Double Threat My Bleep (Double Threat Series)

by Julie Prestsater

  “Yeah, just laugh. You know it’s funny,” Travis adds.

  He’s right. Yesterday, we all started talking about snakes for some reason I can’t remember. I confessed I’m deathly afraid of snakes to which Travis asked if I was even afraid of one-eyed snakes. When everyone laughed, I didn’t get it until Keesh explained it to me. Okay, so that was a good one.

  “What are you thinking about, Meg,” Travis asks me. “You’re smiling about something.”

  “I was just thinking about your one-eyed snake.” I chuckle, but notice my friends staring at me, mouths wide-open in silence. Omigod. “I mean your one-eyed snake comment yesterday, not your…omigosh…eww.” I swear I’m such a dork sometimes.

  “So what’s the deal with lunch, Steph? I thought I heard you say something about working for ASB tomorrow,” Dom inquires.

  “Oh, we’re all on ticket duty for a couple days. We have to sell Backwards dance tickets at lunch for a week,” Steph explains.

  “When are we going to get ours?” he asks.

  “Who said we’re going?” she teases.

  “Ha ha…you’re so funny. Who else you gonna ask?”

  “You never know,” she jabs. “I’m just kidding. You wanna go to the dance with me?”

  “Uh…let me think about it.” He pauses, and looks up at the sky. “Okay, I guess I’ll go.”

  Keesh and I look at each other. She’s most likely thinking the same thing I am. This sucks. Who the heck are we going to ask? Our guys can’t come. And I don’t want to go with anyone else.

  “Meggie, you wanna be my date for the dance?” Keesh proposes.

  “That’s a freakin’ great idea. Just don’t think you’re gonna get lucky because I don’t put out on the first date.”

  We giggle at my joke. “Deal. But if I decide to take you out again, you better be ready to get busy.”

  “Can I watch?” Travis says.

  “Me too,” Josh adds.

  “Sure, why not,” Keesh teases them. They both do some fist pumps like yes, we get to watch. What dorks.

  “So who you guys gonna go with?” I ask them.

  “Maybe we should go with each other too,” Josh says. “Girls are stupid. I don’t wanna go shopping for some cheesy matching shirt, and then be stuck with her and her stupid friends for the whole night. I’d rather hang out with you guys.”

  “Okay, but I guarantee ya I’m not putting out on the first, second, or third date, or ever.” Travis is so serious, it’s funny. Like anyone of us, especially Josh, thought they’d go to the dance as a real couple.

  Dom tosses the last bit of his sandwich in his mouth. “Well, glad we got that settled. I guess I’ll be driving us all.”

  Duh. Who else is going to drive? Poor guy. He always takes us everywhere. He and Steph never have a minute alone without us tagging along—well except for that night in my spa. Eww.

  “You know the dance is here, at school. So if you guys want some alone time, we can walk. You don’t have to take us,” I tell him.

  Steph shakes her head. “No, don’t be silly. It’ll be fun if we all go together.” Dom seems to be okay with this too, so I don’t argue. The bells rings, ending lunch so we all gather our things and head to class.

  Keesh and I spend all week looking for our outfits for the dance. With a theme like Fantasy in Film, the possibilities are endless. Actually, I’m surprised Mr. Mitchell or the principal didn’t veto the choice because the idea of fantasy can take on a lot of different meanings—many not suitable for school functions. Kids have been joking about going as porn stars since they think it’s considered fantasy. We’re nerds though. We decided to go with one of our favorite book series of all time, even though we’re not huge fans of the movies. I mean I like them but how can you take a book that’s over four hundred pages and turn it into a two hour movie without losing so much of the plot. Seriously, I can’t even understand how people follow the movies since they’re missing so many key events. But oh well. Whatever.

  I wish the day was over already. I’m really anxious to get to the dance. Last night, Keesh and I tried on our costumes and we look so freakin’ cute. Think Britney Spears schoolgirl meets Hermione Granger. With cloaks, black thick-framed glasses, striped ties, fitted white tops and short skirts. We’re going as Hogwart’s students. Not any of the characters in particular, we’re just going for the overall idea of young wizards—with a sexy kind of twist, I guess. Most of the people we know are just buying matching shirts with movie logos on them, but we want to be different. Steph thinks we’re geeks for choosing Harry Potter, but whatever. As long as we’re having fun, then who cares? And wait till she sees the skirts. I think she’ll have a change of heart.

  This day is going to drag, I just know it. After school, the girls and I are going to Keesh’s to get ready for tonight. The guys will pick us up later. No Denny’s tonight. Some of us are short on cash, so maybe we’ll just eat at Keesh’s or hit up Taco Bell.

  I take my seat with a sigh. Math sucks. I take that back. Math sucks ass. How I have survived this whole year sitting in the same spot, in between Amy and Eric, I have no clue. Really, I think this teacher is trying to torture me. He has changed his seating chart more than once, but we have always remained sitting up front and right next to each other. What the hell, man.

  “Since you have a test next week, we are going to work on a review today,” the math geek snorts. He begins passing papers down each row. “We’re going to try something different. I’m going to let you work in groups of three.” Perfect. I look back at my girls. Finally, we can work together. “But I will choose your groups.” Ugh. He’s killing me. When he’s done assigning groups, I’m stuck with my two best buddies ever: Amy and Eric. Seriously. Now I really know this guy hates me. Really? What did I ever do to him?

  The class starts moving their desks so that each group is facing each other. I sit still. I’m not moving my desk. Not one freaking inch.

  Eric makes the first move. He scoots his desk toward mine. “This should be interesting,” he mumbles. I want to punch him.

  I fold my arms across my chest and don’t even look his way. Amy puts her pencil down and through the corner of my eye, I see she does the same. Bitch.

  “C’mon you guys, let’s just work,” Eric whispers. “I don’t want to get in trouble.” He’s probably right. If we don’t start working soon, this guy is going to spaz. But I’m not moving. Especially now that Amy isn’t. I know what she’s thinking. She’s thinking I’ll cave, that I’ll give in and make nice so we can do our work. She’s wrong. I’m not about to let her win this thing.

  I can feel his presence, and then I see his khaki slacks right in front of me. Oh shit. Here we go. “Is there a problem?”

  “Nope,” I say, looking up at him, arms still crossed.

  “Then put your desks together and start working,” he orders.

  “Ain’t gonna happen,” I tell him. The class is stone silent.

  “Excuse me, Ms. Miller. Explain yourself.”

  “I’m sorry, but I cannot work with these two people. I will do my work independently if you want or I will join another group, but I refuse to work with them.” I can’t believe those words just came out of my mouth. Never in my life have I ever said no to a teacher. My gut sinks. I feel bad, and I want to just give in, but I can’t. This has been torture all year long, and I haven’t complained once. But really, there’s no way I’m going to work with them.

  “Ms. Miller, you will work with these two students. I can’t think of any reason you would risk getting into trouble or lowering your grade...”

  I cut him off. “I can. I mean no disrespect, sir. But she used to be my best friend, and he used to be my boyfriend. And while we were going out, they were screwing each other’s brains out every chance they got. And to make matters worse, you’ve made me sit right next to both of them the whole dang year. I think that’s a pretty good reason to risk my grade. Don’t you?” Sounds reasonable enough to me.

&
nbsp; He doesn’t think so. “Out. Out. Out.” He points to the door. “All of you. The three of you. Out. Go to the office. I will call them and let them know you’re coming.” The class begins to murmur. “Silence,” he yells.

  I pack up my stuff, and head to the office. I glance over my shoulder. Steph and Keesh are in shock. They’ve got the deer in the headlights look.

  Heading down the stairs, Amy sneers, “Great going, Megan.”

  “Oh bite me.”

  Well, no dance for me tonight. All that shopping for my perfect get-up and I won’t even get to use it. I guess that’s what happens when you get suspended from class for three days. I’m still stunned by the whole thing. I’ve never so much as given a teacher a dirty look behind their back and here I’ll be, grounded, held captive at home for two weeks. I’ve been grounded more this year than I have in my entire life. Did I mention tenth grade sucks? Yeah. I think I have.

  Chapter Twenty Five

  “So it seems there was a problem in math class today,” Ms. Flores says. “Would any of you care to tell me about it.” We’re all quiet. “Well, someone has to talk before you’re allowed to go back to math class.”

  The three of us stopped in at the office before being sent to the conflict resolution counselor. Really, I’m serious. The plaque on the door says, “Conflict Resolution Office.” I shouldn’t be surprised there’s a need for this in high school, but I am surprised I have to be sent here.

  Amy and I stay silent. But Eric just sighs and spills his guts.

  “It’s my fault,” Eric begins, to which the counselor asks him to explain. “Okay, these two have been best friends forever. I was going out with Megan. Things were good for the most part, but she was totally in love with Amy’s boyfriend, Alex, who is now Megan’s boyfriend.” Mrs. Flores raises a brow. “Anyway, I know Meg liked me, just not as much as him. Then, things started to change with us. She didn’t want anything to do with me, like anything physical, you know. And then Amy was there. And she was pissed ‘cause her boyfriend liked her best friend. Neither Meg or Alex ever did anything with each other. But Amy and I hooked up. At first, I thought no way, this isn’t right. But then we just kept doing it. And then Meg wanted to break up anyway so I never said anything. Well, Meg and Alex found out about us at prom, and they haven’t talked to us since.” Eric turns to me. “Meggie, I’m really sorry. I know I fucked up. You were cool, and I totally disrespected you and if I could change things, I would. I lost you, and I lost my best friends. I couldn’t even say bye to Jon when he left. How can I make it right? We can’t spend the rest of high school in the office because we can’t even do a math problem together.”

  My face is hot and I’ll admit it, I get a little misty at his apology.

  Mrs. Flores jokes, “Well that’s one hell of a story, Eric. I feel like I’m watching an episode of The Hills. They should come here and film you guys.” She’s funny. “Megan, what do you have to say about Eric’s story? Did he tell it right?”

  It takes me awhile, but I finally say, “Yeah, I think he got it all. But it’s not all his fault. He’s not the only one who betrayed me. I guess I’d kind of expect it from him. He’s a guy. I wasn’t going to give it up for him, so why wouldn’t he get it from somewhere else. Guys aren’t going to turn down a chance to have sex.”

  “Don’t dismiss what Eric did. Sure, he’s a boy, but it’s never okay to cheat in a relationship. Did you or Alex ever cheat on these two?” She points to Amy and Eric.

  “Never. There’s no way I would have done that to Amy, or Eric,” I tell her.

  “Good. Do you think you can forgive Eric?”

  “Maybe. I kind of feel bad that he doesn’t have Josh and Jon anymore, but not so much that I want him hanging with us. But I think I can handle class with him…be friendly I guess…but not like he’s my best friend or anything. I don’t wanna be bitchy or rude to him anymore.” And that is all I’m willing to offer. I think it’s very generous of me.

  “Well, it’s a start,” Mrs. Flores says. “What do you think of that Eric?”

  He smiles. “Beats the way we were before. And Meggie…I really am sorry.”

  I finally look at him, really look into his eyes and I can see that he is sincere. “Thanks, Eric. I accept your apology.” It isn’t easy, but I feel like a weight has been lifted from my heart. It takes a lot out of you to be so dang angry with someone.

  And then Mrs. Flores just has to ruin it. “Wait a minute. It’s nice to see you two have worked things out. That’s what we’re here for. But we still need to work on Megan and Amy. Who wants to start?” Neither of us talk. “This one is going to be difficult, isn’t it?”

  Eric nods his head. “Definitely.”

  “Well I know the basic story. Is there anything you’d like to add Amy?”

  “Nope, I think you got everything. Oh wait—how about the fact that Alex and Meg did cheat. Maybe they didn’t hook up or anything, but they were always together, and on the phone, and everyone knew they wanted to be together even though they were with us.” Amy totally shocks the hell out of me with her version of the truth.

  “What do you think of that, Megan?”

  “I think she’s full of crap. We didn’t cheat. Alex and I were always good friends. Did I want him as my boyfriend? Yes. But that’s not news to anyone. Amy knew I liked him since before school started, but that didn’t stop her from shoving her tongue down his throat right in front of me. If she hadn’t gotten with him, none of this would’ve happened in the first place. Friends don’t hook up with the guys their friends want to be with. That’s basic friendship code of conduct, but Amy doesn’t care about anyone but herself. As long as she gets what she wants, it doesn’t matter who she hurts along the way. First, she got with Alex when she knew I liked him. Then she started screwing my boyfriend. Why would I want to be friends with someone like that?”

  “No one is saying you two have to be friends. You just need to be able to exist in the same classroom with each other. You need to be able to work together if your teachers ask you to.”

  “I don’t want to get into any more trouble, so I can work with her if I have to. But don’t expect me to sit here, accept her apologies, and forgive her because that’s not gonna happen.” I’m tired and I’m sick of being in the same room with Amy at this point.

  “You don’t have to worry about accepting any apologies from me because you’re not gonna get any.” I can totally rip her hair out for saying that.

  “Ladies, I can see that the wounds here run very deep, and they are going to take a long time to heal. I’m going to suggest to your teachers you not be forced to sit next to each other. In terms of group work, if you get grouped together, be cordial. You don’t have to smile and be happy, but you do need to be professional. I will be calling you in again individually and together until this is worked out. Now, go to lunch.”

  Go to lunch? After all that, can’t we just go home?

  Honestly, I’m surprised she gives up so quickly. She probably figures it’s hopeless and thinks she wouldn’t be friends with the skank who had sex with her boyfriend either.

  Before I make it to the hill to have lunch with the crew, my mom calls. She’s furious with me. But I can tell she’s more disappointed than anything. I can handle my parents getting pissed, disappointment is another thing. It feels terrible. She doesn’t give me a chance to explain. She just tells me in not so many nice words to get my ass home after school and to not even think about going to the dance tonight.

  When the bell rings at the end of the day, I dread going home. Now that I’m here, all I can do is wait. Any time now, Mom or Dad are going to bust open my door to tell me off. I hope it’s Mom because I don’t think I can handle Dad asking me about this whole mess. I’m in no way interested in giving him the juicy details about the sex life of my ex-best friend and my ex-boyfriend.

  A sudden vibration on my bed startles me. It’s Alex. I sigh, letting out a long exhausting breath.

  H
ey babe. Hw u holdin up. Keesh gave me the dets. I wish I could b thr.

  Yeah I know he does, but that’s just not making me feel any better right now. I don’t need a text. I need a hug. If he were here more often, sitting in between Eric and Amy every day might have been bearable.

  Im ok. wish u wer here too.

  hrd u put on a good show.

  yeah. still cant believe i snapped like that.

  its understandable

  tell that to my teacher

  im sure he gets it now

  hopefully. but now i gotta explain 2 my parnts

  they wll undrstnd 2. give them some credit.

  i hear them coming. gotta go. luv u.

  I snap my phone shut, and wait for my door to fly open.

  My luck sucks.

  Dad doesn’t say anything at first. He saunters in, not even looking at me, heads for my desk and eases himself into my chair. I can hear him take a few deep breaths, but I don’t say anything either. I don’t know where to start. He leans forward in his chair, resting his elbow on his knees and gazes up at me.

  “Well,” is all he says.

  I shrug my shoulders. “Sorry,” I squeak.

  “Sorry? You just got suspended from class and all you have to say is sorry. This isn’t like you, Megan. What happened? What’s going on?”

  “Where’s Mom?”

  “She already had plans for tonight and I didn’t think she should cancel just because you screwed up. Now what the heck happened?” His tone is calm, considering. But he’s eyes look pained. Guilt hits me in the chest. I should have just kept my big mouth shut today and did the work. But no, that would’ve been too easy.

  “Dad, I’m really sorry. I just screwed up. I made the wrong decision and I’ll have to deal with the consequences.” I’m hoping this will satisfy him.

  “You’re right. You will have to live with the consequences. But right now, I want to know what happened. All I know is you refused to work in a group in math. Explain. I want the whole story from beginning till the end.”