Jaded (10 page)

He slid a hand down the inside of my thigh until I firmly pushed him back.

“What is up with you?” I demanded, seriously. “Contrary to what you might

think, I don’t spend my days on my back.” At the glint of amusement, I added, “Or straddling some guy or on my knees. What is going on with you?”

“Nothing,” he said tightly and settled back in his seat.

I watched him, concerned.

“Bryce,” I said softly. No more games.

He glanced away, but I heard his breath of surrender.

A moment later, he relented, “I don’t need to be at practice anymore.”

“Why

not?”

“Because I’m off the team.”

“What?!”

“It’s not like that,” he said hastily. “I already got the scholarship. They don’t want me to play high school anymore.”

Oh.

I sat back stunned. And then I cried out, “That’s not fair. They can’t do that.”

He’d miss everything. His senior games, play-offs, even state—and that’s if they got there without him.

“They already did. Dad met with them last night and finalized everything.”

“You’re really not playing for the rest of the year.”

He

nodded.

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“How’s your coach feel about that?”

Bryce’s jaw clenched and he replied tightly, “He’s not happy.”

“Did you go to practice last night?”

“Yeah, but I didn’t need to.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I didn’t want to be having this conversation,” he pointed out.

“Bryce, you’re such a shit.”

He

chuckled.

“Does Corrigan know?”

“Yeah.”

“Corrigan knows and I didn’t?”

“Because of this. You’re acting like a girl.”

“I’m acting like your best friend, idiot,” I retorted and slammed the door as I got outside. As I stalked away, Bryce called my name. I ignored him and kept going.

I had moved almost all the way to the door before Chad caught my elbow.

“Back off,” I snapped as I wrenched my arm free.

In a flash, Bryce was at my side. He maneuvered to stand between me and Chad.

“Hey, hey.” Chad had a feral smile on his face. He raised his hands and backed up. “I’m not going to hurt her. Oh, that’s right. I never hurt her in the
first
place.”

“You’re a wounded animal.” I grinned at him, back on familiar ground. “You’ve been put down, but you just keep coming back for more.”

Bryce moved so his back was to me. He had effectively cut me off from Chad’s glare.

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“What’s wrong, Scout?” Chad taunted. “You don’t even want your girlfriend

talking to me?”

“Back off, Yerling.”

A sophomore had come to the door, but turned back when he noticed what was

going on.

“Or you’re going to mess up my face again? I heard Raimler got arrested for my car. Thanks, by the way. Now I know where to send my insurance information. Are you going to pay for my medical bills?”

Bryce remained silent. Again, he didn’t have to say anything.

It seemed to infuriate Chad even more because he shook his head and spat, “You know what pisses me off about you, Scout? You, Raimler, and your little girlfriend walk around this school like you own it. The only reason you get away with everything is because you do to everyone else what you did to me and to that kid from the office.

Someone goes against your unspoken rules and you knock him down.”

The door shoved open behind me and Corrigan pushed his way to Bryce’s side.

Chad glared at him now.

“What do you want, Raimler? You weren’t a part of this conversation.”

Corrigan

grinned,

self-assured, and shot back, “Maybe I should’ve been. You

mess with my friends and you mess with me.”

Bryce shifted on his feet. Corrigan moved forward, just a slight inch of a step, but everyone knew that Corrigan was the threat now. Bryce had moved to the background.

I had become nonexistent to the guys. It wasn’t even about me, not anymore. I wondered if it had ever been about me. I remembered Chet’s words and Bryce’s. They Tijan Jaded

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had both said that Chad had been off lately. He’d pulled some stunts that weren’t okay with the guys.

There was a code among the guys. They could do a lot, say a lot, but nothing would be done as a reprimand. It makes a person wonder what was so bad for Chad to be taken down. And to have all the guys be okay with it.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw a bunch more had followed Corrigan. Chet, Holster, and some others must’ve left through a side door. They came from behind us and had formed a circle around Chad and his group. Some of
those
guys started to look nervous.

Corrigan was saying, “You know what you did, Yerling. You better watch it.”

“Or what?” Chad sneered. He took a step closer. “You’re going to hurt me,

Raimler? You and Scout. You can’t hurt me by yourself. We both know that.”

Corrigan bit back his words, but Bryce shifted again. That same inch and

suddenly he was back in charge. He murmured, seemingly relaxed, “I can hurt you.”

Chad’s glare seemed to darken and his eyes skimmed over me. Whatever he

thought, he didn’t share. A second later, one of the guys murmured, “Teacher.”

Immediately the group dispersed. Chad and his friends took off into the parking lot while everyone else either took a lounging stance or walked back inside the school.

And me? I headed inside and actually went to the rest of my classes. I even disappeared to my art room during lunch. I wasn’t eager for a replay with Chad Yerling and the rest. I didn’t even want to banter with Corrigan.

Mr. Sayword glanced at me questioningly, but he didn’t say anything. When I

was in the developing room later, a brisk knock sounded and I called out, “Yeah?”

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Mr. Sayword called through, “Can I come in?”

I flipped the switch and the door opened. He closed it behind him and flipped the switch back.

I waited. He’d never come in before.

“Uh huh.” Mr. Sayword cleared his throat and shuffled on his feet. My art teacher was nervous. He tucked his longish sandy-colored hair behind his ears and straightened the wire-rim glasses over his nose bridge. His buttoned-down shirt was a little rumpled, but his pants were still nicely pleated.

“Yes?”

I

asked.

“Uh…Miss Connors called me into her office for a consultation.”

“What?” I asked sharply.

“She has heard about our unique teacher-student bond.”

What bond? I respected the guy. That was a bond?

I

remained

silent.

“Yes, she—uh—she wanted to ask my opinion on your state of well-being.”

“What’d

you

say?”

He blinked, his eyes were magnified behind the glasses, but he gazed in

stupefaction to me. He stared another moment and I noticed that his eyelashes were rich and plump. I was jealous. I wish I had those eyelashes.

“I said…well, to be quite honest, I told her that I had always thought you were a magnificent student. You’ve always been on time. A hard worker. You’ve never talked back to me or bullied another student. Your projects are always done wondrously with a touch of genius.”

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What the hell? I blinked.

“Miss Connors was…she was, well…she was—she seemed a bit taken aback by

my opinion and thought perhaps we have an unusual bond.”

My smile was barely constrained when I guessed, “She thinks we’re sleeping

together?”

He coughed and pounded his chest. He needed to turn away and cough some deep wrenching hacks before he was composed. When he turned back, he gulped and looked at me.

I held firm and stared him down. That’s when I saw the truth.

The one teacher that earned my respect is the one rumored to be my lover. Poetic, really.

“What do you want me to do?” I asked.

“Well,” he began, “I really just wanted to make you aware of the situation. Miss Connors seemed to have quite a list of concerns about you.”

“Do I quit the class?”

To this, I saw my first glimpse of anger in my normally-composed teacher.

“No.” He said it short, simple, and final.

I grinned despite the situation and replied, ruefully, “I’m guessing Miss Connors doesn’t know about those balls.”

He frowned, but replied, “Well, Miss Jeneve, now that you have been apprised of the situation, I will leave you to your work.” He nodded and I saw some amusement that tickled the corner of his mouth.

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I finished a drawing for the rest of sixth period and headed to the cafeteria for study hall.

Chet moved down and I took his seat. The rest of the group all moved, grumbled, saw it was for me and shut up. I hid a smile at their expense. Bryce dropped his history books on the table across from me and sat beside Becky Lew.

No one reacted, but—like always—they watched me for the reaction.

I disappointed them all and focused on my homework. I finished my calculus and got up to buy a pop. When I returned to the table, Bryce was back at his seat across from mine. Becky Lew and her friends had moved to the open section of the cafeteria. They were painting signs for the soccer and basketball team. The rest of the cheerleaders had moved into the cafeteria so it must’ve been a planned event.

I ignored Bryce and started my history homework until the final bell rang. Bryce walked beside me towards my locker and asked, “What are you doing after school?”

I ignored him, but then he tapped my arm and leaned closer when we arrived at my locker. His arm draped across the top of the locker and he effectively entrapped me against the locker.

“What are you doing now?”

I shook my head and slipped out from underneath.

“Sheldon,” he called out.

“I’ll see you later,” I called over my shoulder and disappeared around the corner.

The counselor’s office was vacated, but the back office doors were still open. I walked to Miss Connors, knowing from prior trips where her office was located and watched her shuffle papers around her desk. She gripped a pencil in her teeth and Tijan Jaded

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frowned at her computer screen. The day must’ve been long for her because there were sweat marks down the back of her silk blouse and her skirt was rumpled where she would sit on it.

She sighed in frustration to herself and wrote a note on a pad near the phone.

I cleared my throat.

As Miss Connors whirled in her chair to see me, I said tightly, “So I hear that you think I’m sleeping with a teacher?”

“Sheldon,” she murmured, reproachfully.

I walked in, shut the door, and took a seat in the lounger besides her desk.

“It’s out of line and I’m a bit disappointed in how unoriginal you are,” I said firmly and leaned back.

She smiled tensely and retorted, “Got you in here, didn’t it?”

“So you know it’s a lie?”

“I know that you’re not sleeping with Mr. Sayword, but you have to admit that it’s a bit suspect. You mouth off to the teachers except him. You are either consistently late or you don’t show up at all, except sixth period. You’ve never been tardy to one of his classes and you’ve had him for four years now. The days you do skip, you always stay after the next day.” She sighed. “You do the math.”

“I respect him.”

“Your other two friends have never shared an art class with you. Is that why? Do you act out because you’re reacting to their influence?”

I didn’t even dignify that with an answer.

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“No.” Miss Connors ran a hand through her straw-colored thin hair. “I didn’t think you’d respond to that one either.”

“What do you want?” I asked, my eyes flat.

She seemed to consider me for a moment before she replied, “Honestly?”

I nodded, mute.

“I care about you and I think you’re wasting an unfair amount of potential. You could be in college. Yes, I know that you’ve heard this already and I don’t care. You could be the captain of track, volleyball, yearbook staff. You could have any number of prestigious scholarships if you wanted. I’ve read some of your essays. You have so much talent and I cannot stand the fact that you just waste it away.”

“I’m living a typical teenager’s life.”

“A typical teenager is not rumored to screw an entire sports team.”

I hadn’t been aware of that one. It made me smile.

“I see.” Miss Connors groaned. “You think that’s funny. Granted, I’ve watched you around campus and I’m impressed at the amount of power you seem to hold with the other students. However, I’m not stupid.” She shook her head as her bore into mine. “I know what girls have to do to earn that spot.”

“Did you call me a whore?”

“What? No!” Miss Connors looked horrified and flushed. “That’s not what I

meant. I just...” She caught the amusement in my eyes and sighed in disappointment.

With a gentled tone, she asked, “Have you heard from your parents lately?”

“No.” I stood up and shook my head. I moved to the door.

“Wait. Please, Sheldon?”

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“I’m not some wasted space due to negligent parents. That’s not me, not who I am. I’m not going to talk to you about my hurt feelings because the last time I heard from my parents was three months ago.” I left the room and walked down the hallway. Just before I opened the counselor’s door that connected to the senior hallway, I stopped and heard a resigned sigh from her office.

My hand paused for a moment, but I hardened inside and left.

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I drove past the Café Diner and saw Bryce’s car in the parking lot. Corrigan’s was somewhere else. As I continued home, I sent a text to Bryce and Corrigan telling them that I had beer waiting at home.

When I got home, I removed one of the cases that was still in my car from our previous trip to the diner. I stuffed it underneath the steps leading to the connecting door.