A/N: I've gotten a couple questions about the Jason/Grace/Grant storyline and there seems to be confusion. Grace is listed as the secondary character on this story, so rest assured that we will be getting more into this storyline, but in case it's unclear, Grace is not cheating on anyone. As she said last chapter, she and Grant are dating. But I'm not going to say anymore than that right now. ;)
Turning Tables
A New Kind Of Teen
"I can't believe you're dating some guy you met at summer camp."
"Hey, you had a baby with some guy you met at summer camp!" Grace shot back playfully. "Besides, I didn't meet him at camp, I just re-met him…and got to know him." She shrugged her shoulders. "He's really sweet, Adrian. He likes to shower me with attention."
"So in layman's terms: he's clingy."
"He is not!"
"He's texted you three times since you got to school."
"It's the first day we haven't seen each other in two months! We got really close, okay?" Grace's text message alert began to go off again and she sighed. "Okay, maybe he is a little overzealous, but that's not necessarily a bad thing."
"I'm just glad he doesn't go to our school, otherwise I'd probably never see you again."
"Don't be so melodramatic." Grace suddenly chuckled. "You know, though, he did say that his cousin goes here. I guess they're about a year apart or so. So, I guess that means this will be Griffin's first year here then."
"Oh, great." Adrian rolled her eyes. "That way his cousin can keep tabs on you; make sure you're not sneaking around with any other guys…like the football players."
Grace swatted the Latina on the arm playfully. "Jack and I have been over for a long time."
"I'm not talking about Jack," Adrian smirked. "I'm talking about that hunk of dark chocolate you went to med camp with and were all googly eyes at until what's-his-face showed up again."
"I was not all googly eyes at Jason! We're friends."
"Does he know that?"
"Of course he knows that. He saw that Grant and I became an item during the summer."
"An item," Adrian scoffed. "Sometimes I wonder how you get along in the world, Grace."
Grace closed her locker and began to walk with Adrian down the hallway. "So, tell me…what was that cryptic text all about that I saw on my phone this morning, pray tell?"
Adrian grabbed Grace by the arm and pulled her into the girls' bathroom. Once she'd checked the stalls to make nobody was around, she heaved a sigh of relief. "I slept with Ben."
"Again?"
Adrian nodded. "Our last night in Bologna."
Grace smashed her palm into her face. "Isn't that what got you into trouble last time? You – you aren't pregnant again are you? You didn't miss your period, right?"
"No! No, nothing like that! We were careful this time, extremely careful. I'd been on the pill all summer and Ben brought a brand new box of condoms and there were no breaks or leakages…as far as I know."
"So – does that mean you're a couple now? Like, officially?"
Adrian shrugged. "No. I don't know." She moved to the sink and splashed her face and neck with cold water. "I care for Ben a lot. And I even wanted to try with him again, just to see what it would be like."
"And it was bad?"
"No, it was great!"
"But?"
"But – it wasn't amazing. It wasn't the best I've ever had."
"Yeah, well, it was only his second time, right?" Her face grew red. "Never mind, forget that, I don't want to know-"
"It was."
"Thanks."
"He could improve though."
"I don't want to hear this," Grace groaned.
"What do you think?" Adrian asked suddenly. "Do you think I should give it a shot with him? A real shot?"
"I can't speak for you, Adrian. If you love him, I think you should-"
"Whoa! Who said anything about love? You can't just toss that word around, Grace."
"I know, I just meant that – maybe you should? He is the father of your baby and he obviously adores you, so why not? And you like him enough. It's not like it could hurt." The bell echoed through the bathroom. Grace looked at the door. "We can talk more about this at lunch, okay?"
"What about after school? I'm supposed to meet with Mr. Molina at lunch."
Grace smiled sheepishly. "I promised Grant we'd meet at the Diary Shack after school."
"Of course you did."
"Sorry!" The blonde squeaked. "I'll see you later!"
TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT
Ben craned his neck to look at the clock. The class was nearly over, with only fifteen minutes remaining, and he couldn't wait to get out. As soon as lunchtime hit, he was supposed to be on his way to the counselor's office to have a meeting with Mr. Molina and Adrian to check up on how they were coming along with their parenting, how things had gone while in Italy, and what their plans were as they adjusted to their new routine for the coming school year.
"…and don't think for a moment that I'm unaware of the stigma associated with sophomore Biology," Mrs. Doonan warned, raising her index finger for extra emphasis. "I know perfectly well that many of you sign up for this class over Physics and Chemistry because you'll think it'll be easier. Well, I have news for you: this class is not a joyride and you will be working your fingers to the marrow to earn your grades."
Henry Miller leaned in close to Ben with a horrified look on his face. He pinched his lips together and tried to talk in a whisper out of the side of his mouth to avoid being noticed, but only really succeeded in sounding like he had a wad of cotton balls in his mouth: "I can't believe this! Can you believe this? I got duped! I should've just taken Physics with Alice. I didn't know Mr. Fry wasn't going to be teaching Biology this year."
Ben forced a smile as Mrs. Doonan paced back and forth in front of the white board, still continuing with her rant. "Shut up, Henry, you're gonna draw attention over here!" he replied tightly. He could feel his teeth grinding together and made a conscious effort to unhinge his jaws. The woman was condescending and had a voice that sounded like someone hitting the side of an empty cardboard box.
Mrs. Doonan glimpsed the clock above the door. "Now, before I let you go, I will be assigning lab partners. These are non-negotiable and you will have them all year long, so after I've assigned everyone, you'll take the last ten minutes of class to get acquainted with your new partner. You will also both need to read the sheets I will be passing out and decide between the two of you who will be doing what lab tasks ahead of time."
"I hope she's doing it by table," Henry whispered.
Mrs. Doonan scooped up the roll sheet. "I'll be assigning partners alphabetically by last name, excluding anyone who is absent. If there is an odd man out, I will speak with you personally after everyone has regrouped."
Henry puckered his face. "I hope I don't get stuck with Manly," he whined, glancing across the room at a boy wearing a bright yellow Lakers jersey. "He smells like the inside of a gym locker!"
"Nancy Adair and Alonso Addams."
"Hey, do you think that counselor of yours would let me switch classes?"
"John Blodget and Nellie Burns."
"Ben?"
"Shh!"
"Benjamin Boykewich and Madison Cooperstein."
Henry covered his mouth, stifling a laugh. Once Ben shot him a foul look, he immediately rubbed his lips with his hand in an attempt to wipe away the amusement on his face. "Sorry, man."
"Uh, Mrs. Doonan?" Amy spoke up quietly.
Mrs. Doonan set her eyes on the brunette, staring down the curve of her nose. "Name?"
"Amy. Uh, Juergens. Amy Juergens."
Mrs. Doonan shifted her eyes to her roll sheet and made a small notation. "Yes?"
"Madison isn't here today, she's out sick. She caught the flu the last week of break."
Mrs. Doonan frowned and returned her eyes to her roll sheet. "Fine," she said flippantly, "you'll partner with Boykewich then."
Amy blinked. "But I thought you said-" She stopped abruptly when the elder woman cast her eyes upon her disapprovingly. Amy nodded looked over her shoulder at Ben and then uncomfortably rotated her gaze back to the front of the room.
Ben watched as Lauren leaned in to whisper something to Amy when Mrs. Doonan wasn't paying attention, then he leaned back into his seat and shot a halfhearted look at Henry. "Well isn't that coincidental."
"Brayden Konheim and Tina Laurence; Jaleel Manly and Henry Miller…"
"Oh man!"
This time Ben stifled the laughter. "Sorry man," he chuckled, slapping Henry's thick shoulder. "I feel for ya."
"Whatever," Henry grumbled indignantly, as the teacher continued to call out pairings.
"I'll ask Mr. Molina about switching when I see him at lunch," Ben promised. "But you don't really want to leave me in this class alone, do you?"
"You've got Amy all year, don't you?"
Ben glared. "You know how awkward that's going to be!"
"No talking!" Mrs. Doonan snarled. She tapped the tip of her pencil against her roll sheet. "Megan Reese and Lauren Treacy! And finally, Lorna Uhl and Richard Zaltman. Is there anyone I didn't call?"
A boy with Harry Potter-like glasses who sat at the back of the room raised his hand halfway into the air.
Mrs. Doonan looked down her nose at him the way she had at Amy. "And you are?"
"T-Terrance Hennig," he sputtered.
"You're not on my roll sheet," Mrs. Doonan replied. "When did you sign up for this class?"
"Yesterday. It's right here on my schedule," he said, hurrying to provide the proof on a rolled up piece of paper that he took to the front of the room.
Mrs. Doonan surveyed it skeptically. "You must not be on the roll yet." She eyed her sheet. "Normally I'd have you with Juergens," she said slowly, "but since you're not listed, I'll put you with Cooperstein."
Terrance nodded uncertainly. "Thank you," he muttered before returning to his seat.
Mrs. Doonan waved her arm. "Spit spot! I want you moving seats to find your partners, we've only got five minutes left!"
Ben wormed out of his seat, shoved his books into his backpack, and wandered over to Lauren's vacated chair to sit down next to Amy. The chair was still warm when he sat down. "Hey. Long time no see."
"Ben, hi," Amy spoke tentatively. She purposely looked down as she shoved her science book into her backpack.
"How was your summer?"
Amy lifted stood up and tossed her backpack over one shoulder. "It was great," she said unconvincingly. "Ashley and I had a lot of time to bond with our mom."
"And how's Mimsy?"
"Not so great. But at least we had the summer with her. It was hard watching her decline the whole time."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault." Amy leaned away from him to accept the stack of papers that were being passed around. She took two off the stack, laid them on the table between them, and passed the stack to Ben. "How was your summer?"
Ben smiled as he leaned away to pass the stack on. "Amazing!" he blurted out without hesitation. "I'd show you a picture of how big Mercy is now, but I had a little mishap with my phone recently and I haven't gotten a replacement yet."
Amy nodded. "It sounds like you and Adrian really had a good time then?"
"The best!"
Amy shrugged. "I met someone over the summer."
Ben stopped. "Really?"
"Yeah. He's really sweet, his name's Jimmy."
"And you met him up in Palm Springs?"
"Yeah, but we've been talking and texting since I came back. He might even take a trip down here to visit."
"That's great! I'm – I'm happy for you, Amy. You deserve it. You deserve someone who's drama-free and can focus all their attention on you."
"Someone without responsibilities," Amy reluctantly agreed.
Ben looked down at the smooth black tabletop. "Yeah." He shrugged. "I'd like to see him sometime. Maybe. I bet he's a great guy, Amy."
"He is."
Mrs. Doonan trotted by and pointed an orange painted fingernail at the handout sheets. "No talking unless it's about this class," she scolded. "I don't want to tell you again."
"Sorry, Mrs. Doonan," Ben quickly apologized. "Won't happen again."
The teacher scowled. "It had better not."
Ben and Amy shared a brief look. Amy smiled halfheartedly and turned her attention to the handout. A beat later, Ben did the same.
TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT
"Grace, hey."
Grace shaded her eyes from the sunbeams as she tilted her head up at the sound of Jack Pappas's voice. "Jack!" she said brightly. "How are you?"
Jack nodded towards the empty bench next to her. "Can I have a seat?"
"Of course." Grace pulled her lunchbox in closer to herself to make room for Jack. "How have you been?"
Jack stared at his ex as though she were a poker player and he was trying to spot her tell. "I'm good," he nodded. "Football camp was incredible." He ran his fingers through the thick of his hair. "I'd heard you went to med camp over the summer after all. How was that?"
Grace grabbed an orange from her lunchbox and began to peel it by digging her fingernails deep into the thick rind and tearing strips off. "It was like a dream come true," she said wistfully, her eyes staring upwards almost in a daze as she spoke. "I'm so grateful I was given the opportunity."
"It must have been hard…you know, going after everything with your dad."
Grace stopped peeling her orange and stared at Jack momentarily. Finally she allowed the corners of her mouth to curl upwards, not necessarily in a genuinely happy way, but in a way that conveyed a sense of understanding. "Is that why you came over to talk to me?" she asked quietly. "Because you wanted to know how I was able to cope?"
"My dad and I have just been worried about you. Tom and your mom came to see my dad at grief counseling over the summer and I know you were so upset after your father's – uh, passing – that you refused to even see me when I tried to come over-"
Grace suddenly laid her hand on Jack's shoulder. "I'm sorry about that," she said sincerely. "I was hurting at the time, but I appreciate that you cared."
Jack looked at her hand uncomfortably. "Thanks, but…what happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"You've changed," Jack tried again. "Your whole demeanor –"
"Isn't it wonderful? I feel like a whole new person! I can't really describe it. At first I went to camp become I had this epiphany: I realized I could carry on my dad's legacy and keep his memory alive by going to the program we worked so hard to apply me for. Then while I was there, things just changed…Jason and – and Grant-"
"Grant?"
Grace beamed. "My boyfriend! I have a boyfriend now."
"I'd heard," Jack said sourly.
"Oh?" Grace cocked her head. "From who?"
"Jason, during football practice."
Grace nodded good naturedly. "Yeah, well, there's something about Grant that just makes everything a little better somehow. I just feel like a brand new me! I can't really explain it. Grant and I were in the same rounds together and so we ended up spending a lot of time with each other. The first day we met he just walked right up to me and told me how beautiful he thought I was; that I looked like an angel." She laughed. "A little cheesy, I know, but still…something about him was so – so charming. He just makes me feel good; really good!"
"Like a drug."
"Excuse me?"
Jack shook his head. "Nothing," he said quickly, waving his hand. "Bad analogy…I'm – I'm happy for you, Grace." He touched her arm lightly.
"Thank you." She studied him briefly, then went back to peeling her orange. "How's your girlfriend, by the way?"
"My girlfriend?"
"Yeah, I'd heard you were dating someone you'd met through the Big Brother program?"
"Oh!" Jack looked down at his hot lunch tray and pushed around the corner with his plastic spork. "Yeah, Shawna. I actually met her brother, Duncan, through the program. That's how I met her. We dated for a while, but we broke it off before I left for football camp. Actually, she broke it off. I guess she felt guilty because of our age difference. But we're still friends and I'm still volunteering as Duncan's Big Brother, so it's all good."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Grace spoke softly. "But I'm glad you were able to keep things civil. Good for you, Jack Pappas! I'm proud of you."
Jack raised his eyebrow. "I never thought I'd hear that after everything I did to you last year."
"The Lord teaches forgiveness. I know you're a good person at heart, Jack. You just made some pretty bad choices; we all do."
Jack dumped a sporkful of corn into his potatoes and gravy and began to stir it. "So you're really okay with everything then?"
"I really am," she nodded brightly. "Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm not sad anymore or that it doesn't still hurt when I think about my dad, but I've just turned that pain over to God and He's healing me. I think that God is letting my dad guide me – first to med camp, then to Grant – so he's not really gone after all. Does that make sense?"
Jack nodded slowly. "Yeah," he said, once the corn and gravy had been mixed to the point of a lumpy brown sludge. "Having lost a dad myself, I guess it does."
TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT
"And who is taking care of Mercy while you're at school?" Mr. Molina asked, his head rotating between Adrian and Ben who were seated on the opposite side of his desk.
"My dad's hired a nanny. He said he'd be willing to sit with her if he could, but he's got the butcher shop to run-"
"Yeah, and my mom has got her job too," Adrian interjected.
"You know you're very fortunate to have a father who can provide you with the means for a nanny. Most teenage parents struggle to find and pay for daycare. That is, if they don't drop out entirely."
"Or they have to rely on so-called family and friends," Adrian added bitterly.
"Well we're not dropping out. I want to get my high school diploma and walk across the stage with my class. I haven't worked all these years to give that up now."
Adrian nodded. "Exactly. My mother and I have worked too long and too hard to throw that all away. And Mr. Boykewich is very supportive of us finishing our education. I'm very grateful to him that he's willing to support us financially, such as providing us with childcare for Mercy."
Mr. Molina nodded, apparently satisfied. "And how is school going? I know it's only your first day back, but are you feeling good about the year so far?"
"All except for Mr. Doonan's Biology class," Ben grumbled.
Mr. Molina smirked. "I met her for the first time in the teacher's lounge this morning. She's a…handful."
"That's the understatement of the century! Hey…there isn't any way-"
Mr. Molina held up his hand. "Nope. Sorry. I've had about ten kids walk through my door already this morning who have switched into other science classes. Everything is full."
Ben snapped his fingers in frustration. "Right."
"So, is that everything then?" Adrian questioned, fidgeting slightly with her purse.
"Are you in a hurry to get somewhere?"
Adrian looked at Ben and then away to Mr. Molina again. "I just wanted to use the restroom before lunch was over," she lied.
"Oh, right. Well, yes then!" Mr. Molina stood up and offered his hand, shaking first Adrian's and then Ben's hands. "It was wonderful to see you both again and I'm happy to hear how well your summer and the parenting is going. I'd like to meet with you both again in another few weeks, just to get another status update, if you don't mind."
"Sure," Ben agreed. He reached for his cell phone only to pull a face. "Uh, sorry, when? My cell phone's still busted, so I don't have a calendar."
Adrian promptly produced her cell. "September twenty-eighth? That's the last Monday of September."
Ben nodded eagerly. "Sounds good to me."
"Alrighty, I'll make a note of that," Mr. Molina agreed.
Adrian punched a reminder alarm into her phone. "At lunch again?"
"Sounds excellent."
"Great! Thanks, Mr. Molina!"
Adrian nodded. "We'll see you soon." She edged out the door, hoping to head off down the hall before Ben could catch her, only for him to follow.
"Hey, where's the fire?"
Adrian spun around and flashed a watery smile. "I was just going to meet Grace. I'm already late," she half lied.
"Oh." Ben fiddled with the zipper on his jacket. "I was hoping we could talk."
"Well, we really don't have much of lunch left to do that anyway, so maybe after you get off work?" she offered. "If I have time after homework and everything."
Ben nodded. "Yeah. Okay, good. I'll look forward to it."
"Me too." She turned away and hurried down the hall and out the double doors. As soon as they had clanked shut, she stepped to the side and let herself collapse against the cement wall with a sigh of relief. A few minutes later she pulled out her phone again and began to type of a text message to Grace. Just as she'd finished and had her thumb hovering over the Send button, she heard the telltale sound of the bell. "Crap!"
TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT
The bell above the door jingled as Ashley stepped over the threshold into her father's furniture store. She paused and let the door close by itself, taking in the layout of the shop. There were only a few straggling customers and as she studied them, she realized someone else was studying her. As soon as she spotted Ricky, she folded her arms and strode over to him. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm watching the store for your father."
"That's Donovan's job."
"Donovan's at the hospital."
The scowl on her face faltered. "Wh – is he okay?"
"He's fine, but one of his foster kids got into the middle of a fight at school because some other kids were picking on one of his foster sisters about having gay parents. I guess things got pretty ugly and everyone involved got suspended."
"What?" Ashley hissed. "How can they suspend you for suspending someone for defending their sister?"
"The school's got a no tolerance policy; doesn't matter who started it, if you were involved-"
"That BS."
"I know." Ricky peered over at the milling customers and shrugged. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"
"I walked."
"All the way from Grant?"
"Yes. Got a problem with that?"
Ricky shrugged. "Your feet, not mine."
"I like walking," she said dismissively. "It gives me a chance to clear my head."
"That still doesn't answer my question."
"I was hoping to talk to Donovan."
"About?"
"None of your business."
Ricky threw up his hands. "Fine. You're welcome to wait here until he gets back then. It's no skin off my nose."
"It's my dad's store," she replied bluntly. "Of course I can wait here if I want." Ashley tugged her backpack off her shoulder and dropped it onto a nearby display couch before plopping down onto one of the empty cushions herself.
"Do your mom and sister know where you are?"
"My mom's at work," Ashley glared. "She has a job at a hot dog stand because it's the only place that would hire her." She pulled her backpack into her lap and began to unzip it. "She was looking into night classes at college to try and finish the degree she abandoned when she got pregnant with Amy, but she's flat broke thanks to the lawyer's fees from the divorce. And Amy is at her friend Lauren's."
Ricky looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."
"I didn't tell you for pity. Actually, I don't know why I told you at all." She yanked a history textbook out of her backpack and opened it to a random page somewhere in the middle. "Don't tell my dad. My mom doesn't want him to know."
"She's embarrassed," Ricky nodded slowly.
"Yeah." Ashley turned her attention to her textbook. "Tell me when Donovan gets back. I wanted to interview him for a paper I was thinking of writing for my history class on the Gay Rights Movement."
"Excuse me?" a ginger haired woman asked, approaching Ricky. "Do you work here?"
Ricky nodded. "Yeah." To Ashley he added quietly, "I will," then he turned to the redhead and nodded. "Can I help you with something?"
"I was looking at that curio cabinet over there and I was wondering if you could tell me what the exact measurements are?"
"Sure," Ricky said, motioning her away from Ashley. "Let's go have a look."
TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT TSLOTAT
Ben trudged down the hall. His arms and legged ached and his clothes reeked of raw meat. His consulting job at the butcher shop meant that heavy lifting and cutting meat were not in his job description, but someone had called in sick, so his father had reluctantly asked him to help in between consultations. The results had not been pretty.
"Adrian?" he called, steps before he reached the nursery. He sniffed his sleeve and grimaced. "Adrian!" When nobody answered, he raised his fist to the door and knocked once, quietly, then again, a little more loudly. Still, there was no answer. With a sigh, he jiggled the door handle and poked his head inside.
The Dora the Explorer lamp on the dresser was on, but Adrian was nowhere in immediate view. Ben slowly pushed the door open a little further and spotted a half empty baby bottle on the dresser and then realized Mercy was tucked away in her crib. He made his way over to her and smiled down at the tiny sleeping form, cuddled up next to his beloved Mr. Bear. He leaned in and gave his little girl a soft kiss on her temple and the child only stirred slightly at his touch.
Then he turned around and spotted Adrian curled up in the old rocking chair Ben's father had built for his mother when Ben was born. Ben moved over to her and carefully slipped the open textbook and accompanying notes out of Adrian's lap. He marked the page with the notes before closing the text and setting it next to Adrian's backpack, then he grabbed a couple of Mercy's folded up receiving blankets and draped them over Adrian as she slept.
He stood staring at Adrian for a while, taking in the serenity she exuded in slumber. "I guess I'll have to take a rain check on that talk." Ben picked up the partially drunken baby bottle and retreated to the door. His hand was perched on the light switch as he paused in the doorway to survey the room. "Sweet dreams." He pulled the light switch down, flooding the room into cool darkness, illuminated only by the warmth of a pale pink night light beside Mercy's crib.
