Divine Vices (8 page)

Attempting
to improve my biology grade was the last thing on my mind. Amid Rothenberg’s
yammering, I tried desperately to fend off the darkness behind my sinking
eyelids. Every time I’d begin to doze, my mind continued to replay the
disturbing nature of last night’s events.

After
dismissal, I found myself beginning to fall asleep as I rested my exhausted
frame against a locker beside Gwen’s.

“I
take it that the lock-in was successful?” said Ian, taking notice to my near
catatonic state.

“Depends
on your definition of the word,” I mumbled groggily.

“Were
there any pillow fights in skimpy lingerie?” he chuckled.

“Yeah,
it was just like
Animal House
.”

“With
a bit of
The Craft
,” chirped Gwen.

I
hit Meyer in the arm to silence her just as I saw Miss Tipton approaching.

“Cassie,
could I borrow you for a moment?” she asked.

“Sure,”
I said, following her to her classroom.

“You
know how you said you were looking for extra credit?”

I
nodded.

“As
it just so happens, I may have found you some,” she said, seeing my eyes
brighten. “How would you feel about tutoring temporarily? A few students could
use an extra hand, and I’m hoping to enlist my best to lend some assistance.
You game?”

“Absolutely.”

“Terrific,”
she said, breathing a sigh of relief. “How do you feel about Jackson Matthews?”

The
plane just lost cabin pressure.

“S-sorry?”
I stammered.

“Well,
he came to me asking for help, and happened to specifically recommend you.”

“He
certainly needs help,” I said roughly, “but I highly doubt I’m the one for the
job.”

She
chuckled. “I take it you haven’t exactly warmed up to the new kid yet, have
you?”

“And
not planning to.”

As
amused as she was, Miss Tipton still seemed deflated. “I’m going to be straight
with you, Cassie. Mr. Matthews doesn’t have, let’s say, the finest track record
grades-wise. The very fact he’s reaching out at all is a big step, and the fact
that he seems to have taken a particular shine to you, I was hoping was going
to make this all the more easy. Now, I can always ask Peter to take your place,
but I highly doubt he’ll have the same affect on Jack when it comes to his
attention span.”

My
head plummeted forward as I released an exhaustible sigh.

“Look,
Cassie, I know you’re not the type to hold something against someone without
reason. But despite whatever ill will you may have towards him, try to see this
for what it is. You both have something to gain here,” said Miss Tipton.

I
pitifully bobbed my head up and down. “Fine.”

“You’ll
do it?”

Just
hearing the elation erupting in her tone was enough to guilt me into agreement.

“Yeah,”
I said.

“Bless
you! I’ll let Jack know first thing third hour,” she said.

“No
need,” I replied. “I’ll tell him.”

“Thank
you,” she said upon my departure.

“Hey,
Meyer?” I said, seeing Gwen and Ian still at her locker. “You always say you’re
the eyes and ears of this place. Tell me, where’s Jack right now?”

“You
changing your position on him?” she asked curiously.

“On
not wanting to kill him, yeah,” I said.

“Last
I saw, he was in the main cafeteria with Satanic Stacy. Why?”

“I’ll
tell you later.”

Refueled
with utter rage, I hastened down the hallway and leapt down the stairs to the
cafeteria. Three tables away from the entrance sat Jack, along with the popular
clique full of cheerleaders and jocks. Normally, I tried to avoid all contact
with these people, since they were either part of Stacy’s creepy fan following
or the jerks that harassed Ian, but today was subject to change.

Approaching
the table in a less than hospitable manner, I glared at Jack and said, “We need
to have a few words.”

“Look
who wandered off the mother ship,” cracked Stacy, giving me a sneering
once-over. “Aren’t you supposed to be assisting your magician friend with
making your slim chance at some sort of social standing disappear?”

“I
don’t know, Stacy. Why don’t you go clean the chocolate laxative out of your
teeth, and I’ll get back to you?” I countered.

The
guys laughed, until their girlfriends returned their outbursts with harsh
glares.

“Now,
Jack,” I said coolly.

“I’ll
be with you in a minute,” he returned dismissively.

To
everyone’s complete surprise, including my own, I grabbed Jack by the back of
his shirt collar and dragged him clear off the end of the bench, replying
commandingly, “Now!”

“Damn,
woman!” he said, regaining his footing after I released him. “You trying to
give me whiplash?!”

“That’s
funny coming from you, since I was about to ask the exact same thing!” I
barked. “I just had a little chat with Miss Tipton.”

The
sides of Jack’s mouth tipped up in amusement, which only made it all the more
tempting for me to want to kick him in the shins.

“Are
you high, or just that much of an egotistical jackass that you couldn’t resist
the urge to annoy me further?!” I snapped, catching everyone’s attention within
hearing distance. “Because I’m absolutely certain that I made myself clear
after the things you said that I did NOT want to have anything to do with you.”

“Don’t
pretend like you’re walking outta this empty handed, Little Miss Overachiever,”
he said smugly. “I didn’t rope you into this. Your self-interest for an Ivy
League future did, so don’t go around acting like you’re doing me the favor.”

“Excuse
me?! I could have chosen among other students, ones that would actually
appreciate and benefit from my help.”

“So
you agreed to it then, I take it?” he queried, leaning haughtily against one of
the pillars bordering the cafeteria.

I
couldn’t say the words. All I could do was stare at him fixatedly, hoping that
my mind held the capability to make his brain explode. Nothing. That’s what I
get for watching too much Sci-Fi.

“What’s
the big deal? So I pull you away for a couple hours from studying for a test
you were already guaranteed to pass,” said Jack at last.

“Firstly,
unlike you, I care to rise above the bar of academic mediocrity, so simply
passing isn’t an option for me. And secondly, I can think of plenty of other
things I would rather do to occupy my time than wasting it with you.”

“Like
what?” he smirked.

“Gee,
I don’t know. Sticking a paperclip into an electrical outlet. Playing in
traffic. Laying out on the railroad tracks, perhaps. All would be better
choices than you.”

“Well,
aren’t we a little hostile?” he cracked, leaning forward and stroking a hand
down my shoulder.

I
swiftly slapped it away. “Touch me again, I’ll touch you in return. But I damn
well guarantee you aren’t going to find it to be in anyway pleasurable.”

“You
tell him, girl,” cracked Trish as she passed by.

“I’m
not entirely sure where you think this belligerence is going to get you,
because as far as I can see, you’re still stuck with me. So let me stop you
before you break out into some nauseating, feminist battle cry, and allow me to
be the bigger person here by saying that despite your surly demeanor, I would
still like for you to be my tutor,” said Jack.

I
actually laughed. “You’re joking, right? Now, suddenly, you’re the one doing me
the favor?”

“Nope,
I’m simply relishing in the act of knocking that pretty little halo off your
head,” he replied. “How can you possibly be angry with me for pointing out the
obvious?”

“The
obvious?”

“What
I said about you before,” he said. “It’s dead-on. How can you honestly expect
anyone to look at you as anything other than a snob when you’re constantly
patronizing those around you? The very fact that you don’t give any guy here
the time of day says everything.”

I
got only as far as opening my mouth before he stole my chance for a rebuttal.

“It’s
not because guys aren’t paying you any attention, because they clearly are. And
it’s not because they’re all jerks. Well, some undoubtedly are, but they’re not
all bad. You just don’t care enough to find out,” he continued.

“Ever
think it’s because I’ve had too many misfortunes of coming across men like
you?” I finally cut in. “I don’t bother with dating because, quite frankly, I
want to be thinking about more important things than sending
XOXO
via
text message and investing interest in a relationship which  is most likely to
burn out faster than it started.”

Jack
smirked. “Spoken like a true cynic.”

“Best
to keep myself armed, especially when there are big bad wolves lurking about,”
I said. “You’re going to have to venture someplace else to find your helpless,
unguarded damsel to attack. Call me a cynic all you want. It’s still the one
thing guaranteed to keep you away.”

“So
I only have one hurdle to overcome?” His eyebrows piqued as a devilish grin
road wider into his cheeks.

The
bell clamored overhead, declaring that everyone should start making their way
to their next class, and I faintly breathed a sigh of relief.

“See
ya’ in English,” Jack said, with his irritating smile still intact.

“I
can hardly wait.”

“Come
on, time for the Keebler cookie elf to go back into his tree!” shouted Clint
Racer, New Haven’s top linebacker, as he jokingly swept up an unsuspecting
classmate over his shoulders.

“Poor
guy,” muttered Ian, the two of us watching Racer toss the scrawny freshman into
an opened locker as we headed down the hall following my dismissal from the
next class. “If he was lucky, he’d try to get put into locker 418.”

“Why’s
that?” I asked.

“That
was mine freshman year. The combination dial on it is busted. So if you’re
thrown inside, you can just use the interior latch to climb back out on your
own. Thank God for my eight inch growth spurt that next summer. They haven’t
tried doing this to me since,” he replied, looking at the incident pitifully.
“That’s it. I can’t take anymore of this.”

Ian
handed me his bag and started heading over to the spectacle.

“What
are you doing?” I asked, running after him.

“What
does it look like?”

“Looks
like I’m going to be helping pull my best friend out of a dumpster,” I replied,
cutting in front of him.

“I
don’t appreciate the allegation,” he said grinningly. “I’m more than capable of
getting myself out of one. Trust me, I have experience. Besides, all his bulk
slows him down, and, remember, I’m the human roadrunner. If I can slip out of
there without one of his buddies grabbing me, I’ll be home free.”

“Well,
call me crazy, but I’d prefer not to have to think about any of those
scenarios.” I sped away and went straight over to Clint before Ian had a chance
to interfere. “Hey, Clint!”

The
six-foot-four blonde turned to greet me with a pleasant appraisal. “What can I
do for you, sweetheart?” he said, closing the locker door as I approached.

“Well,
you could do me a favor by letting that poor kid out,” I said as politely as I
could. “Please.”

“What
will you do for me if I do?” he smirked, leaning in closer.

“She’ll
let you walk out of here with all your teeth,” cracked Jack, greeting me at my
side.

“I
don’t need your help here, thank you,” I said, casting him a severe glare.

“I
can see that,” he chuckled, looking over at Racer. “Come on, man. What’d you
say? Take it easy on the kid.”

“I
don’t think I was talking to
you
,” said Clint, giving Jack the same
condemnatory stare.

“Nah,
man. He’s cool,” said Nate.

This
accreditation seemed to be enough to defuse Racer, because he pointed to the
locker’s owner and told them to dial in the combination.

“Get
out,” he said, looking at the stupefied kid crammed inside.

At
first, he didn’t move, probably because he wasn’t sure if this was going to be
an extension of the torment. But when he finally did, Clint shooed him away.

“Thanks,”
whispered the freshman, nodding weakly to Jack and me before he raced away.

I
didn’t bother to pay Jack the same respects upon my departure.

“Four
o’clock then?” he called out as I started walking away.

I
snatched a clean sheet of paper from my book bag and scratched down my address
on it before returning to him. “Be on time, or get lost. Literally. And I’d
appreciate the latter,” I said, pinning the page against his chest.

“I’ll
be there,” he replied, taking hold of it.