Chapter 23 #2
Did she really think she could dismiss my desire to be here? Milo might think I have no confidence, but my passion for soccer is one thing I won’t let anyone belittle.
When we finish running the drills, Leah rests her hand on her knees, bending over as she pants for breath.
“Was I awake enough for you?” I ask, juggling the ball on my knees. I let the ball hit the ground and mutter, “You might want to work on your fitness.”
I pass the ball to Stacey, who is collecting them to take back to the storeroom. I walk away, keeping my back to Leah and the other girls. As long as I keep up my skills, they can’t touch me. I still have no protection in the school halls, but at least I’m a queen on the soccer field.
Milo walks along the edge of the field, and I catch up to him on my way to the locker room.
“Looks like you got some of your spark back,” he says.
“Once I got out of my head and remembered how much I dominate when in control of the ball, I stood taller.” I nudge him. “Thanks for helping.”
Milo’s hands are slung in his pockets as he walks. “I don’t know if I helped that much. It felt like I only made things worse.”
“You were just asking questions I didn’t want to answer. I wish I had skills at school that helped with my confidence.”
“What are you talking about?” Milo questions. “You’ve been working so hard on your assignments. You have nothing to feel inadequate about.”
“I don’t think becoming nerdy will help me,” I joke. “Otherwise, you’d be Mr. Popular.”
He smirks. “Thanks.”
“You know what I mean. I’m good at video games or skating, so I’m confident with the guys. School freaks me out. It’s like they’ve caged a bunch of wild animals together and are crossing their fingers that there’s not a massacre.”
Milo laughs. “Nice analogy.”
I veer off toward the locker room. “Thanks for hanging around this morning. I’ll see you later?”
He nods. “Absolutely.”
After my streak of confidence at the end of soccer practice, I feel even more concerned about going to classes. I could get the upper hand on Leah, but what about when she teams up with Dominica and Hayley in the halls? How will I respond then? Especially without Coach keeping an eye on us.
Once Camila and the other Miss Perfects come to mind, my posture droops without hope of recovery. On my way to my locker, my head stays down. Craziness filled my weekend, draining me of energy to deal with high school drama. A smile tugs at my lips, remembering the taste of Milo’s kiss.
“Yo!” a voice booms me out of my memories.
I blink hard as Kai drags me to the side.
“How was practice?” he asks.
I shrug. “Fine. Got some attitude about missing the game, as expected.”
Kai scoffs. “Pathetic.”
“They kept saying I got preferential treatment.”
Kai slings an arm around my shoulders. “That’s because you’re number one.”
“Hey Jamie,” a perky voice pops up.
Tabitha slides around Kai, waving at me while sucking through the straw of her smoothie.
I slide out from under Kai. “Oh. Hi.”
Kai smiles, hanging a thumb at Tabitha. “I was just telling Tabby about how much missing soccer has been killing you.”
Tabitha plays with her curls, looking me up and down. “It’s because of your grades, isn’t it?”
I suck in a breath, using all my strength to stop my eyes from rolling. “Yes, Tabitha. It’s my fault I’m off the team.”
“Whoa,” they both say at once.
“James, she was just asking a question,” Kai says.
Tabitha holds a hand up. “No, it’s okay. I can understand why she’d be defensive.”
I groan and yank on my backpack straps. “I gotta get ready for class.”
As I move away, Kai grabs my wrist. “Since when are you so eager to get to your locker?”
I flick him off me. “My bag’s heavy.”
Kai raises his hands in defense, wearing a mocking expression. “Geez, sor-ry.”
I turn away, just in time to glimpse Tabitha’s smirk as she looks at Kai.
I hurry my steps along the hall. Whatever. Kai can keep giving his attention to his girlfriend. At least he’ll be distracting one Miss Perfect off my radar.
I shelter myself with my open locker door. Last Monday, Camila waved around an unsavory picture of my mother. With Tabitha bringing it up yesterday at the cafe, I can only imagine what else the Miss Perfects have up their sleeves.
The bell rings and I make my way to math class. I get in earlier than usual, allowing me to get to my desk before the Miss Perfects arrive. I settle in and open my textbook to where we last left off in class. I pull out a pen and open my notebook. My heart flutters as my eyes wander the page.
Scribbled across the page in Milo’s handwriting are the words, “You got this!”
I cup a hand over my enlarged grin. Oh my gosh, this is so stinking cute. He must’ve done this last night when we were hanging in his bedroom. Sometime after that toe-curling make-out session.
The cuteness gets the better of me, and I sneak my phone out of my pocket. I snap a photo of the message and type a text to Milo. “Found it. Thanks xoxo.”
I’ve never written xoxo in my life and am feeling sickly sweet.
“Miss West,” Mr. Pritchard calls, walking up the aisle between desks. “Writing something you want to share with the class?”
I quickly click out of the message chain with Milo and slip my phone into my pocket. “No, sir.”
He curls his fingers into his palm. “Hand it over, Miss West. You can pick it up at the end of class.”
As laughter simmers around me, my stomach plummets as I reach into my pocket for my phone. I ensure it’s locked and hand it over.
“Sorry,” I mumble.
Mr. Pritchard’s expression softens. “How did you do with the extra set of problems I gave you?”
I hand over my work. “It’s all here. I finished them.”
He smiles and nods as he takes my work. “Excellent.”
As the laughter dies down, the cackling from Camila and Yvette is unmistakable.
I don’t give them the benefit of looking their way, but it makes no difference.
They’ll say whatever they want because Mr. Pritchard won’t stop them.
I hold the edges of my desk, bracing myself for imminent obnoxious remarks.
Camila clears her throat, and then… nothing.
“Cammy?” Yvette asks, shifting in her seat.
Still nothing,
It gets the better of me. I turn a quarter-inch to spy on the girls in my peripheral vision. Yvette stares at Camila, turning in her chair as if ready to pounce. Camila flicks her long chestnut hair over her shoulder and watches the blackboard as if her favorite movie is playing.
Yvette rears back. She flicks her eyes my way and then faces front.
What the heck? Why didn’t they attack? Being singled-out by Mr. Pritchard is usually a launching pad for verbal jabs.
I scratch my head, watching Camila paying attention to Mr. Pritchard’s lecture. Could it be because Tabitha’s dating Kai? I was pretty sure Kai hadn’t hung out with Tabitha’s friends. Is it possible he said something to get them to leave me alone?
But that also doesn’t make sense. Tabitha still made little digs at me when Kai was around.
I pick up a pen, rapidly clicking the top. I don’t buy it. They must be lulling me into a false sense of security. Then they’ll get me in the hall. They don’t know me well if they think I’ll relax before the bell rings.
For the entirety of class, I’m on edge. Thankfully, I have to hang back at the end of class to collect my phone. I’m stiff as a board, waiting by Mr. Pritchard's desk. Camila and Yvette walk out together, arms linked, as they giggle and flick their hair.
A small exhale of relief pours out of me, but I’m careful to stay alert.
Mr. Pritchard walks back to his desk, pulling my phone from his top drawer. “You should know better than to have this out during classes.”
“Yes, sir,” I respond, taking the phone.
“I’ll let it slide because,” he pauses to gesture to my extra-credit homework, “this is fantastic.”
I step back in shock. “Fantastic?”
He grins. “You’ve really applied yourself, Jamie. There’s still some room for improvement, but you’re showing your work. You keep this up, and preserving your scholarship won’t be a concern.”
My insides buzz with glee. “Oh my gosh. Thank you so much.”
He gestures to the door, a happy smile on his face. “Off you go. I don’t want you to be late for your next class.”
I nod, making my way toward the door. “Thanks again.”
There’s a spring in my step as I enter the hall. I sharply halt, searching up and down the crowded space. Where are the Miss Perfects? I slide along the wall and make my way toward my next class. I hug my books, keeping my shoulders high for protection, and my eyes peeled in all directions.
My heart palpitates when I spy Yvette’s blonde ponytail ahead.
As the crowd clears, I see her gossiping with Camila as Tabitha approaches.
The two girls look Tabitha up and down. If I’m not mistaken, there’s tension between them.
Tabitha waves, but the other girls don’t give her a warm welcome.
They turn on their heels and strut through the hall, allowing Tabitha to follow behind with her tail between her legs.
Okay, that only made things a ton weirder. Did they not see me, their usual easy target?
I giggle to myself. Am I really worried about not getting bullied? I’m acting like I’m missing out on a treat. I stand taller, happy to have been a missed target for the morning.
I keep moving toward my next class, and then my breath hitches in my throat. Dominica and Hayley move down the opposite side of the hall. I skid past a group of boys, avoiding their line of sight. Phew. I didn’t need to miss one group of girls, only to be ridiculed by another.
Something tugs on my blazer. A hand hooks around my waist, and then yanks me into the nearby alcove. I squeak, stumbling against a tall, lanky body.
“Hey,” Milo whispers.
I look up, smiling in surprise. “Hey. What are you doing?”
He brushes his hand over my hair and then along my jawline. “Did you think I could let you just walk past?”
I giggle, grasping the lapels of his blazer. On tippy-toes, I reach up and peck his lips. One of his hands anchors me, sitting on my lower back. I look over my shoulder, and the traffic in the hall has minimized drastically.
“Do you think anyone saw us?”
Milo nibbles below my ear. “Who cares if they did?”
“I thought we were keeping this a secret?”
He laughs, and it tickles my neck. “We are. That’s why I dragged you into this hidey-hole.”
I look around the dimly lit space. “Why were you hiding here?”
His arm drops from around me and he fidgets with his stance. “I was waiting for the crowd to die out. I got shoved around.”
“What?” My heart hammers. “By who?”
He shakes his head. “It’s cool. I was just in the way. Besides, I got to see you.” He tucks a piece of hair behind my ear. “This is exactly what I needed.”
I swallow hard and clutch his hand. “I don’t want anyone messing with you.”
He shrugs. “It was no big deal.”
“I feel bad because I was just celebrating about not getting harassed.”
His head tilts, intrigued. “What do you mean?”
“Camila had an opening to bully me in class and didn’t do it. It was weird. Then there was more weirdness with her and Tabitha in the hall. I think I somehow became invisible to them.”
Milo squeezes my hand as his smile grows. “That’s awesome. I’m so happy they didn’t give you a hard time. You needed them to lay off after how your teammates treated you.”
I lift his hand and give it a kiss. “I wish I didn’t have to go back to class.”
Milo leads me out of the alcove by the hand. “But you have to. Your grades haven’t changed yet. You can’t give your teachers a reason to give you detention.”
“Yeah, I already dodged that today.”
“When?”
I blow out a breath. “Mr. Pritchard caught me texting you.”
He sucks in a breath. “Did he read it to the class?”
“No, I locked my phone right away. He just took it for the rest of the class. I have it back now.”
His lip quirks. “So, you liked the note?”
“Oh my gosh, it was so cute.”
He nudges me into the hall. “We’d better get going.”
“It’d be worth missing class if we spend the entire time making out in the alcove.”
Milo stifles a laugh, releasing my hand. “Don’t give me any ideas, or I will make you miss class.”
“My, my. Goody Two-shoes Milo is thinking about skipping class?”
He walks backwards, saying, “I told you, you’re a bad influence on me.”
I sigh, leaning on a locker as he backs away.
He points at me. “Get to class. You’re a B-grade student now. Remember?”
I huff, peeling myself off the locker. “Okay. I’m only doing this for you.”
He laughs, giving me a wave. “Thank you, because my willpower is fading.”