The unspoken Rule

by June Whitfield

  The Unspoken Rule

  June Whitfield

  Chapter 1: Faucets and Laura 2

  Chapter 2: Skates and Winks 4

  Chapter 3: Pre Calculus and Muscles 7

  Chapter 4: Cynthia and Ignoring 10

  Chapter 5: Root Beer and Talks 12

  Chapter 6: Basketball and Wesley 16

  Chapter 7: Lies, Truths, and Tears 22

  Chapter 9: Tickle-Me-Elmo 30

  Chapter 10: Scenes and Sparks 33

  Chapter 11: Stars and Fury 38

  Chapter 12: Truths 43

  Chapter 13: Kisses and Tears 46

  Chapter 14: Moving On 49

  Chapter 15: The Plan 53

  Chapter 16: The Plan 2 57

  Chapter 17: Salad, Breadsticks, and Root Beer 60

  Chapter 18: Perfectly Happy 64

  Chapter 19: Epilogue 67

  THE END 70

  Chapter 1: Faucets and Laura

  Preview to The Unspoken Rule

  I never really understood faucets. They were just simple appliances that you could buy to wash dishes with. So what I didn't understand was why my parents were taking so much consideration into which faucet they purchased.

  "What about this one, it comes with a soap pump?"

  "I don't think it'll fit."

  "Okay, how about this one?"

  "It needs to be made of brass."

  After a few more minutes of looking at the faucets, my parents finally picked one out. I honestly couldn't tell the difference between all the selections. We paid for it and returned home that Friday evening. Upon my returning home, I slipped into my pajamas and turned on my XBOX. It was time to play. I played for a few hours, then went to bed, feeling tired.

  The following Monday, I got ready for school like normal. After I showered, I brushed my hair before my mirror. My reflection revealed a young teen girl, with straight brown hair, and matching eyes. I had glasses and braces, giving me that stereotypical 'nerd' look. I finished combing out the tangles, grabbed a package of Poptarts and headed out the door. My dad drove me to the bus stop, where I waited. Laura soon walked up to me, where we chatted. The big yellow vehicle pulled up to us, and we piled on. I searched the seats for a spot for me. Eventually, I found one, next to some random guy I didn't know. I sat beside him, and we were at the highschool within minutes.

  I pulled my coat around me tighter as I walked through the front doors of the building. Warmth greeted me when I entered, and I headed towards my locker. I pulled out my necessary books and slammed the door shut. I went to my first period room and took my seat. I was about ten minutes early, I was never late. My friend Laura soon entered the classroom, carrying her textbooks. She came over to my desk. I pulled out the Poptarts and she took one. It was something we did to make us look forward to school mornings.

  "Hey," She greeted me, her mouth full of food.

  "Hi."

  She brushed some of her brown hair behind her ears. "You ready for exams later this week?"

  "Oh yeah," I told her sarcastically. "Bring them on."

  She laughed. "Hey, you wanna spend the night this Friday night?"

  I looked at my mental calendar. Friday was free of any plans.

  "Sure, sounds good."

  "Sweet."

  The bell rang and Laura took her assigned seat.

  Spending the night at Laura's usually consisted of inside jokes and many laughs. We were always cracking up when we hung out. Little did I know that this overnight would be the cause of many complications to come.

  Chapter 2: Skates and Winks

  "A pair of 9's please."

  "That'll be one dollar."

  I handed the man a bill and he handed me my skates.

  We were at the local roller skating rink. Lights were flashing out of control, and kids were skating around everywhere. I found an empty bench and laced up my skates. Laura rolled up to me, having complete control. I hadn't skated in years, so I was bound to look like an elephant on wheels.

  I carefully stood up, trying to balance on the wheels. I wobbled some and I tried to control myself. Laura laughed and grabbed my arm, steadying me. She turned her green eyes at me. "You'll be fine." She assured me.

  I managed to put a smile on my face and together we rolled out into the main rink. The music was pumping out of the speakers, and teens were everywhere doing laps.

  "Look at Jake over there." Her face contorted into a look of disgust.

  I followed her gaze and saw what she did. Her older brother Jake was hanging out with his girlfriend, having a little too much fun. They were holding hands, both of them smiling. Jake had his lips on the girl's, both of them close to each other. Laura pretended to gag. I rolled my eyes and took a slow lap around the rink. Jake rolled up beside us, a mischievous look on his face.

  He rolled dangerously close to Laura, any closer and she would wipe out.

  "Jake, go roll all over your girlfriend or something." Laura told him.

  He shook his head. "I'm having too much fun pestering you."

  Laura snarled at her sibling. He ignored it and looked at me. "Hey Maria."

  "Hi Jake."

  Laura looked at Jake in disbelief. "How come you respect her more than me?"

  "Because, she's actually nice." He smirked at Laura, who was now crossing glaring at him, and winked at me.

  Wait, did he just seriously wink at me? He never did that to me when I was with Laura.

  He sped away from us, his blonde hair getting tossed in the air.

  "I hate him." She stated, obviously still angry.

  I shrugged. He didn't seem that bad.

  We skated for a while longer, and Laura's brother drove us to her house. I followed Laura into her room.

  "What do you wanna do?" She asked me.

  "Play some Wii?"

  "Sure."

  We went through her living room, then down the short flight of stairs to her basement. With a giant TV and killer stereo system, Laura's basement was in all sense of the word-amazing. Jake was down there, playing Black Ops.

  "Jake, we wanna play Wii."

  He didn't budge.

  I sat beside him on the couch. "Intervention? I hate sniper rifles."

  He rolled his eyes. "Maybe you hate sniper rifles because you're bad at shooting."

  "I'm not bad at shooting! My RPD can take you down!" I exclaimed.

  He turned away from the game and cocked an eyebrow, challenging me.

  "Guys," Laura interjected.

  "Bring it." Jake told me.

  "Guys?" She asked.

  I ignored her. It was time he learned a lesson. I grabbed a nearby controller and turned it on.

  "Will do." I told him confidently. He set his blue eyes on the screen again.

  Laura sighed and sat in a chair by the TV. He set up the game, and we were playing within a few moments. I chewed on my lip. Jake was good, but I was better. I pulled the left trigger, zooming in on him. He was perfectly between my crosshairs, unaware. I squeezed the right trigger, a shower of RPD bullets heading his way. He was killed on screen, earning a grunt from him beside me.

  I smirked at him. "When you're ready to really start playing, you tell me."

  He narrowed his eyes at me.

  I blew off his gesture and killed him a few more times throughout the game. The match ended after a few minutes, posting the results on the TV. I had 25 kills, he had 15.

  "Powned!" I told him, satisfied.

  "You got lucky. Our scores were close."

  I shook my head no. "Close only counts in horseshoes and throwing grenades."

  He had no retort for that one.

  "Come on Jake, please let us play." Laura practically pleaded.

  "Fine," He grumbled. Laura went t
o the TV to turn on the Wii. He stood up, and whispered so only I could hear. "Until next time."

  He ascended the stairs, leaving me confused.

  He meant for us to play video games next time, right?

  Chapter 3: Pre Calculus and Muscles

  I walked into the classroom, then scanned the desks to find my assigned seat. It was the beginning of the second semester, and this was my first day of Pre Calculus. My seat was in the front row, the middle desk. I set my belongings on the small desk and watched as other students filed into the room.

  Most of them were older years than I was; I only knew a few people. They found their appropriate seats.

  "Look at that, I sit next to Maria."

  I turned my head towards the male voice. Jake was sitting in the chair next to me, smiling. I groaned inwardly, this would be a terrible class with him next to me. Especially if he was going to act this annoying.

  "Yep." I replied.

  Soon all the seats were filled and our teacher started class. She introduced herself as Mrs. Parkers.

  "I'm handing out an introductory worksheet. Do your best on it, because I want to see what you remember from last year." She told us.

  The sheets were passed out, and I looked at the first problem.

  Write a two-column proof explaining why triangles have 180 degrees.

  I sighed. This wasn't going to be easy. I hadn't done real math in over a year, it was going to be difficult getting into the groove. I picked up my pencil and started on the paper. Our class worked pretty silently. After a few minutes, we were all finished with the problems and Mrs. Parkers collected them.

  "Next, I'm going to partner you guys up to do a project. Each group will be assigned a section of the next chapter and will have to teach the class their section. This rubric will help you decide what to include in your lesson."

  Some of the students groaned, not liking the whole project idea.

  "Here are the groups: Michael and Sarah."

  "Liam and Josh."

  "Katelyn and Kayla."

  "Jake and-"

  Please don't be me, please don't be me, I told myself quietly.

  "...Maria."

  Rats! This was set up! It had to be! Jake sent a smirk my way. I glared at him, not liking this one bit.

  We were assigned section 2, so I opened our textbook and flipped to it.

  "Okay Jake, let's read the section, and then figure it out from there."

  "Sounds good." He agreed.

  He opened his book, and we read soundlessly.

  I took out a notebook when I finished reading it.

  "You finished reading it already?" He asked me, his eyes full of disbelief.

  "Yeah, it makes sense to me."

  He shook his head and was soon finished.

  "Okay, what do you think we should include?" I was all business here.

  "We shouldn't include your horrible taste of weaponry in Black Ops."

  "Horrible? How is the RPD horrible, if it creamed you?" I asked.

  He set his deep blue eyes on my dark ones. He shook his head, sending his shiny blonde hair flying. "Just never mind."

  I took a deep breath. "Okay, we should include examples. And maybe have the class write down some quick notes."

  "Yeah, that should work."

  The bell rang, alerting us for the end of the day. I put my stuff in my backpack.

  "I'll do the examples, if you think of some notes." He told me, getting ready.

  "Sure thing."

  We left class, going our separate ways. I didn't know what Laura was talking about. Jake wasn't really that bad. Sometimes he was obnoxious, but that wasn't often.

  Later that week, Laura invited me to go to the mall with her. I agreed and my parents dropped me off at her house. I was psyched to go shopping, I needed a new scarf. Her parents let me inside and I went to her room. The door was shut, so I knocked politely. No answer.

  Confused, I wondered if she was in the basement playing Wii. She most likely was. She loved to play that dancing game. I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear, and went down the staircase. I heard the TV on, to my relief. I was about to say Laura's name when I stopped.

  Jake was standing before the TV, in the middle of snapping his jeans shut. I stood silently where I was, watching him. My eyes traveled over his torso, absorbing the muscles. His skin looked so smooth, so perfect, so...muscled. He grabbed his folded red shirt from the couch and pulled it on.

  I shook my head, willing the thoughts to dissipate. Once he was clothed, I announced my presence.

  "Is Laura down here?" I asked him innocently.

  He turned around and looked at me. "Yeah, she's in the back room." He jerked a thumb, showing the way.

  I followed his gesture and went into the back room. Laura was in there, trying on different hats.

  "Hey Maria. Which hat do you think? This one?" She pulled on a beanie. "Or this one?" She put on a ball cap.

  "The beanie." I told her, not really taking consideration. My mind was still on Jake.

  "Ready to shop?" She asked me.

  I nodded and followed her.

  Why was I so smitten by Jake's looks? It was repulsing to think of my best friend's brother that way. I had seen much cuter guys than him before. What had changed?

  Chapter 4: Cynthia and Ignoring

  I hate school. And many kids do.

  But my peers would be surprised that I do because, well, I just do so well in my classes. I'm not bragging or anything, but it's the truth. I do all my homework, take notes, and study. Like you should.

  So I was not in a good mood that Tuesday, knowing I had a science test that day. I trudged to my locker, bits of snowing flying off me in the process. The cold Michigan weather didn't improve my day either.

  I made it to my locker, entered my combination and grabbed my books.

  "Jake." A female voice drawled.

  My heart froze in mid-beat. Still trying to act casual, I turned around and saw who said his name. His blonde girlfriend had her hands laced in his hair, practically sucking the life out of him.

  "Cynthia." He murmured as he pulled away.

  A twang of jealousy struck me. Angry at my feelings towards him, I quickly faced my locker again. Why was I drawn to him? He was Laura's brother, for crying out loud! I needed to find someone my own age, not an older guy. Besides, what would Laura think of me if I fell for her sibling?

  The said sibling did some things to earn giggles from his girlfriend.

  "I gotta go, Jakey."

  "Do you have to right now?"

  "Yes, I'm sorry." She paused. "I'll see you at lunch, alright babe?"

  "Yeah."

  I heard her footsteps behind me go up the staircase to my left. I finished getting my things and slammed my locker shut. I swiveled and about dropped my stuff. Someone was standing before me, impossibly close.

  My eyes snaked their way up the torso until they landed onto a pair of azure eyes.

  "Sorry." I managed to say. I wasn't exactly sure why I was apologizing.

  "Maria, did you get the homework last night?" Jake asked me.

  "I'm sorry, I'm gonna be late for class."

  I went around him and started down the hallway, when I felt his arm tug me back.

  "What do you-" I started.

  "Maria, what's wrong?"

  I tore my eyes from his, not wanting him to see the truth behind them. "Nothing, I'm fine."

  "It doesn't look like nothing." He countered.

  "Since when do you care, Jake? You hardly even know me!" The terrible remark was already said and done, I was unable to take it back.

  I looked up in time to see hurt flash across his face. My heart sank, not wanting to hurt him. I hardly even knew Jake, and I already said something mean to him.

  "I'm sorry." I whispered.

  I ran from him, my hazelnut locks getting in my way. Spitting the hair out of my mouth, I ran from my problem.