by Emily Camp
Senior boys made oohing sounds as they past and the girls whispered and glanced at the short, plump teacher standing beside them, his arms across his chest, glasses sliding off his nose, Mr. Frye glared. “I don’t care if you are the athletic hero of the school and you two have a baby at home, this is not the place for foreplay.” His voice came out nasally as his dark comb-over bounced.
Bree felt her face flush. Foreplay? There wasn’t even any tongue in the kiss.
“You both have morning detention with me tomorrow.” He swung a finger back and forth.
Bree cringed. Morning detention meant they had to be at school an hour earlier. Meaning she would be losing that much sleep and how was she supposed to make sure Bryson and Maggie got to school, too?
The boys across the hall snickered as Mr. Frye waddled away.
Garrett cursed. His locker clanging when he kicked it.
“Gare,” Bree whispered.
“Just go to class, Bree.” Garrett’s jaw clenched and his eyes set on the hall ahead of him.
She pressed her lips together. Maybe Mr. Aiken was right, maybe she just needed to quit school all together and take care of her baby.
***
“They aren’t your responsibility, Bailey is,” Garrett grumbled with his eyes on the foggy road.
She wished now that she wouldn’t have brought it up, being worried about getting them to school. He was already in a bad mood because of the early detention. She crossed her arms and glared out the window. “I do take care of Bailey.”
“I didn’t say you don’t.” He turned into the school.
Bree began to climb out before he even had it in park. She wasn’t going to lose it. She wasn’t going to let this get to her. Her heart ached that he couldn’t understand her need to be there for her family. His family was close. Why she was not allowed to have the same?
She paced ahead of him, not giving him a chance to catch up, though she knew if he really wanted to, he could. His legs were much longer than hers.
She rushed straight to Mr. Frye’s room.
“Good morning, Miss Morris,” Mr. Frye greeted her, his comb-over slick like he got out of the shower and rubbed handfuls of gel in it.
“Mr. Light, very punctual of you. I’m impressed.”
She watched Garrett’s jaw jump at the condescending voice Mr. Frye gave them.
“Have a seat.” He motioned to the rows of brown desks.
Without looking at Garrett, she slipped in the front.
He let out an irritated sigh as he slid into the desk beside her.
“I know both of you have already gone over the handbook. I pulled the signed documents out of your files.” He gathered two papers off his desk before he waddled to them, hovering above. “But looks like you need a refresher. Here’s the rules for public displays of affection.” He clicked his tongue.
Garrett groaned. Bree saw him lounge back, his legs spread out and stretched in front of him.
“Do you have a problem, Mr. Light?” Mr. Frye smacked the papers to his hand.
“Yeah, this is crap. It was just one little peck. Not like I was humping her in the middle of the hall.” His arm draped across the back of the desk.
Bree wanted to crawl under her desk and disappear.
“Well,” Mr. Frye’s face turned red at that, as well. At least Bree wasn’t the only one embarrassed.
“Pecking is against the rules here at Cambrooke.” He slid the paper in front of Garrett, “and now, since you have it to read again,” he placed the second paper on Bree’s desk, “maybe it will stick this time.”
Garrett grumbled something under his breath.
Bree couldn’t believe how he was acting. He was the one in the wrong. They were the ones that broke the rule, not the teacher, even if Mr. Frye was an annoying nerd.
Either Mr. Frye didn’t hear him, or he chose not to respond. He shuffled back to his desk. Just as he sat down, the intercom buzzed. “Mr. Frye,” the floating voice filled the air, “You have a package in the office.”
His plump face turned red, reminding Bree of a tomato, as he looked from Bree to Garrett.
“I’m not going to lay her across the desks, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Garrett crossed his arms.
“Garrett!” Bree snapped.
“I’ll be right there.” Mr. Frye held down the intercom button. “I’m only going to be gone a second.”
“Ooh, enough time for a quickie, Bree.”
Mr. Frye lowered his eyebrows before he shuffled out the door.
“What is wrong with you?” Bree shrieked and flipped her head toward him, flinging her arm around the back of the chair.
“What’s wrong with you?” His face expressionless as he tapped his pencil against the desk. “We didn’t do anything.”
“We broke a rule, Garrett.” She swung her paper in the air. “You think because you’re a jock you are above them?”
“Why do you care? You didn’t care how I felt about you moving in with your mom.”
“I thought we were over this!” Her voice was louder than she wanted it to be.
“I’m not going to get over my daughter and girlfriend living in the slum.”
“We’re not living in the slum. It’s just Marshall Road, so the houses aren’t as fancy as yours, but they aren’t destitute either.”
He turned from her, staring straight ahead, his lips in a thin line, “Whatever.”
Bree already wanted to cry and the day hadn’t even started yet. Why did he have to be so difficult?
***
Bree tried not to yawn in Mr. Aiken’s class. The loss of the extra hour of sleep weighed on her.
As last night’s homework was passed back to her, she found hers in the pile and tossed Jake’s over her shoulder.
Though Jake wasn’t being rude to her, she was getting annoyed at his constant comments about Carly. One day, he called her a tease and the next, a hoe, like he couldn’t decide what she was. Carly took it gracefully, not reacting, which surprised Bree.
When she looked down at her homework, as Jake coughed some comment about trying to lay Carly Ley, her heart sank at the big fat F in red on the top. How could she get an F? Parker helped her with this one, even if it was in the midst of Bryson watching a cartoon and bouncing off the wall while Mindy chattered on and on about how homework was a waste of time. She never did her homework when she was in school and ‘she turned out just fine.’ All this while Maggie texted in the other room. She knew she understood the assignment. She could even do the work if he asked her to.
Carly looked at Bree with pursed lips and wide eyes as she held her paper up with the same red F on the top. Though it wasn’t uncommon for Carly to receive an F, she’d been doing well in math with Parker’s help.
That was when it hit her. She lowered the pencil that she had gripped between her teeth. If Parker helped Bree and he helped Carly with the same assignment, chances are they missed the same questions. Mr. Aiken thought they cheated.
She stewed in her chair as he began to instruct them. Bree couldn’t concentrate. This teacher had it out for her. He wanted her to fail because she was a teen mom. With everything going on in her home, she still worked hard in this class.
Carly seemed unfazed by the F. She was used to it, putting little effort in, as it was. She lounged back in her seat with one leg over the other. Her silver sandal dangled from her toe as she twirled her hair around her finger and stared at the ceiling. It wasn’t fair. Bree did what she was supposed to do.
“Bree,” she felt Jake’s breath on the back of her neck as he whispered. She turned with a glare. Jake was leaning forward, his hands cupping the front of his desk and his shoulders almost to his ears. He wore his black and silver Raiders jersey like it gave him royalty status.
“What?” She gripped her chair.
“Garrett’s been slacking at practice again.” One side of his mouth quirked up as he winked a green eye at her.
She pursed her lips. �
�Screw you, Jake.”
“Name the time and place.” His smirk didn’t leave. “Don’t worry. I’m not like your boy. I use protection.”
She flipped forward without giving him the satisfaction of seeing her reaction. “Miss Morris, do you care to share with the class what Mr. Porter and you find so compelling?” Mr. Aiken flipped his chalk in his hand as he stalked back and forth in front of his desk.
“No.”
“I didn’t figure you would. Mr. Porter, would you like to tell me or do you two need to make a trip to the office again?”
“Yeah I asked her to take care of her kid so our captain can be on his game.” Jake lounged back in his desk cupping his hands behind his head like he’d accomplished something huge.
“You’re an ass, Jake,” Carly finally snapped. Several snickers came from the rest of the class, along with some mumbles agreeing with Jake.
“Miss Ley,” Mr. Aiken warned.
“Garrett made that baby, too. Just because he plays football doesn’t mean he shouldn’t …”
“That’s enough. This is geometry. I don’t want to hear any more about football or babies.”
Carly rolled her eyes, as she threw her arms across her chest and leaned back, resting her feet on the empty seat in front of her.
Bree wanted to hide. Football was like the only thing that mattered in this stupid school. She didn’t know how she was going to make it through the season, let alone the rest of the year.
The rest of class went by without another interruption, though Bree was so preoccupied with the F and Jake’s comment that she didn’t get any of what Mr. Aiken was talking about; yet again Parker would be teaching her.
“Breanna, Carly,” Mr. Aiken said as they were leaving the room. She hated, no matter how many times she corrected Mr. Aiken that she went by Bree and not Breanna, he still called her by her full name. Bree gripped her books to her chest. The spiral binding bit into her hand. She made her way to Mr. Aiken’s desk, Carly shuffling beside her.
The class filed out behind them.
“I do not tolerate cheating.” He pushed his wire rimmed glasses up his pointy nose.
“We didn’t.” Bree spoke a little too quickly. She should have known not to protest, that he wouldn’t listen to her.
“Why did you both only get one problem wrong? The exact same problem, making the exact same mistake.”
“Because your teaching sucks and we have to have Parker teach us,” Carly chimed in.
Mr. Aiken lowered his brow as he looked from Carly then to Bree. “Who’s Parker?”
“He’s my brother,” Bree spoke steadily, still gripping her books like if she squeezed hard enough it would get her out of his class. “He helped me and Carly with the assignment.”
Mr. Aiken stared at them with his flat lips. “If I find out you are cheating, you both are out of my class. Understand me?”
Bree didn’t know if she wanted to scream or cry, but she took in a sharp breath and gave her standard, “Yes, Mr. Aiken. It won’t happen again.”
When was she going to catch a break? She followed Carly out of the room, Carly mumbling something about Mr. Aiken under her breath, but Bree heard none of it. All she heard were the voices in her head telling her there wasn’t any point being at school, even when she tried, she still failed.
Chapter Twelve
The Indian summer left Garrett’s car roasting after school. Bree rolled the window down for air. The engine rumbled to life after Garrett cranked it several times. They hadn’t said much to each other all day, and Bree wasn’t about to start now. She stared outside, propping her elbow on the door. Everyone bustled toward their cars.
Lewis, in his black and silver jersey, like the rest of the team, pointed at them, his Camaro parked beside Garrett’s beater. He held a hand to his middle and laughed, pretending to double over. Garrett flung his arm out the window, flipping his middle finger in the air. This only made Lewis chuckle harder.
Garrett pulled out into the line of buses, mini vans with the stay-at-home-soccer-moms picking up their non-driving teens, rusty, hand-me-down cars, and the sporadic nicer, new vehicles.
The engine grew louder as Garrett pushed on the gas.
“Quit showing off.”
“I’m not showing off. I don’t want her to stall.” He glanced in the rearview when the car behind them beeped.
A long arm with the sleeve of a Raider’s jersey hanging from it waved out of the old truck. Garrett smiled, and leaned his head completely out of the car. “Fields,” he shouted over the engines.
“You coming to The Dairy Bar?” Rowan Field asked, his head hanging completely out of his truck, his Raiders cap backwards on his head. Rowan was one of the bigger guys on the team and Bree had to wonder if he was going to get stuck.
“No, gotta get home to the baby.”
Rowan tipped his head back and belted out a ridiculously loud laugh. “Yeah, I forgot you’re a family man.” As if anyone could forget. At least they didn’t forget Bree had a baby.
“You guys should bring her.” Khloe leaned in Bree’s side of the car. Her dark auburn hair fell over the door as she tilted her head
“I don’t know.” Bree didn’t miss the sea of silver and black hopping, hooting, and hollering. She was sure the ice cream place would be wild.
“I’ll help you with her. She can be like our little mascot.”
“I think it will be good for us.” Garrett cupped Bree’s knee with his warm hand.
“Great, we’ll see you there.” Khloe stood with a bounce. Rowan shouted something, but Bree didn’t catch it.
“You wish.” Khloe tossed her hair over her shoulder then headed the other way. Khloe’s boyfriend was Carly’s older brother, who just left for college. She wasn’t sure Rowan would be saying stuff if Hudson was around.
“I don’t want to go.” Bree stared out her side of the car at the emptying brick school, wondering what would happen if she just didn’t come back.
“You don’t want to do anything.” Garrett’s hand left her. He placed it on the steering wheel and let go with the other, folding his elbow out the window.
“If Bailey’s taking a nap, I’d rather her sleep.”
“If she’s sleeping, my mom can watch her.” He didn’t look at her. He placed his chin on his fist.
Bree crossed one knee over the other and stared back out the window. Finally, on the straight stretch where the breeze blew, it wasn’t as sweltering.
***
The ice cream place was packed with a sea of black and silver. Garrett had his arm slung around her shoulders, and Bailey perched on the hip opposite her. Today, she wasn’t sure why she felt more like a possession to him than his girlfriend.
“Hey, Big Daddy’s here,” Lewis shouted across the restaurant chatter. The crowded tables tuned toward them. Garrett lifted his chin. Bree felt her face flush, wondering now if it’d been a mistake bringing Bailey as she watched the pack break, making room for the three of them. They’d had Bailey around the church youth group, but never around this group of friends, who were more Garrett’s than Bree’s.
Lewis lifted his leg over the chair he had been straddling. Paige sat on the table near Lewis, her skinny legs, one over the other, dangled as she twirled her foot, leaning back on her hands. She glanced their way, her eyes roving over Garrett before turning back to the horde of football players at her feet.
Bree couldn’t help but feel slightly out of place without Carly or Colten this year. A year ago, the four of them went everywhere together.
“Let me see that baby.” Khloe hopped toward them her hands out and smile wide. Bailey reached for Khloe, who gushed.
“That’s right, she knows her Aunt Khloe.” Khloe’s voice was a squeaky high pitch as she adjusted Bailey on her hip. She then turned and trotted off with her, Bailey babbling the whole time.
Bree watched as Khloe carried her toward the cheerleaders who, all but Paige, crowded around the baby as if she was a show and tell ob
ject and they’d never seen one before.
“She’s fine,” Garrett whispered.
It was stupid of her. She knew Bailey would be fine with Khloe. It wasn’t like Khloe hadn’t been one of the ones who’d visited this summer.
“What do you want?” Garrett’s hand slid up and down her shoulder, and he stared at the menu.
“I don’t want anything.”
“Don’t do this.”
She shrugged out from under him. “Don’t do what?”
The sigh coming from him only made the irritation stir.
“You know what I mean. You barely touched your lunch today. You haven’t eaten dessert at my house for weeks, and you love my mom’s cheesecake.”
“I’m just trying to eat less sugar.” Bree continued to watch as Bailey was passed from one cheerleader to the next like they were playing hot potato. Despite all the strangers, Bailey’s gummy smile beamed, reaching for one then the next as if it were a new game. “I better get over there.” Bree nodded toward them.
“Hot fudge ice cream it is then,” he said from behind her. She should be happy he knew her favorite, but he also needed to respect the fact she didn’t want sweets.
Knots twisted in her stomach as she approached the table. Besides Carly, Khloe was the only friend she had.
“She’s adorable.” Haven, whom Bree couldn’t recall ever speaking to, held Bailey in her lap like she was a doll. Haven’s blond hair sat poker straight over her shoulders. Her blue eyes wide and her black tee shirt clung to her flat stomach. Bree envied it. She used to wear fitted tops all time, too.
“Thanks,” Bree wiggled in between Khloe and Sarah. To say she felt entirely out of place right now was an understatement.
Paige flicked her hair over her shoulder and glared at Bree for a split second before turning back to Rowan with her obnoxious, loud, laugh.
Upon hearing Bree’s voice, Bailey turned and reached her arms out, her toothless smile wide open. The girls all ‘awed,’ at this.
“So cute.” Sarah patted Bailey’s chubby cheek, her fingernails painted silver and black.