Beautiful Lessons

by Rebecca Brooke

  Looking through the window door I see Jayceon sitting at a desk. He’s hunched over and seems to be in his own world. I slowly open the door and walk in, but he doesn’t hear me. I see a white cord coming from his ears so the music must be pretty loud if he didn’t hear me come in. I don’t want to be creepy and peek over his shoulder to see what he’s drawing. But I’m so curious. Quietly walking over to him, I get on my tippy toes and before I can see what he’s doing, he turns around and nearly knocks me down.

  “Seona?”

  “Hi,” I wave. “You weren’t talking when I texted you and I wanted to talk to you so here I am.”

  “I see.”

  “I thought you said you would try and be friends. So why the attitude? What’d I do now?”

  “You didn’t do anything.” He turns away and puts the papers in his folder. His shoulders are tense again and all I want to do is massage his shoulders and see him relaxed. I hate that he gets tense and stressed around me. What the fuck did Chaz and his friends do to Jayceon that makes him so guarded?

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t talkative through text.” I move closer to him and our shoulders brush against one another. “So how was lunch?”

  I’m distracted by his smell. It’s so manly and so Jayceon. There’s a slight musk to his scent and looking down, I see the jeans he’s wearing with his crisp white sneakers.

  “Seona?”

  He breaks me out of my trance. “Yeah?”

  “Lunch. How was it?”

  “Fine. No issues. But I’m, um, wondering if you wanna come hang out today?”

  Jayceon looks at me then to his canvas. “After practice?”

  “Yeah. I mean, I can make dinner and we can hang out.”

  Jayceon doesn’t respond and instantly I’m regretting asking him to come over.

  “Sure. I’ll text my dad and tell him I’m missing today, so after practice I’ll shower real quick and we can head to your house.”

  A smile comes on my face. Like a big, cheesy, little school girl smile. “Sounds good.” I get up from the chair and pick up my bag. “I have dance now, so I’ll see you later?”

  Jayceon gives me a small smile and nods his head. I walk out of the art room and head to dance. All I can think about is breaking down his walls and getting to know him. I wish he could be more confident and not let Chaz and his idiot friends get to him. Sometimes I wonder what he was like before the shit with Chaz blew up. I still wonder what happened. No one will tell me and I’m too scared to ask. It doesn’t matter what happened though. I’m going to get to know the real Jayceon Ashworth.

  Walking into business, I go straight to Claire and put down my books. “Hey. I need a favor.”

  “Hey! What’s going on?”

  I lean down and tell her Jayceon and I are hanging out at my house. Her eyes go wide and she covers her mouth.

  “Wait, you guys are okay and not at each other’s throats?”

  I nod. “Yeah. He’s really nice and I really want to know what happened.” I look at Claire, waiting for her to respond, to say anything to help me understand.

  “I know you do,” she sighs, “It’s not my story to tell. I wish I could tell you.”

  I slump in my chair and nod my head. She’s right. I shouldn’t betray Jayceon’s trust and find out what happened from someone else. I’ve learned if you want to know something about someone, you ask them directly. You don’t listen to a third party source. That’s how rumors start.

  I try to pay attention to what Mr. Adams is talking about. My mind is going on and on about Jayceon and hanging out with him tonight. I keep looking at the clock, counting down until I get to see him in history. Man, I have it bad for him.

  “Make sure you read chapter five to eight tonight and be ready for a quiz,” he tells the class as we’re packing up.

  “Seona, can I see you before you go to your next class?”

  I mentally groan. Of course he’d want to talk to me when I’m ready to jump out of my seat for my last class. This would happen.

  The bell rings and I wave to Claire. When everyone’s out of the room Mr. Adams walks to me and sits down across from me.

  “What’s up?” I ask him.

  He hands me a folder and I lift it open to see an A+ on my business proposal plan I handed in last week. “This,” he points at the plan, “is the best plan I’ve ever seen in all the years I’ve been teaching this class. You’re gifted, Seona. I know you’re new and I don’t know you very well, but if you keep up this kind of work you need to look into majoring in business in college. Have you thought about your next step?”

  I gulp the lump in my throat. College? I’m focusing on getting through high school without Chaz trying to maul me every chance he gets. “I don’t know. Back at my old school, I wasn’t the best student and I kinda just went day to day.”

  “Oh,” he says, “Well, you get a new chance and from what I can see, you’re doing very well. How are you doing in your other classes?”

  “Pretty well, I think. I’ve been turning in my homework and I think the lowest grade I got on a quiz was like an 85%.”

  “That’s good, Seona. Listen, think about what I said and keep working hard. I really think you have a great business mind.”

  Am I hearing him correctly? I’ve never been complimented by a teacher because of my homework or grades. Everyone back home knew me as Seona the cheerleader so I never tried and in my head being smart and doing well in school wasn’t cool.

  “Thank you so much. I’ll definitely think about it.”

  “Can I keep this? I teach at the university also and I think my students will appreciate this kind of work and understand my expectation.”

  “Are you serious?” My voice croaks.

  “Yes, very.”

  “Yeah take it,” I’m nearly out of my seat. “Thank you. Wow, really thanks.”

  “Alright get to class.” He writes me a pass and pats me on the shoulder. I feel really good when I walk out of his room.

  My phone vibrates in my pocket and I look around to make sure no one’s around to catch me.

  Jayceon: Where r u?

  Me: Had to stay back with Mr. Adams. On my way

  Jayceon: I saved you a seat next to me

  He did what? The biggest, girliest smile comes back on my face. Today is really a good day.

  Walking into history, I hand in my slip and head straight to Jayceon. Taking my seat, he turns to look at me and smiles.

  “Glad you made it.”

  “Me too.”

  * * * * *

  Practice goes by pretty well. Vanessa and I go through a new routine and prepare for the game on Friday. The girls are looking great and we’re ready for the game.

  “Great practice, girls,” Vanessa calls out. “See you tomorrow!”

  I grab my bag by the bleachers and Vanessa comes up to me. “Hey.”

  “Hi.”

  “Are you mad at me?”

  Throwing my bag across my body I look at her. “No I’m not mad. Why would I be?”

  She shrugs. “We don’t talk. I heard you and Chaz went out. Are you two going out or something?”

  “Vanessa, what the hell are you talking about?”

  She looks surprised and leans in closer to me. “Chaz told people you let him feel you up.”

  “He did what?” I yell. Before I can say anything else, I see the football team coming in from outside. My eyes find the smug bastard. I put down my bag and march over to him. Jayceon smiles and then his expression quickly changes when he sees me walking to Chaz.

  “You asshole!” I shout, shoving him. “Why would you tell people I let you feel me up!”

  He smirks. “Because you did.”

  I’m about five seconds from punching him in the face. I can’t believe what I’m hearing! Anger surges and I see red. “You know I didn’t. I would never let you touch me. You’re disgusting and not worth my time. I’ve turned you down so many times and you can’t take the rejection, so you mak
e up lies about me? You’re an asshole!” He snickers, standing in front of me with a smug look on his face. “Do you really want me to embarrass you in front of your boys?”

  “There’s nothing to lie about, baby.” He laughs, and some of the guys join him.

  I poke his chest and glare at him. “You know damn well I didn’t let you touch me. You aren’t the guy I want to date anyways.” He looks at me, “Jayceon. I want to date him and not you.”

  “Damn!” I turn around and see Brendan crouching down laughing. Jayceon’s holding in his laugh too.

  I turn back to Chaz, “You better fix this. Now!” I grab his wrist and hold on tight. “Now Chaz, or else I’ll make sure you don’t ever throw a football.”

  He must see how serious I am and nods his head. “Alright, I’m sorry.”

  “Good.” I let him go and walk away. I hear the guys behind me and Chaz doesn’t say anything.

  Grabbing my bag, I tell the girls bye and Claire comes up next to me. She’s quiet until we’re out of the gym.

  “You okay?”

  I feel the tears starting to come from my eyes. “Just really pissed. I never let him touch me, so why would he tell people that? I’m not a slut or anything.”

  She hugs me and tells me it’ll be okay. I shouldn’t care, but I don’t want Jayceon or anyone to think I’m easy. I’m not easy.

  “You ready?” Jayceon’s voice brings me out of my mood.

  “Thanks, Claire. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Text me later,” she winks and walks away.

  Jayceon and I walk the opposite way and head to his truck. As we walk down the hall and through the doors, not saying much, I feel my heart beating a little faster. I like how Jayceon’s making me feel.

  When we get to my house, I tell him to relax in the living room. I run upstairs to take a quick shower and change. Throwing on a pair of yoga pants and a white tank top I put on some blush, gloss and mascara.

  Walking out of my room I send Travis a text, letting him know Jayceon’s over for dinner.

  “Does chicken salad sound good to you?”

  Jayceon looks up from the TV. “Yeah, sounds good.” He flashes me his smile and I nearly fall to the ground. His smile is so addicting.

  “Well, relax and I’ll be done soon.”

  “No, let me help too.” Jayceon places his hand on the small part of my back and it takes every ounce of me to not fall into his arm. Holding it together, I walk into the kitchen and get the ingredients out for our salad.

  “Can you put the salad in the bowl with whatever toppings and then I’ll cook the chicken?”

  “Yeah, no problem.”

  He turns his back to me and I can’t take my eyes off his massive shoulders. There’s a silence between us, but it’s not like before. Now it’s comfortable and I like being here with him.

  I finish cooking the chicken and put it in the salad. He grabs the bowl and I take down two plates. We walk to the dining room and sit down. Before I can serve him, he beats me to it.

  “Sit down and let me.” Major swoon.

  When we both have our dinner, the silence is back. I think about things we can talk about, I don’t want to sound lame or boring.

  “Can you tell me more about your art?”

  “What do you want to know?”

  “What were you working on today? Are you working on anything?”

  “Ah,” he says, taking a bite of his salad. “I was doodling. Planning out another piece I want to paint.”

  His answers are simple and to the point. We’re friends and we’re getting to know each other. This shouldn’t be so hard.

  “And what do you plan to paint.”

  He shakes his head, “I can show you later. I don’t like talking about my pieces before I start.”

  “Why?”

  “You don’t let up, do you?”

  “We’re friends and I’m getting to know you.” His eyes meet mine and for some reason, I see something else. That’s what I’ve learned about Jayceon. He’ll say one thing, but his eyes will tell a different story. “I’d like to watch you paint one day.” I laugh and see him smile.

  “Maybe.” Jayceon takes a drink and turns to me. “My turn. So, how are you liking Texas?”

  “I mean, it’s cool. Different from Michigan.”

  “How so?”

  I shrug, “It’s hard to explain. All my life, all I’ve known is Holland. Don’t get me wrong, I loved it there. The beach and parks were nice and here it’s really hot. I’m going to miss the snow and winter.”

  “Yeah, you won’t see snow here,” he says, “And you said your dad travels a lot. What does he do?”

  “Boring stuff,” I keep it short and hope Jayceon takes the hint. I don’t want to talk about my dad. I don’t want to break down. Not now and especially not in front of him.

  “Ah, sounds fun I guess.” We both laugh and go back to our salads. After we finish, he helps me wash the dishes and we head to the living room to watch TV.

  “Are you a fan of Modern Family?”

  “Love it,” he states, “I fucking think Sofia Vergara is so hot.”

  I throw a pillow at his face. “Of course you do!”

  “What?” I press my lips tight to hold in my smile. “Exactly. If you were a guy, you’d think she was hot too.”

  I nudge him with my shoulder and we turn our attention to the TV. From the corner of my eye, I study him and notice how beautiful he is when he’s relaxed and not on his guard. I like this Jayceon. So, now if I can just make him understand how awesome he is so he doesn’t have these walls around him all the time.

  Chapter 9

  Jayceon

  She’s trying to be stealthy about it, but I know she’s watching me. The way her body shifts as she fidgets in her seat, makes me realize that she’s nervous. The question is why, so far everything has been comfortable between us. Well, almost everything. Seeing her come down the stairs in that tight white tank top, made all kind of thoughts parade through my head and none of them were anything friendly.

  My eyes stray to the clock and notice that it’s getting late. The night has been a lot of fun, but I know I still have a ton of homework to do, plus Dad won’t want me to get home too late while we’re in season.

  “Seona?” She pulls her eyes from the TV to look at me. “I had a lot of fun hanging out with you tonight, but I better get home before my dad starts looking for me.”

  The smile drops from her face and I feel kinda bad leaving. “Yeah I guess. Travis is going to be home soon anyway.”

  Standing up¸ I stretch and start collecting my stuff. Seona moves around the room, picking up our glasses and the paper plates from our brownies. Her shoulders are slightly slumped and I can tell she’s trying to hide how much she wants me to stay. It feels pretty good to have someone want to spend time with you.

  Picking up my keys, I turn to her. “See ya tomorrow.”

  She smiles. “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Turns out when I get home that Mom and Dad decided to go out for dinner and still hadn’t made it home yet. The amount of homework I still have to do makes me cringe, but I head up to my room to get started. If I want to get into NYU, I need to keep my grades up, plus Dad will kill me if I slack off.

  About halfway through my English assignment, I find that I want to talk to Seona again. Grabbing phone from my pocket, I send her a quick text.

  Me: I had a lot of fun tonight.

  Not sure what she’s doing, I go back to my work. When the phone buzzes seconds later, I feel a little excited. Besides Alyssa and Brendan, no one really makes an effort.

  Seona: Me too. Thanks for coming over.

  Me: I was thinking

  Was I really considering this?

  Seona: Thinking what? Don’t leave me hanging like that.

  Me: LOL! Wanna hang out after the game on Friday? We can grab some pizza.

  Nervous that she’s going to say no, I try to concentrate but I can’t.
Good thing she doesn’t make me wait.

  Seona: I’d love too!

  Something to look forward to this weekend. I know I initially pushed her away, but every move she’s made has proven that she might be trustworthy; that she’s not using me for one of Chaz’s fucked up games.

  Me: Awesome. Still have homework to do. TTYL.

  After finishing all of the work the teachers dumped in our laps, I sketch for a while, thinking about Seona. There’s just something about her that’s so different from anyone else. Thing is, I think that us being friends could definitely lead to more. Eventually, I realize that I’ve drawn nothing but nonsense and decide it’s better to go to bed.

  Throughout the night, I toss and turn. My mind is on the first girl I ever met that could be more than just a friend. Sometime during the night, I heard my parents come home. At least they had fun.

  The morning sun peeks through my blinds way before I’m ready to get up. My body feels heavy, but I push past it with thoughts of seeing Seona at school today. Before I know it, I’m dressed and ready to leave.

  The parking lot is always packed, so the sooner you get there the better. Heading to my locker, I consider going to find Seona at hers for a moment, until I realize Alyssa is waiting for me at mine.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she asks. “I feel like I only see you during school lately.”

  “Sorry, practicing, plus working out with my dad is taking more time than I thought it would. How about lunch in the art room today, just you and me?”

  It seemed only fair. If Seona and I are going to be friends, then I need to make sure I’m spending time with Alyssa as well. She has been my best friend since we met.

  “Sounds good. I’ll meet you there. Right now, I have to get to math so I can make up a test.”