The Out Girl, chapter 3

Nothing creeped me out more than the two girls behind me as I walked with Joey and the other guys. It was like they were planning something when no one was looking, and it was starting to freak me out. If they were going to do something to my day with Joey, well, God dammit, I'd have to stop it somehow without making Joey or the others hate me.

Joey was explaining to me how the tour stuff with his dad worked as Jakob and Frankito added little parts if he forgot something. I paid close attention, hoping I wasn't going to be quizzed on this later 'cause that would be bad. They made jokes and stuff about their parents, and how they do stupid things on the road, and I laughed with them.

"So...do you know anything about music?" Joey asked me as we came to a halt at the beach. Jakob and Frankito dissipated somewhere else as Ramona and Estelle sat a few feet away from us. I set my towel down on the sand and sat down, Joey sitting next to me.

"Yeah, actually," I said, nodding. His eyebrows shot up and he gestured for me to continue. "I was forced to do marching band when I was a freshman. I played the flute for a while, and then I was instructed to be a drum major. It was the best experience I've ever had."

"Wow. Did you go to any cool places?" he asked.

"Yeah, we went to Leavenworth for the annual Autumn Leaf Parade," I said. "You know, up in Washington. And then we went to Disneyland in the summer. I have some really funny stories about that trip in my sophomore year, but I don't feel like telling you right now."

"Ah, come on," he said, smiling. "Don't leave me hanging like that. Tell me a story."

"Okay, but on one condition," I said. He grinned and nodded. "You tell me what's up with Estelle and Ramona."

"I'll tell you after you give me gossip," he said, nudging me. I sighed and smiled.

"Okay, so it was like the third or fourth day that we were in Disneyland, right," I said, "and some of the girls thought it would be funny to pull a prank on the freshmen girls. So...we got some duct tape and a few strands of rope one night and tied the girls up while they were sleeping. They all started to freak out, you know, screaming behind their gags and crap. It was hilarious, but the chaperones and MC didn't think so. Some of the girls got detention for a month and the words duct tape were banned from the band room. I was included in the detention thing. But man, it was the best time I'd had in my life."

"What about now?" he asked.

"Well, we're not really doing anything," I said, shrugging. "Now...spill about the two girls."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "There isn't really anything to tell," he said. "They've just always had crushes on me ever since like two years ago, after I got home from camp. Mom said that I had a growth spurt and that they thought I was hot, which I'm not."

"God, you are so stupid," I said, rolling my eyes. His shocked expression turned to a playful expression when he saw me smile.

"How so?" he asked.

"Guys always think that they're not hot when they are," I said. "It's very annoying when a girl tells them they're hot, and they say that they aren't. It's extremely frustrating. Anyways, we're getting off track. Why do they hate me?"

"They don't hate you," he said, shaking his head. "They're just indifferent because you're new and I seem to talk about you a lot when they're around. I was so excited to see you today because there's so much about you that I like. And that doesn't happen very often."

"So I'm special?" I asked.

He grinned. "Yep," he said, nodding. "You're special. Ooh, big waves." His attention span, I noticed, was that big. Not very big, indeed. He stood up and took off his shirt before staring down at me. "Are you coming?"

"Sure," I said, standing up. I stripped down to my bathing suit and smiled at him as I noticed his eyes look me up and down.

"Come on," he yelled, gripping my waist and hoisting me over his shoulder. I shrieked and laughed as I pounded his back with my fists.

"Joey, put me down," I yelled, laughing. "My brain is going to go dead!"

"It's already dead," Joey laughed. I playfully gasped, and then I was underwater, Joey suddenly disappearing. Holding my breath before surfacing, I swam to the top of the water and glared at Joey, who was standing at the edge of the water.

"You suck," I yelled.

He grinned and dived into the water, swimming up to me. I shrieked as I was pulled down underneath the water again and kicked at his hand before surfacing, only to see a laughing Joey.

"I'm sorry, I had to," he giggled. I rolled my eyes and splashed him. He sputtered and splashed me back and so a splashing war began between us. When we were good and pruned, Joey and I decided to head to town to get some ice cream. I followed Joey out of the water and went to my towel, only to find my clothes and stuff gone.

"Uh, Joey," I said, looking down at the place where my stuff should have been.

"Yeah," he asked, pausing as he tried to put his shirt back on.

"Wasn't my stuff right here?" I asked.

"Yes," he said slowly.

"Where is it now?" I asked, looking up at him. He shrugged, and then we heard laughing and yelling coming from the snack shack. I looked over and on top of the roof was my underwear, bra, shirt, and shorts. "Oh my God..." My face turned a deep crimson and Joey's face went pale.

"Ramona and Estelle," Joey muttered as we looked behind us. The girls were too casually talking to each other, and it was obvious that they had done the deed. I was so embarrassed having everyone seeing my undergarments that I actually started to cry. "Jessie, it's okay..."

"I know, but I'm just-I'm just so embarrassed," I said, covering my face with my hands as I broke out in sobs. Joey's arm seemed to disappear from my shoulders and I looked up to see Joey grab the clothes from the snack shack owner. I turned towards the cars as he came back up to me.

"Come here," he muttered, putting my clothes down on the sand. I shifted myself so I was leaning into him, my arms automatically going around his neck. He whispered nice things to me to calm me down, and about fifteen minutes later, I was calmed down.

"Thank you," I whispered as he pulled out his cell phone from his backpack. He dialed a number and put it to his ear.

"Dad, can you come pick us up?" Joey asked. "We had a little mishap here at the beach...no, everything is fine except Estelle and Ramona did something horrible to Jessie...no, she's fine...yeah, I'll ask..." He put the phone against his shoulder and looked at me. "Want to stay over for dinner tonight as an apology to all this?"

"Sure," I mumbled, pulling on my shirt. Joey went back to his phone conversation and then hung up.

"He'll be here in ten minutes," he said, holding out his arms again. I encircled my arms around his waist and put my head on his shoulder to comfort myself. "Don't pay any attention to Estelle and Ramona. They're stuck up bitches."

"Thanks," I said, loving the feel of the cotton of his shirt. We stood like that for five minutes until I lifted my head to look at him. He was glaring at something behind me, and I snuck a peek only to see Estelle and Ramona smirking at us. I knew there was more to come for me and much worse than this.