Push and Shove

by C. L. Stone

  “Looks crowded,” North said.

  “We’ll make room,” Rocky said. His eyes turned, settling on me. He took a long look, sliding down to my skirt and back up to my face. There was expectation in his eyes. “Sang can sit with us, too.”

  “No, she can’t,” a smoky voice said. Jade sat at one end of the table, with a couple of guys sitting next to her. She had her dark hair twisted up into a clip, similar to how I did mine. “The team only.”

  Rocky glared at her. “Shut up. She can if I say she can.”

  Jade twisted her lips, looking like she was dying to say something. She stood up, snatching up her bag, dropping it over her shoulder and started around the table.

  Rocky started egging North to sit with him again as Jade walked around us. When she was close to me, she snagged my arm. Her nails dug into my flesh and she whispered in my ear. “The only reason he pays attention to you is because he thinks you're easy. You've got all those boyfriends after all.”

  “What?” I said softly. I’d heard what she said, but the fact that she said anything at all surprised me. I tried tugging my arm out of her grasp.

  She gripped harder. “Don't play so naïve. You're keeping them in your little harem somehow. Really, do you have a platinum pussy between those thighs? Because I don't understand it.”

  I started shaking my head when North dropped an arm between Jade and I, clutching at my elbow to tug me closer to him. “Sorry,” he said loud enough for Rocky to hear. “We’ve got other plans.”

  “Sang,” Rocky called out, half pleading and half mocking. “Don’t let him drag you off. You’re coming to the party tonight, right?”

  “Sorry,” I said, trying to avoid looking at Jade. “I can’t. It’s the team only.”

  North tugged me away, drawing me toward the courtyard. I felt eyes on us, and I shivered. I missed the days when I was invisible.

  I wondered if they’d heard about John yet.

  When we made it out to the courtyard, I was suddenly wishing we picked a different spot for our group. The cafeteria and main hallway had windows that looked out into the courtyard. I was sure Rocky and the entire team could watch us if they wanted. I hadn’t felt this before for some reason, but in the moment, it felt like the courtyard was a stage and the lights were on us.

  Victor dropped down onto one of the bench seats. “I don’t get it. How is it they call themselves friends? They can’t even talk to each other without insulting everyone.”

  Kota looked up from the textbook he was reading. “What happened?”

  Victor filled them in. I placed my book bag by Victor but Gabriel caught my eye, curling his fingers at me. I crossed to the other bench, dropping down between him and Nathan. I tried to shake off Jade’s nasty comments. If North and Victor filled the others in, I didn’t want to think about it. I wanted to avoid her.

  “Trouble,” Gabriel said. He nudged me with an elbow. “I’m off work. Finally. We’re going out.”

  “We can’t,” Nathan said. “We have to stay at her house. She’s supposed to be resting. And Danielle...”

  “Kota can watch the place. And Sang can leave for a few hours. She’s supposed to take it easy, and not work. Going out isn’t work.”

  “Where did you want to go?” I asked, not wanting to commit, but wanting to at least hear what he had to say.

  Gabriel’s crystal blue eyes lit up and he seemed pleased. “There’s the dance club I was telling you about. This Saturday they’ve got a new DJ that I heard was pretty fucking awesome.”

  “I hate clubs,” Nathan said.

  “Then stay home. I haven’t had a day with Sang yet. It’s my turn.”

  “Nathan’s going with you,” North said. He was kneeling on the grass, and had a bottle of water in his hands. He twisted the top on and off idly.

  “I’ll go,” Luke said. “We can take Sang.”

  “Nathan still has to go with you two,” North said.

  “It doesn’t take three of us to take Sang out,” Gabriel said.

  “No, it takes Nathan, or me, or Silas to keep you three stooges out of trouble. And Silas and I have to work the diner. So either Nathan goes or you all stay.”

  “I’m a stooge?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

  North smirked at me. “Sang Baby, you’re the stooge.”

  Gabriel groaned. “Argh. Fine. Nathan, you’re going with us.”

  “Ah fuck,” Nathan said. “Do we have to go to a club? Can’t we take her somewhere else?”

  Gabriel shot me a look, asking me for help.

  “Honey,” I said.

  “Yeah?” Nathan asked, rubbing his palm over his reddish brown hair.

  “If we go to the club this time, maybe next time we can go out, we’ll go see a movie.” Was that a good idea? Compromise?

  Nathan perked up. “Just us?”

  I looked to North, waiting for him to tell me whether this was a good idea, or if he wanted to insist Silas or he had to go along. North wouldn’t look at me. He stared at the water bottle in his hands, twisting the cap.

  “If no one else wants to go,” I said, leaving it up in the air.

  Gabriel perked up. He tapped his lean fingers against his thigh. “See? And we’re all going to the game tonight. We’ll go out to dinner before it. It’s the three stooges’ weekend.”

  “Four stooges,” Luke said. “I want to go, too.”

  “Shit,” Gabriel said. “We need something better than stooges. It doesn’t make sense if there’s four.”

  I sighed. I started to pull out my books, figuring out where to start with homework.

  “Nu-uh,” Gabriel said, snagging my textbook. He claimed my book bag and shoved the book back into the bag. He fished out the 3DS, planting it in my hands. “Don’t you even think of homework. You’re on sick leave.”

  “I’m not sick,” I said. “And I’ll get in trouble if I don’t do homework.”

  “We’ll do it later,” Gabriel said.

  I looked at Victor or Kota for help, but they didn’t protest, even though they all had their books out and had started doing work.

  I grunted, wondering how I was supposed to do homework later if they wanted me to go to a football game and to a club this weekend.

  I flicked on the DS, starting up the game. Luke gave me half his sandwich, and Gabriel shoved chips into my mouth on occasion. Eventually, I zoned out food and the others. The game was terribly addictive. I was trying to catch fish and bugs to sell for cute items to put into a house. It was a pointless game; it seemed to be all about collecting items. It was still entertaining. If I wasn’t allowed to do anything, I might as well have fun with it.

  “See?” Victor said. I glanced up in time to catch him nudging Kota and motioning in my direction. “She likes it. Been quiet for half an hour. I’ve never seen her so still.”

  I caught Kota’s eyes. He shared a secret smile with me. He seemed pleased with this.

  I didn’t normally sit still?

  “I don’t get this game,” Gabriel said, leaning over my shoulder to watch what I was doing. “She’s catching sharks bigger than her and then stuffs them into her pocket. Then she sells them and repeat. Hey, go into that shop right there. Oh my god, check out that skirt. Go buy that.”

  Before the end of lunch, we managed to figure out you could design your own shirts and clothes in the game. Gabriel threatened to skip class for the rest of the day so he could go buy the game and play his own. Kota told him he had to wait until after school.

  Despite Gabriel playing with me, I still felt oddly out of sync with the rest of them. I knew I was supposed to be taking it easy, but this felt a little extreme. Was this what Mr. Blackbourne meant?

  Being out of the loop felt more stressful to me. I tried to relax and let it go. It was only for a little while.

  ♥♥♥

  When the bell rang for class, I followed Silas out into the hallway. When the hallway got crowded, I fell behind him. I wasn’t supposed to let them walk ahead of m
e, but Silas had an easier time of cutting through the throng of people and then leaving a good path for me behind him. I kept a hand on his back so he knew I was there.

  At an intersection of hallways, something struck hard against my butt. I jumped, knocking into Silas.

  Silas turned, catching me. I held on to him, looking back for whoever had... spanked me?

  “Love that skirt,” Rocky said, standing right behind me. He brushed away the hair falling into his eyes. The corner of his mouth teased with a smirk. The angle of his jaw was rugged with unshaven growth. The smell of a heady spiced cologne filled my nose. It was a bit too strong for me and I felt a sneeze tingling my nose.

  The cool, teasing look in his eyes told me that he had been the one that had slapped me on the butt.

  “Rocky,” Jay said, materializing next to him. “You can’t do that, man.”

  “Fuck off, Jay,” Rocky said. “Don’t be such a pussy.” Rocky shot me a wink as he turned down a different hallway.

  Jay turned to Silas, his broad hands out and open, like he didn’t understand what just happened, either. “Sorry,” he said. “He’s being an ass today.”

  “Tell him if it happens again, I may let some linemen slip by me at the next game.” Silas hooked an arm over my shoulders, turning me away. The last I saw of Jay, his eyes were cold, and he looked unhappy. I thought I understood. Rocky was the team captain, but he was arrogant. I felt Jay was better than that. It was Rocky’s aggressiveness that made him one of the most popular guys, I supposed. Jay stood beside him, but I got the feeling he didn’t like it.

  Silas and I slipped into class. Silas fell into the seat behind me. I eased into the chair, still feeling the sting on my butt. I thought it might even bruise.

  “You okay?” Silas asked.

  “I think so,” I said, although I wasn’t really sure. The move had been really hostile. Rocky hadn’t done that before. I’d seen guys do it to other girls in more playful ways. The boys occasionally slapped me on the thigh, sometimes close to the butt, but Rocky’s had been different. Maybe it was because I didn’t know him and didn’t feel comfortable around him. Maybe I was more frightened by it because of his generally aggressive nature. I didn’t even like standing next to him because my insides rattled every time. I didn’t sense he was evil, or a horrible person. I didn’t understand the difference, since North was intense, too. It was just a feeling.

  “Rocky’s up to something,” Silas said. “I don’t like it.”

  “Up to something like Hendricks?” I asked.

  Silas shook his head. “Last week at practice, he was urging me to break up with you and go out with some other girl. Now he's grabbing your ass and right in front of my face.”

  “I’ll just stay away from him,” I said.

  “I don’t know if that’ll work,” Silas said. The corners of his broad lips tightened. His dark eyes narrowed. “I might have to introduce him to the floor the next time he does something stupid.”

  “Silas,” I said, leaning over the top of his desk. “You can’t...”

  Silas balled up his hands into fists on top of his desk. “I can’t let him do that to you. You can’t let a bully just walk over you, aggele. You have to show them you won’t take it, or they keep coming after you.”

  I started shaking my head. Was Rocky bullying Silas? It seemed incredible to think so. But Silas couldn’t just hit him. I thought about the other times fights broke out. If Silas hit him, wouldn’t the football team be mad at him? Would he get kicked off the team?

  But the teacher redirected our attention to the front of the class before I could tell him what I was thinking. I turned around, lowering down into my seat.

  Silas slid his feet under my chair. His feet hugged around mine, quietly telling me he was there.

  But I wasn’t paying attention to class work. I was thinking about Rocky. My goal was to avoid him. If I stayed away, maybe he’d lose interest and Silas wouldn’t get into any trouble.

  DESTINED TO BE A DOCTOR

  Silas escorted me to Japanese class. He stood outside the door with me for a moment, looking at me.

  “Silas?”

  He pursed his lips and squeezed my hand gently. He leaned in close, and his lips brushed against my ear as he whispered. “This party after the game ... I’ll try to leave as soon as I can. Kind of wish you could come with me.”

  “I’d end up in the closet again,” I said quietly.

  “Maybe with me this time,” he said. He backed up and then the corner of his thick lips tilted upward in a slight smile. “Did I tell you the new joke I heard about the toilet?”

  I started to grin. He had a thing for trying to make me laugh with strange jokes. “No.”

  His eyes lit up, and he said in a straight voice, “Wait, I can’t. It’s dirty.”

  Dirty toilet. I started giggling at first, because it was a terrible joke. It was the way he told it though that really had me going. He reached out and poked me in the ribs and I cracked up into laughter.

  “Don’t start her on that.” I heard Dr. Green’s voice before he stepped out of the classroom. He was wearing a blue shirt today, with a yellow tie and tan slacks. His sandy blond hair was combed nicely, although a couple of locks fell across his forehead, complementing his happy face. “She’ll be giggling all through class.”

  “Sorry, Doc,” Silas said.

  “Go to class,” Dr. Green said. He reached out for my elbow, giving it a gentle tug for only a moment and released me, urging me inside. “This is my time with her now.”

  Silas rolled his eyes and started heading down the hallway. I watched after him a moment.

  Dr. Green caught my elbow again, holding on for longer this time. “Come on. I’ve got your favorite today.”

  “My favorite?”

  “Yeah,” he said and the grin on his face broadened, lighting up his eyes. “Pop quiz.”

  I groaned, but I was grateful for the humor. I’d been really stressed the entire day. A class with Dr. Green, even a pop quiz, would be a pleasant break.

  Victor was supposed to show up for class, but when the bell rang and he wasn’t in his seat near me, I glanced at Dr. Green. Dr. Green checked his phone, and then looked at me with a slight shake of his head. I nodded, understanding. Victor was held up. From Dr. Green’s expression though, it wasn’t serious. I hoped it wasn’t another fight. Maybe Mr. Blackbourne was getting him to break into other lockers now.

  The pop quiz was short. For the rest of class, Dr. Green told us a little bit about Japanese culture, and wrote out particular words on the blackboard that he wanted us to remember. Out of all my classes, Dr. Green’s was the one I really looked forward to. Maybe part of it was because I knew him better now, but his personality really was captivating. Lighthearted and friendly, even students who looked like they’d sleep during class sat up and paid attention to him.

  When the bell finally rang, I hung back. I was supposed to be excused from gym today, but I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to go to gym and sit out, or go to the office. I thought Dr. Green would know.

  When the students left, Dr. Green was shuffling through the quizzes and glancing at the results. He shook his head. “You’d think they didn’t read the homework assignment at all.”

  “Maybe they didn’t,” I said quietly.

  He looked up, a soft smile spreading over his face. “Did you?”

  I nodded. I’d been busy and maybe I was excused from homework for his class, but I’d read ahead, like the boys taught me to do, so I wasn’t that far behind. “Did you check my quiz?”

  He shuffled through the papers and found the one I’d completed. He checked the answers. He shook his head, frowning. “Oh no.”

  My mouth fell open. “What?” I asked. I’d been sure about the answers. I went through the questions in my mind. Did I miss something?

  He shook his head, trying to look disappointed, but those soft green eyes were lit up, betraying his amusement. “I put you on sick leave and y
ou get an A.” He picked up his teaching materials from the desk, and turned, placing a hand on my lower back to guide me toward the door. “I should give you an F for failing to follow a doctor’s orders.”

  “Was I supposed to fail the quiz?” I asked.

  He ushered me to the door and snapped the light off, closing up the classroom as we got out to the hallway. From there, he stayed beside me as we walked down the hall. “How am I ever supposed to give you bonus points, or fudge your grade a bit if you keep getting A’s?”

  “Sorry,” I said. “Didn’t know you were trying to.”

  “Don’t want you to think I don’t care,” he said. The hallways were quieter now as classes filled in. He didn’t hurry, or usher me on, so I suspected I was supposed to stay with him. “I give everyone else bonus points.”

  “You do?”

  He nodded. “Might as well give these kids something for being volunteers for my class. I may be the only A on their report card the entire school year.”

  “Why do you want to teach?” I asked. “I mean, Mr. Blackbourne’s here, but he’s not really teaching.”

  “Part of the secret,” he said, his voice softening to almost a stage whisper. We made it to the stairs and I followed him down. “Hang on. Let’s get to the office and I’ll tell you about it.”

  I stayed quiet while I walked beside him down the hallway. When we got to the main office, he opened doors and sent me quiet winks as I passed through.

  When we got to the unmarked door that was the office he shared with Mr. Blackbourne, he took out his keys, unlocking the door. “That’s a cute outfit you’re wearing, by the way.”

  Out of reflex, I checked what I was wearing, a skirt and T-shirt, soft cottons. “Gabriel picked it out,” I said.

  “He mentioned,” Dr. Green said. He opened the door, ushering me inside. He closed the door and locked it behind us again. “Have a seat, sweetie.”