Teacher’s pet.
Weird shoe lover.
Realistically, though, I know it can’t last.
It didn’t for Logan.
Rachel joins me for lunch on Thursday. We spend most of the time not saying anything, just eating while people stare. Since Kaiden’s show of dominance, nobody dares even sit at the same table as me. Much to Rachel’s dismay, Kaiden pays us no attention from where he sits with his teammates which I’m sure is why she disobeyed his wishes to leave me alone.
I want to ask her about herself, pretend to care. For some reason, I can’t muster the energy to. Usually, I can put on an act. Smile and play nice like Mama taught me. I don’t have to be that person here, so I don’t waste my time.
Rachel doesn’t seem to mind.
She rambled on about some fight between a few basketball players. I think it had to do with one of them getting caught with pot in their locker which ended in a game suspension, but I don’t know. I only half listen because I don’t want anyone to think I’m feeding into her game.
She can use me to make Kaiden jealous, but it won’t work. At school, he and I have nothing to do with each other. At home, we only exchange a few small conversations here and there. There’s nothing she can gain from hanging around me.
After lunch, Kaiden falls into step with me as I head to my next class. People catch notice and watch us, making me uncomfortable.
“Have a good time with Rach?”
“Jealous?”
He laughs. “Definitely not.”
Figured.
I stop at my locker. “She has it in her mind that getting close to me will somehow cement your relationship.”
He leans his shoulder against the neighboring locker. It makes the black t-shirt he’s wearing stretch across his taut muscles that some girls ogle in passing. “We’re not in a relationship. Never have been.”
Grabbing my afternoon books, I turn to him with a raised brow. “You might want to let her know that.”
“She knows.”
I say nothing.
Pushing himself off the locker, he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Things at home have been weird. We should go to the cemetery after school.”
Weird how? We go home and go our separate ways. Sometimes he’ll comment on English class or complain about the homework. Occasionally he’ll show up at my bedroom door and ask if I want to go to the tree. Nothing seems out of the ordinary or strange, save our parent’s fa?ade of normalcy.
I’m used to parents acting though. My parents could win an Oscar for most believable roles in the movie called life.
“I can’t.”
He waits for me to explain why.
I sigh. “I’ve got Book Club.”
“Skip it.”
“Why?”
“Let’s be honest,” he says, “the only reason people go to that is because of Nichols.”
Refraining from rolling my eyes, I shake my head in disagreement. “Some of us like to read, Kaiden.”
He knows my love for books because on the rare occasions he’s in a teasing mood, he’ll mention the book stack next to my bed. And if Dad can take notice to the so-called fairytales I escape into, there’s no doubt Kaiden acknowledges I’m in Book Club because it’s my only happy place.
It’s my freedom here.
When his lips tip into a crooked, devious grin, I know something bad is about to happen. “I know for a fact that isn’t true. I’ve seen the girls in that group, Mouse. Let me tell you a little secret—a reminder of an old conversation we’ve had. You can’t fuck Mr. Nichols.”
A few giggles sound from around us, followed by a deep clearing throat. When I look off to the side, I see Mr. Nichols looking uncomfortable and shifting his weight from one foot to the other by the water fountain across the hall.
Kaiden winks at me before strolling away to wherever Satan likes to hangout. Probably the boiler room downstairs.
Not able to meet Mr. Nichols eyes when he calls my name, I quickly walk to my next class and try thinking about how I can get out of English. I could pretend I’m sick, it shouldn’t be hard to pull off. Then again, the chances of me needing actual sick days means I need to reserve my absences.
Maybe I should have built a friendship with Ms. Gilly in the nurse’s office. She could have given me free passes out of pity. Too late now.
Silently cursing Kaiden’s name, I force myself to pretend it never happened. In two periods, I’ll go to English and just play it off.
But when last period comes around, sweat dots my brow. Keeping my head down as I walk into the room, I can feel a pair of eyes on me that I know belong to the teacher. I don’t look up, instead, I focus on preparing for class.
Notebook.
Pen.
Book.
He doesn’t call on me throughout the class, and I don’t offer any answers. It isn’t unusual for me to stay quiet, but never silent. Anyone could chalk it up to not having anything to say. Maybe they think I didn’t do the reading.
Kaiden smirks when he catches my eye.
I glare.
After class, Mr. Nichols does what I should have known he would. He asks me to stay behind. What does surprise me is him asking Kaiden the same thing.
We remain in our seats, Kaiden looking bored and me looking nervous. Mr. Nichols waits until the hallway is cleared enough before turning his attention on us.
“I don’t like when students say things that could cause problems for me,” he says directly to Kaiden. I’ve never heard him sound stern before, but it seems like the perfect moment to be. “I am aware that my age puts me in a difficult spot with teenagers, but that doesn’t mean anybody should speak to their teachers, or peers for that matter, in the way you did earlier.”
Kaiden doesn’t look the least bit guilty over being scolded. In fact, he smirks like he couldn’t care less. Me on the other hand? I gape. I’ve never heard a teacher talk to Kaiden like that, and I’m sure plenty have witnessed how he treats the other students. I assumed it had to do with his spot on the lacrosse team because every school seems to give free passes to the boys who fill the trophy cases.
Mr. Nichols leans back in his seat. “I want you to apologize to Emery.”
Kaiden laughs abruptly. “I don’t apologize to anyone.”
“Now’s a good time to start then.”
I squirm. “Um, Mr. Nichols, I don’t—”
Mr. Nichols puts his hand up. “Let me put it to you this way, Mr. Monroe. I was warned about you on my first day. While other teachers may be hesitant to say anything, I’m not. I want to see my students treat each other with respect. Given your circumstances with Ms. Matterson, one would think you’d want to treat her with more respect than anybody here.”
Sinking into my chair, I let my hair shield my face. The headache I was glad to be rid of is coming back, taunting me. It’s the slightest drum of pain, a dull pound of a bass beat where my spine meets my skull. Stress induced, for sure.
Part of me wants to cut in and tell them to forget about it. I don’t need this right now. I don’t think either would listen. Mr. Nichols seems intent on making a point, and Kaiden seems intent on ignoring it.
“Emery doesn’t mean anything to me just because we live under the same roof,” Kaiden states dryly, sparing me no look.