Chapter 17
For the second day in a row, chemistry was so awkward. I was as rigid as a statue. I didn’t want her to catch me looking at her. Every time she attempted to make conversation, my replies grew thick in my throat. I forced myself not to make the first move. I didn’t want her to suspect I liked her.
Because I don’t.
I can’t.
It’s just weird around her, that’s all.
I don’t know what to do with these feelings.
After she sent those messages about me being prideful and arrogant, I wanted to be done. I was so certain nothing could make me text her back. But then her trademark double message came through.
Tabitha Jones was sorry.
She sent those two little words, and I was okay.
“Huh?” I jolt in my seat in the cafeteria when Jamie’s fingers snap in front of my face.
“Earth to Kai,” she chuckles. “Where were you?”
I wave her off. “Just thinking about how the Ashworths are linked to the Illuminati.”
Tyler groans from across the table. “You’re not on that again, are you?”
I throw my palms up. “Explain to me how it doesn’t make sense.”
“I thought you wanted to get in with the Ashworths,” Tyler says, squinting.
“Yeah, so?”
Jamie scoffs. “Why do you wanna hang with those rich snobs?”
“Those rich snobs pay for you to go to this school,” I counter. “Or does the scholarship mean zip to you?”
Triggered by my button pushing, Jamie sucks in a breath, pulls back a fist, and launches it at my arm.
“Oh, crap!” I yell as the pain fireballs underneath my stitches.
Jamie gasps, shooting her hands over her nose and mouth.
It feels bad. It feels lose-your-car kind of bad. I pull off my blazer, gritting my teeth and wincing as the sting grows beyond my stitches.
“Oh, dude,” Tyler murmurs, staring at my shirt sleeve. “You’re bleeding.”
My jaw clenches harder. “Dammit.”
“Crap, Kai,” Jamie whispers roughly. “I’m so, so sorry. I forgot about your stitches.”
“It’s okay,” I breathe. My forehead creases as I will the pain to dissipate. “Dang. Do you think a stitch broke?”
Tyler shrugs. “Dude, go to the nurse.”
I huff. “I don’t want to see the nurse.”
“It’s better than your parents finding out,” Jamie insists. “I’ll go with you. Maybe she can fix it and no one will need to know.”
I let myself smile as I cup the pulsating area. “Anything to save your own butt, huh, James?”
Jamie gets up and pulls on my arm. “Come on. Let’s check that I didn’t damage anything.”
“Stop yanking on me,” I say, forcing myself up. “You wanna pull another stitch?”
“Don’t say that,” Jamie whispers harshly. “You can’t damage a stitch. We need your car.”
We leave Tyler at the table and I tell Jamie, “I told you. You’re not driving my car before you get your license.”
“I’m a good driver,” she whines. “There’s just no way I’m gonna afford my own car.”
“Whatever. It’s gonna be a moot point if you’ve given my parents an excuse to take my car away.”
“First step in the plan is checking your stitches.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m walking to the nurse’s office, aren’t I?” I pull my hand away from the inflamed area and quickly put it back when the pain intensifies. “Geez, if you weren’t so touchy, I wouldn’t need to skip lunch.”
“You were mocking my scholarship.”
“Get over it. You don’t want to be a rich snob. You’re just here for soccer and to hang with yours truly.”
She smirks. “If I had to go to public school, I’d probably go out of my mind. So far, my aunt hasn’t caught on to the lack of effort in my assignments.”
The nurse’s office is up ahead, and I can’t help snickering. “I can’t believe I rock climbed on the weekend and didn’t bust a stitch, yet I spend lunch with you and have to see a nurse.”
Her knuckles crack in a fist. “Wanna see round two?”
“Relax,“ I hiss. “It was a freaking observation.”
Jamie knocks on the open door, and luckily no other students are inside. Mrs. Whiteborne, the nurse, makes a fuss at the sight of blood. Luckily, once my shirt is off and she checks out the stitches, she declares no damage has been done.
She cleans up the area and sticks a new bandage over the top to be safe. Our school is way too strict about blazers being on, so Mrs. Whiteborne types up a note, excusing me from wearing it.
I walk out of the nurse’s office with my blazer draped over my arm. In all honesty. I’d be better off putting it back on so no one questions the blood on my sleeve. But I’m irked by the constricting feeling.
A gasp sounds from the right. I turn to find Tabitha staring at me in the hallway. Her chin drops and her pouty lips form an o. On instinct, I cup the space over my stitches. I don’t want her to see the blood, but I know I’m already too late.
“Are you…” she cuts herself off when Jamie steps out of the nurse’s office beside me.
“Here’s your note,” Jamie says, handing me the slip of paper.
“Thanks.” I don’t mean to, but I glance at Tabitha, and Jamie notices.
Jamie gasps and steps back like she’s expecting an attack. But Tabitha has already turned and is pacing in the direction she came from.
“Phew.“ Jamie sighs, pressing a hand into her stomach. “I did not want to deal with Miss Perfect right now.”
“Perfect?” I question.
“All three of them,” Jamie says with a mocking flick of her ponytail. “They’re all so, perfect.”
I smirk. “Pfft. I think you need to look up ‘perfect’ in the dictionary.”
We continue down the hall as the bell for the next period rings overhead.
“You’ve seen them,” Jamie continues. “The hair, the makeup, the way they look in the uniform. Perfect, perfect, perfect.”
“Why are you complimenting them?”
“I’m not! I think they’re ridiculous!”
A laugh tumbles out of me. “Okay. Sure, sure.”
I zone out during my next classes. Last of all is English, which goes excruciatingly slow. Sitting in the back row, I periodically peer over in Tabitha’s direction. I never catch her looking my way. I hate myself for wishing she did.
But why do I want her to? I remember how quickly Jamie sucked in air after she left the nurse’s office and saw Tabitha in the hall.
Am I supposed to forget how Tabitha has made Jamie feel?
Something dings in my head, and my skepticism meter soars.
Is this some kind of game? Is Tabitha pretending to be nice, just so she has more leverage to tease and ridicule Jamie?
Oh, crap. What have I told her? I haven’t told her anything about Jamie, have I?
Am I falling into some kind of trap? Is Tabitha the school equivalent of a KGB spy, infiltrating another government’s secrets? A headache builds, and I have a powerful urge to pull out my phone and start googling spy tactics and warning signs.
Finally, the bell rings, and I scoot my chair backward.
“Your mom is waiting for us out front, yeah?” Jamie asks in a rush. “I have this sinking feeling Maddy will cancel my day off and make me work instead.”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re cool,” I reply.
“Are we heading to your place?”
I nod. “After my close call today, I don’t want to risk popping a stitch.”
She winces. “I said I was sorry.”
“Don’t sweat it, James.” I rub my now blazer-covered arm. “You didn’t actually wreck anything.”
“Jamie,” Ms. Jenkins calls out in her passive way. “Can you stay back for a minute? I want to discuss your last reading assignment.”
Jamie grunts with an eye roll, dragging her feet over to the teacher’s desk.
“I’ll wait for you outside,” I say, heading out with the rest of the class.
I curl my copy of ‘King Lear’ into a cylinder and notice Tabitha making her way out at the same time. I watch the muscles on her face for signs she’s double-crossing me. There’s a shine in her eyes, and her teeth graze her bottom lip before it slowly curls into a smile.
Did someone just punch me in the gut? The cramp is unbelievable. My body hurts at the thought she’s anything but pure. Dang. I’ve always trusted my gut, and I hate the idea of second-guessing myself.
Leaving the classroom, there is palpable awkwardness hanging between us.
I wanna ask her something that’ll give me a sign I can trust her.
At least in chemistry, we have an excuse to talk.
But here we’re so close to Jamie, plus my brother is leaving behind us.
Nope, I can’t breathe a word. I can’t have anyone catch us talking and make it out to be something it’s not.
Heck, I like talking to her, and I regret not doing it during chemistry. It’s no big deal. I just don’t want to explain it to anyone.
I scuff into the hallway and lean against the wall outside the classroom, waiting for Jamie. When Milo exits after me, I remind him to wait near the north parking lot where Mom usually picks us up.
Milo walks past me with a dismissive wave.
As the rest of the class disappears into the sea of students, Tabitha’s presence comes into focus. She chews on a fingernail and hugs her books with her other arm. With a quick exhale, she steps in close.
“Umm, your arm,” Tabitha says softly. “It looked bad. What happened?”
I shrug it off. “I got stitches a while ago. They got hit at lunch and started to bleed. But nothing broke.”
“Oh, that’s a relief.”
I nod. “Looked worse than it was.”
“So, this is weird. Like, we can text, but…”
“Okay, let’s get going before my aunt changes her mind,” Jamie says, rushing into the hallway.
As soon as Tabitha registers Jamie’s voice, she marches ahead at double speed.
“Eww. Was Tabitha Jones talking to you?“ Jamie winces.
I force a laugh. “Yeah. She just asked something about our chemistry homework.”
“You must be hating that class,” Jamie says as we walk toward our lockers. “I’d revolt if I were stuck with her.”
“Oh, believe me, I protested.”
“I can’t believe Mrs. Field didn’t budge.”
“I guess she figures I’m better with Tabitha than Camila was.”
“Not very fair to you, though.”
“No biggy. I put her in her place.”