CHAPTER 128 - OCTOBER

Chapter 126

It was the beginning of October, and little by little, the world began to find its rhythm again.

That morning, the five of us were gathered in the school cafeteria: Cher, Regina, Carly, Freddie, and me. Sam had gone to get food.

Pippa walked past the cafeteria entrance and spotted us. She gave me a quick "Hi, Jake," followed by a more general, "Hey, everyone," directed at the rest of the table. Then, without stopping, she continued on her way to the classroom.

After seeing Pippa greet me, Carly leaned in.

"You and Pippa?"

"We're friends. I didn't even flirt with her," I said.

Carly looked at me, suspicious. Freddie was busy texting a message, while Cher and Regina were deep in a different conversation.

Sam appeared with a piece of bread in her hand.

"What's the conversation?" she asked.

"That I'm just friends with Pippa," I replied.

Sam looked surprised. "That is... actually true! You're all friendly talk, but not a single flirt. Why wouldn't you do that? You don't want to kiss her? She is kinda cute."

"No, I wouldn't mind kissing her. But why are you saying it like I'm some Casanova?" I said, sounding like I was being wronged.

Regina turned her attention to us.

"Maybe because he was spending his time with Jessica or Jeniffer."

"...And Mandy," added Cher.

"How do you know about Mandy? That was yesterday..." I asked, surprised.

"We girls talk," said Cher, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Only been a month and you already kissed three girls?" asked Sam deadpan.

"Not at the same time," I replied with a poker face, "and they all know about it."

"Jeniffer even said she wanted to do something different from Jessica (about the date)," I added. "And Mandy kissed me from the beginning, saying she was dying to know if it was true?!" I said weirdly.

Cher whispered, "I might have gossiped that you kiss very well."

I laughed. "Now makes sense. I'm liking you even more, Cher."

Carly and Sam still looked me deadpan.

The bell rang, echoing through the halls, and everyone stood up from the table, heading off toward class.

When we entered the classroom, Ms. Ackerman was already inside, organizing some papers. As we all settled into our seats, she began calling our names one by one, returning the graded tests from earlier in the week.

The first one from our group to be called was Sam. She returned to her seat a moment later and said, "All Cs."

I nodded, not thinking much of it.

Then Pippa was called. She quietly returned to her seat without saying anything. I didn't pay it much attention, but Sam stood up and went over to peek at Pippa's paper.

"Three As and a B," Sam announced. "Yep, we have another Freddie and Carly here."

She glanced again. "And your name is really Pippa."

Pippa and I both looked at her strangely.

"What? I thought it was another nickname besides Pip," Sam said defensively.

"Well, it could be a nickname for Phillipa, but no—my name is just Pippa," she smiled.

That reminded me of the day I was talking to Dad and Uncle Charlie about the new girls in my class. Uncle Charlie, of course, had taken the opportunity to explain the (slang) meaning of 'pippa' in other languages—Swedish and Italian.

Later that day, out of curiosity, I looked it up myself. And yep—he was right. In Swedish, it could mean "sex," and in Italian, "hand job."

And to my surprise, without one of the P's, "pipa" could mean "kite" or "wine barrel" in Portuguese. Should I study more Portuguese? (I'm fluent in Spanish and intermediate in both Portuguese and French.)

Then the professor called my name. I stood up, walked to the front, took the tests from her hands, and returned to my seat.

Before I sat down, Sam leaned over to glance at my papers. "All A+. No surprises..."

"But still surprises me," said Pippa. "You basically sleep, text on your phone, or read during class."

"That is a lie," I replied.

Pippa glared at me.

"I also eat, and I pass notes to you and Sam. Sometimes I even write a little," I added with a smirk.

Pippa shook her head. "And amazes me that you can say it with a straight face."

"I don't see any problem," I said, then turned my head to Sam.

"Me neither," Sam agreed.

Pippa just scoffed.

Then my phone buzzed again. The first message had come earlier from Pepper: Two more artists signed with us—Ashanti and Jason Mraz. I had already replied: Amazing job.

It felt like playing Pokémon in real life. I'm gonna catch them all!

(Pepper would hit me if I ever said that to her.)

Now a new one from Anthony popped up: All done. 30%, $690M, average cap $2.3B. We'll have to inform the market.

I replied: Amazing job.

Anthony must have been buying for days. Now, a Schedule 13D needs to be filed with the SEC (because of 30%. It was needed since we got 5%).

The next class had started, and I ended up taking a nap. I was woken up during the break by Cher and Regina.

I blinked a few times and looked up at them. "What are you two doing here?"

"We have a problem," Cher said seriously.

Regina nodded.

Cher continued, "My mother decided to throw a party on Halloween."

"And my house will be filled with preparations for my birthday," Regina added. "So we can't make a party there."

I looked weirdly at Regina. "Your birthday's is November 12th, right?"

"Glad you remember. And yes, but it's too close—too little time between one party and another," Regina replied.

I shook my head but said, "So... Malibu house or Santa Monica?"

The two of them looked at each other.

"Santa Monica," Cher answered. "We can invite more people, and it's easier for everyone to get there."

"Done," I said simply. Then I turned to Regina. "By the way, what do you prefer as a birthday present—Porsche 911 or Lexus SC430?"

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