The Enemy Hypothesis: A Brazos High Novella

Annabel. So why did they all give him so many kudos when that secret video came out? Idiots.
But I’m also to blame here. I let my guard down. I stupidly spent the day flirting with Mark through DMs instead of working harder to get more kudos. I should have known he’d swoop in at the last minute and steal this from me. He’s a snake. He’s already rich and already driving around town with his luxury car his parents bought him. He gets free Italian food whenever he wants and I’m stuck eating peanut butter sandwiches with my sisters. Both of his parents live in the same house with him every night while mine are in a different country. He’s got it all, and now he has a new car that he doesn’t even need. And me? I’m stuck with no car and dozens of babysitting jobs that I won’t even get paid for.
I can’t believe I was so stupid.
Obviously a guy as cute as Mark would ever like me. I let the thrill of seeing my name in first place override my rational brain. I should have known better. And yet, I made a total fool of myself instead.
The day is hell. Every single person in my classes just stares at me or tries to talk to me. Some tell me they’re sorry. A lot of people think it’s annoying that someone who is already rich got the free car. Unfortunately, hearing other people call Mark names doesn’t help my mood at all. No one else gets it like I get it. They weren’t this close to getting a new car.
I was.
The worst part of the day is when people try to goad me into blowing up or saying something bad. They get all up in my face and ask if I’m pissed off that I lost at the last minute. In fifth period accounting class, I’m so nervous to walk inside I actually contemplate just walking out of the building and hiking back the several mile trip to my house. I just want to leave. Just walk away. Never come back.
But it’s like ninety degrees outside so the long walk would suck, and I’d get an unexcused absence, and Abuela would be mad at me, and she’d tell my mom and then Mom would be mad at me. Ditching class would make my home life just as miserable as my school life. So with my tail between my legs, I walk into class trying to decide if should be nice to Mark or be a vicious witch to him.
I choose the second one and stand a little straighter. Only he’s not here. I don’t even have to look around the entire classroom to know he’s not here. There’s just something about his presence that always makes my heart skip a beat. And my heart is beating just fine right now.
“Hey there everyone,” Mr. Jovanni says from the front of the classroom. “I know it’s been a crazy weekend but the competition is over and we have work to do.”
“Thank God,” I mutter under my breath.
“Mr. Caputo has the day off,” he says and maybe it’s my imagination, but even my teacher seems annoyed about it. I think he secretly wanted me to win. “They’re doing an award ceremony for his new car, or some crap I don’t really care about. I’m sure the app will update you. Anyhow, let’s get to work.”
Mr. Jovanni dims the lights and turns on the smartboard where the day’s lesson is already queued up. He meets my eye and I give him a small, grateful smile. He winks back.
* * *
Abuela meets me at the front door when Jules drops me off after school. “Hola,” she says, wrapping me in a hug that smells like the cinnamon coffee she loves so much. “I made you some cookies. And I sent your sisters to their friend’s house for the afternoon. Come on, get some cookies. They’re still warm.”
I know what she’s doing, but I’m not about to object. “Thanks, Abuela.”
The cookies are artfully arranged on a blue and white platter and a fresh pot of cinnamon coffee is waiting on me. I take a deep breath, sit down, and grab a cookie.
“This day sucked.”
“I know, honey. But we grow stronger from the trials we endure.”
I give her a soft smile and try really, really hard to let her words sink in and give me some kind of meaning. All I’ve felt today is shame, anger, resentment, and mostly just life-ruining mortification. I’m upset that I lost out on the new car, but most of all, I’m really embarrassed about how much I liked Mark. I let myself get this epic crush on someone who doesn’t like me at all.
The only thing to be grateful for is that I didn’t tell anyone about my crush. Now I can just wallow in my own secret shame.
The doorbell rings. I stand up quickly because we get a lot of door-to-door salespeople and Abuela is so bad at telling them we don’t want to purchase whatever they’re selling. “I got it.”
I walk over to the door, a half-eaten snickerdoodle in my hand. When I pull it open, the last person in the world I expected to see is standing there.
I stiffen. “Where’s your new truck?”
Mark’s hand twists the watch around his wrist. He meets my gaze. “I didn’t get a truck. I actually got a Jeep.”
“Right,” I say, swallowing back my rage. “Makes total sense.”
“Well—”
I cut him off with a lethal glare. “Look, I don’t know what I ever did you to, Mark. I barely even knew who you were before last month, so I don’t know why you made me such an enemy but—”
He holds up his hand. “Wait.” He sucks in air between his teeth. “I think you’ll want to hear what I have to say before you finish what you were saying.”
I fold my arms across my chest in an effort to avoid