by Raathi Chota
***
Over the next few days, it was the same. Homework after homework and everyone was busy with their applications. Dad hadn’t said anything about James or Detective Kale. I told him about the guy Linda saw, and he almost scolded her for not phoning him. I think Blake got the message that I had a boyfriend and learned to back off. We still talked, but he always sent awkward glances.
Today when I woke up, Levi wanted to FaceTime. I got ready as quick as possible so that I could talk before school. I sat by the desk in front of my laptop with a blanket wrapped around me as I spoke to him.
“I don’t think Uncle Griff likes his job.” Levi shook his head as I stared at him. He laid on a bed shirtless with his earphones in as he spoke to me.
“He loves his job, he just…hates the people who disrespect him.”
“Yeah, Carter told me what a prick Blake was.”
“When did he tell you?”
“Oh, we talk all the time,” he said as his eyelids drooped.
“Are you tired? We can chat later. It must be really early there…” I trailed off as he gave me a weak smile.
“I’m perfectly fine, princess.” I smiled as I sat crossed leg on my chair and pushed my glasses up, then snuggled into the blanket as I stared at him. “I-I heard you spoke to Detective Kale.”
“Yeah.” I nodded, then squinted my eyes. “Levi, how do you know James?”
“How do I not know the most wanted drug dealer in the US who played my friends?”
“Wait. You know about the whole Ethan’s cottage and cocaine thing?”
“Yes. Yes, I do.” He pressed a hand to his cheek as he leaned on his elbow.
“Oh okay,” I mumbled.
“Hey, cheer up. They’ll get the bastard. Besides, you have Keene, Axel, Blake, Carter, Ethan, and Aidan protecting you,” Levi pointed out as I glared at him.
“You forgot someone,” I reminded him.
“Who? I did mention Aid—oh! That weird kid…what’s his name? Sam!” Levi said as he snapped his fingers.
“My boyfriend, Levi…Sam’s brother.”
“Oh, shit, you’re still with him?”
“Yes! What the heck?”
“Hehe, jokes, princess. I know you’re with him. I just don’t want you to be with him.”
“Well, I don’t care. I like him a lot.” I bit my lip.
“Don’t do that lip action if you’re not thinking of me,” he said with a wink. I rolled my eyes, and we sat and laughed for a few minutes. I stopped and looked at the screen. I didn’t even notice that he stopped and stared at me. An unreadable expression filled his face, but the corner of his lip pulled up in a smile. In the background, I heard voices, and Levi looked up. The person spoke, but Levi quickly cut them off when he said my name. I raised a brow as I heard the door shut, then Levi turned to me. “Look, err…I gotta go.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Love you, princess.”
“Love you too,” I murmured. He gave a small wave then ended the FaceTime.
***
When I walked into Biology, I sighed. I enjoyed the class, but Mrs. Singleton ruined it. I sat in the back with Benny on my right. The only other people in the class that I knew were Jennifer, Carter, and Marcus.
“Did you study?” Marcus asked as he sat in front of Benny.
“Of course, she could ask any one of us,” Benny answered. At the start of every lesson, Mrs. Singleton asked us random definitions. Marcus learned that the hard way when he didn’t study and got detention. I glanced around the classroom and looked for the familiar blond. He already stared at me with a concerned look. I raised my brow at Carter, and he stared, then turned to the front.
“Quiet! Everyone!” Mrs. Singleton hissed as she took the eraser and hit it against the board. I winced at the noise as my eyes narrowed. She took the attendance, and I glanced at Carter, who sat right in front as he tapped his fingers on the desk. I sank in my seat and whipped out my phone.
Lana: Hey you okay?
Carter: Yeah, I’m fine.
Lana: You sure?
Carter: Yep, it’s just all this homework and stuff along with the colleges we want to go to…
Lana: Agree, but you’re Carter freaking Halls. You can do it.
Carter: Thanks bro.
Carter: Can I call you bro? 0___o
Lana: Lol sure.
“Miss Willson, what do you think you’re doing?” Mrs. Singleton’s voice echoed throughout the classroom. My head shot up, and that’s when I noticed that she was right in front of me. I quickly slipped my phone in my pocket, then sat up straight.
“Nothing,” I replied.
“Very well then, if you’re going to lie…what is the definition of a primary structure?” she asked as I avoided eye contact.
“Primary structures…a chain of amino acids.”
“Secondary?”
“An alpha helix or beta pleated sheet.”
“Very good. Now, Mr. Sanders, what is a geometric isomer?” she asked Marcus as I let out a sigh of relief.
“Err…different arrangement around a double bond,” he answered as she stared at him.
“Don’t tell me, show me,” she demanded, then pointed at the board. Marcus quickly got up and walked to the board. He used a black marker and drew a diagram of the cis isomer and trans isomer. “For a second there I didn’t think you knew what you were doing,” Mrs. Singleton said as Marcus walked back to his table.
“Now, Mr. Carter Raymond Halls, what is a phosphodiester bond?” She walked to the front and stared down at Carter.
“Err…I do-don’t know,” he mumbled as she tilted her head. I squinted my eyes because I knew something was wrong. Carter was smart…well, when he wanted to be, and Bio was his favorite subject.
“First you don’t do the homework, and now you can’t answer my questions,” she stated as Carter slowly nodded. “You have lunch detention, Carter. Enjoy picking up litter with Marcus.”
“Why do I have detention?” Marcus demanded.
“That’s wrong! It looks like a cat with lazy eyes.” She pointed to the board.
“Really? I thought he was drawing you, miss,” Carter said as people laughed.
“Both of you! Lunch and after school detention!” she yelled.
“No surprise there.” Marcus sighed as he slouched in his seat.
The bell rang, and I gathered my stuff. When I looked up, I saw Carter walk out, and I quickly grabbed Benny’s hand as we tried to catch up with him. Since we were in the same Phys Ed class, I knew where Carter would go.
“You okay, man?” Benny asked as we stood on either side of Carter.
“Yeah, just had a long night at Blake’s house, then we went street racing, so I only got home at, like, four.” He yawned.
“Wow, you guys are getting pretty wasted these past few days,” I said as my brows rose.
“Yep,” Carter said as the corners of his eyes wrinkled up from exhaustion. Benny and I gave each other a wary look as Carter walked past us and into the boys’ locker room. He gave me a tight smile then followed Carter. I walked into the girls’ locker room and got changed. It turned out Melissa was not in the class anymore because she decided to do the training for first aid. At least I still had Miranda with me since I barely had her in any classes.
“All right, slackers, since you’re all still in holiday mode, we’re going in the weights room today. Get rid of all that extra fat that’s inside from Christmas and what not.” Coach waved us off as we joined our group. “Oh, and Aidan! Do not touch the exercise balls! We don’t want what happened the last time to happen again!”
“Message received.” Aidan saluted as we walked to the weights room. Miranda and I were in the back, and I glanced up to see Carter, Blake, and Ethan ahead of us.
“So what’s up with him?” Miranda pointed to Blake.
“We, err…he almost kissed me,” I mumbled, and Miranda gasped. Nearly half of the class including Blake spun around and looked at Miranda.
She glared at Blake as they continued to walk.
“And what did you do?” she whispered.
“Backed away, obviously. I have a boyfriend,” I muttered.
“Mm, say it louder for some people to hear!” Miranda hissed as she glared at Blake.
“But he doesn’t care. Carter told me they all went out last night, came back around four a.m.”
“Wow, they must’ve had a lot of fun.”
“Oh, we did,” a stinging voice said. I looked over my shoulder and watched as Kelly forced herself between us. Her hair was platinum no more; it was black.
“Who the hell involved you?” Miranda demanded as she gave Kelly a once over.
“Me, myself and I, bitch,” Kelly answered as she forced a smile.
“What were you doing there?” I asked as we reached the weights room.
“Probably being the go-to girl that she is,” Miranda grumbled.
“Yeah, I taught your boyfriend that thing you like.” Kelly winked at Miranda, who glared at her. “Just joking, Miranda. I had so much fun with someone else,” she added, then licked her bottom lip. “I even heard he took someone’s virginity,” she sang, then walked into the room. My eyes widened as I sent Miranda a look. She looked as if she wanted to rip Kelly’s face off, but her expression changed as we locked eyes.
“You don’t think…” I trailed off, but she shook her head.
“No, it’s impossible, it’s probably Keene.”
Chapter Twenty
Lana
We did as Coach said and did each piece of equipment. I sat on a bench where I was supposed to do chair dips, but I was tired. I looked around and saw Benny on the bench as he lifted weights. Blake was next to him and did bicep curls as he spoke to a girl. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Miranda sit next to me. I turned to see her hair tied up in a high ponytail as she drank from her water bottle. She rolled her eyes, and I followed her gaze to where Blake lifted his singlet so that the girl could touch his chest. I turned back to Miranda, who let out a dry laugh.
“That’s so not like him,” I admitted.
“Don’t you get it? You rejected his kiss, so he’s moving on.”
“Moving on?”
“Yeah, he has always been the mysterious bad boy, but now he is the player and egotistical bad boy,” Miranda said, then rolled her eyes.
“A combination of both,” I whispered to myself as I thought of the day when Blake told me the difference between a player and a bad boy.
“This is just the beginning. I heard he’s having a party on Saturday and only certain people are invited,” she emphasized.
“Wow,” I commented as the girl wrote down her number on his arm. He picked up the hundred pounds and continued his bicep curls. Benny stood up and stretched, and it was a great view that showed his v-line.
“Fuck!” he yelled out as he jumped up and gripped his foot. I blinked, then glanced down to see that Blake had dropped the weight on Benny’s foot. I stood up, then walked over to Benny, who glared at Blake.
“Sorry, man, didn’t see you.” Blake awkwardly scratched behind his neck.
“Why would you drop it, anyway?” I demanded as I wrapped an arm around Benny’s torso. Blake shrugged, and I swore at him. He smirked. Coach came to us and placed his hands on his hips.
“Oh no…is your foot broken?” Coach asked as he lowered his gaze to Benny’s foot.
“I-I don’t know,” Benny mumbled as he put an arm around my shoulder for support.
“Crap, go to the nurse. Willson, you take him, and I hope it’s not broken. We got a game next week, and none of my players should have excuses!” Coach yelled as I helped Benny out of the class. Thankfully, the nurse’s room was on the same floor because I didn’t want to drag Benny down four flights of stairs. I pushed the door open and helped him to the bed. When I placed him on the bed, I noticed the nurse wasn’t in the room.
“I’ll go look fo—” I spun around to face Benny but cut off when he pressed me against the door and kissed me. The door closed behind me, and I placed my hand on his chest. He looked at me with a mischievous grin as I looked down. “Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Only a bit,” he whispered as he kissed up my jaw, then my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. His hands traveled down to my thighs, and I jumped, then wrapped my legs around his waist. He pressed me against the door, and I moaned as he left a hickey on my neck. I twirled my fingers in his hair as he groaned. He began to pull off my polo shirt, and I immediately stopped him. He looked up and gave me a questioning look. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked as I got down on my feet.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine. Sorry,” I mumbled as I thought of when Parker did that to me but in a more demanding way. Note to self: never make out in school again.
“Babe, are you okay?” he asked as I walked around him. Before I answered, the door opened, and I spun around. I looked at the nurse, but Benny had his eyes glued to me.
“What’s going on here?” the nurse asked as she looked at Benny and me.
“He injured his foot,” I said. “So I just helped him here.”
“Okay, let’s see,” the nurse said as Benny sat on the bed. She turned to me and motioned to the door with an assured smile. I gave Benny one last look, then walked out of the room. I felt embarrassed in a way to see the look on Benny’s face. He thought it was his fault, but he didn’t know the story.
***
It was lunch, and I leaned against the wall. The cold wind blew in my face, but I tried to ignore it as I smoked a cigarette. It’s my first one in 2017, but I really needed it. With the whole school and James thing, it’s been stressful. I was at the back of the school, the abandoned part where people rarely came because it was winter. In my left ear, I heard footsteps approach me. I pushed myself off the wall and hid the cigarette behind me as I waited for the person. Ethan appeared, and I let out a sigh of relief. He approached me with a confused look.
“There you are. Benny has been looking all over for you.”
“I know. I sent him a text saying I was in the library.”
“This is a nice library. It’s so…open,” he sarcastically said. I rolled my eyes as I raised the cigarette. His mouthed formed into an “O” as I leaned against the wall. “What’s wrong? It’s not every day you find Lana Willson out in the cold smoking a cigarette.”
“Well, when I took Benny to the nurse she wasn’t there, so we…” I trailed off.
“Oh,” he said as the corner of his mouth rose.
“Yeah, and well…I stopped him because I just saw Parker. We were in the same atmosphere, so maybe that’s why I pictured him.” I took a drag.
“That asshole. You’re not the only one, Lana. I’ve heard he does it to other girls,” Ethan said as I blew out a smoke ring.
“Then why isn’t he expelled?” I demanded as I pushed myself off the wall again and turned to face Ethan.
“There’s no proof, and you know Principal West is full of shit.”
“I’m proof! Those other girls that he harassed are proof!”
“Does Benny know?”
“No. He doesn’t know a lot of things.” I mumbled the last part and took one last drag. I threw the cigarette on the ground and crushed it with my shoe.
“Parker deserves everything that’s gonna happen to him one day. Don’t worry, Lana. Things will get better,” Ethan said as he playfully nudged me.
“I heard you guys went racing last night,” I said as I put my hands in my pockets and squeezed my fists.
“Yeah, we each did a race and won. It was fun.” He nodded as I smiled.
“Was Keene with you guys?” I asked as I thought of Kelly.
“Yeah, quite a few people were there,” he mumbled, then stared at the ground. I nodded as the bell rang. We walked back, and I mentally thought up an excuse I’d tell Benny if he ever asked.
***
The seniors stayed after school. The class of 2012 started a thing on the top floor w
hen their lockers got repaired. They asked for a row to keep for display. So every graduating class from 2012 on had written their names on the oldest lockers in the school. By the time I reached the top floor, there were already people lined up. I joined the line and didn’t notice that Benny was in front of me. He spun around and gave me a small smile.
“Hi, how’s your foot?”
“Like I said, it only hurts a bit.”
“I’m sorry about earlier. I jus—”
“It’s okay, I understand,” he said, then faced forward. I sighed and folded my arms. I looked over my shoulder to see who was behind me. Jennifer had her hands placed on her hips as she observed the lockers. Every senior class had their locker that had been written on. I followed her gaze to see her look at her brother’s class.
“Noel Brighton was part of the people who started all of this,” she mumbled as her fingers grazed over her brother’s name.
“How is he?” I asked, because from what Melissa told me, he was in rehab.
“He’s okay. He was discharged before winter break because they’ve seen improvement. Now he’s staying in his apartment,” she replied. “Lana, err…thank you for the other day in the cafeteria. It made me feel at ease.”
“No problem, but that was brave of you. Just know that people are supporting you and stuff,” I mumbled, because I didn’t know what to say.
“Thanks.” She awkwardly chuckled as we moved in the line. We watched as Benny wrote his name on the deep blue locker. Jennifer let out a sigh as she shook her head. I followed her gaze to see Miranda’s and Marcus’s names next to each other. I think she shook her head at Kelly, who forced her name between theirs horizontally.
“What’s her problem?” I asked as Benny gave me the white marker.
“I don’t know. Just because her dad is the principal, she thinks she owns the place and gets what she wants,” Jennifer answered as I wrote my name below Benny’s. Once I finished, I gave her the marker, and she held onto it as she stared at me. “Just so you know, she has a thing for soccer players.” She gestured to Marcus. My jaw dropped as I nodded and backed away.
