The Roseview High Rumors

CHAPTER SIX - Pedro

"Well done, Pedro. I'm so happy to see you working harder."

Pedro looked up at Ms O'Brien, his Biology teacher. "Thank you, ma'am."

She smiled and placed his test face down on his table. Pedro snatched it up, and his eyes widened in shock at the score. 71%. He had been putting in a lot more effort, but it was beyond his expectations.

"Keep it up, son," Lucas, his best friend said in a gruff voice. He clapped Pedro on the shoulder from behind, and ruffled his hair.

Pedro raised a middle finger at Lucas without looking back. "Back off, dude."

"She deserves all the accolades," Lucas whispered.

"Who?"

"You know who I'm talking about."

"Boys, would you like to share your discussion with the class?" Ms O'Brien asked with folded arms.

"No, ma'am," Pedro and Lucas replied simultaneously.

Pedro took a quick glance around the class. It revealed a few appreciative glances and a handful of judgemental stares. He ignored them, and focused on the board. Ms O'Brien continued handing out the answer scripts. Mild groans of disappointment, and a few muted sighs of relief could be heard from different students. The test was kind of tough.

"Are you guys cool now?" Lucas whispered.

Pedro pretended he could not hear him and opened his textbook. His eyes focused on a random picture of a rainforest.

Lucas shifted his chair. "Psst, you're moody and that means you're either on your period or your heart is broken. You've never asked me for lady care products or aspirin, so-"

"My heart is not broken!" Pedro hissed. His voice came out louder than expected, and he heard someone mumble about footballers getting away with murder. Yeah, whatever.

Lucas recoiled. "Easy, tiger. Don't bite my head off. Later, okay?"

Pedro knew he was out of line for snapping at his friend, but he could not help it. Lucas Koren was his brother from another mother. He should know Pedro did not want to talk about it. At all. After everything was said and done, being civil and forgetting that anything happened seemed like a better option.

The rest of the class passed in a blur of food webs and trophic levels. Pedro was relieved when the bell rang, and he could escape from the classroom. Even though the windows were wide open, he was suffocating at his desk.

**

Lucas rounded on Pedro at the cafeteria with a thumb pointed in the direction of their last class. "Yo, did you just ditch me?" he asked. His platinum blond hair fell over his pale blue eyes which twinkled with mischief.

Pedro deadpanned. "No."

Students rushed to their tables, and gathered in groups to gossip and throw random pieces of food at each other. The various cliques and factions were more about being cool, oppressing the 'losers' or otherwise. It was rare to see true friendship. Pedro wanted to kick himself for thinking it was pathetic. She had influenced him more than he realized. Damn.

Lucas snapped his fingers in front of Pedro's face. "Earth to freakin' Pedro. Dude."

Three of their other team mates joined them at the table. Two jokingly shoved Pedro to the side as they sat down. The other sat facing him on the opposite side.

"Sup, Milian?"

"Hey, Koren."

"DJ."

"What's good, Henry?"