Page 28 of My Rules for Revenge (Twisted YA Mysteries #1)

“In my most humble opinion, if you want to have sex, it has to be with the right guy. You should know him well enough so that you’ll feel comfortable. The first time probably won’t be great, but at least if you know the guy, you can laugh about it,” Vivian explained.

“If you don’t know the guy, you can still laugh about it,” Heather joked.

“Do not listen to Heather,” Vivian advised.

“Hey, I know more.”

“You do not,” Vivian asserted.

“That’s good advice, Vivian. Thank you. So, how would I approach a guy that is right for me?” I asked.

“Indira, you gotta do it. Don’t think, just do. Talk to them about stuff that they like and flirt with them. Touch their arms and touch their butt. Give their ass cheeks a good squeeze,” Heather suggested.

“Please do not touch their butt or squeeze it without their consent,” Vivian said as she rolled her eyes.

“Fine. You can ask them for consent. Some guys won’t let you at first, but they always end up liking it,” Heather assured me.

“I’m afraid to ask,” I admitted.

“Me too,” Vivian added.

“Just be nice and talk to them. You’ll have to figure out if they’re interested in you. They’ll typically go out of their way to talk to you or hang out with you if they like you,” Vivian pointed out.

“That makes sense,” I replied.

“Who do you like, Indira?” Heather asked.

“I’m still looking around. No one has caught my eye yet,” I commented.

I lied. I didn’t want anyone to know that I liked Eddy. That was a secret that I kept close to my chest.

“I feel that. Most guys are complete asshats!” Heather exclaimed.

“It can be hard,” Vivian added.

“You want to hang out again sometime? This was fun,” Heather affirmed.

“Who, me?” I asked timidly.

“Yeah, you, Indira. Who else? There’s not a ghost in the car, is there? I’ll freaking destroy them,” Heather assured us.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Vivian said in disbelief as she shook her head.

“Are you doubting my ghost-busting skills?” Heather asked.

“What skills?” Vivian asked.

“Do you think you’re hilarious or something?” Heather asked.

Vivian grinned to herself, satisfied.

“I would love to hang out again,” I exclaimed.

“Good,” Vivian acknowledged.

“You learned two lessons today, too. We told you about sex, and I told you how to exact revenge on that cocky weasel, Carlos. When are we doing that again?” Heather asked.

“Thank you for those lessons, but I didn’t want to go through with it, remember?”

“Yeah, I remember. You should still do it, though.”

“Leave her alone, Heather.”

“It’s okay,” I quickly replied.

“Oh, please. She knows I’m kidding!” Heather exclaimed.

“Yeah, I know.”

Heather slowly turned her head and mouthed, “Let’s kick his ass.” I politely shook my head. She made a stank face and turned back around.

When Vivian dropped me off, I felt nervous about entering my house.

I felt like a prisoner who had escaped jail.

When I got to my room, I crashed back to reality.

I remembered my father and got upset again.

We didn’t deserve what he was putting us through.

I needed to take a page out of Heather’s book.

She had been right. I needed to take her advice.

I needed to wait until the timing was right, though.

The following day at school, I was with Eddy in chemistry class. I thought about Vivian’s advice and wondered how to approach him. I was already friends with him, but I wanted to get to the next level.

I saw that he was wearing his basketball warm-ups when he came in. This meant he had a basketball game that night. He warmly greeted me and sat down. I stayed quiet for a second and thought carefully about what I was going to say.

“Hey, do you have a basketball game today?”

“Yeah, we’re playing Colombo Academy. They’re a bunch of scrubs, according to my coach. We’ll win the game by halftime. Frankie’s probably gonna score 40 points.”

“That’s awesome. Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted to hang out today, but you’re obviously busy, so it’s okay,” I commented.

“Wait, you want to hang out with me? Like after school? Just the two of us?” Eddy asked.

“Yeah, if you want to.”

Eddy blushed as he choked on his words.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. That interests me. Let’s do it.”

Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! He’s interested in me?! I thought.

I was so excited I wanted to squeal, but I kept my cool.

“What about your game?” I asked.

“It’ll be fine. I’ll be a little late to warm-ups,” Eddy said as he shrugged.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive. I have practice every day during the season and even on weekends. Game days are the only days when I have a little bit of time to myself after school.”

“Okay, sounds good. I want you to teach me about the fundamentals of basketball because I have a gym final about it soon,” I said.

It was a complete lie, but I chose a physical activity on purpose to see how he would act around me. I also wanted us to be completely alone. There was a basketball court behind my house that was always empty.

“They have finals about that? Since when?” Eddy asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Huh. Anyway, of course I’ll help you. You’ve helped me a bunch of times with chemistry. I’ll return the favor.”

We met up at the park behind my house right after school.

Eddy wore his basketball uniform, while I wore leggings and a sports bra.

He first showed me how to dribble the ball with one hand.

I did horribly at first, but I improved once I understood that I had to softly tap it down and not slap it with the palm of my hand.

He then showed me how to shoot the ball.

He got behind me and helped me place my hands in the correct position.

My dominant hand went on the front of the ball while my guiding hand was placed on the side.

I flicked it forward to shoot. It rotated fairly well as it completely missed the basket.

We laughed and tried it a few more times.

I finally made a shot after my twelfth try.

Eddy cheered joyously and hugged me tightly.

Our faces were inches apart as we awkwardly let go of each other.

We were sweating profusely as the sun beat down on us hard as we ran around.

He taught me how to make a layup and explained to me what a free throw was.

He continued to explain to me the main rules of basketball while I dozed off.

I noticed how his warm, brown eyes glistened in the sunlight.

I found myself lost in them as he spoke about things I didn’t remember.

“You understand everything I’m saying, right?” Eddy asked.

“Yes, I understand.”

I didn’t understand a single thing.

Afterwards, we found a shaded spot to sit on the grass and hydrated ourselves. I was exhausted, while Eddy seemed fine. I had never done that much exercise before in my entire life, but I was willing to do anything to bond closer with Eddy.

“That was pretty productive,” Eddy admitted.

“Oh, yeah. It definitely was. Thank you so much.”

“You’ll pass that final for sure.”

“What final?”

“The basketball one, for gym?”

“Oh, right. Sorry, I’m kind of winded right now,” I explained.

“No worries.”

“You’d make a pretty good coach,” I remarked.

“You think so?” Eddy asked.

“Absolutely. You’re very patient and kind. I don’t see why not,” I replied.

“Wow! Thanks! Heh, maybe that’s a career path I can pursue,” Eddy considered.

“In addition to being a professional basketball player?”

“Actually, instead of being a basketball player,” Eddy clarified.

“Oh. How come?”

“I talked to my parents about trying to get a basketball scholarship. They got angry again and shut me out. They only want me to focus on my studies. I’m still going through with it, though.

I told them that even if they’re not happy, I’d be happy.

Surprisingly, they stayed quiet after I said that,” Eddy explained.

“You said the right thing, Eddy.”

“Yeah, I think so too. Your advice was great. I’ve thought about it a lot. This whole time, I’ve been trying to please my parents when I should’ve been trying to please myself. I guess I have to be nice to myself. I don’t know if that makes any sense,” Eddy said, doubt in his voice.

“Of course it makes sense, Eddy.”

“Yeah, you were right.”

He stared off into space and looked concerned about something. I checked the time on my phone and saw that his game would be starting in an hour.

“Eddy, your game is starting soon. It’s okay if you want to get going,” I reminded him.

“Oh, yeah. It is. I’ll go later, though—it’s cool,” Eddy said, unconcerned.

“Okay. Whatever you say.”

“It’s just… I don’t know. I feel strange.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“It’s my parents. I can’t help but think that something weird is going on with them. They’ve been on edge, and they’ve been fighting more than usual.”

“Do you think it’s about you?” I asked.

“I’m not sure. They’ve been arguing about dumb stuff.

They fight about how my mom spends too much money on groceries and how my dad goes drinking on the weekends.

Trust me, I know how that sounds, but my mom never cared about my dad doing that.

He’s been doing it for seventeen years. He doesn’t drink that much; he just goes to watch fights with his friends at the bar,” Eddy explained.

“What do you think it could be?”

“I don’t know, and it’s frustrating,” Eddy remarked.

“Parents can be complicated.” I shrugged.

“Yeah. I’m so sorry I just dropped all of this on you. It’s just… I don’t have anyone I can talk to about this stuff. It doesn’t matter, though—I’m sorry,” Eddy said apologetically.

“No, no. It’s fine, Eddy.” I softly massaged his back as he grinned.

“You’re a great listener,” Eddy replied with a smile.

“Thanks. That’s good to know.”

“So, do you get along with your parents?”

“Well, not really. I have an alright relationship with my mother, but my father is another story. They fight a lot as well. My father gets angry at my mother for stupid stuff. He can be very controlling,” I admitted.

“You already know I can relate to that,” Eddy replied.

“Indeed.”

“We should hang out more. I like talking to you. You know, outside of school. I like talking to you in class, but you know how it is—we’re in school, and we’re studying. Our teacher shushes us. There are other people around who eavesdrop. I’m sorry, I’m rambling,” Eddy said, embarrassed.

“It’s okay. You don’t ever have to apologize to me for wanting to talk.”

“Good to know. Listen, I should get going. I’d invite you to come to the game, but we’re not playing at home, and it’s pretty far. My mom’s gonna kill me because I missed the team bus. My coach will kill me for missing the bus, too. Oh, well. It was worth it,” Eddy replied with a smile.

My heart sang and did flips when he said that.

“I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me. You’re trying to get a basketball scholarship. I don’t want to be the reason you don’t get it,” I said.

“Oh, don’t worry. I’ll play. Coach gets mad at me, but he gets over it. He thinks I’m a good kid. Plus, I’m best friends with the star. I’m good,” Eddy assured.

We hugged and went our separate ways. I was overjoyed that Eddy wanted to hang out with me again. I thought we were forming a strong connection. If only I knew back then what I know now. I wish I were able to go back in time to scream at my past self: Whatever you do, do not trust him!

That warning would have prevented my life from turning into an absolute disaster.