"I think she's snapped," Julia explained seriously as she made her way.
Ursula caught up to Julia. "Who? Carrie?"
"Carrie has a crush on Darren," Julia explained, "Finding out that Darren has a crush on her sister may have pushed her over the edge."
The other two girls glanced at Annie, who could only manage a shrug.
They soon caught sight of Carrie, who was leaning against a railing staring out at the river. Julia held a hand up to stop the girls. "Urs, you'd better take Annie somewhere. Let me check if Carrie's okay."
"What're you thinking, Jul?" the taller girl asked.
Julia turned to her friend. "Remember the incident when Carrie chased that Asian girl in school."
"You mean she thought that Darren was interested in that girl?"
Julia nodded. "Yes, we can't have Carrie pulling off her sister's clothes here."
That was as likely as it raining purple elephants. "I don't think she'll go that far," Annie said.
"Yeah," Ursula agreed, "Remember in the changing room, she refused to look at a naked girl? She won't even shower if there ain't a separate stall."
"She's more likely to strangle me or throw me into the river," Annie added.
The other three girls looked at Annie.
"Anyway, just go," Julia finally ordered, "I'll call you once it's safe." With that, she walked up to Carrie. Jill followed after her.
Ursula led Annie back up the riverfront and found an empty bench for them to sit on. While Annie sat, the taller girl bought a pretzel from a nearby stall. "Want some?" she offered when she came back.
"Thanks." Annie broke off a piece and took a bite of the dry pastry.
"So, what's your story?"
Annie gave a summary of her relationship with Darren, minus the details of Saki's involvement. Yes, Darren had been interested in her. Yes, they had spoken a few times. Yes, she knew Second Sis had a crush on him. No, she was not interested in him. Yes, she had told him so. But they were friends, acquaintances, actually.
The pretzel lasted about as long as the story.
"Don't worry, Jul will make sure it's safe for you." Ursula crumpled the oily wrapping of the pretzel into a ball.
"I sure hope so," Annie said, "I have to live in the same house as her."
Ursula leaned close to her. "Think she'll murder you in your sleep?" she whispered. She tossed the ball of paper into a nearby bin. "Better lock your door tonight."
Annie folded her arms and sulked. "Great, now I won't be able to sleep."
Just then, Ursula's handphone started playing a hip-hop beat. She stepped away to speak to whomever was on the other end. When she was done, she stepped back to report, "Jul says it's safe for you to sleep tonight."
"Gee, I feel so much better," Annie said sarcastically.
"She also said it's best if you avoid Carrie for now." Ursula replaced the phone in her pants. "So, what are you going to do?"
Annie hummed as she thought. "Take a bus, go home, finish my homework."
"Yeah, I'll follow," Ursula decided as she straightened herself.
"Oh, you don't have to." Annie got onto her feet. "You should go with Sis and Julia."
"No, I've got my homework too. Got to finish those from during the tournament." She leaned down to Annie. "Besides, I've got to make sure you don't fall off the bridge."
What!? Ursula did not trust her to walk across a bridge? Oh yeah, Annie was definitely being looked down upon. Both literally and figuratively.
***
No comments:
Post a Comment