Catch or Fall

Chapter Five

Harper

The morning after is the worst. My head feels like it is being pounded by a sledgehammer, and my eyes are heavy from lack of sleep. All I want to do is crawl right back to bed and stay there until the day is over. But being lazy is not an option if you're about to meet your mother in an hour.

When I get to the pantry, Judy and Katrina are already there. They have a cup of hot chocolate waiting for me and it smells like heaven.

"Good day, sunshine," Judy sings the line from The Beatles' song. It's her get-up-in-the-morning song and she even has it set as her alarm clock ringtone. Judy smiles and tells me, "We figure you need hot cocoa to get over your hangover."

"Thanks," I mumble and take the mug from her. It tastes bitter, but that's exactly how I want it.

"Harper, you're going to Norton to meet your mom, right?" Katrina asks while she fixes the contents of her backpack. When I nod, she says, "I need to get to town, too, so we go together."

"So John is now back from Cali?"

John is Katrina's long distance boyfriend of about a year. He's studying at Berkeley which is in the other side of the state. He usually visits town during long breaks or after exams and stays for a week. That is why Katrina has her backpack ready. She will stay with John while he's here.

"Yeah. But he is only staying for three days. He needs to go back to Berkeley for auditions."

And oh, John is a theatre major like the fictional Troy Bolton. Too bad he doesn't play basketball.

"Three days of getting laid...nothing bad about that, Kat," Judy comments. "That's better than nothing. If I only have a boyfriend, I'll be having sex twice a day, seven times a week."

"God, Judy. Don't you ever get enough sex? I thought you're well provided for by your string of flings," I joke. But seriously, she's a force to reckon with in bed. I know because I hear men beg for another round with her.

"We're talking about emergency here, Harp. If I get an itch, I need someone to make me come fast," She says and her eyes glisten. "Do you think Chris Jacobson is hot in bed?"

"Is that even a question? Imagine how his abs would feel like when you ride him," Katrina suggests, momentarily forgetting that she's going to meet her boyfriend in an hour.

My friends and I talk about sex openly. We are not even ashamed of the dirty stuff we have in mind. But ever since I put dating on hold last semester to focus on my studies and to look for a part-time job, I have nothing to share to them. But I'm okay with that. I'm not even sure I'm ready for casual hookups considering there's a lot of stuff I have to deal with.

"Now it makes me thirsty. But enough of our hot student council president. What I need to hear about is the guy girls don't get to fuck a lot," Judy changes the subject and I can tell where this is going. Uh-oh. "What's up with you and Ashton Price last night?"

"Uh, nothing."

"Nothing? Why do you two look like you're going to fuck each other's brains out in front of us."

Really? I did? We did?

"You've read it all wrong. He's just after me for his paper," I stress, hoping they won't notice my embarrassment. Did they really catch me eye-fucking Ashton Price?

"So what's the deal with him? Why is he suddenly possessive of you?" Katrina sounds like she doesn't believe a single thing I said. She feels there's more to it than I give them. But she's wrong.