Going Under (6 page)

Somewhere between my first word and the last, I fell into a trap of telling her how wonderful she was instead of how ridiculously spoiled.

She huffed and said, “You’re just like all the others. You only see the outside and what you want to see.”

“Show me something different and maybe I’ll see something different,” I challenged.

She declined my challenge by saying, “My turn’s over, you’re next.”

I considered what her assumption about me must be and decided I didn’t have much of an argument for changing it because most of the things she probably believed about me were true.

“I’m good,” I said, knowing I wouldn’t be off the hook, but unable to resist the attempt.

“No, you’re not good. You’re next.”

“I’m not going to say anything that will change your mind about me, so I’m afraid this exercise may be deemed unsuccessful,” I informed her.

“This is an assignment, so you have to tell me something.”

“Like what?” I asked.

She looked up at me through her long lashes, and in the softest voice I’d ever heard, said, “Tell me something real.”

The way she looked at me almost had me thinking she cared, but then I remembered who I was and who I was talking to and thought a little shock factor might be in order.

“My name is Jessie Boone, aka asshole. I’m a loser from Collinsville like everyone thinks. I don’t come from a rich family like all of you spoiled brats and it completely defines me and what I’m capable of doing, so I’ll never amount to anything because it’s what I’ve been told my whole life.”

Her shock meter didn’t appear to budge in the least.

“So, does this change how you see me or validate exactly what you think you already know about me?”

“No and Yes. No, it doesn’t change what I think about you, and yes, it validates you’re still an asshole.”

8 I Need A Broom Fast

Claire

As I walked to my locker after Humanities class, I could only think of Jessie Boone’s severe inconsistency. He was unguarded and sincere for a brief moment when he temporarily forgot to be a jerk. I thought the assignment was successful for a minute and I might be seeing him in a new way, then the thought dissipated as quickly as it formed while I watched him shift back to his former self. I found myself wondering which Jessie was the real one because he couldn’t be both.

The moment I realized he was in my class and sitting behind me, I felt breathless. When I tried to sneak a peek at him, he saw me and grinned to let me know I was caught. The realization of him knowing I was checking him out made me want to die right then and there.

He was probably the most handsome boy I had ever seen. I struggled with calling him a boy because the way his black T-shirt stretched taut across his chest and around his muscular arms clearly proved why the term didn’t fit him.

While I stood at my locker swapping out my books for my next class, I was thinking about the way Jessie’s black tattoo peeked out of his sleeve as he reached to pick up his pencil when it rolled off of his desk. I guess I was in deep fantasy mode because I let out an embarrassing squeal when Payton walked up behind me and began speaking. Mr. Grisham was in the hall and gave us that look-the one we all know that says, “Ladies, keep it down.”

I spun on my heels and said, “Don’t sneak up on me like that, Payton.”

“I did not sneak up on you. You just didn’t hear me because you were off in La La Land...with Jessie Boone,” she whispered in ear.

“I was not,” I lied.

“Oh, my dear Claire, you know you are the worst liar ever. I don’t know why you even try because you practically have a lie meter across your forehead and right now it’s telling me you just told me a big, fat one,” she teased.

“Okay. You’ve got me, but I was only thinking about him because we had second period together and we had to be partners on a class exercise,” I explained innocently.

“Your lie meter is registering a half truth because you were thinking about him as a partner that included exercise, but not on a class assignment. It’s more like the horizontal tango.”

I gave her a shove and said, “No, I’m not. You are so crude you should have been a guy, Payton.”

“Hey, somebody’s gotta keep it real,” she laughed.

Forbes walked up and joined us at our lockers. “What are we keeping real? Payton’s need for Penicillin?”

Payton spun to face Forbes and said, “You are seriously stroking my urge button to pimp slap you, so you better back it up.”

The job of refereeing the two of them was exhausting. I pointed to Payton and said, “You. U.S. History. Now.” I shoved Forbes in the direction of his next class and said, “Go, before you exceed the limits of her restraint to push her pimp slap button.”

I walked into Mr. Buckley’s U.S. History class and sat on the back row with Payton because it was our other thing. Since we didn’t disrupt class, teachers never said anything about us sitting on the back. I was, after all, in the running for Valedictorian and Payton was a fair to good student. On test day she was an even better student when she could see my answers.

We were seasoned note passers and read lips fluently. I guess you could call it our gift. Our favorite trick was to write a note using heavy pressure and pass the blank page underneath, so if taken up, the teacher only saw a blank page. One of us would claim the other needed to borrow a sheet of paper. That little trick had saved us on more than one occasion.

While waiting for Buckley’s class to start, Jessie Boone walked in. I silently prayed he would sit on the opposite side of the room, but he took the seat in front of me. He peered over his shoulder and whispered, “You took my seat.”

I made a show of searching the desk for his name and said, “I’m sorry. I don’t see your name on it anywhere.”

He turned around and begin to write his name across the desktop with his pencil and I hoped it rolled off his desk so I could get another peek at his tattoo as I watched him reach for it. I came to my senses and mentally slapped myself across the hand for thinking such a thought because I’m pretty sure that made me a sucky girlfriend.

“There. Now my name is on it.”

“That’s called destruction of school property,” I sarcastically warned.

My statement amused him and he laughed before he turned around in his seat. I looked down to erase his name and saw it didn’t read Jessie Boone. He had written, ‘U should smile more.’

I leaned forward and whispered, “Why do you say that?”

He peered back over his shoulder again. “Because it looks good on you.”

There it was again; that mysterious inconsistency making me think about Jessie Boone more than I should. Mr. Buckley began class, but I couldn’t hear his words over the fluttering in my stomach. I felt Payton’s stare and turned to look at her, seeing her mouth the word, “Foreplay,” and I laughed to myself while I shook my head.

I hoped Jessie wouldn’t turn around and say anything else to me because I didn’t need another reason to think about him. He left class without looking at me, and although it was what I wanted, I found myself foolishly disappointed.

Payton and I didn’t make it out of Buckley’s class before she had me cornered. “Now, tell me he’s not hot for you.”

“He’s not hot for me, Payton. He’s just having a little fun with the Princess. That’s all,” I said as I dodged around her to go to my locker.

I opened my locker and heard Payton whisper, “News flash, Claire...We just had this conversation an hour ago about what a terrible liar you are and it’s true; I can see it all over your face. He may call you Princess, but he doesn’t treat you like one and you like it.”

Her theory was unbelievable. “Why would I enjoy the way he treats me? He’s an ass to me, so that doesn’t even make sense.”

Payton looked at me like I was a dumbass. “Omigod, Claire, you can be so dense for someone so smart. I guess I’m going to be forced to spell it out for you. He can’t stand you because he thinks you’re a spoiled rotten little princess, but he can’t help but be hot for you. This is the first time you’ve ever met a guy that didn’t want to put you on a pedestal and you’re fascinated by it.”

“I’m sorry, I was unaware you began a career in psychological evaluations. Do you want me to tell my mom so she can see about getting you hired as a shrink?” I asked sarcastically.

“It’s all part of the game, Claire. Don’t get me wrong. I’m proud of your newfound sketchiness, but there’s one thing you have to remember. He’s the kind of guy you play with for a little bit of fun, not the kind you fall in love with.”

I slammed my locker door before heading off in the opposite direction to physics. I heard Payton call down the hall, “I’ve got a Benjamin in my purse right now that says I’m right.”

I practically ran to Physics to get away from Payton’s accusations and proposed bet because I didn’t want to consider the possibility of it’s accuracy. I took a seat at the back desk and put my head down on the table.

I felt a warm hand on the back of my neck and heard, “Hey, babe, is everything okay? You feel sick?”

The sound of Forbes voiced startled me and I raised my head to see him sitting at my table in the chair next to me. I forgot we had this class together.

“I don’t feel too great,” I lied.

What was up with me? I never lied, so why was I suddenly lying to my best friend and my boyfriend? I leaned back in my seat and watched the reason for my sudden ability to spout deception walk through the classroom door.

“Great, here comes the Collinsville skank,” Forbes said.

I looked up to see Jessie walking into class with Gretchen, better known as The Penivore, walking behind him. She followed in behind him like a lost puppy, then sat next to him at the table in front of us.

The hour consisted of her shameless flirting, which left little to the imagination, letting Jessie know he could have it any way he wanted it. It was disgusting.

During Mrs. Bishop’s lecture, my concentration altered between physics and the near dry humping escapade in front of me, all while my long term boyfriend sat unsuspectingly under my nose. Man, I was a sucky girlfriend.

I remembered the perfect plans Forbes and I had made and decided that this senseless interest had to stop. In the end, I would be with Forbes and Jessie would screw Gretchen, just like half of the guys at East Franklin had done before him and this temporary interest in Jessie Boone was only a minor technicality I would sweep neatly under the rug.

9 Fauxpology Not Accepted

Jessie

Some things didn’t change, money or not; a whore was still a whore even if she was wearing designer clothes. I wasn’t interested in Gretchen, at least not today. I had been there and done that kind of girl before, but it was always nice to have a backup plan if I decided to become interested.

The rest of my classes were boring without having Claire to playfully taunt, so it felt like they would never end. When they finally did, I went down to the field house and dressed out for practice, then hit the field and warmed up while I waited on the rest of the team to show for practice.

I walked over to where Dane was warming up his kicking leg. “So, what did you think of your first day at East Franklin, man?” he asked while he stretched his leg.

What could I say? It was nice being in school and not running into the kids that showed up on my doorstep to buy drugs off my mom and her boyfriend, Wayne. I liked not being known as the kid with the mom that could hook you up with whatever kind of drug you wanted.

I was about to answer Dane’s question when I noticed the cheerleaders arriving on the field for practice. I saw Claire in the crowd and answered, “Definitely different from my old school, but the view here is much nicer.”

“I get that you want to mess with Forbes, but Claire’s a nice girl, so don’t do anything to hurt her.”

There it was. Another warning. “I’m not some kind of animal. Come on, I’m just messing with her to get Henderson riled up. You’ve seen some of the things he has done to me and you know firsthand what he has planned. There’s no harm to her by talking to her. What’s the deal? You into her or something?”

“Our parents are friends and I’ve known her a long time, but forget I said anything because you’re going to do whatever you want to anyway.”

Man, I didn’t want to fight with my only friend. Just as I was about to promise Dane I’d leave Claire out of my conflict with Henderson, the devil himself walked up and couldn’t resist starting in on me.

“Hey, Collinsville skank, do you spank the monkey ambidextrously?”

Unfortunately, I didn’t have much material for retaliation. I could keep my mouth shut and take the high road, but I didn’t because Jessie Boone hadn’t ever backed down a day in his life.

I grinned and said, “Your girlfriend wasn’t complaining last night about what I could do ambidextrously.”

Our group of teammates erupted into laughter and I heard, “Ooh, Henderson, you just got smoked.”

If there was one thing I learned early in my life, it was how to dodge a fist coming at my face. I leaned out of the reach of Forbes’ swinging fist and laughed as I said, “I do believe that was the slowest sucker punch I’ve ever seen.”