by Jada Tarrant
The counselor read off my schedule and I was surprised. “Trigonometry, Gym, US Government, Automotive, Lunch, English, and Theatre,” she said. “Auto?” I repeated, confused. She looked at me oddly. “She chose it,” the guy said with a quirky smile. Between the two of us, she looked at him more than me. “Okay,” she said and handed me my schedule. I shouldn't had let the guy butt into my stuff. Who was he anyway?
Before I could even ask him, he was gone as I turned around. I sighed, as I guess I was done. More people were flooding into the school. At least I got done early.
Angrily, I slammed the door behind me when I came into the house. Nathan jumped up from the couch as it appeared that he was watching a movie. His face held questions as he glanced at me.
“How did it go?” he asked passively. Taking a seat next to him, I threw my schedule down on the table. “Men there are ass whats,” I said and he began to laugh hysterically as he put his arm around me. He shook me a little. “At that school yeah, but it's the only school in the area. About three towns worth of kids,” he said. That definitely sounded like a lot as I shook my head. It reminded me of how bad my old school was. “Not an integrated school.” Then I snapped my head up. Did he just read my thoughts? My eyes widened at him as I thought about it, as he grinned even wider. “Anything else?” Hmm, it seemed like he was going to be persistent.
“Yeah,” I said, thinking about the guy from earlier. “Some dude made my schedule for me.” Then Nathan picked up the sheet, giving it a quick look. “Auto,” he said, grinning. “Would be good to know that.” Was that the only thing he had to say?
Nathan got up, but I pushed him back down to sit. There seemed to be a question wafering behind his eyes. “What?” he asked, pressing his lips together. It looked like he was ready to kiss the air.
“Why am I here?” I asked and his eyes crossed over me a million times. It seemed to be taking a while for him to answer. “It's not safe for you there,” he said impassively. The tone of his voice was honest, but at the same time I didn't trust it. Crossing my arms, I laid back into the couch. “Okay,” I said as he left, closing my eyes to the oblivion of sleep.
CHAPTER 11
AUGUST 13TH, 2013
WHEELERSBURG, OHIO
The clock ticked silently as I tiptoed to the kitchen to check the calendar. School was today, which dreaded my mind to think about at the moment. I didn't want to start over, or more so have a clean slate. All I wanted was Drew to comfort me, and I was sure I'll never see him again if I'm stuck here.
7:15 am, and school starts at nearly eight. I knew I was going to have to hustle to get ready or be late. And even the thought of skipping school crossed my mind. Bad, I can't even describe how awful I feel about myself today.
Looking up at the truck in the driveway made me sigh. I didn't earn the privilege to have my own vehicle. I'd definitely have to make it up to Nathan somehow. Just hoping about getting a job was enough to tell Nathan he didn't have to give me money for gas. The thought nearly made me sick.
7:30 am, I'm pretty sure I'm just stalling until I have to leave for school. Book bag full? Check. Ate breakfast? Check. Brush hair and teeth? Check and check.
Other than that I grabbed a jacket out of Nathan's closet. It smelt like a mixture of him and some cologne. I was pretty sure he wouldn't mind me borrowing it for a day to ward off guys.
-
Rolling into the parking lot, I close a spot closest to the exit. A bunch of people eyed me warily as I walked up with my bag. They must know I'm the transfer student.
Math class was right by the entrance making it easy for me to slip away from the hallway. Too many people were staring at me there. The teacher seemed to be cool as she had already written the assignment on the board. Finally, something to take my mind off of things.
“I'm guessing you're the transfer?” the teacher asked while the room was still vacant. At least I knew she was talking to me. “Yes,” I said as I lifted my head up.
The teacher smiled at me as I looked over the board. “Good to see such concentration. This class will be small,” she said. Good, maybe that meant I could relax in class. As I waited for class to begin, there only seemed to be nine more people than myself. A good majority of them were guys as I felt their gazes glued to the back of my head. It nearly made me feel uncomfortable.
Then the bell rang as I went to the teacher for directions. “Gym's in the back,” she said with a smile. “Where you went to register.” Oh. Now I felt like a dip-DE-doo.
“Who's Mr. Chambers?” I asked one of the coaches once I walked in the gym. The female pointed at the tall man with the glasses. As I approached, I noticed the guy that had annoyed me in the parking lot at registration was in the roll call line. His eyes locked gazes with mine. Damn I wasn't ready. So I focused on keeping my eyes anywhere else.
“Mr. Chambers?” I asked, tapping on the teacher's shoulder. He turned around disruptively nearly whacking me. “Hie,” he said with a smirk. “Transfer?” Silently I nodded my head as he handed me a packet. I looked down at it confused. “Requirements for this class, due next week.” Then I eyed it again, noticing it was a physical. It hadn't been a long time since I had done one either.
“Can't I just bring in a sports physical that's good for another few months?” I asked as the question seemed to catch him off guard. “If you have the shots,” he started. “I do,” I finished his sentence with as he glared. “What sport?” he asked. “Female wrestling,” I say as a small laugh escaped him. “First opponent?” he asked. Ah, now that was going to take a minute to remember. “Bloodworth Nicole,” I said as his sarcasm turned into seriousness. “Well then,” he said and turned. “You sit there in attendance.” Great, I'm next to the creep from the parking lot. And he's staring right at me.
“What state you from?” he asked as he set his hand in my lap. Seeing it sit there irritated me as I whacked it away. “Illinois,” I gritted through my teeth as I was sure he saw how mad I was getting. He soon fell silent and left me alone. Something felt very unsettling though as he did though, because the whole gym's attention now. The fact that there was nothing to do either didn't help me. So I set a timer on my iPod to go off five minutes till the bell rang and cranked some music into my ears, shutting out everyone.
In US Government the teacher wasn't even in the classroom. There was a substitute, and it seemed to make the day go even slower.
Then in automotive it was filled with all guys like I expected as my gaze crossed with the ignorant dude that made my schedule. Did he put me in this class to creep on me? I hoped not, because he seemed pretty convincing about the spout of the athletes out to get me. The idea scared the crap out of me.
“In the class, you'll learn to work on cars at least doing the basics,” the teacher said, eyeing me curiously. It made me uncomfortable as he stared. “You all can walk around with a partner to figure out what each part of the car is.”
At that moment, I swear almost everyone came running to me. But the impolite one got to me first, and I could see that he had no desire to do this or be near me. What's he trying to do then?
“What's this?” he asked me, touching the big box. The plus and minus symbols made it obvious to what it was. “A 9.7 volt battery,” I said and smiled. Then he pointed up at the front part underneath the car. My dad's words wavered around in my head. Front wheel drive. “Front axle assembly.” I'm pretty sure I sounded unsure of myself as I spoke. The teacher was even silently watching in the background, bobbing his head.
“Need music,” he said, eyeing my bag. “Got an iPod? It's too boring without music.” I hesitated, as I didn't want him to take it. He frowned, realizing that I didn't trust him. A few others began to gather around asking me for mine, so I ran back to him. There seemed to be a dark smirk on his face as I handed it over. He should give it back to me when he's done with it.
“I forgot mine at home,” he admitted, pulling out a small speaker. “Hopefully you got at least a few songs on here t
hat I like.” I was sure I did, since all I listened to was a little bit of rock and metal. He raised a brow as he flipped on Hollywood Undead. Gangsta sexy played, and he began dancing to it. That nearly made me forget everything as I laughed at his corny dance moves.
“Convinced I ain't the bad guy yet?” he asked, handing me back my iPod. I took it back with a smile. “Don't know you,” I said and he grinned as he made me follow him deeper into the classroom. I squealed, and I realized I had never done that. What is going on?
“Derek Almask,” he said and shook my hand. His lips were unbelievable as they were pleading for a kiss, but I stayed a few feet away as I wanted to keep my distance. “Yours?”
“Jada Terrent,” I said just as formally. He stepped closer and my heart literally jumped in my chest. I'm pretty sure his eyes glowed for a moment too,but I pushed that thought out of my head.
“Jada,” he repeated, simpering thinking about it. “I'll remember that. And oh, we have lunch together.” Then he paused for a second as he seemed to be engrossed in his thoughts. “I'll show you around if you let me.”
Reluctantly, I jumped on his offer. Through the hallways he moved quickly as it was tugging at my energy to keep up. He turned around to make sure I was still there as he smiled at the exhaustion ebbed on my face. Then he stopped as the lunchroom was off to the right. Too many people were in there, as I didn't want to go in. A small laugh escaped his lips.
“I just grab lunch and head outside to eat,” he said as his eyes glistened at me. So I followed him through the lines as I got myself a small lunch. A few people were watching me as I moved around.
One of the girls swarmed by guys got up as she met me at the end of the line. My only guess was that she had some ground rules to lay down like it was at the other school.
“Hi there Freshie,” she said with a smirk. Freshman? Well, now that's an insult. My eyebrows creased to show my frustration, but I relaxed my face before I spoke. “Hi,” I said as I was about to turn my back. She even followed me into the pay line.
“Just so you know, the friend you're with is trouble. “Still a virgin,” she said, twirling her hair around as I grabbed a water. Her eyes scanned me over and over again as I just laughed. “Fine by me,” I said and our gazes locked. There seemed to be an unsettling familiarity as I looked into them. She left, clearly fumigated that I wouldn't listen.
Derek raised a brow at me as she left. “What did the drama queen say?” he asked as I followed him out. “That you're trouble and a virgin,” I said as he frowned. “What's wrong with that?” he asked, poking fun at my arm. I held my hand to my chest as I felt disturbed by his gesture. “You are a virgin too. I'm sure we're the only two left.” Okay, now that made my stomach churn as I thought about it.
As well as that was going, my appetite was gone as I threw my food away and I became cold. Derek had creeped up behind me peeling off my jacket. What are you doing? That was what I wanted to say as my mouth opened, but nothing came out. Then he cradled my back, putting me into his jacket. The scent of musk and sweat reminded me of Drew. I closed my eyes, relishing the memory for a moment. He smiled at me as he noticed I liked his jacket as he put mine over his jacket.
Turning around, I went to get a look at him without the jacket as he was stripped down to a black t-shirt with a cross necklace on him. Tattoos of wings travelled up and down his arms. His face showed age without a hood to cover it, and his grin was all masculine. It made me tremble that he nearly resembled Drew. The only thing that tore me back into reality was the hazel crested eyes that were different.
“Almost time to go,” Derek said, pulling me by my arm. “The rest of your schedule is with me.” Then he grinned. What? He didn't say anything about that..
All the athletes were staring heavily at me as I passed the gym. They looked confused as Derek was keeping a close distance from behind me. “Don't look at them,” he said as he kept his blank expression. “Or else they'll think you're interested.” Oh, another tip of survival of how to survive school.
Quietly, Derek slipped into his assigned seat which was a row ahead of me and a seat to the left. I let my gaze travel to the board. Who's Jules Velasquez? At least that's who was supposed to sit next to me. This school was crawling around with so many guys it was giving me the creeps.
Right when the bell rang, some tall dude rolled into the seat beside me. 'Betrayal,' was tattooed on his left forearm, and it made me nervous when I looked at it. From another angle, the back of his head had a scar of some sort. The scar looked familiar, but the thought slipped the same moment it entered. Now that was going to frustrate me.
CHAPTER 12
SEPTEMBER 24TH, 2013
WHEELERSBURG, OHIO
Nathan didn't seem to be home yet, and it was 7:15 am in the morning. What the hell? Did he not get relieved from work yet? I know he works night shift.
There was a note on the fridge. Nathan must had put it up for me before he left. Something sounded wrong with it though.
Hey Jada!
Don't get home early, wait until five-ish or so. Some people are coming over. Once you read this, throw it away or hide it in your vehicle.
Love you,
Nathan
Okay, so I set the paper down on the counter as I stared at it. Just trying to figure it out was giving me a headache. Pushing that thought aside, I shoved the paper in my bag. Then I opened the fridge and pulled out an energy drink. Today was going to be a long day.
On the way to school, someone on the side of the road had their hand out. Right when I slightly passed him I recognized the guy. Derek. So I stopped the truck as it was a few lengths away as he ran up to it. He opened the door and smiled once he noticed it was me.
“Can I hitch a ride?” he asked and jumped into the truck before I could give him an answer. “Sure,” I said as I started the truck back up. It sounded like someone was yelling in the background as he turned. “Go, go!” he ordered as I hit the gas to get on the highway.
Derek took in a sigh as he slouched in the seat next to me. Now would be a good time to ask him what happened back there as I was about to open my mouth. He smiled precariously at me, knowing that I was going to say something.
“Dad's being an asshole. Knocked over my bike and dented the fuel tank,” he sighed, then looked over at me. “You don't live far from me, do you?” I froze, I wasn't sure if I wanted to answer his question. “You do.” His mouth curled up a little as he said that in thought. “I'm going to need your help.”
Parking, the second I heard those words I turned towards him. He looked serious about it. “With what?” I asked. “A ride to school and home,” he said as he threw twenty bucks in the cup holder. “I will pay.” It almost sounded like he was desperate as I bit on my lip, debating on it. “Fine,” I said and he grinned as he left the vehicle. “Wait.” Then he turned around waiting for me as I ran towards him to talk about it.
“At this rate, the school will think we're together,” he laughed. “But that's a good thing if you don't want to be anal ed by ten guys in the bathroom.” Imagining that made me gag as we made our ways to our classes. After auto I knew I'd be stuck with him for the rest of the day until I went home. But Nathan's note pounded questions into the back of my head. Where would I waste two hours at? Derek's. No, I'm pretty sure it was too soon for that. I let a sigh escape my lips during the lessons. Too much to deal with in one day.
School had become easier as I learned to move faster and avoid the traffic of people piling up in the hallways. Classes were semi-easy except for trigonometry and auto which were giving me some difficultly. Derek helped with the mechanic homework, and things felt like they were finally falling into place for me.
After school, Derek had me running around doing some errands with him as I was becoming irritated being his taxi driver.
“Anything else?” I asked as he checked his sheet of paper. “Nope. Home now,” he said and shook my shoulder. “Ease up Hun.”
Looking at the das
h, the second I pulled into Derek's driveway it was 4:30 pm. There was still about an hour to kill. Maybe Derek wouldn't mind me squeezing in some study time in his driveway. But he stared at me as I sat in his driveway waiting for me to leave. I let my eyes wander between the clock and him. It felt like it was taking forever.
“What are you waiting for?” he asked as he leaned over the hood. “I can't go home yet,” I said as I eyed the time. “Still got about forty minutes to go.” He started to smile as he walked to my side and opened the door.
“Come on in then,” he said as he prepared himself to catch me. I landed right into his arms as he learned forward as if he wanted to kiss me. His touch singed my hips as I reached up to bring me closer to his face. The glow in his eyes came back with a grin. “Are you sure you want to do that?” It nearly sounded like a challenge.
“Maybe,” I mouthed as he enclosed his arms around me, pecking at my lips. His weight pinned me against the truck as he raised me onto the hood and kissed me more deeply as his tongue penetrated my mouth. I guided my hands wandered to the bottom of my shirt as I slowly crawled up his back. He broke his kiss as I reached his mid-section. Something felt rough there.
“I think you've had enough,” he said as he flicked my nose. He had the most mischievous smile on his face. “It's 5:20 pm too.” Ah, time to go.
I bit my lip as I resisted the urge to go after my desire to touch him. So many things were going through my head, and the further I went into it the more of a mystery it was.
“Okay,” I said as I slipped into my vehicle. Derek was walking away as I pulled the truck into reverse. Someone was pulling up as I realized it could be his dad, so I sped up out of the driveway.
