Chapter 2 - "Friend or Foe?"
There I was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. No doubt looking like a deer caught by surprise by a headlight. Waiting. For it to start. For it to be over...one way or another.
Um Hello...I'm WAITING here...
Nothing. I sheepishly opened my eyes. Brad was still there. He was looking at me all weird. Well I guess I was acting a BIT out of the ordinary.
I scanned his face for any sign, anything to explain why I wasn't reeling in excruciating pain right now. I expected his face to be a mask of Rage. What I never would have expected to find there was...
Concern???
Okay now it was my turn to be clueless. Apparently Brad sensed this and spoke up,
"Are you....all right", he asked.
"Huh?", I asked, shocked.
His voice didn't have a trace of anger. As a matter of fact he sounded a bit.....worried? Why?
"Um...are you okay", he asked, reaching out to ease my hands from over my head (I had unconsciously placed them there to protect me). I jumped from his touch. It was almost....Oh..I don't know...tender.
Brad continued, "whoa take it easy dude, your too uptight", "I only came to give you this."
Since I was obviously too shocked to act independently, he placed something in my hand.
Curiosity broke me out of my fear induced trance. I looked down. It was my copy of "To Kill A Mockingbird". Boy did I feel like an absolute moron.
"You left it on your desk", Brad explained, "I knew You'd need it for the test on Monday. Wouldn't be to good for you to fail Jameson's quiz, specially after today."
I just stared in disbelief. Tough jock Brad Summers was acting.......well like a person for a change.
"Well I'll see you in school Monday", he said.
I just nodded dumbly.
He had almost reached the end of the street before I remembered my parent's upbringing.
"Brad!", I called.
He turned.
"Thanks", I said.
He waved goodbye and...smiled???
Life was just too fricking weird sometimes.
I turned the corner and headed home in rapt contemplation of Brad's somewhat..hell...downright outlandish behavior. I finally arrived home and pulled out my house keys. My parents were still both at work as usual.
I went into my room and without further a' do fell right on my bed..fast asleep. The encounter with Brad had thoroughly drained me emotionally. I hadn't been so scared for a very long tim- well...ever.
BRAD'S POINT OF VIEW-FRIDAY EVENING'S EVENTS
Damn Jameson's off again!!
"To Be or not to Be...That is the question", croaked Mrs. Jameson.
How about....not?
The class was dragging on as usual. What a way to spend Friday evening. I tuned the old Bitch out and took the time to study the rest of the class. My curiosity was piqued by a sudden burst of laughter. And what a giggle it was. It sounded almost...musical. I turned in the direction of the sound. I almost expected it to be a girl. Much to my shock it was a ....guy. Wonder what he found so funny?
The laughter didn't last long though. This was Jameson's class after all. She started to grill the perp. I didn't bother to listen, this stuff happened everyday. When I saw the guy walking over to my desk and sitting down however, that got my attention. Jameson had obviously moved the talkative kid to sit next to me.
Great just what I need. Someone to get me in trouble for talking in the old crone's class.
I decided to lay out the ground rules. I needed to score in this class so coach would let me score on the football field( and have a chance with scoring with the cheerleaders as well, heheh). I couldn't risk getting friendly with Jameson's Grudge.
"Okay let's get something straight", I began, " Don't mess with me and I won't mess with you. Mess with me and you ain't gonna like the results", I said. It came out more harshly than I intended. The kid visibly cringed. I don't know what exactly happened next. I never regretted telling a guy off ( even if he was right and I was wrong ), but I regretted, not only how I said what I said, but what I said as well. The kid had this look of sheer terror on him. He looked almost like a scared 12 year old.
The bell rang announcing HOME-TIME!!!
He had yet to say a word to me. Then Jameson began assigning extra home-work and a test (can you believe her?) whilst blaming the kid.
I decided I had to say something, do something, to relax the kid. It's not exactly comfortable sitting down next to a quivering mass of fear ( especially for a whole semester ).
So I tried typical jock humor, a little playful insult:
"Way to go Dickhead", hey I tried, even smiled. I hoped he'd find it funny. For some strange reason, I wanted to make him laugh. When he laughed he looked and sounded so....beautiful. Beautiful???
WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE. WHAT WAS I THINKING CALLING A GUY BEAUTIFUL!!!.
The kid said something to me, but I didn't hear him. I was confused and too engrossed in my thoughts.
He just took off after that. His sudden running snapped me out of my mental daze. Whilst I was packing my backpack I saw a book he left on his desk. It was his copy of "To Kill A Mockingbird". He'd probably need it to study for the test on Monday.
Ah well... he only left a few minutes ago. I can probably give it to him in the hall.
I made my way down the hall asking a couple other students if they saw him. After a few futile attempts I finally caught up with him in the corridor. I looked to him and was about to call out when I noticed he was ignoring my presence. Okay that got me a little pissed. I supposed it showed on my face too.
As if that wasn't weird enough the kid started to walk away. What did he think I was gonna do...eat him? I started to walk towards him but he quickened his pace. In no time at all we were on the street heading down the block. That was when he turned around and he saw me following him. He looked at me like I was the Hunter and he was the Prey. After that he took off running.
What the fuck is he running for?
I broke into a sprint to catch up with him. It wasn't exactly easy. The little guy could run. I finally closed the distance and realized if I didn't do something he'd surge ahead again. So I reached out and grabbed him, spun him around and made him face me. He tensed up and went all defensive.
I asked him where he was headed so fast. He told me he was headed home. After an awkward pause he then spoke up,
"Just get it over with"
Ok. Now I was confused. Get what over with what .
He continued, "Aren't you gonna beat me up?", he asked , "for dissing you in class."
Beat him up? Why'd he think that? Sure I didn't mind kicking ass if anyone was hassling me, but I was joking with him in class. He probably didn't know it was a joke.
The humour of the situation took hold and I broke down laughing. Now he was looking at me like I'd gone insane. I explained that I had to give him something, once again he tensed, while I reached into my pack for his book. He went full defensive cringing and covering his head with his arms. I tried to calm him down, asked him what was wrong and tried to move his hands off his head. He just stared at me. I decided to just give him his book and leave. I put it in his hand while he recovered from whatever was eating him. I told him I'd see him at school Monday and he didn't even respond verbally, only nodded.
While I was walking down the street I heard someone call my name. It took me a while to figure out who. I turned and saw it was Jessie. He sounded so different when he wasn't scared shitless. He said just one word, "Thanks". I waved, walked away and headed home.
*** JESSIE'S POINT OF VIEW- SATURDAY MORNING
I woke up late Saturday morning. Which I instantly regretted. I had a test on Monday after all. Jameson's no less. I rushed into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, took a bath and headed to the kitchen, expecting breakfast. It was only when I saw the note on the refrigerator that I remembered. Mom and Dad had to go visit my grandparents this weekend. Which meant I'd have to fend for myself. Ah well. I could just walk down to the food court and order something. It was only five minutes away. I could call and order but I honestly thought a walk might help clear my head. I got dressed and started on my way.
After enjoying the walk I arrived at the food court. Damn! The place is crowded. I'd never been here at this time on a Saturday before. Guess it was rush hour. I had to wait in line at least half an hour before I could order.
" Good day sir, and what would you be having today?", the attendent asked.
I considered, " A three piece special, two sides of fries, a mashed potato special and some cole slaw, oh and a diet Coke." Damn was I hungry. Guess walking down here on an empty stomach wasn't such a good idea at all. To top it all off I had to wait some more to collect my order. I was just leaving through the doorway in a hurry when I slammed into someone coming in, hard. It sent me sprawling, food crashing to the floor. Oh great what a mess ( waste of time too ).
" Hey man, I'm sorry, I didn't see you coming", the guy replied.
Wait a minute. I knew that voice.
Please not him, anyone but him.
I looked up. Sure enough, with my kinda luck who else....Brad Summers. What made the situation worse was that I not only messed up the floor but his clothes too.
" I'm s-sorry, I didn't mean to...", I looked down. I couldn't face him.
All Brad said was, "Wait here."
With that he set off to order. My mind was telling me to run like the wind, but my body wouldn't let me. After around 20 minutes Brad came back from the service counter. Wow! Did he honestly eat that much? He held a parcel out to me. Brad spoke up, "Well aren't you gonna take your food?".
"Huh..", was all I managed.
"Dude", Brad continued, "I messed up your pack. The least I could do was get you something to eat."
"Uh.. thanks", I said accepting the food.
An awkward, long, silence then followed.
"Um..can I go now?", I asked, looking at my feet.
Just how low was I gonna go? What, I was asking him permission to leave?
" Just a sec.. you live around here right", he asked.
"Uh yeah", I answered. Damn, why'd I let that slip yesterday. Oh, yeah I wanted to save my skin.
"I'll give you a lift", Brad responded.
I didn't want to say no after he went through the trouble he just did. Moreover I didn't want to risk getting him upset.
"Ok", was all I said.
We made our way out the carpark to his Civic. He unlocked it and I started opening the backdoor. That was when he smirked and spoke up:
"Dude just how old are you?".
"I'm 16" , I said.
"Man, sit up front", he chuckled.
I couldn't help but notice how his eyes lit up when he laughed. I couldn't help but think it was it was cute. Wonder what he'd do if he knew what I was thinking? On second thought I didn't really want to know.
I sat down and gave him directions when he asked. The ride was quiet. Honestly that was the way I preferred it. I spent the time watching out of the window. That was when I noticed. I felt goosepimples on the back of my neck. Someone was watching me. Sure enough when I glanced I saw Brad watching me out of the corner of his eye. He quickly averted his gaze. I didn't think much of it....until I caught him two more times.
"I-is something wrong", I stammered. His glances were getting to me.
It took a while before Brad answered, " Uh...nothing". With that he drove on.
Just when he should have turned onto my street he turned in the park's direction instead. Ok, needless to say I stared to panic. " Hey my house is over on the right" , I explained.
"I know", Brad said.
"Then why are you going to the p-park", I asked dreading the response.
"I wanna talk to you for a minute", Brad responded.
"I really need to get home", I said, "I haven't even eaten yet".
By this time he pulled up at the park. God the place was empty. No witnesses.
"Well, you could eat here", Brad said.
"In the car, I don't want to mess up your...", I countered. Anything to go home.
"Ah if you mess up I could always get it cleaned. I have to talk to you.", Brad continued.
"Ok", I told him. It was the extreme hunger that forced me into the decision.
He watched while I ate. Thank God I didn't spill anything. I ate only enough to keep the hunger at bay. He was watching me all this time. It was very unnerving.
"So, what do you have to talk to me about", I asked.
He looked at me and chuckled. Was this guy for real?
" You got a.. uh ketchup stain on your cheek", he said, in between smirks, I may add.
I wiped it off and looked at him, waiting for him to begin. Which he did.
"Why you always so uptight", he started, "everytime I see you, you either pretend I'm not there or you run away, what's up with that?".
"I-...", I couldn't continue.
Brad did continue however, " See, you're doing it again. You scared of me or somethin'?".
I was wondering when he'd realise it.
Brad went on, " Cuz you don't have to be you know".
"Huh..", I said, completely taken aback.
"Can you say more than one word at a time?", he chuckled.
By this time I was completely backed up against the inside of the car door, just to be as far away as space would allow. Did no good he leaned in closer and said;
" Look you my new seatmate and all and that means we're probably goin' be working together for the rest of the semester. I don't want any awkward feelings. Stop spazzing and we'll get along fine. I don't exactly bite you know. Who knows we might even be friends."
I just nodded. Then spoke, " Can I go home now?". He just sighed and nodded. He reached for his keys and looked at me. Our eyes met, his blue to my jade, and thought I saw....no couldn't be. He opened his mouth to say something but left it unsaid. Five minutes later we pulled up in front of my house and I got out.
He looked at me with the same expression again, like he wanted to say something else, but once again he didn't.
"Thanks", I said.
"Your..welcome. Bye." He flashed a weak smile and left. I made my way into the house and sat down. What the hell was that about? What perplexed me the most was what I was feeling. I was still scared of him, but there was something else.. Attraction?
Okay..I admit he was cute( understatement of the decade ) but it was true. I was feeling something. I better knock it off. I didn't want any risk of getting outed to the school. I would have to avoid him. It would would be hard, I know. He was my seatmate after all and we would have partner projects later on in the semester. I ate the rest of my breakfast (well lunch now) and started studying for my test. Maybe Jameson's test could get my mind off all the weird crap going on. It would be a long semester. Hope I'd survive it unscathed.