A Life Like Mine

by Jorie Saldanha

  “More! More! More!” They shouted.

  “What happened?” I asked Annie. “We were only five minutes into the DVD.

  “I don’t know,” Annie replied.

  “Hmm.” I wondered to myself, grateful that not everything was shown. Suddenly Miss Rosemary was in the center of the court, which silenced the crowd immediately. When the gym was completely hushed she spoke.

  “Whoever did this, please step forward.” Her tone was harsh, but silence only met her words.

  “No one?” Miss Rosemary looked about the crowd. “I find it hard to believe that not a single soul in this room knows anything about this DVD at all.

  “Awwww, man,” I whispered to myself. I closed my eyes in shame. I slowly stood, as the crowd seemed to turn at me like they were one body.

  “I did it,” I admitted. I saw Tom now. He was hiding in the corner of the gym, next to the bleachers. He looked at me with pure hatred.

  “Come,” was all that Miss Rosemary said to me.

  “Okay.” I slowly descended the bleachers. I don’t know what happened in the gym after that. As I was on my way out, I saw Hank with a camcorder. It was turned off, and he held it limply at his side. He and Adam were to the right of me. They stared at me with sullen, broken expressions. I shifted my gaze away from them as I followed Miss Rosemary to her personal dungeon. (A.K.A Her office. You people don’t get anything!) I closed the door behind me at her request. We both say down, and Miss R. put on what I like to call her “scary disciplinary glasses.” She only wears these when she feels that the person in question needs a serious punishment. At first she just stared at me through them. I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.

  “Why?” Miss Rosemary finally spoke.

  “Come again?” I asked, surprised by her sudden speech.

  “Why did you do it?” Miss Rosemary threw off her glasses angrily.

  “I didn’t,” I answered.

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, I didn’t put the DVD on the screen. I made it, but I didn’t replace my DVD with the actual best moments DVD that was supposed to be played today,” I explained.

  “I see,” She put her glasses back on the bridge of her nose in complete principle fashion. “Then how do you explain how it got aired?”

  “I…uh…” I couldn’t turn Jack in. He just thought he was doing everyone a favor. “Okay. I had planned to air it.”

  “I see.” Miss Rosemary said again.

  “I put it in a green duffle bag, but I forgot it somewhere in the school. I’m not really sure where, because then I wouldn’t have really lost it now would I?” I chuckled lightly. Miss Rosemary’s expression remained unchanged. My smile faded quickly.

  “I’m surprised at you, Ashley.” She shook her head. “I thought you were past this.”

  “I was, I mean, I am.” I fumbled over my words.

  “If I am to believe what you told me about the duffle then will you at least tell me why you made it in the first place?” She signed discontentedly.

  “I wanted Tom to get kicked off of the basketball team.” I watched her with an earnest expression. Miss Rosemary simply frowned. You know the kind I’m talking about. The kind of frown that makes you spill your entire life story in a matter of seconds. And, well, that’s exactly what I did. I told her all about my history with Tom. I told her about what he had done to me and to everyone he had ever met. I also informed her of my suspicions of Tom doing something underhanded. I didn’t know what, though. Miss Rosemary’s attention never was diverted as I told her the entire story.

  “Do you believe me?” I asked hopefully.

  “Well, in all honesty,” Miss Rosemary adjusted her glasses, “Yes.”

  “Oh.” I sighed with relief.

  “Don’t think that this means you’re off the hook. Now that you’ve done something this public in front of the entire district, I have to punish you harshly. I might have ignored your other indiscretions, but now I have to punish you for all of them, otherwise I’ll look bad. Besides, I still can’t remove Tom from the team. You haven’t proved Tom has done anything but be an unskilled basketball player.” Miss R. shrugged emphatically. “For all I know, you could just be making this all up, and playing me for a fool.”

  “But I thought that you believed me?” My voice caught.

  “I do. I just can’t support you. I’ll tell you this,” She placed her glasses on her desk. “Unless you can bring me cold hard evidence of the accusations you have made towards Tom in the next twenty four hours, you’ll be in trouble.”

  “What kind of trouble?”

  “You’re have to serve at least four months of Saturday detentions and write a formal apology to Tom.”

  “I…I don’t.” My jaw dropped. “What kind of cold hard evidence are you expecting from me? What do you need?” My eyes bulged out of my head.

  “Something that is against the Code of Conduct.” She pulled out a fat book from her desk and plopped it on my lap. I jolted from the surprising weight.

  “Am I supposed to read this?” I inquired.

  “No, but if you want to find evidence I’ll listen to, you’d better know what’s in here.” Miss Rosemary got up from her seat and opened her door.

  “So in other words I have to read it?” I scrunched up my face disapprovingly.

  “I’ll see you this time tomorrow,” Miss Rosemary answered.

  “Yes, ma’am.” I stood up and left the office with my new reading assignment. Around the corner, I found Adam pacing nervously. Gosh, he was so darn cute when he was thinking hard. Then again, he looked cute all the time. STOP! I dismissed these thoughts toward him as I cleared my throat to let him know of my presence. He looked up at me, and stopped pacing. He stared at me, I swear, as a thousand expressions crossed his features.

  “Hi,” Adam’s voice cracked. He coughed and smiled anxiously.

  “Hi.” I gave him a small smile. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to thank you for not turning me in along with you. After what I did to you, I figured you’d want to. He stepped closer to me.

  “I’m not like you Adam. I don’t try to get back at ex-boyfriends,” I stepped away as I spoke those cold words.

  “Yeah.” He winced.

  “Besides,” I smiled, “I already knew you were under the microscope from you court case.” I fidgeted.

  “Yeah, thanks.” Adam looked at his feet. “Oh, I also wanted to know if you were okay.”

  “Hmmm.” I snorted. “Why was that the last thing that came to mind?”

  “I…uh…” Adam was sweating.

  “I’m fine.” I nodded with a smirk. Then an awkward silence showered over us.

  “Listen,” we both said at the same time.

  “I’m sorry about what you thought you heard the other day. I didn’t mean any of it, and neither did Hank. I’ve been really stressed out lately, not as if that’s an excuse, but…when my best bud about us questioned me, I didn’t know what to say. I got scared. When you asked me if I cared about you at all, I doubted my feelings for you. I’m sorry. I’m really, really, really, really…”

  “That’s enough.” I held back a grin.

  “Really sorry,” Adam finished.

  “It’s okay. I forgive you. I shouldn’t have assumed so much,” I conceded.

  “You had every right to,” Adam interrupted. “What Hank and I were saying was cruel and uncaring.”

  “Yeah.” I sighed.

  “I know that we’re not going out anymore. And I understand why you don’t want to be my girlfriend, but for not can we just be friends? I just can’t lose you. Even if it means we can only be friends.”

  “I don’t know.” I bit my lip.

  “Please, I just want a chance,” Adam pleaded.

  “Okay. To tell you the truth, I need your help.” I stepped closer to him.

  “I can’t believe Rosemary gave you a twenty four hour deadline!” Adam exclaimed, scratching his head.

 
“I know,” I replied. “How are we gonna do this?”

  “Well,” I figured we’d watch all of this season’s recordings Hank made again, and look for anything that doesn’t look ‘ethical.’” Adam made quotation marks in the air.

  “That will take forever.” I laughed.

  “This is why I made popcorn.” Adam smiled as he threw a kernel into his grinning mouth.

  “You’re a thinker, you know that?” I grinned flirtatiously. I know, I know. I shouldn’t be flirting with him, if I don’t want to go out with him, but come on! He’s so darn hot! You’d understand it if you were actually there.

  “Only the best of us are thinkers.” He beamed at me. He took my hand as I reached for more popcorn. He gave me a soulful look. I'll tell you, that it's not easy to look away from.

  “Ash.” He sighed leaning towards me.

  “Please, don’t.” I backed away. “Let’s focus.”

  A few hours later, Adam and I had absolutely nothing to go on. All we knew was that Tom was without any doubt a talentless buffoon. We had watched pretty much all of the tapes, and come up with nothing. It got so late that my eyelids started to get really heavy. The next thing I knew, I was waking up, squinting at the brightness of the blue TV screen. Adam was asleep on a chair he had brought in from the kitchen. It was situated right in clear seeing distance of me. Well, isn’t that dandy? He was watching me sleep. The little creepy man! Darn it. That’s not creepy. That’s hot. I want him so bad! WHY!?!?! Anyway…I tried to comb my hands through my hair, but they wouldn’t go. I was wrapped tightly under a warm, flannel blanket. I smiled, lovingly at Adam. (NO! STOP LOOKING AT HIM LIKE THAT! Why does he have to be so darn sweet?) I threw the blanket off as Adam awoke and grinned at me.

  “We must have dozed off,” I said as businesslike as I could. “Do we have any more recordings left?”

  “Just one.” He held it up for me to see. He put it in the DVD and pushed the “play” button.

  Okay, now I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that this is another one of those stupid stories where we just happen to find the perfect evidence at the last second of the last tape. Well, you’re wrong. We found absolutely nothing, and I was crushed.

  “What now?” I asked tiredly.

  “I don’t know.” Adam cocked his head. “Are you up for a movie?”

  “A movie? Why would I want to watch a movie at a time like this? It’s a Thursday night and we have school tomorrow!”

  “Come on. It’ll calm you down. Besides it’s Friday. It’s 3:00 AM.”

  “Great.” I huffed.

  “It’s hard to see the names in the dark, but I’m too lazy to find a light.” Adam smiled, and put a DVD in. “I hope this is the right one.”

  “What is this?” I asked curiously, staring at the screen.

  “The wrong DVD! You don’t want to see this.”

  “Adam, what is this?” I asked again.

  “Hank and I always did a ‘back in the locker room’ skit after each game. You don’t want to see this.” Adam repeated as he went to turn it off.

  “Wait.” I held my hand up as I leapt towards the TV. “Rewind!”

  “Okay.” Adam shrugged.

  “Play!” I dictated. We watched silently as on screen Adam prattled on about something stupid. “There did you see that?” I asked.

  “No.” Adam snorted.

  “Pause it.” I told him. “What do you see?”

  “I see a sexy beast.” Adam joked.

  “No.” I crossed my arms. “Look behind you on the screen. That’s Tom!”

  “You know what? I think you’re right? What’s he got in his hands?” Adam asked.

  “A lit cigarette and a bottle of Jack Daniels!” I pointed out Tom on the screen. “Look at him suckin’ it down. He’s really going to town with the hooch.”

  “Oh my gosh! This was game number three. No wonder he was so loose that game.” Adam’s eyes widened.

  “Where’s that ethical book?” I asked, searching under pillows and tapes.

  “It’s over there.” Adam pointed to a spot on the floor.

  “Great.” I picked it up and sped through the unimportant sections. “Where is it…?” I whispered.

  “What are you looking for?” Adam asked.

  “Here!’ I shouted. “Underage substance and drug abuse!”

  “You’ve got it!” Adam said softly.

  “I’ve got it!” I screamed my head off and jumped into his arms, knocking him and me to the ground. “Sorry.” I scrambled to get off of him.

  “It’s okay.” He held me on top of him. It was one of those magical awkward movie moments. The kind where we both feel the tension between the two of us. I jumped up, mumbled some kind of a goodbye, and headed towards school.

  “Congratulations, Ashley.” Miss Rosemary shook my hand. “You did what you set out to do. You’ve helped this school realize that Thomas should not be part of the basketball team.

  “Thank you. So am I still going to be punished?” I gave her an innocent smile.

  “Yes. Let’s just make it three Saturday detentions. Less than a month of detentions.”

  “Fair enough.” I shook her hand again, and left the office with a skip in my step. I looked for Adam, but instead of finding him, I found Tom and Lena.

  “Hey, Ash.” Tom sneered. “How’s your felon of a boyfriend?”

  “I wouldn’t worry about him seeing that you have other problems to think about. Like getting kicked off of the basketball team.”

  “You’re bluffing.” Lena’s eyes narrowed.

  “I’m afraid not.” I gave them both a plastic smile. “Bribery is against the Code of Conduct.”

  “You wench.” Tom’s eyes clouded with rage.

  “What? You’re not on the team anymore?” Lena asked, irritated.

  “I guess not,” I answered for Tom.

  “Well, then…” Lena looked at him, and then at her watch. “I guess I have no use for you then.

  “What?” Tom asked with utter anguish.

  “It’s over. Good luck being a loser.” Lena thundered off.

  “Huh.” Tom roared at the top of his lungs. All I could do was laugh at him. “I swear to God that I will make sure you pay for this.” Tom bellowed.

  “Oh, I’m quaking with fear,” I said sarcastically. “Maybe you should worry about becoming a better person, Tom.”

  “Don’t take me seriously, huh?” Tom slapped me so hard that I saw stars. He threw me to the ground saying, “Do you take me seriously now?”

  “You jerk,” I said calmly. There was no way that I was going to let him treat me that way. I hadn’t gone to self-defense classes for nothing! Just when I was about to break his nose, Adam came.

  “Stop!” Adam jogged up to me. “Are you okay?” His hand lightly swept across my flaming cheek.

  “Better than he’ll be.” I threw my entire body into one punch right at his stomach. It took the wind out of him. “Don’t mess with an angered woman with skills!” I emphasized “skills” by saying “ski-ills.” Adam and I left Tom gasping for air towards the parking lot. (Hey, he deserved it. I didn’t hit him as hard as I could.)

  “So, you thought you were going to save me from the big bad wolf, huh?” I nudged him.

  “Nah. I know you. I was trying to save him from certain death.”

  “Well, I was pretty steamed.” I laughed heartily.

  “I can’t believe that you did it. And with one day of school left.” Adam combed his hands through his perfect hair. Whoo!

  “Yeah, I’m pretty proud of myself.” I nodded.

  “Ash.” Adam walked in front of my forcing me to stop walking. “I need to tell you something.

  “I know. I know that tomorrow’s your last day. I know that you’re leaving after Tina’s party on Saturday. I know.” I said, frustrated.

  “It’s not that,” Adam told me seriously.

  “Not now,” I replied flippantly. I was uncomfortable with the sad sincerity i
n his eyes. He probably just wanted to say goodbye. No matter how much I didn’t want to admit it; I was going to miss him.

  “All right.” He sighed. “See you at the last day of junior year.”

  “Yeah, see you,” I whispered as he and I parted ways.

  Chapter 15

  The Last Day of School

  The year was almost over, and I felt like it had been the most eventful year of my life. I never knew that so many things could happen in one single year and change a person so much. The last day of school is one of those sacred school days. Everyone is happy, but antsy to get out. The best part is that there’s absolutely no work done because finals are over. All we’re here for is to sign yearbooks. Of course, I think you guessed that with me there, it’s not just going to be a calm yearbook signing. Chaos will inevitably ensue. You know, I think that’s a rule or something. Anyway, here’s what went down. (I’m so completely cool. “Here’s what went down.” Could I be any cooler? Ha!)

  “Annie! Annie!” I yelled across the cafeteria.

  “Hey, Ash!” Annie smiled warmly. “Sign my yearbook!”

  “I was planning on it.” I took her book, opening it to the back cover. “I see Big Al has signed the inside binding of the book.” I smirked.

  “Yeah.” Annie giggled. “He thinks he is so original with the line ‘thanks for letting me sign your crack.’”

  “Ha, people are never original when it comes to yearbook signing. They always say something stupid. I can count the standard lines on my fingers.”