by Tara West
Tyler peered around Mrs. Stein’s shoulder and narrowed its eyes at Cody.
“So that makes a whole lot of sense. Take him out of one class for leaving another. He’s not going. If Sparks has a problem with it, tell him to come see me during my planning period.”
“But…”
“But nothing, Tyler. I’ve got to teach my kids. Please leave my classroom…now.” You’re not laying a finger on any of my babies.
Mrs. Stein was passionate about her kids. She made that perfectly clear with her internal thoughts. When a person was extremely upset or angry, their thoughts were more likely to jump into my head. So, she thought of us as her babies? That was kind of cool, especially after coming from Mrs. Carr’s class.
Tyler finally left the room, slamming the door. Mrs. Stein faced the door, back and shoulders rigidly frozen for what seemed an eternity. She inhaled a large breath and let it out before turning to the class.
AJ started the first clap and we all followed by rising to give Mrs. Stein a standing ovation. She deserved it for the way she stood up to that scary beast. That’s when I decided when I grow up, I want to be just like Mrs. Stein.
****
Fourth period was a blur. I didn’t focus on science Nazi because I was too busy thinking about Jacob and his masculine thighs. Besides, I was better off ignoring a teacher like Mr. Benson. If students asked too many questions, he had panic attacks and made us stand outside the classroom, as if we were deliberately slowing down his perfectly laid out lesson plans.
I remembered the incident Friday when Grody Cody raised his hand in the middle of a lesson and asked Mr. Benson to explain how a cell divided. “Does it have a brain? How does it divide if no one tells it to? If I was a cell, I’d just sit there.”
I could see the veins popping out of Mr. Benson’s neck. His response—he made Cody wait outside the door. I guess Cody was tired of waiting to be invited back in, so he left.
After the bell rang to release us from our torture, I couldn’t get to my fifth period class fast enough.
Crap. I left Huck Finn in my locker.
Not Huck the boy, Huck the book. We were assigned fifty pages to read over the weekend. Normally, Mrs. Warren didn’t assign weekend homework, but Frankie Salas was late to class, resulting in a homework assignment for all of us. That was her policy. If one kid screwed up, we all suffered. It was usually a pretty good deterrent for tardies.
Not this time.
Although everybody was mad at Frankie for flirting too long in the hallway, we mostly kept our opinions to ourselves. As the most popular boy in school, Frankie could get away with ruining our weekend.
Passing time was only six minutes long. I rushed to my locker on the other end of the world, intending to grab the book and make the trek back to English on the other side of campus.
Not happening. Summer was at her locker, admiring her cheap Lady Gaga imitation Hairdo and texting at the same time. As usual, her locker door was open flat against mine, so she could get the best view of her face in the locker mirror.
Step one to a new image. Learn to speak up for yourself.
“Excuse me.”
Summer didn’t pause in her makeup ritual to look in my direction. Apparently, I wasn’t even as worthy as a Maybelline smudge stick.
Maybe I wasn’t loud enough. “Excuse me!” Summer slipped her phone into her pocket and stared thoughtfully into her lip liner, as if she and the cosmetic were the only two things on Earth. “Hmmm. Too pink for fall. I need something darker.”
“I need to get into my locker.” I tapped my foot to make her aware of my impatience. Although, I knew she really didn’t care.
“Did you hear something, Lady?” Summer spoke to her Lady Gaga poster, which was taped just below her mirror. “I didn’t think so.”
“Hey, what are you doing on this side of the world? Isn’t your next class in the one hundred hall?”
I turned to see AJ. “I’m waiting to get into my locker.” I pointed at Summer, who was still consumed with wasting my time.
“That’s easy to fix.” AJ moved me aside and yanked Summer’s lip liner out of her hands. She threw it in her locker and slammed it shut. “All clear.” AJ faced Summer, narrowing her eyes in a challenging gesture.
Summer moaned, rolled her eyes and walked away.
AJ had the courage to stand up to anybody. How did she do it? Wasn’t she afraid of getting her butt kicked? Sure, AJ was tough—a lot tougher than me. All her life, AJ had dealt with bullying from the Mikes, so she was used to fending for herself.
But AJ had a secret, other than her visions, that could be devastating if the wrong kids found out. After a horse riding accident, AJ tore the retina in her left eye. AJ’s doctor said, one wrong punch, and she would lose sight in that eye forever. Even so, AJ wasn’t afraid of a confrontation.
I couldn’t risk my best friend’s eyesight because I was too chicken to handle a bullying brat. “Hey, this is my problem, not yours.”
“You’re welcome.” AJ looked at me with a smirk.
“I don’t want you getting hurt over me.”
AJ shook her head and snickered. “When are you going to learn to stand up for yourself? Summer wouldn’t do anything to risk smudging her lipstick. For someone who can read people, you really can’t read people.”
“I mean it, AJ.” Before I could finish my lame argument, I was interrupted by the sound of the tardy bell. “Oh, God!”
I ran to my fifth period class. Although, what was the use? I was tardy now. What kind of punishment had I brought down on my English class? Pop quiz? Essay?
Jacob was going to hate me.
****
Opening the door to room five-o-five, Freshman English, I slid in quietly and scurried to my seat at the far side of the room. Although I didn’t see Mrs. Warren, I could hear her movement from behind a big pile of books that sat atop her desk. Maybe she hadn’t taken roll yet. I received only a few evil glares as my fellow classmates caught me sneaking in late, but they didn’t tell on me. They didn’t want extra homework, either.
“You’re late, Sophie!” Frankie Salas, who sat directly across from me, announced this to the entire class.
I felt every muscle in my body tense. Frankie turned to me with a grin.
I couldn’t speak, couldn’t move, couldn’t unstiffen my frozen face if I tried. All I could do was stare at my tormentor and think, “Why?”
“Wh…what was that? Someone came in late?” The teacher’s balding head popped up from behind a pile of books in the corner of the room. It took a moment to register it wasn’t Mrs. Warren talking.
Substitute teacher, Mr. Dallin, or as we so fondly called him, Mr. Pick-N-Flick, had been teaching since the beginning of time and he hadn’t earned his booger picking reputation for no reason. He was my oldest sister’s math teacher. She told me he left crusties on her papers at least once a week. He was our sub for three weeks in my seventh grade geography class. On two occasions, I’d caught him digging for buried treasure. He was one reason I carried antibacterial hand lotion in my backpack.
Another one of Dallin’s shortcomings, he had blessedly horrible hearing and eyesight.
My lucky day.
“No, no, Mr. Dallin. I said you look great, Sophie.” Frankie winked. “Doesn’t she look great, Mr. Dallin?”
I felt the heat rise from my chest into my cheeks.
“I can’t tell. Let me get a closer look.” Mr. Dallin heaved his huge frame upward, knocking over several books in the process. He waddled his way toward me. “Sophie? Sophie Sinora, is that you?”
“Yes, Mr. Dallin.”
Mr. Dallin pushed the rim of his glasses higher on his rounded nose. “You’ve lost some weight.”
“Yes, sir.” I sank lower into my seat. Every eye in the classroom was on me. I didn’t need them staring at my big lips or my messed up hair. I just wanted to disappear.
“You know.” He folded his arms across his chest and dazed into space. Not
uncommon for Mr. Dallin. “I taught your sisters in high school.”
“They told me.” Great. Please go back to your books, Mr. Dallin.
“Very popular and pretty. Wasn’t your oldest sister Homecoming Queen?”
“Yes.” Actually, they both were but I wasn’t about to remind him. I had hoped that after a year’s absence, my family legacy would be forgotten. Being the only fat dork in a line of beauty queens wasn’t easy.
“That’s right. Very popular and pretty.”
“You just said that, sir.” He was probably wondering if I was the mailman’s daughter. I couldn’t sink any lower; otherwise, I’d have been under the desk, so I tried to imagine I was invisible. I wasn’t used to being the center of attention and having this drooling walrus hovering over me made me sick to my stomach.
“Well, Frankie, Sophie is turning into quite a beauty herself. In a couple years time, she could be the next Homecoming queen. I’d keep my eyes on this girl if I were you.”
“Maybe I will,” Frankie said evenly.
As expected, students snickered at this last comment while Frankie had the nerve to smile.
What a jerk. Pretending to like me. I glared at him out of the corners of my eyes.
Why would the most gorgeous guy in school play these games? What was in it for him? Did he want me to do his homework or was he just trying to add me to his long list of pathetic groupies?
Not wanting to know the answer, I fought not letting a sigh escape and faced forward, pretending to ignore Frankie. Besides, Frankie was way out of my league. I’d never expect to go out with someone as gorgeous as him, so why dream about it? Jacob was in my league, but he was the only one who didn’t turn around when Mr. Dallin had the rest of the class staring at me. He didn’t even laugh when Frankie was flirting.
I wondered why.
This could have been a good sign, but it could also have been very bad. I wished I could have popped into his head. All my intuition failed me, and, as usual, my gift was stubborn. I had to satisfy my curiosity by simply staring at his perfectly small ears, buzz cut dark hair and thick neck.
Suddenly, Jacob jerked hard in his seat. “Come on. Come on. Yes!” The excitement in his voice held back in a whisper.
I peered over his shoulder and saw the screen he held in his hand as he cut down demons with his sword. I couldn’t believe it. Jacob could have cared less about me. He was too busy playing with his little video game. Frankie and I could have made out on top of his desk and I don’t think he would have noticed.
Mr. Dallin began speaking above the din of the noisy classroom. “Ok, everyone, your teacher will be out for the next six weeks.”
As was always the case when we had a substitute teacher, there were no rules for classroom behavior. The class stopped talking long enough to exchange high fives and cheers. Nobody asked what happened to Mrs. Warren. Nobody cared.
“Her daughter is having a baby.”
Mr. Dallin could have been speaking to empty desks. After the gone-for-six-weeks part, the students didn’t want to listen to anything else he had to say.
And neither did I. I had more important things to worry about. Why didn’t Jacob notice me? Even blind Mr. Dallin thought I was getting pretty.
Wham!
The classroom stilled as our attention was riveted on Mr. Dallin at the front of the room. He held the yardstick he’d just slammed across Grody Cody’s desk. Cody looked ready to piss his pants. “Now, do I have your attention?”
Some of us silently nodded, but mostly we just stared.
“Have I finished collecting all copies of Huck Finn or are there any still missing?” He scanned the room.
I swallowed hard. Huck was still in my backpack. I tentatively raised my hand.
“Pass it up, Sophie.”
I unzipped my bag with shaky fingers, accidentally dumping the contents on the floor. Why was I so nervous? This was Pick-N-Flick. He’d never beat his students before, at least not that I’d heard.
I tried to hand my book to Jacob, but he didn’t turn around. He was so busy getting his butt kicked by a video game, he wasn’t paying attention to what was going on in the real world.
“Jacob.” I leaned forwarded and whispered, inhaling a mixed scent of hair gel and a strong, rich musk. But there was something else. Could it have been ketchup? I decided hair gel, musk and ketchup were the perfect odors for a guy.
“Jacob.” I whispered louder. For days I’d been dreaming of the moment I’d get so close to Jacob I could almost kiss him. Here I was, asking him to take my book, and the moron wasn’t even listening. “Jacob, Mr. Dallin is watching us. Take the book.”
Nothing.
“Jacob!” Mr. Dallin’s yardstick slammed down across Jacob’s desk, causing him to drop his game.
“What the hell!” Jacob puffed up his chest and looked ready to jump out of his desk and punch Dallin.
Jacob was going to get himself in trouble and my Huck Finn was the cause of it.
“Jake, chill.” Frankie leaned out of his desk and picked up Jacob’s game. He placed it in Dallin’s outstretched hand.
“That’s mine.” Jacob shot an angry glance at Frankie and then at Dallin.
“Not anymore.” Dallin took both the video game and my Huck Finn and walked to the front of the room. He slid the little console in a drawer of Mrs. Warren’s desk and put my book on top of the already large stack of books on the desktop. “Now that I have all the books collected, get out a pencil for a pop quiz on chapter six.”
“This sucks!”
Jacob really needed to shut up. It was just a toy. If he kept it up, he could get suspended and miss a real game, his football game on Friday.
Jacob slammed his fists on his desk. “I don’t want Pick-N-Flick getting crusties on my Nintendo.”
Mr. Dallin narrowed his eyes at Jacob, his fat cheeks swelled, looking like balloons ready to burst. He pointed toward the door and screamed at Jacob. “Get out!”
Jacob stormed out and slammed the door.
Mr. Dallin would probably send a referral to the office. Jacob would miss his next football game, maybe even be suspended from the team. This was all my fault. If I hadn’t forgotten Huck. If I had stood up to Summer. If I hadn’t been late.
“Sophie, can you take this to the office for me?” Dallin handed me a large, brown office envelope and an orange hall pass.
Why me?
I knew what was in the envelope—Jacob’s referral. I felt as if all eyes in the class were upon me. I had two choices—throw it away and pray Dallin’s ancient memory would forget the incident or seal Jacob’s doom by delivering the referral. Either way I was screwed. Could my life get any worse?
****
Five minutes. That’s all I needed to drop off a referral at the office and return to class. Ten minutes if I stretched it out some, walked slowly, took a potty break. Dallin wouldn’t have missed me. He’d forgotten to write a time on my hall pass. This gave me some time to decide what to do.
I had always considered myself a good kid. Besides, I valued my weekends too much to get in trouble. I was thinking how easy it would have been to find the nearest bathroom and stuff the referral in the garbage. I had to wonder, though, was Jacob worth the risk? Would Jacob do something like this for me? Jacob didn’t even know I existed. He proved that when he ignored me over his game.
“Sophie!” Caught up in my worries, I didn’t even notice Jacob standing by the boys’ bathroom.
“Hey.” I was such an idiot. The boy of my dreams finally acknowledged my existence, he even knew my name, and all I could manage was ‘hey’. I put my right hand behind my back, hiding Jacob’s referral.
“Did you get kicked out, too?” His dark grey eyes simmered with anger, his lips drawn in a tight line. Suddenly, I realized his pissed off expression was kind of hot.
Stay focused.
“No.” How did I tell him I was about to make his day worse?
His eyes narrowed. “Where are you goin
g?”
I tried to recall one of the many pieces of wisdom my parents crammed down my throat. Honesty is always best. “To the office.”
Jacob closed the distance until we were frightfully only a few feet apart. His nearness set off unfamiliar sparks of energy. My stomach began to twist in knots and I felt my entire body quaking inside.
He peered around my shoulder. “What’s in the envelope?”
“I…I don’t know.” And honestly I didn’t; although I suspected, as Jake probably did, that it was his referral.
Jacob moved closer. “You don’t know?” His eyebrows rose.
His question felt more like an accusation. I was sure Jacob could hear my heart pounding. His nearness was about to shatter my nerves into a million pieces. I tried my best to regain composure. “Probably your referral.”
“Yeah. I guess I lost my cool.” He cast his eyes downward, his long, black lashes fluttered across his squeezable cheeks. “My dad’s going to kick my ass when he finds out.”
“Maybe he won’t find out.” I should have kept my mouth shut. That sounded like a promise and I was still unsure of what to do.
“He’s friends with Sparks. He’ll find out and I’ll be grounded for a month.” Jacob put his hands in his pockets and kept his gaze down before turning his large puppy dog eyes back to me.
How could I resist Jacob? He was so cute and sweet. “Well, what do you want me to do?” The pounding in my chest rose to my throat.
The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. “Maybe you could give that referral to me.”
I couldn’t still my shaking limbs. “And then what?”
“Dallin probably forgot about it already.” Jacob reached around my back and grabbed my hand. I jerked, surprised by the tingling sensation of his skin touching my overly sensitive fingers. His nearness and the scent of musky ketchup was almost my undoing.
Oh, God, I could have died happy.
“Yeah. You’re right.” I gulped as I felt him gently pry the envelope from my hand. “But what if he doesn’t?”
Jacob raised one edge of his mouth and flashed a lopsided grin. “Come on?” He already had the envelope opened and was scanning the document.
He fisted the paper into a ball and tossed it in a nearby trashcan. “Thanks. You know, Dallin is right. You have changed.”
I jerked my head, trying to digest what he’d just said. He was paying attention when Dallin and Frankie were talking about me. Could this mean he was interested in me?