The Misunderstanding
By Amyra Akhtar
I sat in the hall, tears pouring down my face in a rush. Then Bubblegum came running, closely followed by Nature and Lucia.
‘Hey, hey, girl! Don’t cry!’ Bubblegum dabbed at my cheek. ‘He’s worthless if he did that!’
I choked out another sob. ‘H-He, he betrayed me!’ I sobbed.
Then, Nature clicked her fingers. ‘Idea! We can set up a fake gaming account at my house, then send him some texts to ask him if he did it! We can all come to my house after class today!’
So, after school, we headed to Nature’s house. Her sister, Rose, opened the door. When she saw me, she started squealing in a mad rush.
‘Wow! You’re SO pretty! Didn’t you star in the magazine of the author, Amyra Akhtar? You did? Wow! That’s SO cool! She actually writes books about you! I LOVE the CLUB FAVE series!’
I gasped. ‘Me TOO! They’re SO dramatic! I’m going to buy her next latest release, ‘The Audition!’ You should too!!’
Just then, Nature yelled. ‘Mackenzie, come on!’
‘Coming, Nature!’ I shouted. Running up the stairs, I went into her room.
Nature led us through. ‘So, first, a username. Hmm..what should we keep it? Oh! Maybe-‘ Her words were cut off by Bubblegum and Lucia giggling.
‘Who’s Jackson?’ Lucia teased.
I peered at the screen to see a profile picture in Nature’s Friends list. The boy had brown messy hair and blue eyes.
Nature blushed. ‘He’s just a friend, guys….’
Then, the doorbell rang. Nature darted down, but after a second came back up, panicking.
‘It’s Jackson!’ She whisper-shouted.
We all started squealing. ‘SHUT UP!’ She whisper-shouted again. ‘I’ll talk to him, and BE. RIGHT. BACK. STAY HERE!’
We all crept down to hear the unmistakable sound of kissing. When Nature came back up, she giggled.
‘Oh! Jackson’s asked me to be his girlfriend!’ She swooned.
I forced a smile. It wasn’t fair. Marcus dumped me in two days, and we haven’t even kissed yet, and someone Nature didn’t even know had already kissed her AND they were a couple.
‘Nature, I don’t think you should trust someone you don’t even know!’ I argued.
‘Mackenzie, it’s OK. I trust him.’
‘Yeah, but-‘
‘Mackenzie, drop it, okay!’ Nature huffed.
I stopped the tears welling in my eyes. ‘I gotta go. I have homework. Later, guys.’ And I ran out, alone and upset.
xxx
The next day, I got up, and immediately checked Instagram for some updates. Deciding to create another account there as well, I entered the username as Cookie.
Logging in, I clicked on his account and sent him a text.
Cookie- Hey! I’ve seen u around school. That gossip of u and Lisa was really crazy..but was it true? U can tell me!
Marc4u- Hey! Yea, that gossip WAS painful. And..no, it wasn’t true! Don’t tell anyone this, Cookie..but u know a girl called Mackenzie Sparkle?
Cookie- Yea, I do!
Marc4u- I really like her. She’s super sweet. But I haven’t got the courage 2 tell her.
Cookie- Go 4 it!
Marc4u- U know what..you’re right, Cookie! Thanx!
Cookie- Gotta go..tell me how it went!
Marc4u- I will..thanx, Cookie!
Cookie- Anytime!
Logging off, I blushed. Marcus was gonna confess TODAY! I squealed silently, then put on my best sweater, jeans, boots, and carefully curled my hair.
When I got to school, I excitedly told my friends, and they giggled and were practically leaping!
Suddenly, at my locker, Marcus came up to me, and they quickly wished me luck and ran off, still giggling.
‘Hey,’ I blushed.
‘Hey,’ He smiled. ‘Um..Mackenzie..that gossip..it wasn’t true, I swear! I–‘
‘Marcus,’ I said. ‘It’s OK. I know it wasn’t true.’
‘Mackenzie,’ He said. ‘I, um, I have to confess something.’
I paused.
‘I’ve been in love with you since I first laid eyes on you. You’re smart, funny, and genuinely caring and sweet. Will you..’
By this time, half the hallway was silent. Waiting.
‘..be my girlfriend?’
Silence.
‘Marcus..’
The tension was so thick you could slice it with a knife.
‘YES!’
The hall cheered loudly as I wrapped my arms around him in a big hug.
xxx