Part 1 in 6
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Monday morning, first period. Claire sat in her math class in her usual spot, right in the middle with the rest of her clique. The middle was the perfect place to sit; no matter where the teacher walked it was never by her.
This little trick came in handy in times when her mind was else where, times like this. She sat there with the tip of her pencil in her hand, lazily doodling things in her notebook. How was she supposed to think of math while her mind was in turmoil?
Behind her and to her left she kept receiving notes, whispers and pokes from her two best friends. They had both noticed the change in their friend; after all it was pretty hard to miss. With all their poking and prodding, Claire would not acknowledge them. They wanted to know what happened Saturday at detention and, come on; they did have the right to know.
"Claire? Claire, what in God's name is wrong with you?" "Yeah, come on and spill already. What happened?" Ashley and Lauren kept pestering her, and she was about to snap.
"Shut up, will you?" she hissed at them when it got too much. Why could they not just drop it?
"Miss Standish, can you please hold your outbursts until lunch?" the math teacher asked eyeing her.
Claire sulked, sliding down into her seat to get away from the extra attention. "Sorry, Mrs. Slexington," she muttered looking down to her doodles.
As Mrs. Slexington went back to explaining the Pythagorean Theorem, Claire was continually harassed by her friends. And just think it – if they knew about the kiss, or why she was not wearing her renowned diamond earrings, the harassment would never end! She could not possibly tell them what happened.
When the bell rang signaling the change of class Claire made a mad dash for the door, hightailing it to her locker. Why did she have to go and get stuck in this mess? Why?! She just had to go and kiss Bender, didn't she? She could not keep her lips to herself.
Ashley and Lauren came up next to her as she tried her lock for the third time. "Claire, what is going on with you?" Ashley asked.
"Nothing," came her flat reply. "Nothing is going on – why won't this damn lock open?" she yelled hitting her fist against it.
"Because you are not putting in the combination, stupid" Lauren said, opening it for her. "Now, tell us what happened Saturday. Obviously something did."
Claire shook her head, trying to make them go away. She slammed her books in the locker and yanked them out as the situation got worse. In her rage she lost balance with her textbook and it crashed to the ground. She groaned and bent to pick it up but someone beat her to the task. A strong hand with a denim jacket was in her view. She gulped and averted her gaze to the person's feet, and sure enough there was Bender's boots.
She stood up and saw him holding her book out to her. "Bender," she said. "Claire," was his reply.
As they stared at each other, Ashley and Lauren gawked. What was happening to the world? First Claire would not speak to them and now Bender was helping her and she wasn't fighting. Ashley hated this and took the book from him. She held the corner of it with the tips of her thumb and pointed finger. "Let's go, Claire," she said in a disgusting tone. "It isn't healthy to be seen with him."
Claire stood looking at Bender, wondering what to do. She wasn't ready for this! Now was the time … fight or flight. And she chose – "Yeah, we'll be late." She snatched her book back, keeping her eyes from Bender's fallen face.
His sadness was soon replaced with anger. "I knew it," Claire heard him say. She slowly looked up to him as he glared at her. "I was stupid to think otherwise." He shook his head and stormed off, punching everything in sight as he went.
"Well, that was disturbing," Lauren said, wrinkling her nose in contempt. Claire just huffed and slammed her locker shut, stomping off in the direction of Bender. It was just her luck to have next period with him.
This time she sat in the front and they both sat behind her. Bender was three rows over and four seats back in the far left hand corner. As everyone took their seat, Ashley and Lauren exchanged questioning glances.
Class soon started but nobody noticed. Health was a blow-off class anyway. Everyone went to doing their own things. Claire tapped her nails, Ashley filed hers, Lauren combed her hair, and Bender tapped his pen as he drew, humming to himself.
Not but ten minutes into class someone was already in trouble. "Mr. Bender, I hope those are Health notes you are working on."
"I don't know, sir," Bender replied. "Do condoms pertain to health?" Everyone snickered, excluding Mr. Bakker.
"No," he said shortly. "They do not. I suggest you put your pen down and pay attention."
"Why?" Bender asked. "I'm not bothering any one."
"You are bothering me. Now put it down."
"You? But Mr. Bakker, you are all the way up there and I'm all the way back here. What could I possibly have done?" Bender asked mocking innocence.
"Listen to me boy -" Mr. Bakker began before he was cut short.
"Will everyone just give it a rest?" Claire shouted standing up. She was so tired of this and she would not keep silent any more. "Seriously, it's always 'Bender this', and 'Bender that'. Leave him alone for Christ's sake!"
Everyone stared at her with their jaws to the ground, including Bender. "Miss Standish, I suggest you sit." Mr. Bakker stammered.
"Or what?" she asked. "Ever wonder why he doesn't listen to you? Maybe because no one else stands up for him."
"If you do not like the way I run my class, then you can leave," Mr. Bakker said angrily.
"Maybe I will," she said gathering her books and marching to the door. A foot away from the doorway, Mr. Bakker called out; "If you step one foot out you get a Saturday detention."
Claire paused and turned around, staring between everyone. Her friends looked at her like she was crazy (and maybe she was), Mr. Bakker looked angry, and Bender was just shocked; she looked between them all wondering what to do. She looked into Bender's eyes and he knew her answer. Clutching her books to her she stepped out the door. "See you in detention, John," she said with a gleam in her eye, then turned and walked away with an air of confidence around her.