“I hear you’re sick.” I say, trying to hide the worry creeping up inside of me.
“Yeah, not feeling too well.” She doesn’t elaborate. I can’t help this bad feeling I’m getting.
“Are you sure that’s all it is?” The question comes out without my permission, but the fluttering of my insides warn me that something’s off.
She pauses, longer than she should. “I’m fine, really. I should feel better by tomorrow. You’re still coming to Hawaii, right?” She tries to sound excited, trying to convince me that she is fine and it’s time to change the subject.
“Yep.” I confirm. When she remains silent, I ask. “Are you sure?” My voice is soft, filled with concern… I can’t help it.
“Yeah, I’m good. I’m still tired though, so I’m gonna let you go.”
“Is your mom home with you?” The question silences her.
“Why?” Her voice is small.
“So you have someone to check up on you.” Then I remember what kind of mom Margret is to Jasmine. “Oh, sorry.” That was stupid.
“No, she went out with some friends and won’t be back until late tomorrow morning. My dad’s nurse is here throughout the day, and she’ll get me anything if I need it.” Her answer lacks confidence.
“Alright, I hope you feel better soon.” She disconnects without another word.
I pull the phone away and look at the screen. My gut is telling me that something’s not right. I’m tempted to rush to her house to check, but what would I do? Break the door down, storm inside, demand to know what’s going on.
Instead, I finish the rest of the school day and head home.
Mi Madre left a note; she’s working a double shift again today. I hate her working so hard for so little. One of these days, I will get us out of here; make enough money to give her the life she deserves.
Scanning the fridge for leftovers, I find black beans and chicken. I fry up some tortillas and sit down to eat. Grabbing a tablet and pen, I jot down what I need to pack tonight for the trip. I have to admit, I’m getting excited, kind of like a kid on Christmas.
I finish my food and go to my room to pack.
My mind drifts to Jasmine. Out of all days, she missed class today. She’s hounded me all week about getting this project in early, and today was the day to get it turned in before the trip. I would have turned it in for us but she had all the samples of roots at her house. I’d forgotten all about it until seventh period, my mind being more distracted with why she was absent from school.
The next morning at school, I load my stuff on the number three bus. We were all assigned a bus number with the packets they sent us in the mail.
Walking through the hall, I notice I’m earlier than usual. I’m passing by biology class when my teacher, Mrs. Hubert, runs out to catch me. She’s in her late thirties, but dresses as if she’s a sixties librarian. Her dark brown hair is always in a bun, and she wears those horned glasses to perfect her appearance.
“Alex!” She says excitedly. “I am so glad I caught you before the assembly. I thought you and Jasmine were going to turn your assignment in before we left for the trip?”
“Yeah, we were. Jasmine came down with something and couldn’t make it to school yesterday. She had all the samples of plants we found at her house.” I gave her the same lame excuse Jasmine gave me, only it was working on Mrs. Hubert.
“If you two can get your project in before the assembly begins, I promise it will pay off.” She winks at me. What is she saying? “Go. Go find Jasmine and bring me your work. You have fifteen minutes. Hustle!” She shoos me away with her hands. I laugh at the way she actually makes me rush off to find Jasmine, hustling without me even realizing I’m doing so.
Finding Jasmine seems harder than anticipated. Instead of looking, I call, which I should have done ten minutes ago. The phone rings a few times before she picks up.
“Alex… Hey.” She says, her voice sounding much better. Either that, or her acting skills are improving.
“Where are you?” I rush out.
“I’m at my locker. Why? Where are you?”
“Stay there. I’ll be there in less than thirty seconds.” I hang up and head in her direction.
Less than thirty seconds later, I round the corner next to her locker. Her back is facing me, and she’s looking down the opposite hall. The first thing I notice is that she’s wearing her hair down. She normally wears it in a ponytail, or in some kind of up and out of her face hairdo. With it down, it shines. Staring at her like this, she’s breathtaking.
“Jasmine.” She jumps and spins around, a startled look on her face.
“Oh, you scared me.” She smiles, but there is no warmth touching her eyes. It’s the smile that I see her give to everyone but me, but that’s not the case now.
“I just ran into Mrs. Hubert. She said that if we want to turn our project in before the assembly, we could still get credit for it. Do you have everything we need here?”
“Yes! This is so great! I thought I’d missed out because I was…” she glances at me, knowing she has to lie, but not wanting to. “When I was sick.”
I study her, looking her over from head to toe. She looks fine, nothing out of place. She is, however, wearing long sleeves and long pants on the day we are leaving for Hawaii. That seems a little suspicious.
“You feeling better?” I ask her, my voice thick with skepticism.
“I am.”
“Good. So do you want to go turn in our project before the assembly?”
“Of course I do.” She turns to grab the items from her locker.
We turn down the hall and catch Mrs. Hubert as she’s exiting her classroom.
“Mrs. Hubert!” Jasmine calls to her before she closes the door. “Sorry. It took Alex a little while to find me.”
“Oh, good, you made it.” She opens her classroom door again and walks to her desk. “Alright, let’s see what you’ve got.” She holds her hand out for our paperwork.
We explain all the different kinds of plants we found, what uses they have, and how we could cook them. She inspected our samples, all labeled properly.
“We couldn’t agree on one recipe, so we made two.” Jasmine said.
One look and a whole conversation is exchanged. She made an additional recipe because she would not take credit for mine without doing her part. After realizing I understood her with just one look, my breathing speeds and my pulse hits hyper drive.
What the hell is wrong with me?
“This is great! Simply wonderful. I give you both an A, plus the extra credit. Wonderful work.”
Jasmine and I glance at each other, a secret smirk playing on our lips. Why the hell is the teacher so thrilled about us turning in our project early?
“We better get to the assembly.” I point toward the door.
“Yes. I need to be there as well. Hurry along then.” She smiles and waits for us to leave.
We walk out of her room and down the hall. “That was weird.” I say. Before I even finish the sentence, she’s nodding her head.
“What do you think that was all about?”
“I have no idea. She was just all hyped up about me finding you and turning in our project, and it had to be before the assembly, too. She was very specific about that part.”
“That’s so weird.” She says as she tucks her hair behind her ear.
That’s when I see it.
Her ear is a bit swollen, and very bruised. She catches me staring and realizes what she’s done. She quickly covers her ear again with her hair, but it’s too late; I’ve stopped moving. She tries to continue walking, but I corner her against the lockers, putting a hand on either side of her body. When her back bangs against the lockers, she winces as if it hurt.
“What happened to you?” I reach for the side of her face and she flinches, but doesn’t pull away. I trace my fingers lightly against her cheek, up her jaw to her ear, pulling the hair aside as I move.
“Nothing.” She speaks quickly, but quietly.
Her voice is so quiet I have to lean in close to hear her words.
‘Nothing my ass.’
Her ear looks like someone went all Mike Tyson on her, only without the bite mark. I step into her, our bodies almost pressed together. I’m pissed as hell that someone touched her, and because she’s not saying anything, protecting the hijo de puta who did this.
“Do not give me that shit, Jas. Who’s doing this to you?”
Tears are welling up in her eyes, but she blinks them away before they can fall.
“Nobody did anything. Just leave it alone, Alex.”
She pushes past me and heads for the gym, while I jog a few steps to catch up. “Come on Jas, there is no way you can be mad at me for caring about what happens to you.”
She stops so abruptly I almost run into her. “No Alex, I’m not mad, but will you please just drop it?” The pleading look in her eyes melts my heart, and I want to give her anything she desires.
“Alright, fine.” I hold my hands up in surrender. “I’ll let it go… for now.” She almost walks away when my next words stop her again. “But if you ever have another mark on you again, I’ll kill them. No matter who it is, I.WILL.KILL.THEM. Do you understand?” My voice is stern, commanding.
I think I actually see a small smile quirk up on the side of her lips before she answers me. “Deal.” She then walks into the gym where the assembly has already begun.
We stand next to the bleachers where we entered, not wanting to draw attention by attempting to climb through everyone else. The principal is speaking, going over what he deems appropriate behavior on this trip and how he expects everyone to follow the rules. Right, as if that will happen.
Then Mrs. Hubert takes over the assembly. She laughs before she says, “Thank you all for coming this morning. Like any of you would pass up a chance at Hawaii, right?” Everyone laughs with her. “I am here because there is a twist we declined to mention to you all. We have rented out an entire plane for our trip, which you all know, but we’ve been holding out on you, I’m afraid.” She pauses, drawing it out longer. “We have seats available in first class for a few lucky students.” The crowd begins cheering. “There was a competition of sorts that has already been completed. So, the people who will be sitting in first class will be everyone who turned in their biology projects before this assembly.”
There are cheers in small sections throughout the gym. Then it occurs to me that Jasmine and I both turned in our project before this assembly. We look over at each other at the same time, and a slow smile spreads across both of our faces.
Chapter Seventeen
Jasmine
“We won first class seats.” I say to Alex.
“This is awesome.” he smiles. It has been a long time since I’ve seen his face like this… so content and carefree.
Shortly after the assembly is over and everyone begins to head to their designated busses, Alex walks with me outside without saying a word. The silence is peaceful, instead of the awkwardness that clings to me around most people these days. Just having him next to me makes me feel safe. I’m in the middle of warning myself against thoughts of him when he breaks the silence.
“What bus are you on?”
“Two. What’s your number?”
“Three.” He stands in front of me for a moment, looking like he doesn’t want to leave. “I guess I’ll see you at the airport.”
“Alright.” He turns to walk away, and then a slight panic rises inside of me. I don’t want him to leave me.
“Hey, Alex?” My voice speaks before I can control it. Now I have to come up with something to say… “Thanks.”
‘Thanks! Thanks for what? Say something you idiot!’
“Thanks for coming to find me for Mrs. Hubert. I really needed the extra credit for turning the assignment in early, and the first class prize was nice too, huh.”
He only stares at me. He always seems to be in control of his emotions, making me wonder if the response I have to him is solely one sided. Could I be the only one feeling this way? When he steps closer to me, it makes me think he feels it too.
“You’re welcome.” He whispers into my ear.
He leaves me breathless and almost quivering as he saunters away. I watch him until he walks up the stairs of his bus. Then, he surprises me when he turns back to see if I’m still there. When he sees me, a smirk forms on his beautiful lips, and then he disappears onto the bus.
I’m so absorbed in watching him, I neglect to hear anyone approach me until a hand comes down on my shoulder, scaring the living shit out of me and sending a sharp pain through part of my body. I close off the pain as I pull away and turn to see who’s touching me.
Andrew’s smile falters when he sees the look on my face. “Sorry. Did I startle you?”
I try to wipe the bitch face off and put on a happy face for him, wanting him to think that everything is fine.
“Yeah, sorry.” Andrew is easy to throw off any trail; I wish Alex were as gullible. “What bus are you on?”
Andrew takes a moment before he answers, “Bus two. You?”
“Two, too. That’s cool.” I smile at him, doing better at locking up the emotions I was feeling five minutes prior.
His face lights up with hope. “You ready to go then? I think we’re the last ones.”
Looking around the school grounds, I realize he’s right. We need to hurry.
“Yeah, let’s go.” My stomach flips. I’m so excited about the warm beaches we will be on in a few short hours.
The bus is packed, and Andrew is able to get another girl to squeeze in with her friends to give us our own seat. We talk about Mrs. Hubert’s surprise twist on the biology project. Turns out, Andrew and his partner Kevin turned their project in early too, so they would be joining us in first class. I wonder how many people turned their projects in early.
Filing off the bus is insane; there are kids everywhere. The teachers are having a hard time keeping us corralled and directed toward where we need to be. Once we’re ushered to the gate, the principal claps to gain everyone’s attention.
“Class,” He yells over the loud crowd of seniors. “Everyone who turned in their project early needs to gather over there, by Mrs. Hubert. The rest of you need to follow me.” He turns and continues through the gate to our plane. Since we have our own plane on reserve, there is no waiting like we would have to do for normal flights.
A group of about twenty wait with Mrs. Hubert. Once we all assemble toward her, she speaks, “Alright everyone. First off, congratulations for turning your projects in early… hard work does pay off.” She smiles at her own little joke, while the rest of us roll our eyes. “We are going to go straight through; no waiting for us.” She starts to turn, but then turns back. “Oh, yes. The only catch about first class is the seating. You must sit with your lab partner. I will assign rows once we are on board.” This receives moans from a handful of people, including Andrew, who I am sure, was planning to sit next to me.
I, on the other hand, am elated; my wonderful teacher is forcing me to sit next to Alex. I chance a glance his way and find him already staring at me, a hint of his cocky grin playing at the corner of his mouth, and I can’t help but smile with him.
I follow the line of students that trail behind Mrs. Hubert. We make it to the plane about ten minutes before the rest of the senior class. Once on board, Mrs. Hubert heads to the front of the first class section and clears her throat.
“Alright, now here is how things are going to go. You are a first class passenger, so they will treat you as such. However, you will have to sit in the row I assign you, and next to your lab partner.” She looks around at each person. “That being said, let’s get started.” She begins reading names off a piece of paper.
Alex and I take our seats in the sixth row, both of us reaching the aisle at the same time. I’m giddier than a kid in a candy shop and really want to sit next to the window. I’m practically bouncing up and down with a gigantic grin plaster
ed on my face.
Alex laughs, and a relaxed, very real smile spreads wide, showing all his beautiful straight, white teeth. “Go ahead.” He gestures.
As excited as I am, I lean in and hug him without being conscious of making the decision. When I lean back, embarrassment clear on my features, Alex looks pleased. I quickly move to my seat before I can do anything else crazy, like kiss him. Whoa, wait. I have got to get myself in check. Margret is not a joke. She will look forward to hurting me again, and she will be looking for any reason to do so, and that is something I will have to deal with… but this time, she threatened my dad, and I cannot chance it.
After thinking about the situation, I realize that after this flight, continuing talking to Alex will only put my dad in danger. I cannot risk Margret hearing about it. My dad is way more important than anything I would selfishly want.
“Are you alright?” Alex is watching me with his all-knowing eyes.
“Yeah.” My voice comes out weak. I clear my throat before speaking again. “Yeah, I’m fine… Just thinking.” I say vaguely.
He studies me for a moment and nods.
I turn and watch out the window as our plane takes off and heads for Hawaii. I decide to worry about things when we land, and at least enjoy the flight there.
Our flight left at one, and our estimated time of arrival is in five hours, putting us there at around six or seven. We are staying in Honolulu, at The Luxure Hawaiian, on the beach. It’s one of the nicest hotels in Honolulu. Our class was able to get a great rate since we rented out two entire floors worth of rooms, and not to mention, the majority of the student’s parents were pretty wealthy. I am ecstatic to get there. The only thing I’m uncomfortable about is the roommate situation. We would all be rooming with one other person, and since I have no friends, it is going to be interesting to meet mine.
Lunchtime rolls around for everyone on the plane. The first class passengers have a choice between chicken salad, pizza, or cheeseburgers, while the other passengers only have turkey sandwiches.
I choose the chicken salad, which is amazing.
“How’s the pizza?” I ask Alex.
After the Before Page 9