10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Gil Junger in his film directorial debut and starring Julia Stiles, Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Larisa Oleynik. Released on March 31, 1999, The film has since developed a cult following and is considered a classic in the teen film genre. [Source: Wikipedia]

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FFAEK: Emily could act out the opening scene from memory.

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Chapter Ten: 10 Things I Hate About You

“Were you talking about me?” someone said behind me, and I looked back. Nathan was leaning down by my side to talk straight into my ear. I covered it with my hand and gave him a look. He sat down on his stool, smirking.

“Who?” I said and glanced at Erika’s station. She wasn't looking my way.

“You and your friends,” Nathan said, “I could practically hear you.”

“Don't think too much of yourself, Callahan. We were definitely not talking about you.”

Nathan rolled his eyes, “Sure, that's why all of you keep looking my way.”

“They were telling me what a teen rebel you are,” I said, “Such a delinquent.”

Nathan smirked. He liked hearing that, “Ah yes, my gang isn’t doing well these days. I need to stock up on some drugs…”

That made me laugh, “You sound like a dork.”

“That is exactly how I put up a front, Kingsley.”

“Posing like a baker, making cookies while slipping drugs in them? That's your front, right?”

Nathan smiled, “As if I'd ever tell you.”

I looked away, shaking my head.

The class started, and we stayed silent like good students this time. Or so I thought.

“You alright today, huh,” Nathan whispered a bit later.

“What do you mean?” I whispered back.

“Your friends finally managed to cheer you up,” he continued, “You’d been down lately.”

I glanced at him while taking notes.

“I thought maybe I had laughed too hard at you. Simon was a jerk. And those comments were stupid.” He said, “This is why I stay far away from these people. They’ve got nothing in their brains.”

I would hate to admit I was down, so I tried to change the subject, “Sweet of you to worry about me, Callahan.”

“You wish, Kingsley.”

The class dragged on and on. I yawned. I sighed. And I took more notes. I wasn't going to ask Nathan for his notes again. This week, I’d have my own.

Finally, it was time to distribute the test papers. I waited patiently for mine. I felt a kick, so I glanced at him. He was leaning on his palm, looking my way like I was a show waiting to happen.

I looked away, received our sheets when Wong came by, gave him his one, and checked mine.

It took me a few seconds to register it. But it was there.

It was a very beautiful, absolutely perfect A.

I squealed a little under my breath. When I looked at Nathan, he had already raised his palm for a high five.

“I'm the best study partner,” Nathan nodded. “I knew it.”

I scoffed.

We walked out of the class together when it ended. He climbed down the stairs at the entrance. So when I looked at him, I could see the green of his eyes instead of his chest for once.

Nathan wasn't bringing up our deal about food, which was not sitting well with me. I sighed.

“Fine, I will treat you,” I said.

Nathan grinned, “You say it like it’s such a torture.”

“Ah yes, it would be. We can't be spotted together,” I said.

“Of course. Simon's ex with the school delinquent, that would sure raise some questions,” Nathan joked.

“Between you and me, let's never bring up that jerk again,” I told him.

“Won't he be around in that club of yours?” Nathan said.

“He is not the only one in the club. There are other people,” I reminded him.

“Ah yes,” he replied, “How could I forget the love of your life?”

I huffed, “Oh, shut up.”

“How did he feel about your dating life then?” he asked.

I hadn't seen Landon in almost a week. There were meetings for the seniors this week. He might have been there.

“I dunno,” I said, “So what do you say, dinner?”

Nathan smiled, “It's alright with me, since you'd be paying.”

“I would have to talk to Mom though. Need permission and all that.”

Nathan grinned, “You seem awfully excited about it.”

I waved him off, “I haven't had good food in a while, so much so, I don't even care who's with me.”

Nathan took that as an invitation to mess with my hair. He ruffled it, said bye, and vanished before I heard Leanna coming towards me.

Leanna dropped me off at the intersection, as usual. I had a spring in my step because of the good test result.

I got home and showered, blow-dried my hair, and straightened it. Opening my closet, I carefully looked through my options. The thin sleeved black dress looked good enough. I had a white shirt that I could wear underneath the dress. That would look cool, huh? I hoped it would.

It was not like it was a date, so it didn't matter how I dressed. With that thought, I closed my closet.

I heard Mom opening the front door while I was tinkering with my makeup. I went downstairs to greet her.

I jumped down the stairs. Mom gave me a look. I smiled.

“I got an A!” I announced, “A in chem.”

Mom laughed, “Okay. That's just a quiz?”

I pouted, “Hey, don't rain on my parade.”

Mom dropped her bag on the couch, “You straightened your hair.”

“Yes, I’m going out. I’ll come home early, I promise,” I placed my hand on my heart and did my best puppy eyes, “Please, please.”

Mom didn't go to check the fridge like she always did. Instead, she sat down on the couch, “Who are you going out with on a school night?”

“Friends,” I said, to avoid further explanation, “we are gonna have dinner and come back early.”

Mom seemed to be in a better mood than usual. “Do you still have that red lipstick you love so much?”

I raised my eyebrow,  “What for?”

Mom rolled her eyes, “Oh, just lend that to me, for one day.”

I’d bought a MAC Ruby Woo red lipstick that I saved for special occasions. It was definitely Taylor Swift inspired shopping but then again, all my favorite heroines in romcoms really loved their red lipsticks.

“Where are you going?” I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Nowhere,” Mom said, “Where would your old mother go?”

“On a Tinder date, maybe?” I asked jokingly but my stomach swooped.

“No,” Mom shook her head, “Go have fun with your friends and come back before your curfew.”

“Alright, if you say so, mom,” I gave her a look and headed upstairs.

*****

My phone was ringing. It was an unknown number. I ignored it as I was trying to put on makeup.

Then it vibrated. It was a text message.

Unknown number: Pick up your phone, Kingsley. It's me.

There was this one annoying guy who called me Kingsley. I called him back. “Yes, Callahan, what’s up? What did you sacrifice to get my number?”

I could hear him smiling, “My pride?”

“Sure, dude. Sup?” My mascara better work. It had almost expired.

“When exactly are we going out?” Nathan asked, “Because you said something about your mom being strict.”

“You see, that's the thing, isn't it?” I crossed my leg. I was sitting in front of the mirror. “But apparently, my mother is in a good mood. We can go around 7. Does that work for you?”

I looked at the clock. It was already six thirty.

“Yep. See you then?”

“Hey, listen up. Oh my God, I totally forgot. Don’t park anywhere near my house,” I added hastily. Thank God, I remembered.

“Why?” Nathan was curious.

“Don't ask questions, Callahan. Just do it. Nike. Bye.”

“What?” He barked out a laugh. I hung up, and when I looked in the mirror, I realized I was grinning widely, from one ear to another.

“Oh, damn you, Callahan.” I muttered under my breath.

Finishing my makeup, I put on a white turtleneck and then the dress over it. I matched a pair of black socks with cute little daisies and white ruffles with my black boots.

I had applied my Ruby Woo red lipstick and taken a lip balm for safety, in case it got smudged. I wasn't too worried about my makeup. My hair had for once stayed where it should. I had found a cute locket with stars.

I was going downstairs when I found Mom at the foot of the stairs. She smiled at me. I waved her bye and walked out of the house.

I turned the street and called Nathan Callahan. I hadn't yet decided where we could go. Maybe we could go to the new food court in town. They also had a jukebox and a total retro vibe. I had always read about jukeboxes being a thing, so I was excited to check it out.

I turned the corner and almost crashed into a chest. I looked up and found green eyes staring back at me. I couldn't help smiling.

“There you are, you giant,” I looked up at him. He was wearing a dark green shirt that made his eyes look even greener and a pair of battered washed-out denim.

“Hey there, shorty.” His large hand was coming down for my hair. I shrieked.

“Not today, no,” I said and looked him over. “You look like bad news, today, Callahan.”

No black in sight. Huh. His hair looked softer and shinier than usual though.

He looked me up and down. The further he stared, the more his smile stretched.

“What?” I asked, feeling a little self conscious as my cheeks heated. I ordered them not to.

“It's just-” He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head, “You look like I can keep you in my pockets.”

I opened my mouth as if I were offended, “I'm not even that small.”

He was still taking me in. Part of me wished he stopped, and part of me wished he didn't.

His smile wouldn't falter.

I pushed him backwards, “Let's go.”

He grabbed my hands, which were on his chests, “Always looking for an excuse to touch me.”

I stared at him with surprise, “Hey, you touch my hair all the time!”

“Not the same thing, Kingsley,” He leaned down to meet my eyes. “I just love to see the shock on your face every time I do it.”

I tried to pry my hands from his grip, but he wouldn't let go.

“You're so annoying, ” I said. I felt like I was blushing. “Let's go already.”

“Alright, Kingsley,” he said, turning away with a final look and a big smile and letting go of my hands.

I followed him. We got in the car and buckled our seatbelts. He was doing a reverse while I said we should go to the food court.

“Seriously? The food court? That is your grand idea?” He mocked.

“Come on,” I countered, “The reviews looked good on Yelp.”

Nathan rolled his eyes, “Sure, Kingsley. I'm not going there. Also, I'm not hungry yet, and the night is young.”

I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest, “Is that what you say when you kidnap young girls?”

Nathan couldn't stop himself, “Yes, at least I don't tell them they look like bad news, and I gotta have them.”

“How do you know?” I asked with my eyes widening.

He was satisfied with himself. I could see it in his smile. “Sisters. Two of them.”

“That's great,” I said.

“Sawyer had a phase when she would sing ‘swimsuit' instead of 22.”

I laughed, “I don't know about you, but I'm feeling swimsuit?”

Nathan nodded. Then, as if he thought better of it, he added, “If you're feeling swimsuit, who am I to stop you?”

I had the urge to smack but refrained myself, remembering his earlier comment. So I crossed my arms instead. “Where are we going then?”

“See? I knew this would happen,” Nathan said, “So I asked around.”

I thought for a moment, “You asked the twins.”

It was a wonder how well I already knew him.

He glanced at me sideways, “They said the drive-in would be open today.”

As soon as he said it, I jumped up, “The drive-in! I always wanted to go to the drive-in.”

“Whoa, there,” he waved my way, “Calm down.”

I mumbled a sorry as I sat back properly but could not hold back my squeal, “I’d always read romances where they go to drive-in for movies, like in so many books, I lost count. So when they opened a drive-in here, I really, really wanted to go, you know. But my friends said it would be weird to go by ourselves because there will be couples all around. Which is a shit excuse, anyways, bottom line, I'd love to go to the drive-in. Lessgo.”

Nathan was shaking his head upon hearing my little speech, “You and your obsession with romances.”

“Yes,” He couldn't dim my light, not tonight, “Definitely.”

“Alright. Don't blame me if they have a cheesy movie on or something,” he replied.

“Did you just hear what I said?” I told him, “I friggin love cheesy movies. It would be perfect if they had a rom-com.”

Nathan realized what he had brought upon himself. He sighed a little but did not look that disappointed.

We reached there in half an hour. There were already a few cars parked there. I told him to be clever and park somewhere where we wouldn't have to see other couples kissing.

He said there was no way we’d avoid that. The movie would start in 10 minutes, so we got out to buy popcorn. There were two food trucks parked nearby. I bought mine and went to pay for his too, but he glared at me with his jaw flexed. So I shrugged and stepped back and let him do his thing. The drive-in was his idea, so I guessed he wouldn't let me pay.

I climbed back into the passenger seat and set down the popcorn. He got in and set our colas in the cup holders.

Nathan turned to me and said, “I heard they are gonna show 10 Things I hate about You today.”

*****

A/N:

1. Surprise UPDATE!
2. Today is my birthday!
3. Happy 25 year anniversary to this gem of a film.