Better Than Revenge

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter

thirty-one

“WHY DID YOU brEAK UP?” I asked Grandma into the microphone. I was trying to distract myself from many things: the fact that I hadn’t figured out how to get that man to let us see the lifeguard tower, the fact that I had resumed practices after a few days off and my muscles were sore all over again, the fact that in two days I’d be trying out to be kicker for the school football team.

“Me and Andrew?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said.

“The first time?” she asked.

“You broke up more than once?”

“We did.”

“Then yes, the first time.”

“Cheryl.”

My phone buzzed on my desk, and I cringed. I usually left my phone in my bag during a recording session for exactly this reason. But the message on the screen from Theo made me smile: Good job kicking today. You are going to kill it.

I smiled and tossed my phone onto the bed behind me; I’d answer him when I was done.

“Wait, Cheryl was the reason you broke up?” I said, finally registering Grandma’s answer. “The girl you loaned your board to?”

“It was actually Andrew who loaned her my board.”

“He didn’t!”

“They were in surf club together and her board had been damaged and Andrew came and got mine without my permission.”

“He. Did. Not,” I said, this time emphasizing each word. “That little punk.”

“It wasn’t a good move.”

“So you broke up with him?”

“It was the jealousy speaking. I thought he had a thing for Cheryl.”

“How did you do it?”

“How did I break up with him?”

“Yes, this was before texting,” I said, thinking about how I had broken up with Jensen. Or at least how I had made it official.

“We were far from texting at the time. I guess I could’ve sent him a telegram,” she said.

I laughed.

“No, it was a foggy afternoon. You know how it gets here sometimes.”

“Yes, for those not from Morro Bay, sometimes a morning or even an all-day fog rolls in and clings to the big rock by the bay and floats out over the ocean. It’s both beautiful and haunting all at once.”

“The perfect mood for a breakup,” Grandma said. “He was surfing, and I waited for him on the shore. He and Cheryl walked up together, my board between them. She kept walking when she saw me. But he stayed. You let her use my board? I asked. He seemed confused, and I pointed at her. He said, What’s the big deal? I’m the one who gave it to you. ”

I gasped.

“Yes,” she said. “So I screamed, Then she can have both of you! ”

“And then?” I asked, anger churning in my chest imagining the scene.

“Then they left. With my board.”

“WHAT’S GOING ON?” I ASKED Max, who was walking beside me. We’d gone to my car at lunch to grab a sweatshirt from my trunk, because even though it was April, it was cold today. It was Theo’s sweatshirt, the one he had loaned me before yoga. I hadn’t given it back, and I was glad for it. The smell of soapy vanilla still lingered on the soft material, and it made me smile.

An afternoon fog had rolled in and clung to the grass and trees and hung in the air. It made me think of my grandma and Andrew today. We were heading back through campus. I pulled the sleeves of the sweatshirt I now wore over my hands. “I haven’t had this many people stare at me since Jensen broadcasted to the whole school how terrible I was a month ago.”

“Maybe they’re staring at me,” Max said, waving. The girl he waved to gave me sad eyes, like she felt sorry for me.

“What was that?” I asked. “Do I have something on my face?”

“Yeah, that was weird. And you have nothing on your face.”

“Do you think everyone found out I’m trying out tomorrow? That it got leaked?”

“How?”

“I don’t know.”

I saw Deja and Lee at our table in the courtyard across the way before I could hear them. They were huddled over, sharing a phone screen. Deja looked up at me, as if sensing I was there, then back at the phone.

Has she seen this? I could see the question on Lee’s lips even though I couldn’t hear the words.

Deja’s eyes were back on me again. I don’t think so, her lips said.

A wave of panic went through me, my walk slowing to a crawl.

“What’s wrong?” Max asked, matching my pace.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket to see if I had gotten whatever mysterious message they were looking at, but I didn’t have any notifications waiting.

Deja’s shoulders rose and fell, worry etching lines in her face. Max, obviously sensing something now too, cursed under his breath.

“Hey,” I said when I reached the table.

“I have to show you something,” she said.

I swallowed, sinking onto the metal bench attached to the table. “Is it bad? Maybe we should wait until after my tryouts tomorrow.”

“Yeah, maybe,” she said. Her eyes flitted to the phone, then back to me.

“Finley, it won’t keep that long,” Lee said. “You’ll find out. Everyone knows.”

“ I don’t know,” Max said.

“You will.”

“Where did Theo go?” I asked, looking around, feeling the need for his steadiness right now.

Deja’s jaw tightened.

“He went to find you,” Lee said. “He must’ve missed you on the walk.”

“Okay,” I said. “Show me.”

“Are you sure?” she asked.

“What is it?”

“A video.”

“A video?”

She nodded and handed me the phone without asking me if I was sure again. And even though I wasn’t, I flipped the phone sideways and pushed play.

The video started in a familiar backyard. It took me a minute to realize it was Theo’s. Someone was recording a pickup football game. Just several guys informally passing, catching, and running with the ball. It was obviously a no-contact-type game. When the runner was touched, he stopped. Almost like flag football minus the flags. The recording went on for less than a minute when the camera focused on something in the distance. It zoomed closer and closer until I saw that something was me. Standing on Theo’s back porch with Deja, Max, and Lee.

“Do you believe he invited Jensen’s girlfriend?” the phone operator asked with a laugh.

“He has balls,” someone else said.

“Jensen stole his spot, so now he’s going to steal his girlfriend?”

“It was the last game of the season; I wouldn’t really call that stealing.”

“Hey, Theo,” the phone operator called. “Would you call what Jensen did to you stealing?”

Theo looked over. It was hard to tell if he knew he was being recorded, but his hand rubbed over his knee. “The hit?” he asked.

“Yeah, you think he tackled you that hard after the play on purpose so he could kick in the playoff game?”

I could see Theo’s jaw working. “Yes,” he said.

“So now you’re going to get with his girlfriend?”

Theo’s eyes shot to somewhere past the camera, probably to where I was standing with my friends.

“You couldn’t steal his girlfriend,” someone else said. “I heard she’s sworn off football players now after the whole podcast thing.” I hadn’t sworn off anything at that point, but it didn’t surprise me that a rumor like that had been spread.

“Oh, please,” Theo said, “I could steal her with my hands tied behind my back and make her think it was her idea.”

I sucked in a gulp of air, my eyes immediately stinging.

They all laughed, and something must’ve hit the cell phone or the person operating it because the video abruptly changed to a picture of the grass and then some jerky, blurry frames until the screen went black.

“Oh no,” Max whispered from beside me. “That’s not good.”

My heart felt like it was at my feet.

“I’m sorry,” Deja said, as if her showing me the video made this all her fault.

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a deep breath. I wanted to run away and not look back, forget everything that had happened over the last few weeks.

“What are you going to do?” Lee asked.

That’s when I saw Jensen walk into the courtyard, looking around. A slow fire started in my belly and burned up my chest.

The others must have seen him as well because Deja said, “Remember when he announced to the whole school that you would make a sucky podcast host?”

“Remember when he showed up at your house claiming it was because your grandma texted him?” Lee said.

“Remember when he said the podcast ideas you came up with for him were boring and basic?” Max said.

“Remember when the only podcast idea he came up with, the one he tried out with, was your idea?” Deja said.

I knew what they were doing. They were working me up. I was glad for it, but I didn’t need any reminders of how he’d screwed me over. “You think I’m going to give up?” I asked, realizing that’s exactly what they thought. Knowing that my past self probably would’ve in the face of this new hurdle. But I’d worked hard for this. And maybe I’d fail, but I wasn’t going to give up. I had to see this through.

“No, we…” Deja trailed off.

“Maybe?” Max said.

“Don’t worry, I’m still trying out.”

Theo came skidding into the courtyard, frantically looking around. Before he saw me, he and Jensen saw each other.

Jensen advanced on Theo like he was there to avenge me.

I heard Theo say something like “Not now.”

Jensen kept advancing, but Theo was looking past him, at me. A mixture of relief and sadness washed over his face, and that’s when Jensen punched him.

The courtyard erupted in screams, Theo and Jensen suddenly surrounded by people. Theo had fallen to the ground with the unexpected punch to the face. I flew to my feet and rushed forward, not thinking, only reacting.

“Get up!” Jensen was saying when I pushed my way through the crowd and stepped in front of him.

“Stop,” I said.

“You’re going to defend him?” Jensen asked.

“I’m not defending either of you. I’m telling you to stop.”

“Get out of the way,” he said.

Behind me, Theo climbed to his feet. “I’m sorry, Finley,” hesaid.

I gave a single glance back, but before I could say anything Mr.Whitley was there. “What is going on?”

Everyone around us started talking at once, but Max’s voice rang out above the others. “Jensen sucker punched Theo!”

Mr.Whitley looked at Jensen, who was seconds away from, most likely, confessing, but was stopped when Theo said, “No, he didn’t.”

I gave Theo narrow eyes, but he wasn’t looking at me.

“He didn’t?” Mr.Whitley asked.

“Nobody punched me. I just fell, bum knee, you know,” Theo said in a disarming fashion.

“You okay?” Mr.Whitley asked.

“All good,” he said.

“Well, lunch is almost over. Let’s disperse,” he said to the crowd that had gathered.

As people, including Mr.Whitley, left, Jensen said, “I don’t need any charity from you.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t for you,” Theo responded.

I turned on my heel and fled. I knew Theo followed me, but I didn’t stop until I was almost to the parking lot. He didn’t try to make me. Finally, when there was nobody around, I turned. “Are you too cool to tattle?” I said. “He would’ve been suspended.”

“Exactly,” he said.

“Exactly? Oh!” The tryouts tomorrow.

“ You’re going to beat him. Not me.”

“Ugh,” I grunted in frustration. The scent from the sweatshirt I wore surrounded me, suffocated me. I wrestled it off my body and shoved it into his chest.

He barely caught it as it slid down him. “Finley,” he said softly.

My eyes shot to his knee covered by his pants. “Did Jensen cause your injury?”

“He’s the one that tackled me after the play, yes.” He furrowed his brow. There was a red mark forming near his left eye. “I thought Jensen told you that. I thought you knew.”

“I didn’t.” I took a deep breath. “So that’s why you’re doing all this? Why you wanted to help me?”

“I’m sorry,” he said.

I turned again, needing to be anywhere but here.

“That video! I didn’t mean it! I had forgotten I said it because sometimes I say stupid things that I don’t mean. Mostly because I’m a cocky fool. I thought you hated me. But I’d liked you long before then.”

My back was still toward him, and I closed my eyes. “Know when to give up, Theo,” I said, and walked away.