A Fresh Start

by Lexi Bissen

  She shakes her head. “Nope. I don’t really read those celebrity magazines and I’m not friends with the gossip bimbos here at school,” she says, which surprises me since most girls follow all of that shit. She looks like she wants to say more, but refrains herself.

  I open my mouth to respond when the bell rings, ending class.

  Ronnie starts collecting her things and putting them in her bag. “What class do you have next?” she asks, glancing over at me.

  I pull my schedule from my pocket and take a quick look. “Algebra II with Mrs. Garcia.”

  Ronnie’s face drops at my answer. “Oh, well, I have Trig next. Maybe I’ll see you around.” She smiles and turns to leave. Allen winks before following Ronnie and her brother out of the classroom. My eyes follow the sway of her ass until she’s out of view.

  “Stay the hell away from Ronnie.” I hear and a second later, the other guy from the table—Robert, I think—appears in front of me.

  “Excuse me?” I ask. Did this guy just threaten me?

  “I said sta—”

  “Yeah, I heard you country boy,” I say, holding my hand up to his face. “What I meant was, what the hell do you mean ‘stay away from Ronnie’? I don’t really think I have to listen to you about anything, Robert.” I raise my eyebrow at him.

  “It’s Rodger.” He lifts his head and puffs out his chest, making an attempt to look taller and more intimidating. Too bad I have him by a good three inches and probably fifteen pound in muscle. “And what I mean is, don’t even think about going after her. She’s mine, got it?”

  I bust out laughing. Is this guy for real? “You do know she’s a person, right? Not some piece of property. Jeez, where are we, the eighteen-hundreds? You know all those women rights movements were back in the nineteen-thirties, dude. They get pretty pissy now when you say shit like ‘they’re yours’, Robert.” I brush past him and continue laughing while exiting the classroom.

  I’ve come to the conclusion public school sucks. I stopped attending Wellington Private School because I thought the strict rules there were bad, but nothing compares to this. The teachers don’t let you have your phone or computer out and they expect you to actually pay attention and participate with the class. By fourth period, I was fed up with teachers calling on me to say “a few words” about myself. There’s not much to tell, but they expect you to have this huge, interesting background. I’m sure if I told them I grew up with an alcoholic mom and an absent dad, the teachers wouldn’t be happy. Instead, I said nothing, only sat there until they eventually started class.

  I walk into the cafeteria and notice her blonde hair and plaid shirt instantly. It’s like she stands out more than anyone else in the room. I can’t stop looking at her, and before I know it, my feet are moving in her direction. It takes me a moment to realize she isn’t alone. I would have preferred to have sat only with Ronnie, but her friend doesn’t seem too bad. Better than the meatheads from earlier.

  Neither of them are paying attention when I walk up. Allen is the first to notice, and smiles at me awkwardly standing at the edge of their table like an idiot.

  “Well, hello there, new student. What brings you to our neck of the woods?” he asks, giving Ronnie a wink before turning back to me.

  “Um, hey. You guys mind if I sit here?” I ask.

  Allen smiles wider. “Of course you can sit here with the likes of us. But wouldn’t you rather sit with the flock of females who have been following you around all day?” He stretches to look around me. I follow where he’s looking, and no shit, there’s a group of blondes in short skirts huddled about eight feet behind me.

  Turning to face Allen and Ronnie again, I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I think I’m okay not sitting with them.”

  “Really? Figured you’d be all over the easy women,” Allen says.

  Ronnie watches me carefully, waiting for my answer. “I’ve had the easy girls before, and trust me, they’re not worth it,” I say, my eyes locked with hers. “Besides, I came here to change my life. Doing the usual shit wouldn’t be changing it.”

  Allen nods in understanding. I take a seat across from him and look up to find Ronnie studying me.

  “So, is that why you’re in our small town? You needed a life change?” Her question comes out almost as a whisper.

  I shrug. “Pretty much,” I reply, keeping the answer simple.

  Ronnie ducks her head slightly and sinks her teeth into the corner of her full bottom lip. Fuck, it’s one of the sexiest things I’ve ever seen. “All right, I don’t want to sound stupid or anything, but who are you?” she asks after releasing her lip. Her cheeks flush to a dark pink and damn if that doesn’t add to her cuteness. She gazes up at me from under her full lashes and I can’t help but smile. “I mean, I know your name is Gibson Mitchell, but I’ve never heard of you before.”

  Allen nods, moving his eyes from Ronnie toward me. “Yeah, me either. I would have Googled you by now, but the damn school is so strict about phones,” he huffs out.

  I laugh at the two of them. I really like that they haven’t heard of me before. It seems like every other person at this school has by the way they keep watching me. “Have you ever heard of the band Devil’s Angels?” I ask.

  A crease forms between both of their foreheads, making them look confused. At the same time, they both shake their heads no.

  “Okay…well, how about Aaron Mitchell?” I ask. They’re both quiet for a minute, and then Ronnie asks, “Isn’t he some kind of musician or something? I’ve heard my dad mention that name before.”

  I nod, thankful she didn’t turn into a fangirl and scream about how much she loves him. That happens more than you would think. “Well, he’s the lead singer of the rock band Devil’s Angels…and my father.”

  Ronnie gives me a polite smile. “Well, that’s cool,” she says, seeming unimpressed.

  Allen slaps his hands on the table and looks between both of us. “Okay, I’ll be the honest one here. We have no idea who you or your dad are. Ronnie is sweet and trying to be nice and act like she cares.”

  Ronnie’s face turns beet red and she narrow’s her eyes at Allen, then slaps his shoulder with the back of her hand. “Allen! I was impressed. I mean, he’s a rock star’s son. I’m sure he has tons of exciting stories and what not.”

  I laugh at her. “Sorry, Ronnie but nothing too exciting. My dad hasn’t really been around in my life and he didn’t want me anywhere near his rocker lifestyle, so no exciting stories to share.”

  Allen slumps back into his chair, seeming disappointed. “So, you have no stories to share with us? Nothing at all? I mean, you do know we live in a very small town and the most exciting thing that happened before you came along was opening another movie screen in our theatre. Give me some kind of gossip.”

  “This town is really that boring?” I ask.

  Ronnie rolls her eyes. “Yep. All there is to do for fun around here is go to the beach or movies. I mean, unless you’re a football fan. Then the high school team has games every Friday and the bars celebrate every college and NFL game. Allen and I aren’t really into that, though.”

  I pull the Monster Energy drink out of my bag, pop the tab, and take a sip. “You’re not a fan of football?” I ask her.

  She finishes swallowing her fry and says, “A fan? That would be a no.”

  “Oh, come on, Ron, of course you’re a fan. Considering who your daddy and brother are, you’d have to like football,” Allen says, his sarcasm thick.

  “Wait, who’s your dad?” I ask.

  Ronnie rolls her eyes at me. “He’s no one.”

  Allen holds his hand up to stop Ronnie from talking, then faces me. “This little Bama babe’s daddy is none other than Michael Hamilton. He’s the head coach of the Gryphons. They’re considered royalty around here. Her dad was the QB when he was in high school and has been coaching for the last fifteen years. He’s won the school four state championships in that time. There’s been talk of him maybe moving up to college st
atus.”

  “So, are you a football fan?” I ask him.

  He stares, like he’s waiting for me to say more, and then slaps the table and lets out a loud laugh. “That would be a hell no. My mom tried to put me in that shit when I was younger, but I preferred to work with the cheerleaders. She thought it was me following the ladies, but in reality, I wasn’t macho enough for football, despite having the build for it.”

  Ronnie lets out a laugh, throwing her head back letting all her long hair fall down. I love that she has a full, natural laugh. It adds to her real factor. I can’t help but smile at the sound and her beautiful face.

  “So, your dad’s pretty big around here, huh?” I ask Ronnie.

  “He’s not ‘big’, people just know of him. Football’s kind of a thing here, so of course the head football coach of the only high school football team is going to be talked about,” she answers.

  “And the quarterback,” Allen mutters.

  Looking over to her, I ask, “Let me guess, your bother is the quarterback?”

  She rolls her eyes. “Yes, Sean is the QB. You’ll probably be hearing about him a lot because it’s football season and all.”

  Allen smirks at her and then looks to me, lifting his eyebrow. “Hence why her family is royalty around here. The Hamilton’s are well known. Hell, even her oldest brother, Jerry, played on the team before he graduated. I mean, he was no Sean, but the guy was pretty good.”

  “You have two brothers?” I ask Ronnie.

  “Yep, but Jerry is in the Army. He’s stationed over in Fort Leonard Wood, so we don’t see him much,” she answers. There’s a slight frown and her eyes begin to glisten as she talks about her brother.

  The bell rings, announcing it’s time to get to our next class. I really don’t want to leave and not be able to talk to her, but figure I should make a good impression on my first day and stick to my plan of being a better “me”.

  As Allen collects their trash, Ronnie turns to me and asks, “You don’t by chance have American Government in room 205 next? That’s where Allen and I are headed. We got really lucky this year and have most of our classes together.”

  I pull my schedule out of my pocket, glance over it, and look back at Ronnie. “Looks like we have the same class.”

  She smiles as Allen walks back from dumping the trash. “Well, we will show you the way then.”

  Allen looks between us and raises an eyebrow. “Show him what way? Where?”

  Ronnie grabs his arm and pulls him toward where I’m guessing is the direction of our class. I toss my empty Monster in the trash and catch up to them.

  Two out of my last three classes of the day were with Allen and one was with Gibson. Thankfully, Rodger and Sean were only in one of those classes and sat with the football team. I didn’t get a chance to talk to him like we did in lunch because our last teachers decided to jump right in to teaching on the first day. What were they thinking? Don’t they know the first day is all about passing out a syllabus and letting us talk until the glory bell rings? Some teachers will never learn.

  I really wish I could have asked him more questions. This guy piqued my interest, though I can’t explain why. Maybe it’s because he’s new. I know everything about all the other people in this school, so I don’t even bother talking to any of them. But Gibson…he’s an unknown to me. And he seemed interested in asking me questions also, which I liked. I don’t think anyone other than Allen has ever taken the time to try to get to know me. The people in this town assume they know the real me because of my family. Hell, even my parents don’t ask about my interests or what I want to do with my future. They have it in their heads that I want to stay in this small town and work as a waitress at Chili’s forever.

  What I actually want is to get as far from this town as possible. I love my family, but I want to be independent and make a life of my own. I want to be Ronnie Hamilton, not a label under someone else.

  As Allen and I walk to my car after our last class, I think about all the plans we both made for after we graduate. His mom is all for him going out and making his way through the world and I still have to hide my acceptance letter from the University of Northern Florida under my mattress. My parents wouldn’t understand me wanting go to a university in a different state. Sure, Jerry can join the army and Sean can go wherever he gets the best football scholarship, but me? They expect me to stay here and attend the local community college—not going to happen.

  Allen nudges my shoulder and points toward the sidewalk leading out of the school, interrupting my thoughts. “Is that Gibson? I would have expected him to be driving some nice ass ride, not walking home from school.”

  I look over to where Allen sees someone and nod my head. “Yeah, it is.” I would have thought that, too. I mean, he is the son of a rock star. Shouldn’t they be flashy? “Maybe he didn’t bring his car with him from wherever he lived.”

  Allen shrugged. “You think we should ask him if he wants a ride?”

  I perk up a little at the thought of getting more time to talk to him, then purse my lips. I shouldn’t be excited about this guy at all. Guys were a no-no. I didn’t want to have to deal with any of the guys in this town—especially with me leaving at the end of the year. Plus, this guy was a rock star’s son. He probably dated models or something, not small town high school students.

  I shrug my shoulders, being nonchalant. “Sure, if you want to. I live pretty far out there, so I’d probably be passing his house anyway.”

  Allen smiles and shook his head. He could see right through my indifferent response. “I’ll go catch up to him and ask. Pull the car up alongside us, will ya?” I nod, even though he’s already jogging toward Gibson and can’t see me.

  I head over to my truck, unlock it, and throw my book bag in the backseat. I climb into the driver’s seat with the help of the step and handle on the roof. Being short and having a large truck isn’t ideal, but I love my old lady.

  Once I get all settled in, I drive the car over to where Allen caught up with Gibson. He shoots a glance toward my truck and then looks back to Allen, shaking his head. After more talking between the two, Allen pulls Gibson’s arm toward my truck with a laughing Gibson rolling his eyes.

  I pull up alongside the curb so the two of them could both jump in. Allen hops into the front seat while Gibson takes the back. I let my shoulders ease a little and relax into my seat. I really didn’t want to have to sit next to Gibson the entire ride. I’d probably drive off the side of the road while staring at him for too long.

  Once Allen shuts his door, he looks over to me, and says, “Lookie who I found wandering the streets. Seems like we have a stray on our hands, Ronnie.”

  I peek into the mirror at Gibson. “Please ignore him. He’ll probably make dumb jokes the entire drive, so fair warning.”

  I put my blinker on and merge out onto the road after ensuring no cars are coming.

  Gibson chuckles and the deep sound makes the hair on the back of my neck stand. “Yeah, I’m starting to catch onto his sarcasm.”

  Allen looks to both of us with wide eyes. “What are you talking about? I was serious. We do pick up the strays, don’t we, Ronnie?”

  “They aren’t strays. It’s only a student who may need a ride once in a while.”

  He narrows his eyes at me and squints as I stop at one of our five stoplights. “Umm, what do you think a stray is, Ron?” He turns his attention to Gibson. “It’s usually a poor freshman she wants to pick up. She hates driving by them in her hunk of crap while they have to walk home. She’s really a saint at heart.” He had to add that sarcasm at the end, didn’t he?

  I reach over and punch Allen in the arm. “You see why I said to ignore him?” I ask, glaring at Allen. “And don’t talk about my ride like that, I don’t see you with a set of wheels.” He looks out the window and doesn’t respond to my statement.

  Gibson smirks. “I can see the saint thing coming into play. I mean, who likes giving rides to freshman? Totally sai
nthood if you ask me. Although, I’m nineteen, so not a freshman.” Are they ganging up on me? What the hell? Allen is my best friend. He should be on my side, not making fun of me in front of the new guy.

  Allen nods in agreement. “Sounds about right, Gibby, my boy.” I laugh at Allen’s new nickname for Gibson. “What did you call me?” Gibson asks, sounding confused.

  Allen smiles, proud of himself. “Gibby. That’s your new name. Don’t worry, it’ll grow on you. Ask Ron. I mean, her nickname was a little more difficult to come up with. I got it, though. She’s my Itty-Bitty, because she’s so tiny.”

  “Well, as cute as that nickname is, I think I’ll stick with Gibson.”

  I shake my head and laugh. “Good luck, man. Sorry to say, but you’re never getting rid of that nickname. I got mine when I was fourteen and have had it for the past four years. Once he has one for you, it never goes away.”

  Gibson huffs at my response and Allen smirks in triumph.

  After a couple minutes of driving, I realize I have no clue where Gibson lives. I look in the review mirror and catch Gibson gazing out the window. “Hey, I never did ask where you live.”

  He turns his head from the window to me. “Oh, uh, yeah. It’s about eight more miles, then take a left on LaClare Lane. The house is going to be on the right a little ways down.”

  “Okay,” I nod my head and smile, trying to act casual, though I’m feeling anything but. Allen’s street is only about two miles away. That means I’ll have to be with Gibson. Alone. In my car. Great.

  Ronnie seems nervous. No clue why. Everyone has been pretty quiet for a while. I was hesitant to catch a ride with the two of them when Allen asked me. Since I’ll be gone next semester, I’m not looking to make friends. I’d rather keep my head down and get through these next few months as quickly as possible, but Ronnie and Allen seem pretty cool. I just have to make sure I can trust them.