. “I’ll have you know that your little rumour about me and Ivan kissing in the library has spread like wildfire!”

“What rumour?”

“I literally just said.”

“Why would I make lies about you? You’re already talk of the town since you sprayed Mrs Wilhem with skunk pheromones.”

“You obviously had a reason, because you told Teneil, who told Elijah, who told Vicky, who told Xander, who told Audrey, who told KB, who would be the last person on earth I’d want to hear about that—kinda off-topic, so anyways—‘fess up, M. ‘Coz I can either pummel you a little now, or a lot later.”

“I thought that’s what I saw! You had Ivan against the wall!”

“Are you talking about when Glo was trying to tutor me?” Ivan frowned. “She got so annoyed that she pinned me against the wall and threatened to bash my face in if I didn’t get the question right.”

“…Ohhhhhhhhhh,” Mandy, Glo and KB came to the realisation.

“That makes more sense,” KB nodded. “But that still doesn’t make up for the fact that you still told everyone.”

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. Sad face,” she pointed to her pout. “Forgive me?”

“Fine, just this once,” Glo rolled her eyes. “But if you pull a stunt like this again, you’ll need a new hip.”

“I’m glad we got that all cleared up,” Glo said.

All right of them were sitting in the library lounge, sprayed over couches, chairs and the floor.

“Maybe next time, we should just come straight to you for clarification,” Audrey sighed. “That would’ve been smarter and less harmful, to both you and KB.”

“You know, I was gonna do that,” Vicky remarked. “But then I got distracted.”

“Of course you did,” they all said at once.

“What came first, Glo and KB or Teneil and Elijah?” Ivan asked.

“Well, the drama of Teneil liking KB but he liking Glo happened first,” Xander said, all matter-of-fact. “But you two couldn’t get together until Tilly moved on, so her and Elijah came first, and then Glo and KB right after.”

“Thanks for the play-by-play, Xander,” Glo sighed. “We were all there. Didn’t need another painful walkthrough.”

“I can’t believe any of us would actually buy Glo kissing Ivan,” KB remarked. “I mean, she would never, ever do that.”

No one agreed with him, only maintaining the silence.

“No?” He frowned.

“I wouldn’t say she would never do that,” Vicky shrugged.

“I would say she would do that,” admitted Teneil.

“I would say she has done that,” Xander said bluntly.

“You have?” KB’s eyes widened at Glo. “Seriously?”

“We’re busted,” Glo hissed at Ivan, up on her feet. “Run. Run!”

The brunette in the overalls with the Californian surfer-dude bolted out of the library.

“Don’t worry, KB,” Teneil said. “It was before you and Glo started dating.”

“Teneil!” The others all groaned.