Julie was already sitting on one of the benches in the quad when I got there the next morning. She had her arms folded across her stomach and her head turned to the right as if she was staring intently at something. I walked up swiftly and dropped myself onto the bench beside her.
"Hey." Jules greeted turning toward me.
"Good morning. What were you looking at?" I tossed my arm around her shoulder.
"Nothing really, just thinking."
"Care to tell me about what?"
"Nope."
"Oh I see how it is." I turned my back to her, in my best hissy hitting chick impression. I even did one of those 'talk to the hand' thinks when she tried to talk to me about a minute later.
I've come to the conclusion I watch to much TV, where else would I get such a stupid idea. I was trying very hard to get her to smile though. I love her smile, it lit up the sky, brightened a room, stopped traffic and it distracted me from my point again. Ever notice every time I get off the subject of what was happening in a particular time, Jules is normally the culprit? I mean there's just something about her that makes me unable to think about anything else.
*Ducks to avoid objects hurled at his head* 'Scooter if you don't stop babbling about how great Julie is, I stopping this story right now.'
Alright, fine *mumbles in coherently about Meme being a bully*, anyway, as I continue to keep my back to her, I feel a hand on my knee. Julie squeezes it gently and I turn to look at her. She gives me what I'm positive is a phone grin, but it's better then nothing.
"Come on," She said "you promised me breakfast."
Julie tugged me across campus toward the parking lot and found my car in it's usual spot. She clipped her seatbelt closed and then looked up at me with expectant eyes. I turned the key in the ignition, clicked the transmission into reverse and backed out of the slot.
We sat silently in a booth at a local diner, Jules had requested some little dive called Mickey's and I hadn't had the heart to tell her no. You'd think having gotten what she wanted, and going where she wanted to go, she'd be in a slightly better mood, but she wasn't. I was lucky to even get a 'Can you pass the maple syrup?' out of her.
"Is there something wrong Gaffney?" I queried, sipping my coffee.
Her reply was a bland
"No."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing, well expect…"
"What?"
"Have you decided if you're really gonna go?"
I exhaled heavily and rested my coffee cup on the edge of the table. I understood why she would want to talk about it, I just wished she'd give it up. I reached over the table and took her hand.
"Julie, I told you last night, I'm probably going to go. My families in New York and Chris's friends are pretty cool, plus I can play there. Hockey's been my life for years Jules, I don't wanna give that up unless I have too."
"Oh, I see." She told me she understood, but I could tell, she didn't.
"It's not that I don't care about you, I do, I really do. I just can't see giving up my mother, brother and a chance to play again, simply to stay here with you."
"That's only mildly insulting." She sniffled and I was certain she was about to cry. She didn't though, she was too tough for that.
"Come on Jules."
"No, no, I get it. But keep this in mind, not only am I here, but so is Sky and your sister. Scooter your mom and brother chose to go to Manhattan, they made the decision to leave you. But Sky, stepmother or not has been there for you every day since you were a kid, she was there when your real mother wasn't. Chris is old enough to come visit you if he wanted a brotherly relationship, but he didn't. Plus there's the fact that, Bailey needs a male figure to be there for her while she's growing up, she needs you Scooter."
When I didn't say anything for a long minute she just shook her head and instructed me to take her back to school. So much for our romantic breakfast together.
After being suspended for so long the one thing I really needed to be concentrating on that day was school work, yet could I? No of course not. Alas cruel fate is out to get me I swear.
*In a Shakespearian dramatic tone* 'Why must you mock me?'
Period after period, I sat at my desk trying to pay attention, and period after period, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling I'd let Julie down. Her words kept playing over in my head
"But keep this in mind, not only am I here, but so is Sky and your sister. Scooter your mom and brother chose to go to Manhattan, they made the decision to leave you. But Sky, stepmother or not has been there for you every day since you were a kid, she was there when your real mother wasn't. Chris is old enough to come visit you if he wanted a brotherly relationship, but he didn't."
We couldn't she just let me go?
To make things worse as I came out my last period class at the end of the day, I crashed into a broad chested, curly haired blonde, that had been seemingly waiting for me.
"What do you want Cole?" I grumbled, not being in the mood to deal with him.
"Scooter I'm insulted, I just wanted to welcome you back." See the only problem with that is, he forgot I knew him well enough to know, he always has an ulterior motive.
"You know Cole somewhere in the jungles of South America, there's a monkey with your parents real son." I snapped trying to shove my way passed him.
He grabbed my arm and stopped me though
"Hold it there Goalie."
"What?"
"I heard about your move to New York, I have to tell you, I think it's the smartest thing for you to do. Or at least the safest."
That boiled my blood and I couldn't help but give a rude retort
"The guy who's IQ places him somewhere between an ashtray and a pickle jar, is telling me what's smart. Talk about ironic. And just so you know, nothing's set in stone, so don't go buying the decorations for my goodbye party."
I stormed passed him, straight out the closest exit and went directly to my dorm. Luckily Riley wasn't there when I got there, I just wanted to be alone for a while. I was too, for a couple hours, unfortunately around 5:00 there was a knock at my door.
"Who's there?" I asked through the door.
"It's uh, Banks and Charlie." A familiarly quiet voice came from the other side. That was obviously Adam
"Scooter open up, we've gotta talk to you." The gruff, pushy voice, was definitely Charlie.
'We've gotta talk' why was that not a good sign?
"Hey." Jules greeted turning toward me.
"Good morning. What were you looking at?" I tossed my arm around her shoulder.
"Nothing really, just thinking."
"Care to tell me about what?"
"Nope."
"Oh I see how it is." I turned my back to her, in my best hissy hitting chick impression. I even did one of those 'talk to the hand' thinks when she tried to talk to me about a minute later.
I've come to the conclusion I watch to much TV, where else would I get such a stupid idea. I was trying very hard to get her to smile though. I love her smile, it lit up the sky, brightened a room, stopped traffic and it distracted me from my point again. Ever notice every time I get off the subject of what was happening in a particular time, Jules is normally the culprit? I mean there's just something about her that makes me unable to think about anything else.
*Ducks to avoid objects hurled at his head* 'Scooter if you don't stop babbling about how great Julie is, I stopping this story right now.'
Alright, fine *mumbles in coherently about Meme being a bully*, anyway, as I continue to keep my back to her, I feel a hand on my knee. Julie squeezes it gently and I turn to look at her. She gives me what I'm positive is a phone grin, but it's better then nothing.
"Come on," She said "you promised me breakfast."
Julie tugged me across campus toward the parking lot and found my car in it's usual spot. She clipped her seatbelt closed and then looked up at me with expectant eyes. I turned the key in the ignition, clicked the transmission into reverse and backed out of the slot.
We sat silently in a booth at a local diner, Jules had requested some little dive called Mickey's and I hadn't had the heart to tell her no. You'd think having gotten what she wanted, and going where she wanted to go, she'd be in a slightly better mood, but she wasn't. I was lucky to even get a 'Can you pass the maple syrup?' out of her.
"Is there something wrong Gaffney?" I queried, sipping my coffee.
Her reply was a bland
"No."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing, well expect…"
"What?"
"Have you decided if you're really gonna go?"
I exhaled heavily and rested my coffee cup on the edge of the table. I understood why she would want to talk about it, I just wished she'd give it up. I reached over the table and took her hand.
"Julie, I told you last night, I'm probably going to go. My families in New York and Chris's friends are pretty cool, plus I can play there. Hockey's been my life for years Jules, I don't wanna give that up unless I have too."
"Oh, I see." She told me she understood, but I could tell, she didn't.
"It's not that I don't care about you, I do, I really do. I just can't see giving up my mother, brother and a chance to play again, simply to stay here with you."
"That's only mildly insulting." She sniffled and I was certain she was about to cry. She didn't though, she was too tough for that.
"Come on Jules."
"No, no, I get it. But keep this in mind, not only am I here, but so is Sky and your sister. Scooter your mom and brother chose to go to Manhattan, they made the decision to leave you. But Sky, stepmother or not has been there for you every day since you were a kid, she was there when your real mother wasn't. Chris is old enough to come visit you if he wanted a brotherly relationship, but he didn't. Plus there's the fact that, Bailey needs a male figure to be there for her while she's growing up, she needs you Scooter."
When I didn't say anything for a long minute she just shook her head and instructed me to take her back to school. So much for our romantic breakfast together.
After being suspended for so long the one thing I really needed to be concentrating on that day was school work, yet could I? No of course not. Alas cruel fate is out to get me I swear.
*In a Shakespearian dramatic tone* 'Why must you mock me?'
Period after period, I sat at my desk trying to pay attention, and period after period, I couldn't shake the nagging feeling I'd let Julie down. Her words kept playing over in my head
"But keep this in mind, not only am I here, but so is Sky and your sister. Scooter your mom and brother chose to go to Manhattan, they made the decision to leave you. But Sky, stepmother or not has been there for you every day since you were a kid, she was there when your real mother wasn't. Chris is old enough to come visit you if he wanted a brotherly relationship, but he didn't."
We couldn't she just let me go?
To make things worse as I came out my last period class at the end of the day, I crashed into a broad chested, curly haired blonde, that had been seemingly waiting for me.
"What do you want Cole?" I grumbled, not being in the mood to deal with him.
"Scooter I'm insulted, I just wanted to welcome you back." See the only problem with that is, he forgot I knew him well enough to know, he always has an ulterior motive.
"You know Cole somewhere in the jungles of South America, there's a monkey with your parents real son." I snapped trying to shove my way passed him.
He grabbed my arm and stopped me though
"Hold it there Goalie."
"What?"
"I heard about your move to New York, I have to tell you, I think it's the smartest thing for you to do. Or at least the safest."
That boiled my blood and I couldn't help but give a rude retort
"The guy who's IQ places him somewhere between an ashtray and a pickle jar, is telling me what's smart. Talk about ironic. And just so you know, nothing's set in stone, so don't go buying the decorations for my goodbye party."
I stormed passed him, straight out the closest exit and went directly to my dorm. Luckily Riley wasn't there when I got there, I just wanted to be alone for a while. I was too, for a couple hours, unfortunately around 5:00 there was a knock at my door.
"Who's there?" I asked through the door.
"It's uh, Banks and Charlie." A familiarly quiet voice came from the other side. That was obviously Adam
"Scooter open up, we've gotta talk to you." The gruff, pushy voice, was definitely Charlie.
'We've gotta talk' why was that not a good sign?