After the breakup, Sean and I gradually started speaking to each other again, although I still hated him. Our exchanges were mostly hostile.

At first it seemed like I was winning on the who-is-getting-over-the-other-sooner race, because while I was dating my way through the senior class, Sean was dating nothing. But if it fazed him, he did a hell of a job of hiding it.

"Look, Flora, it's hard to keep up with your weekly change. Why don't you draw up an annual report instead and show us in a proper presentation," he would say, or

"Congratulations! Send me an invite when you decide to get married."

And when it came to Liam, who he described as gave jocks a bad name, he did not care anymore. Instead of warning me about him, he told me that we were such a cute couple, then he made sarcastic cooing noises.

During lunch one day Lucia timidly brought up the subject of Sean and asked the unnerving question of would I mind terribly if she went out with him. I was appalled. Surely not everyone knew I loved Sean, but still, if she had any common sense she'd know not to mess with me.

"Of course I wouldn't mind! Do whatever you like to him and don't forget to report back to me," I said brightly with the tiniest dose of sarcasm.

It was completely lost on Lucia, of course. I had always known her to be dense and she sure didn't disappoint. "Oh thank god. I know you're totally over him, but I just had to ask. But just so you know, he told me he didn't want to be my boyfriend or anything."

"I say enjoy it while it lasts, then."

Lucia gladly picked up her things and left, skipping away like I just handed over my lottery ticket, which was pretty much how it felt like. I considered keeping her off the cheerleading squad next year. As captain Sandra sure could find a way to handle it.

Summoned by my thoughts, Sandra appeared at that instance and sat down next to me.

"What's with the scowl?" She opened the lid of her salad. Honestly I thought her daily calorie intake was too low to sustain her evil malicious energy. I briefly recounted the encounter.

"I can't believe she even needs to ask." Sandra understood me completely. "Do you need to pee on him to mark your territory?"

"Right?" I sighed. "So I'm not an overly possessive lunatic?"

"Of course not. If I dated Sean, Lucia would need my permission just to ask him for a pen." I was glad Sandra knew where I was coming from, although being an overly possessive lunatic herself, there was a good chance she might be biased.

She chewed on her vegetables. "Shall we keep her off the squad next year? I think we can." She was always mega supportive when it came to torturing people.

"That just went through my head," I said. "But I think we need her if we want to win the regionals."

"Hmmm. Don't worry. We'll think of something."

"This whole bowling scene and the not-getting-serious thing is so unlike him. The Sean Foster I know wouldn't be going out with airheads just for fun. And what he did to get her to date him is so cheesy."

"He did a cheesy thing because Lucia is a cheesy person," Sandra remarked. "And isn't it nice to know that you influenced him somehow. Personally, I think he's just going through this phase to get distracted."

What Sandra said about Sean using Lucia to get distracted proved to be right. He only went out with Lucia very briefly before he moved on, and when I learned about his new object of affection, any grudge I had towards Lucia resolved.

Of all the people he could have chosen, he chose Lucia's twin sister Leslie! I was completely thrown.

"Come on, Leslie?" I hissed to Sandra one afternoon as we were browsing through the mall. The fact that he was seeing Leslie upset me even more than I imagined.

"I think even Lucia took it better than you did," Sandra said. "You can't hold off Sean forever. It's not like you haven't been dating."

"I may be going out with people but I haven't kissed anyone since Sean. My lips are going through a dry spell."

She laughed unsympathetically.

"What kind of person would steal her own sister's date and turn it into her own? And she isn't even pretty! She'll bring down our exclusive club of 'Sean Foster's ex-girlfriends' and I really hate being classified into the same category as her," I whined. It was like one of those tabloids that would list every girl a hot movie star had dated, and my picture would be right next to Leslie. Help.

"Would you like it better if he dated a Victoria's Secret model?" Sandra asked.

I turned the thought over in my head. "As a matter of fact, I would. Because a Victoria's Secret model would've beaten me fair and square, but what's he doing with Leslie? Surely it's true love!" The idea of Sean being happily in love with someone else was just barf-triggering.

Sandy was silent for a few seconds. "I sort of see your point now. Although a model would still irritate me dreadfully."

I exhaled. "I'll be honest. I'm not ready to see Sean with anyone yet, and if it's true love between Leslie and him, then it really makes me wonder what we had."

"Some irrational lust, I guess." Sandra picked out a piece of clothing then hung it back on the rack. "Wait, you guys didn't even do it. Then I don't know what you had, either." She shrugged.

I gave her the death stare.

"Honey, I know it's hard, but you've got to let go and try to be happy for him."

"Be happy for him. Really?" I raised my eyebrows.

She sighed. "Fine, I couldn't have done it either. Any guy that crossed paths with us deserves to dwell forever in an abyss of suffering."

I giggled. "Sean really meant something to me, and for that he has to pay."

"For the time being, let's just start by being really mean to Leslie," Sandra said, although from past experiences I knew she was all talk and no action. Sandra only bothered being mean to people close to her, and Leslie was so harmless she wasn't even worth the trouble. "I heard she's going to the beach with us."

"Really? That should be interesting."

"Janet warned us to be nice, though." She rolled her eyes. "I told her sorry, nice just isn't on the menu."

I laughed. "I can do nice. Nice is my specialty."

I was actually intrigued by Leslie and I couldn't wait to find out what I was up against. I mean, I didn't want him back, obviously, but I wanted him to see what a horrible choice he had made. I had to be prepared, though.

"Sandy, I need you to help me pick out a very crime-inducing bikini."

"Sure, but I need to know what kind of crime you're talking about here."

I laughed and linked my arm through hers. I was positive Sean would beg to come back to me, because when it came to beaches and bikinis, Flora Morgan was more invincible than wolverine. His supposedly true love with Leslie would dissolve like a sandcastle against the waves in the face of true beauty.

I wouldn't take him back, of course. I would toss my hair in his face and laugh like Dr. Evil. Oh, how I couldn't wait for a long, overdue last laugh.

***

@TheWindFlyer