Jaded (5 page)

cars. They stripped cars, stolen or ‘legitimately’ donated.

“He spray-painted my car,” Corrigan spelled it out. “No one does that and gets away with it.”

Fair

enough.

“How do you know it was Teddy?”

“Chet saw him do it. He did it when we left school. He’s going down.” Corrigan produced the keys and took off, triumphantly.

“Mr. Scout and Miss Jeneve!” Our names were shouted down the hallway. The

principal’s secretary, Mrs. Walker, was irate as she pointed at us. “If you do not get your butts in this office within thirty seconds, you are both expelled from this school.”

Yeah right, but… Bryce and I headed towards the office. I know that I liked to see an irate Mrs. Walker. It was funny to watch.

Chad Yerling grinned widely when he saw us walk in. He leaned back in one of the waiting chairs, his arm rested over two more, and had kicked up his shoes on another pair of chairs. Three students were forced to squish together in the remaining two chairs across the waiting room.

“What are you guys doing here?” he asked and removed his legs. Bryce and I sat down while Chad rearranged himself to lay sprawled over three chairs. His feet propped onto the stand.

“What are you doing here?” Bryce asked in amusement.

Tijan

Jaded

47

Mrs. Walker harrumphed as she sent a withering glare our way before she walked into the employee’s lounge.

Chad beamed and folded his hands underneath his head. “I got caught getting a blowjob in the boiler room.”

“You did? By who?”

Chad shrugged. “Just some girl.”

I narrowed my eyes and studied him. He was lying, but whatever. I saw that the other students had froze at his words. Chad’s coolness would rise another level.

He nodded in our direction again, “So what are you guys doing here?”

I shrugged and Bryce replied, “Mouthing off? I don’t know.”

Chad smirked, “Did you guys go to the library in second? Word is that you took off.” And had sex.

He hadn’t said the words, but they were still there.

“Nah. We skipped to eat with Corrigan,” Bryce murmured and the sneer

disappeared from Chad’s face.

The office door burst open and a student sprinted inside. He panted as he babbled,

“Corrigan Raimler is—”

Bryce moved in a flash and dragged the kid outside.

Chad glanced to me and asked, “What was that about?”

I shrugged and moved to follow. I glanced over my shoulder to make sure that Mrs. Walker was still absent—she was. Chad moved to follow too, but I said firmly, “You stay and cover for us. Tell them I’m sick.”

He could’ve come, but I didn’t like Chad—never had. He just gave me the creeps.

Tijan

Jaded

48

“Okay.” Chad nodded, but watched through the window as I quickly darted

around the hallway.

Bryce had dragged the kid outside and was already interrogating him by the time I got there. “So what were you going to say?” He prodded the kid with a finger in his shoulder.

The kid looked like he was about to pee his pants. He trembled when Bryce

towered over him.

“I…I…” he stammered and glanced up at me. Terrified.

“Just tell us what you were going to say,” I spoke, calmly.

“I…Corrigan…” He took a deep breath and rushed out, “Corrigan Raimler just

stole one of my friends’ cars. I know it wasn’t his because it’s Teddy’s.”

Bryce and I shared a look.

“You were going to tell the staff that Corrigan stole your buddy’s car?”

He paled when Bryce repeated his words.

“No…nnnnoo. I wasn’t. I was just…”

“Corrigan is my best friend.” I wanted to make sure he understood.

The kid shrunk back against the wall.

“He’s my best friend,” Bryce murmured soothingly, but we both heard the lethal promise in that voice.

Seriously. I even got shivers.

“Um…”

“What’s your name?” I asked as I shifted closer to him.

His eyes widened further and he stuttered, “D-d-Darrell.”

Tijan

Jaded

49

“Darrell? And you’re friends with Teddy?”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and brushed against him. Bryce shifted backwards to give me space and I crooned into Darrell’s ear, “When you hear that Teddy’s car is gone, you’re going to
not
remember anything about it. Okay?”

He nodded quickly and swallowed tightly.

I ran a hand down his arm and murmured, silkily, “And the reason you’re not

going to remember anything is because my friend could get into a lot of trouble. And I don’t want that. Bryce doesn’t want that.”

I moved back and stared him in the face.

“And if we hear that Corrigan’s name was slipped, by anyone, you’re the one that we’re coming after. Got it?”

He jerked his head up and down. His hands covered the front of his pants as I stepped back. He rushed past us, inside.

Bryce swore and yanked his phone out of his phone. He pressed Corrigan’s

number and barked into it, “You idiot! You were seen by a kid. Do you know what would’ve happened if the kid had told?”

I breathed in relief as I fell back against the bricked wall of our school.

Bryce swore again, “No. It’s criminal charges, asswipe. You could’ve gone to jail or…” He hung up and stared at me.

I spoke the obvious, “It’s not the first time we’ve bailed Corrigan out of jail.”

“I know.” Bryce slumped next to me and slid to the floor. “But they would’ve pressed him harder because he’d be connected to Hoodum.”

Tijan

Jaded

50

It was known around town that the cops had a vendetta against Hoodum and his gang. They wanted to shut ‘em down completely, but they were having a hard time.

Hoodum was pretty slippery and pretty damned smart.

The door opened again and Chad poked his head out.

“Hey, just so you know, Mrs. Walker is freaking out that you guys are gone. You might want to get in here.”

“You were supposed to cover for us,” I said sharply.

Bryce looked at me, surprised, but Chad shrugged and muttered, “I tried, dude.

Jeez.”

When he went back inside, Bryce asked me, “What was up with that?”

I shrugged and moved inside.

Relief was evident on Mrs. Walker’s face when she saw us.

She snapped two fingers at us and pointed to the seats. “You two, stay put and don’t move. I don’t care if you’re sick, if you have to vomit, or the school burns down.

You stay put or face expulsion.”

Bryce and I sat.

The other students were still there and had mixed looks of fear, awe, and

trepidation.

I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall when Bryce started to chat with Chad.

Each of the students had already gone inside the principal’s office until it was just me, Bryce, and Chad. It seemed to take forever and probably did.

Tijan

Jaded

51

Mrs. Walker received a phone call and repeated her instructions sternly before she left the office once more.

“Seriously, guys. What’d you do? I haven’t seen Mrs. Walker that pissy since Corrigan got caught screwing the Spanish teacher’s daughter.”

“Oh yeah,” Bryce laughed.

Corrigan’s popularity had skyrocketed that week. He’d been suspended for three days, but his arrival to the Friday football game had been to a standing ovation. None of the parents had stood, but some had been amused. Corrigan had saluted the crowd.

Mrs. Walker walked back inside with Miss Connors behind her.

“Sheldon,” Miss Connors said softly. “Can you come with me?”

I snapped to attention and shot up.

“No,” I said firmly.

Mrs. Walker looked taken aback, but Miss Connors wasn’t surprised.

Chad avidly watched the encounter while Bryce stood slowly beside me.

“Sheldon, please.” Miss Connors said again. She frowned at Bryce’s hand that had moved to cup my elbow.

“You can’t make me talk to you,” I declared. It was the truth.

“Miss Jeneve,” Mrs. Walker said promptly. “You will talk with our counselor or you will be expelled.”

I narrowed my eyes at her and called her bluff.

“Expel me then.”

Mrs. Walker gasped.

Tijan

Jaded

52

“Sheldon, this is ridiculous.” Miss Connors stepped forward. “I just want to talk to you. That’s all. I just want to know how you’re doing.”

“No, you don’t,” I spat out. “You want to try to figure me out. I’m not one of your subjects to understand and test.”

“You have so much potential,” Miss Connors pressed earnestly. “I don’t

understand why you’re wasting it all away. I want to help you.”

“I’m fine with how my life is.” I stepped back. The chair pressed against the backs of my knees.

Bryce was extremely still beside me. Just watching me.

“No, you’re not. Sheldon, you spend your time with these boys...”

Bryce whipped his head towards her.

Miss Connors faltered, but resumed again, “You are so intelligent, Sheldon. You could already be in college. Your IQ tests were—”

“You can’t say any of that!” I shouted. “That’s confidential.”

“Sheldon, please…”

More students had filed into the office, but they all stopped abruptly.

I shook my head and clenched out, “You can’t do this. You can’t make me talk to you. Expel me then. I don’t care. Screw you.” I shoved past them. At the door, I stopped and met Bryce’s gaze, “Call me later.”

He nodded, his jaw was clenched.

Mena was at my locker when I swiftly kicked it and grabbed my bag.

“Hey,” she called after me when I turned for the parking lot.

When she caught up to me, she asked, “Are you okay?”

Tijan

Jaded

53

I ignored her and shoved through the kids who hadn’t seen me coming. Most of them darted out of my way, but a few weren’t as lucky. We met Corrigan on his way back into the school, whistling with a contented smirk on his face.

He took one look at me and the smirk vanished.

“What happened?” He turned and walked on my other side.

“Nothing,” I said tightly.

“Did they threaten you guys? Did that kid say anything?” he pressed.

“It has nothing to do with you!” I cried out and unlocked the Chrysler.

I threw my bag inside and turned to Corrigan, “Drive my car home, alright?”

“I’ll just give you a ride tomorrow morning. Or Bryce will. You can drive it home then.”

“I’m not coming to school tomorrow.” Or the next day.

“Why not?” Corrigan looked at me again and seemed to get it. He asked softly,

“What happened, Sheldon?”

“You can get the play by play from Bryce. I’m leaving.” And I slammed my door shut and tore out of the parking lot.

Mena and Corrigan watched.

Tijan

Jaded

54

Jaded

55

I went home and showered again. After I had changed into some baggy clothes, I moved downstairs to my father’s study.

Inside, I sat behind the computer and typed ‘Greco’ in a search engine. A moment later I searched through the results and found out that ‘Greco’ stood for a Greco Defense, named after Giachino Greco. It was a chess move that’s used by amateurs who are stupid.

Corrigan had been right. The word had been an insult, but a nerdy insult.

I forwarded the article to Corrigan’s email.

The doorbell rang when I laid down to watch a movie a little later.

Muttering an irritated curse, I moved upstairs and was surprised to see Mena at the door.

“Hi,” I murmured as I held open the door.

“Hi.” She looked nervous.

“Come on in.” I gestured inside and we walked towards the kitchen. “Do you

want anything to eat? Or drink? I was just going to watch a movie.”

“Oh. Um…” She laughed again and shook her head. “I can’t believe this.”

“Believe

what?”

“This. Me. You.” She waved between us. “I’m nervous and I’m never nervous.

I’ve gone against some of the richest snobs in the nation and I’m nervous around you.”

“Why?” I took out a Diet Coke and slid it across the counter to her. “You want a glass with some ice?”

“Sure.” She sat on a stool at the counter. She explained, “I’m nervous because… I don’t know. Dumb, huh?”

Tijan

Jaded

56

“I told the school’s counselor and the secretary of our principal to expel me today,” I stated bluntly. I hopped onto the counter and dangled my foot over the edge.

“It’s not dumb, but there’s not a lot that makes me nervous.”

“I know. I heard. That was pretty balsy.”

I shrugged. “Had nothing to do with balls.” I just hadn’t cared about the

consequences.

“So…” She took a deep breath. “Have you thought about what I said before?”

“About being friends?” Who outright asked for a friendship?

“Yeah. I know…it’s kinda stupid, but I just wanted to know before I entered the social scene tomorrow.”

“Actually,” I smirked. “I’m supposed to become friends with you anyway.”

“Why?” She asked suspiciously.

“Because of Corrigan. He asked me this morning to make friends with you. He

wants you to come to a party this weekend.”

“Oh!” Disgust flickered over her face before she contained it. “He recognized me after you left school. He did a double-take and started muttering about second chances. I don’t believe in second chances for scum like him.”

I frowned and pointed out, “He’s one of my best friends.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widened. “I’m sorry. I just—”

I waved her off. “Don’t worry.” I laughed and drank some of my own Diet Coke.

“Corrigan’s an ass. I told him myself this morning.”

“I’m sorry. I knew he was one of your best friends. I just…when I met Corrigan, he slept with my best friend and never called her. She cried for an entire week.”

Tijan

Jaded

57

That sounded exactly like Corrigan. I smirked.

Mena grimaced again. And then she cringed when her phone rang.