~Virginia's POV~
I pull up to Eastwood and park my car on the sidestreet, slipping through
the bars of the wrought iron gates with an ease that sends shivers down my
spine. Am I really still that skinny? I sneak back into the school building
and get into class just before the bell rings.
"Where were you?" my friend Jack asks, as I sit down next to him at the lab table. AP Bio.
"I went out."
"Out where?"
"Lunch. Toretto's."
"You eat?" Jack said in mock surprise.
"Shut up!" I say, my eyes flashing.
"Ok, ok. Sorry, but do you know how pissed Mad Dog or Turismo would be if they found out you left again?" Jack refers to the Dean and Headmaster of Eastwood, with a semi-shocked expression on his face. "Last time you left, they gave you ISS for a couple days."
"Yeah, and it wasn't half bad, except for missing auto shop and art."
"But didn't your dad say if you broke the rules one more time, he'd send you to that reform school in Maryland?"
"Let him. At least then I'd be able to get away from him. I hate that man so much." I clenched and unclenched my hands. "Besides, when has my father ever made good on any promise?"
"True, very true." Jack sighed. "But next time, take me along. You know how much lunch here sucks."
"Take me too." Tristan came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Eastwood cafeteria people have these giant pointy sticks up their asses."
I laugh and promise to take them. Then Mr. Parkers enters.
"Hello everyone. Time for dissections today. Pick your lab partners." Jack and I grab for each other. Last time, he was with the class psycho, and I got stuck with Mark, the guy who was often "adjusting" himself in plain view of everyone else.
"My god! How can Bio be that boring?" Jack asks, almost bewildered.
"You just don't get it like I do. Every organ in that frog's body has a specific purpose. Just look at it like shop and you'd understand." We make our way to the garage on the other side of campus, for our shop class.
"Hey Sam," I say to the teacher in coveralls and a welding mask.
"Gin, glad to see you got back in time," Sam laughs.
" I just went for lunch. When would I miss shop?"
Sam just laughed. "So where's tonic?"
"Don't you ever get tired of that joke? There is no tonic!" I roll my eyes at his stupid sense of humor, while slipping on a blue coveralls outfit from the hook by the door.
"I gotta tease ya Gin. You're the only girl in shop. That gives me full ragging rights."
"Yeah yeah yeah," I say as I roll under the semester project car. It's almost done. "Yo Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Can't we soup this puppy up? Ya know add some Greddy to replace this stock shit?"
"Hey! Language! I'm still a teacher you know. And no. The project is to make this car run as well as you can on what you got, and you got.stock shit." He laughs. "You've been watching too many movies. What do you know about souping up a car?"
"Yeah you're right. But come on, if you gave me some decent parts, some decent cash, I could get this baby to run 0-60 in oh, 6 or 7 seconds? And that's only cuz I've never done it before."
"Well, Gin, if anyone could do it, you probably could, but the school doesn't exactly let me give students money to soup up project cars."
"Yeah yeah. Whatever. You know if you wanted to, they'd let you." I roll under the car with a wrench and don't come out until the bell rings. "Finally!" I breathe. Shaking off the coveralls and grabbing my bag, I say bye to the guys in the garage and head out, briefly stopping to grab books at my locker.
Getting in my car, I realize I don't have my cell phone. "Shit. Where could I have left it." I say to nobody, but myself. "Ahh. Toretto's." I decide to go back and grab it on my way home. Mia probably kept it for me.
I stop outside the store and go in.
"Hey, come back for your phone?" Mia asks.
"Yeah, and a coke." I smile. "Thanks for holding it for me."
"No prob. I was hoping you'd come by today. I wanted to ask you something."
"Shoot."
"We're having a barbecue tonight and my house and I wanted to know if you wanted to come."
"Who's we?"
"Well, me, and Dom, my brother, who was back there earlier. Letty, whom you met, Leon, Vince, Jesse, and.Brian." When she says that last name her face lights up.
"Mmm, and who's this Brian?" I tease.
" Brian's my..well..he's. I don't know." Mia blushes.
"Yeah, I know how that goes. Well, sure I'd love to come"
"Ok, cool." She smiles. "Do you need to call your parents and let them know you'll be home later?"
"No. My dad doesn't give a fuck about me, fucking drunk." I mumble.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Your mother though? She might want you home?"
"My mom is.dead." I look at Mia.
"Oh. I'm really not saying the right things am I? If you don't mind my asking, how'd she die?"
* OK, that's it for now. You'll find out more soon* ~K
"Where were you?" my friend Jack asks, as I sit down next to him at the lab table. AP Bio.
"I went out."
"Out where?"
"Lunch. Toretto's."
"You eat?" Jack said in mock surprise.
"Shut up!" I say, my eyes flashing.
"Ok, ok. Sorry, but do you know how pissed Mad Dog or Turismo would be if they found out you left again?" Jack refers to the Dean and Headmaster of Eastwood, with a semi-shocked expression on his face. "Last time you left, they gave you ISS for a couple days."
"Yeah, and it wasn't half bad, except for missing auto shop and art."
"But didn't your dad say if you broke the rules one more time, he'd send you to that reform school in Maryland?"
"Let him. At least then I'd be able to get away from him. I hate that man so much." I clenched and unclenched my hands. "Besides, when has my father ever made good on any promise?"
"True, very true." Jack sighed. "But next time, take me along. You know how much lunch here sucks."
"Take me too." Tristan came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders. "Eastwood cafeteria people have these giant pointy sticks up their asses."
I laugh and promise to take them. Then Mr. Parkers enters.
"Hello everyone. Time for dissections today. Pick your lab partners." Jack and I grab for each other. Last time, he was with the class psycho, and I got stuck with Mark, the guy who was often "adjusting" himself in plain view of everyone else.
"My god! How can Bio be that boring?" Jack asks, almost bewildered.
"You just don't get it like I do. Every organ in that frog's body has a specific purpose. Just look at it like shop and you'd understand." We make our way to the garage on the other side of campus, for our shop class.
"Hey Sam," I say to the teacher in coveralls and a welding mask.
"Gin, glad to see you got back in time," Sam laughs.
" I just went for lunch. When would I miss shop?"
Sam just laughed. "So where's tonic?"
"Don't you ever get tired of that joke? There is no tonic!" I roll my eyes at his stupid sense of humor, while slipping on a blue coveralls outfit from the hook by the door.
"I gotta tease ya Gin. You're the only girl in shop. That gives me full ragging rights."
"Yeah yeah yeah," I say as I roll under the semester project car. It's almost done. "Yo Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Can't we soup this puppy up? Ya know add some Greddy to replace this stock shit?"
"Hey! Language! I'm still a teacher you know. And no. The project is to make this car run as well as you can on what you got, and you got.stock shit." He laughs. "You've been watching too many movies. What do you know about souping up a car?"
"Yeah you're right. But come on, if you gave me some decent parts, some decent cash, I could get this baby to run 0-60 in oh, 6 or 7 seconds? And that's only cuz I've never done it before."
"Well, Gin, if anyone could do it, you probably could, but the school doesn't exactly let me give students money to soup up project cars."
"Yeah yeah. Whatever. You know if you wanted to, they'd let you." I roll under the car with a wrench and don't come out until the bell rings. "Finally!" I breathe. Shaking off the coveralls and grabbing my bag, I say bye to the guys in the garage and head out, briefly stopping to grab books at my locker.
Getting in my car, I realize I don't have my cell phone. "Shit. Where could I have left it." I say to nobody, but myself. "Ahh. Toretto's." I decide to go back and grab it on my way home. Mia probably kept it for me.
I stop outside the store and go in.
"Hey, come back for your phone?" Mia asks.
"Yeah, and a coke." I smile. "Thanks for holding it for me."
"No prob. I was hoping you'd come by today. I wanted to ask you something."
"Shoot."
"We're having a barbecue tonight and my house and I wanted to know if you wanted to come."
"Who's we?"
"Well, me, and Dom, my brother, who was back there earlier. Letty, whom you met, Leon, Vince, Jesse, and.Brian." When she says that last name her face lights up.
"Mmm, and who's this Brian?" I tease.
" Brian's my..well..he's. I don't know." Mia blushes.
"Yeah, I know how that goes. Well, sure I'd love to come"
"Ok, cool." She smiles. "Do you need to call your parents and let them know you'll be home later?"
"No. My dad doesn't give a fuck about me, fucking drunk." I mumble.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Your mother though? She might want you home?"
"My mom is.dead." I look at Mia.
"Oh. I'm really not saying the right things am I? If you don't mind my asking, how'd she die?"
* OK, that's it for now. You'll find out more soon* ~K