Chapter 50: Whatever, You Have Her Cooties

                                    

                                          
Lia's POV:-
                          
I snatch the book out of his hands and slam it on the lunch table. 'A Short History of Nearly Everything' the cover read.
                          
Interesting..
                          
Luke looks at me startled. All the boys freeze in caution at my pissed off face.
                          
"What is 143?" I try not to snarl like a lion. Luke's lip twitch for the briefest of second.
                          
"Christ tell her Luke!" Julian groans. "She's driving herself crazy, and she's driving me crazy! Last night she woke me up at 3AM, mind it, three fucking AM, to ask what I thought about it."
                          
"It's.. er.." Luke shrugs.
                          
"God damn it just tell me!" I snap impatiently. At this point I didn't even care that the boys were chuckling at me. "Is it the number of times you jerked off to the image of me?"
                          
"I'm pretty sure that's a 5-digit number," Luke answers in all seriousness. I glare at him, which he avoids by picking up his book and reading again. 
                          
I slump in my seat, banging my head on the table. 
                          
"Oh I know!" Julian exclaims making me look at him. "It's the price he wants you to pay for the book. I mean he must have paid half and he wants you to pay the rest, i.e. 143."
                          
I look at Luke in question. He has an irritated look.
                          
"The book was not printed in gold, you dumbass," Ian smacks Julian's head.
                          
"Maybe he forgot a dot. It's 14.3 dollars. That's Lenny's share to pay," Julian points out, looking pleased at himself. I again look at Luke, hoping that was it and I could sleep in peace.
                          
"No!" Luke frowns. "It's a gift." I groan quietly and once again put my head on the table.
                          
I hear Alex saying to Luke, "Still can't believe you did it."
                          
"Still can't believe I took your idea," Luke mutters, the cringe in his voice too evident. He shifts his chair closer to me and pats my head. I look up to scowl at him.
                          
"You're so adorable," he smiles kissing my cheek.
                          
"Adorable?!" Max and Julian ask in unison. 
                          
"Did his glasses lose their power?" Max asks Ian who was sitting next to him. "You both are so yuck, that I'm just gonna turn this way and not look- Hey Clara! I haven't seen your pretty face in a long time."
                          
"And he dares to scold me," I say to Luke, scowling at Max shamelessly flirting with the girl.
                          
"I think you guys are cute," Alex says to us.
                          
"Yeah, and Lia is as adorable as Marilyn Manson," Julian adds. I flip him the bird and turn to Luke to ask whether 143 was a code to some cult that he wants me to join.

                          
"Could you excuse me Clara?" Max says dropping the girl's hand and turning back to the table. "Alexander William Smith, did you just wave to Riley?" he asks sweetly.
                          
"Oh boy.." Luke mutters under his breath, while the boys quietly shift their chairs away from Max and Alex.
                          
"No.." Alex laughs nervously. "Maybe.. A little," he gulps under Max's stare.
                          
"Did you forget about my fight with that scrawny bastard?" Max asks. I was getting chills from Max's oversweet voice.
                          
"Maxie, we got detention together," Alex sighs. "We got into talking and.."
                          
"And what?" Max asks alert. 
                          
"We went for drinks," Alex admits hanging his head. The boys gasp in unison, while Julian and I look at each other like 'Are-they-for-real?'.