All I've Never Wanted(14)
In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I was convinced I'd done the right thing. My parents had always raised me to stand up for what I believe in and to not let others push me around; it was about time I made them proud. Besides, I comforted myself with the thought Roman Fiori and his ilk would get what they deserved sooner or later.
I drifted off into a light, fitful sleep.
CHAPTER 4
"That's four games in a row!" Zack crowed, raising his arms triumphantly in the air and nearly jabbing Parker in the eye with the pool stick he was still holding in his hand. "Who's the man?"
"Whatever, Perry," Parker said, tossing his golden brown hair out of his eyes. "I guess you're paying me back for what? The Six thousand times I've beaten you before?"
"Yeah, right," Zack retorted, his spirits not seeming the least bit dampened by Parker's reminder that he usually was not the Michael Jordan of pool, to say the least. "You're just mad because you owe me your custom Rolex."
Parker laughed. "Dude, I don't care about the Rolex. I have a dozen of those things. My grandparents send me one every Christmas."
"Still." Zack set his pool stick on the ground and leaned his weight against it, glancing at the opposite end of the lounge. Carlo was lounging on the couch, deeply engrossed in Grapes of Wrath, his favorite book. Roman was standing in front of the dartboard, where a cluster of darts neatly punctuated the center. There were so many they spilled out of the bull's eye and into the surrounding ring.
Zack couldn't see Roman's face, but he was pretty sure there was an angry scowl on it.
Like anything else is new.
"Hey, Rome, you wanna play? We can do doubles," he called out hopefully.
The four of them had spent all day hanging out in Roman's game room, one of the dozen or so rooms that made up his wing of the Fiori mansion. They had started off hashing and rehashing last night's shocking events, with Roman getting progressively redder and angrier each time, until Zack, Carlo, and Parker all threatened to jump off the balcony if they didn't talk about something else.
From that point on, Roman had alternated between sulking in the corner, no doubt planning the demise of that poor girl, and venting his anger at the dartboard. The other three had amused themselves with the endless entertainment the game room provided, but it was hard to enjoy themselves when their friend was being such an obvious downer.
Roman didn't answer; instead, he ferociously hurled yet another dart at the board. It went whizzing through the air and precisely pierced the tiny area between two other darts.
Parker and Zack exchanged glances.
"Maybe we should start drinking," Parker half-joked, even though it was barely four in the afternoon.
"I'll get the vodka," Zack offered helpfully. He started to make his way over to the fully stocked bar in the corner.
Before he could take two steps, Roman turned and stormed over. As Zack had predicted, he was scowling.
"Who does that girl think she is?" he demanded to no one in particular. "To have the nerve to talk to me like that? Doesn't she know who I f*cking am?"
Parker yawned, bored. He'd already heard this rant at least thirty times by now. "She's hot," he commented, completely ignoring Roman's previous statement.
Zack nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"I mean, she can't possibly f*cking think she'll get away with that," Roman continued. "I need to teach her a f*cking lesson."
"I'm kind of surprised I haven't noticed her before, though," Parker mused thoughtfully, obviously a little put out that a cute girl had slipped past his radar like that.
"Maybe you're losing your touch," Zack offered innocently.
"When I'm done with her, she'll regret the day she ever stepped foot in this town!" Roman rambled on. His monologue seemed to be making him feel better, since his face was no longer a fire-engine shade of red, but his eyebrows were still drawn together so fiercely he could probably re-kill an army of zombies with just one look.
"That'll never happen," Parker stated confidently in response to Zack’s remark. "I think I've found myself a new goal."
"You mean conquest."
Parker looked offended. "I do not have conquests, I have…fleeting girlfriends."
"Euphemisms," Zack scoffed.
Neither noticed that Roman was now glaring directly at them.
"ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?" he roared so loud Zack swore he saw the glasses at the bar rattle a bit.
There was silence as his friends stared blankly at him.
"No, not really," Zack finally answered earnestly.
Before Roman could fly off the handle again, Carlo spoke up for the first time. "Why are you getting so worked up?" he asked, not even looking up from his book. He was leaning leisurely against one arm of the couch while his feet were crossed on top of the other arm. "Just do what you usually do."
"But he doesn't usually do anything," Zack pointed out.
"Exactly."
The meaning behind Carlo's words had obviously already registered with Roman, and his eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "You're right. Why would I trouble myself dealing with her when I can let everyone else do it?"
In previous cases, of course, the other Valesca students had taken it upon themselves to get rid of anyone who offended the Scions. There was no reason this time would be any different.