I sighed as I walked into English with the rest of the class. I wasn't in
the mood to be dealing with Josie and her 'outbursts' and I'm quite sure
the teacher would like to see her sit through at least one of his lessons
before the semester was over. She looked up at me as I walked to my seat
and quickly lowered her eyes. Why does she do that? Is she guilty or
something?
The Mr. Winder walked over to my desk and smiled softly. "Mr. Banks, how are you feeling?"
I shrugged. I never liked to be centered out, but the shiner on my eye was kind of purple and you couldn't felt but notice it. "Better. Everyone doesn't look like a twin anymore."
He nodded. "If you feel like leaving for any reason, just tell me. Josie will take you. Right Josie?"
Josie stared up at him nodding. "Uh huh." She whispered nervously eying me and quickly turning back to her notebook.
"Good." He smiled. "It's too bad you won't be playing Adam. But I guess I'll have to see you out there next time."
I smiled and nodded. I forgot that Mr. Winder was a die-hard hockey fan. He always tried to make it out to our home games. I'm pretty sure he played hockey as a kid but quit because he wasn't built to be a hockey player. On the first day of school he told us HIS nickname in high school: Rice, because he was tall, white and skinny. I snorted at that thought and squinted at him as he walked to his desk. He did sort of look like a grain of rice.
"Ok class! Here is my theory. You guys don't need to review because if you don't know the material by now, after I have drilled it into your skulls for the last semester, you don't have a chance. So, here's the deal, everyone can go as long as I don't hear a word from another teacher saying that you're disruptive." Mr. Winder smiled. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind!"
The class rushed out of the room like a pack of stampeding bulls. I smiled, alone again, with Josie and Mr . . . . wait. . . he's gone! I chuckled to myself. Yup he's still a teenager at heart.
I got up and started walking towards the door.
"Adam, wait!"
I spun around to see Josie looking quite frantic.
She bit her lip and motioned for me to sit down. She looked at her feet. "This may take a few minutes."
I nodded and sat on my desk. "Ok." I bit my lip. Maybe I hadn't lost her.
She sighed and sat on her desk across from me. She took a deep breath and smiled. "I've figured it out." She nodded after her first sentence. "I figured out how we can stop fighting. It took a while but it was so obvious that I almost slapped myself when I finally got it."
I grinned. I was almost ready to do a little happy dance around the room. I began singing in my head, 'I got her! I got her! La la la la la la!' I nodded. "Really."
She grinned. "Friends. Good friends."
My jaw almost hit the ground. Hadn't we tried that before?
"But never alone because we seem to get into trouble while were alone." She almost seemed giddy. "Like we could start a study group, and have movie nights with some of your friends and once I make a few friends I could set you up on dates and other group activity like things. . ." She stopped and frowned. "We can be friends right?"
She wants to set me up on dates, without her? I scoffed. "I don't want to be your friend."
She immediately paled. "No! I'm sorry for being a jerk but I want to be your friend! I was stupid for everything and I just want to be your friend! Please!"
I got up and looked her straight in the eyes. "We can't be friends Josie. You and I are more than friends. It's been like that since the beginning." I stepped over to her and my finger traced a little design on her leg. "You can feel it. I can tell."
She pushed me away. "Adam d . . . don't." She stuttered, getting up and upsetting her bag, the contents spilling across the floor. She dropped to her knees and immediately began shoving things into her bag.
I rolled my eyes and knelt beside her. "Let me help."
She pushed my hands away. "No don't!" she yelped nervously, pulling her bag away from her.
"Josie! Let me help!" I said tugging on the shoulder strap making it slip out of her hands and out of mine, flying across the room, slamming it against the backboard where a green piece of material fell out.
I muttered a sorry as I got up to get it. She immediately got up and raced to her bag picking up the green material hiding it behind her back.
I frowned at her. "Why are you hiding that?"
She looked around the room. "Hiding what? I'm not hiding anything, I swear."
I crossed my arms. "Josie, I can tell you're hiding something. I haven't been hit enough in the head to be that gullible." I rolled my eyes. "There isn't any use in hiding it."
"Adam. Are you ok? You look pale." She said worriedly. "You must be hallucinating."
"Fine then," I said inching up to her, making her back up out of instinct. She hit the blackboard with a nervous expression on her face. I reached behind her back and grabbed the piece of material pulling it out of her grasp. I looked down on it and my expression changed from playful to serious.
"Adam it's not what you think. . ."
My jaw dropped. "So what, you have turned from rebel to petty thief?" I accused waving my jersey at her.
She stayed pinned against the blackboard with her eyes squeezed shut even though I had stepped away from her. "Adam, I just. . ."
"Went into my locker at the arena and stole my lucky jersey!" I finished for her angrily. "I didn't think you would sink so low."
A tear dripped down her cheek. "Adam please. . ." she pleaded silently.
"Why! Tell me why right now!" I yelled at her. "I want you to explain why you felt the need to break into the boy's change room then break into my locker and steal my old jersey! Tell me! And don't give me any bullshit!"
She froze, panting from the tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Tell me!"
She looked up at me and wiped away a tear. "I don't know." She whispered. "I guess I realized I made a huge mistake. And . . . and," She stopped and bit her lip. "I just did ok! And I'm sorry! I just. . . I needed you last night." She breathed so that I was almost unable to hear. She shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself. "And then the next thing I know I'm at your locker."
I blinked at her. "Oh." I looked down at my shoes thinking over what she just said. Did she just say she needed me? "Well do you want to go someplace tonight? We could talk about it."
She shook her head. "Can't. I have a parent thing. They want me to go to dinner with them at some snooty rich person's house."
I nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?" I grinned slyly.
A smile made its way through her tears. "Actually I think my date would be quite angry if I brought a date."
My stomach dropped. "Date?"
She rolled her eyes. "William. My father says that I should broaden my horizons. His parents are going to be there and my parents are going to be there. Supposedly the people whose house were going to, have a kid around my age and she has a date too and the date's parents are going to be there." She scoffed. "Big business meetings."
I grimaced. "That sucks."
She nodded solemnly. "I'd understand if you didn't ever want to talk to me again." She looked down. "Like what type of person would steal a jersey because they pushed the actually person away right?"
I knew it was a rhetorical question, but I had to answer it for her. "The type of person who isn't sure what she wants."
She took a deep breath. "Yeah well, again, hurricane Josie hits the corridors of Eden Hall once again to ruin the lives just a select few." She grabbed her bag and shoved the papers into her bag quickly. She turned away from me and began walking to the door in silence.
I smiled. "I'm glad I'm one of the few."
She looked over her shoulder at me and blinked. "Don't be."
~*~
I waited for the guys outside the change room. Charlie came out first with a grin spread across his face, and his hair still damp from the shower.
"I told you, you would win."
Charlie rolled his eyes. "Just barely. We would have done better with you." He replied throwing his arm over my shoulder.
I shook it off. "Dude, you still stink."
"Some hockey player you are." He laughed shaking his head.
I smiled as we continued to walk through the courtyard back to the dorms.
"Adam Banks, please come to the office, Adam Banks." The secretary said in a wheezy monotone voice over the intercom
Charlie shoved me. "Ooh! Did our little Adam get in trouble?" He cooed in baby talk.
I glared at him. "No. Probably one of my teachers wants to give me another review sheet I didn't get or something."
He scoffed. "You're no fun." He looked around and frowned. "I don't have anything to do, I'm coming with you."
"Aren't you failing math or something?" I asked frowning at him, making my way to the main building.
"No, I'm passing with a C-, so?"
I looked at him exasperated. "Shouldn't you be like you know, studying so you don't fail the exam and get kicked off the team?"
He pouted as he walked through the main doors. "You mean you don't want to help me?"
I rolled my eyes. "I don't have math until next semester."
He pouted again as we rounded the corner and walked into the office. "But you're the 'oh so smart one'. You know everything."
I rolled my eyes. "How long have you been working on flattering people until they give in?"
He frowned. "I'm thinking since we met Bombay. Around then at least."
"Adam! Where were you! It took you a while to get there!"
I looked up. "Dad? What are you doing here?"
He smiled innocently. "I'm here to take you to dinner."
I frowned. "Dinner? Actually I'm fine really. I just go into the dining hall. . ."
He shook his head. "Nonsense. Besides we're having guests over for dinner. Just say goodbye to Chad. . ."
"It's Charlie." Charlie and I said together as he dragged me out of the office by my shoulders.
"Charlie, whatever, say goodbye, because you have a date."
I immediately dug my heels into the ground. "Date? No . . . no dates. We're you the one who said I was concentrating too much on girls and not on hockey?"
My father sighed. "Look son. You don't have to talk to her. Just show up, smile, and be quiet. This isn't about you for once, it's about my business. Because of this I may get a new client, and he is extremely well off and. . . ."
I frowned. "Is that all you think about? Money?"
The happy expression on my father's face dropped. "Look, if I get this you could be set for life. You could go to almost any university you wish and become a successful business man, or you could be a hockey player. I don't care." He pushed me a little out the door. "Now you will look nice and smile and be on you're best behavior, now to the car."
"Exams dad! I have to study. . ." I said trying to walk the opposite way.
He rolled his eyes. "If you had been studying before, you wouldn't have to worry."
I was pushed into the car and sighed. I hated these stupid dinner parties that my parents threw. The guys knew exactly how much I hated them. First of all I would end up in a dress shirt and a wool sweater over top that itched like crazy. Then I would have to sit beside a girl who was completely boring and couldn't communicate any sentences more complicated than, 'I'm hungry' or 'Don't I look pretty?' and then I would have to listen hour upon hour of business stuff.
We suddenly stopped. "Ok I'm just going in to pick up you're date and her roommate. Stay here." My father growled as he stepped out of the car walking towards the girl's dormitories.
I sighed and wondered who exactly this girl was. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe she came to this school through a scholarship. I frowned. No she wouldn't be. Her parents were 'V.I.P.' in my father's eyes, therefore they had to have money coming out of their ears, so she most likely would be the typical girl my parents would like to see me end up with.
I looked out the window and my jaw dropped. Why was Josie with my dad? My father opened the backseat door behind me. "Joslyn, you know my son." My father spoke gently.
Josie nodded silently and eyed me as my father shut the door. I spun around. "You're my date?"
She scowled at me. "No, my date is William. That guy who was in my dorm on Sunday."
My brow furrowed. "Then who's my date?"
She frowned and pointed out the window.
Oh. No.
"Adam, this is Erica, my roommate." Josie said rolling her eyes.
Erica bounced into the seat behind my father. "Hi Adam!" She said giddily. "Or maybe you know me as Gina, the Gossip Ghost of Eden Hall!"
Wow, alliteration. She must've actually learned something in class this year. I plastered on a smile. "Adam Banks, JV. . ."
"Hockey team. Number 99 from Edina Minnesota, best friends with Charlie Conaway number 96, JV hockey team from Minneapolis. You guys played together in pee-wees, and then you were team America a few years back and then you can to Eden Hall." She smiled and smirked. "You just got beaten up over some unknown facts, but I'll figure it out sooner or later."
My smile fell away. "How did you know . . .?"
She rolled her eyes. "Gossip column, duh. You have no idea how hard it is to get juicy info on you JV guys. You guys keep to yourselves WAY too much."
I frowned. "But how did you know about me?"
Josie rolled her eyes and mumbled, "She's obsessed."
Erica scoffed and rolled her eyes. It began to annoy Adam all to hell because it made him feel completely insignificant. "Hello! I have connections, you have connections. Duh!"
I nodded and glared at my father who smiled obliviously as he drove, to my home, or what I called it, my own personal hell, complete with a torturer (Erica), a beater (William), a temptation (Josie) and the Devil. But then I guess I would be the spawn of Satan but it didn't matter. This dinner was going to be hell in a hand basket.
~
*
~
*
~
*
A/N: Ok, I'm not going to be posting for a little while, mainly because I have exams on Thursday (Canadian History), Friday (Music), and Monday (English) and Tuesday (Math), I seriously need to study for some of them. I might update on the weekend (to unwind) but, I doubt that I will actually finish a chapter. Anywho, hope you enjoyed and Review please!!!
~Toodles!!!
The Mr. Winder walked over to my desk and smiled softly. "Mr. Banks, how are you feeling?"
I shrugged. I never liked to be centered out, but the shiner on my eye was kind of purple and you couldn't felt but notice it. "Better. Everyone doesn't look like a twin anymore."
He nodded. "If you feel like leaving for any reason, just tell me. Josie will take you. Right Josie?"
Josie stared up at him nodding. "Uh huh." She whispered nervously eying me and quickly turning back to her notebook.
"Good." He smiled. "It's too bad you won't be playing Adam. But I guess I'll have to see you out there next time."
I smiled and nodded. I forgot that Mr. Winder was a die-hard hockey fan. He always tried to make it out to our home games. I'm pretty sure he played hockey as a kid but quit because he wasn't built to be a hockey player. On the first day of school he told us HIS nickname in high school: Rice, because he was tall, white and skinny. I snorted at that thought and squinted at him as he walked to his desk. He did sort of look like a grain of rice.
"Ok class! Here is my theory. You guys don't need to review because if you don't know the material by now, after I have drilled it into your skulls for the last semester, you don't have a chance. So, here's the deal, everyone can go as long as I don't hear a word from another teacher saying that you're disruptive." Mr. Winder smiled. "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind!"
The class rushed out of the room like a pack of stampeding bulls. I smiled, alone again, with Josie and Mr . . . . wait. . . he's gone! I chuckled to myself. Yup he's still a teenager at heart.
I got up and started walking towards the door.
"Adam, wait!"
I spun around to see Josie looking quite frantic.
She bit her lip and motioned for me to sit down. She looked at her feet. "This may take a few minutes."
I nodded and sat on my desk. "Ok." I bit my lip. Maybe I hadn't lost her.
She sighed and sat on her desk across from me. She took a deep breath and smiled. "I've figured it out." She nodded after her first sentence. "I figured out how we can stop fighting. It took a while but it was so obvious that I almost slapped myself when I finally got it."
I grinned. I was almost ready to do a little happy dance around the room. I began singing in my head, 'I got her! I got her! La la la la la la!' I nodded. "Really."
She grinned. "Friends. Good friends."
My jaw almost hit the ground. Hadn't we tried that before?
"But never alone because we seem to get into trouble while were alone." She almost seemed giddy. "Like we could start a study group, and have movie nights with some of your friends and once I make a few friends I could set you up on dates and other group activity like things. . ." She stopped and frowned. "We can be friends right?"
She wants to set me up on dates, without her? I scoffed. "I don't want to be your friend."
She immediately paled. "No! I'm sorry for being a jerk but I want to be your friend! I was stupid for everything and I just want to be your friend! Please!"
I got up and looked her straight in the eyes. "We can't be friends Josie. You and I are more than friends. It's been like that since the beginning." I stepped over to her and my finger traced a little design on her leg. "You can feel it. I can tell."
She pushed me away. "Adam d . . . don't." She stuttered, getting up and upsetting her bag, the contents spilling across the floor. She dropped to her knees and immediately began shoving things into her bag.
I rolled my eyes and knelt beside her. "Let me help."
She pushed my hands away. "No don't!" she yelped nervously, pulling her bag away from her.
"Josie! Let me help!" I said tugging on the shoulder strap making it slip out of her hands and out of mine, flying across the room, slamming it against the backboard where a green piece of material fell out.
I muttered a sorry as I got up to get it. She immediately got up and raced to her bag picking up the green material hiding it behind her back.
I frowned at her. "Why are you hiding that?"
She looked around the room. "Hiding what? I'm not hiding anything, I swear."
I crossed my arms. "Josie, I can tell you're hiding something. I haven't been hit enough in the head to be that gullible." I rolled my eyes. "There isn't any use in hiding it."
"Adam. Are you ok? You look pale." She said worriedly. "You must be hallucinating."
"Fine then," I said inching up to her, making her back up out of instinct. She hit the blackboard with a nervous expression on her face. I reached behind her back and grabbed the piece of material pulling it out of her grasp. I looked down on it and my expression changed from playful to serious.
"Adam it's not what you think. . ."
My jaw dropped. "So what, you have turned from rebel to petty thief?" I accused waving my jersey at her.
She stayed pinned against the blackboard with her eyes squeezed shut even though I had stepped away from her. "Adam, I just. . ."
"Went into my locker at the arena and stole my lucky jersey!" I finished for her angrily. "I didn't think you would sink so low."
A tear dripped down her cheek. "Adam please. . ." she pleaded silently.
"Why! Tell me why right now!" I yelled at her. "I want you to explain why you felt the need to break into the boy's change room then break into my locker and steal my old jersey! Tell me! And don't give me any bullshit!"
She froze, panting from the tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Tell me!"
She looked up at me and wiped away a tear. "I don't know." She whispered. "I guess I realized I made a huge mistake. And . . . and," She stopped and bit her lip. "I just did ok! And I'm sorry! I just. . . I needed you last night." She breathed so that I was almost unable to hear. She shrugged and wrapped her arms around herself. "And then the next thing I know I'm at your locker."
I blinked at her. "Oh." I looked down at my shoes thinking over what she just said. Did she just say she needed me? "Well do you want to go someplace tonight? We could talk about it."
She shook her head. "Can't. I have a parent thing. They want me to go to dinner with them at some snooty rich person's house."
I nodded. "Do you want me to come with you?" I grinned slyly.
A smile made its way through her tears. "Actually I think my date would be quite angry if I brought a date."
My stomach dropped. "Date?"
She rolled her eyes. "William. My father says that I should broaden my horizons. His parents are going to be there and my parents are going to be there. Supposedly the people whose house were going to, have a kid around my age and she has a date too and the date's parents are going to be there." She scoffed. "Big business meetings."
I grimaced. "That sucks."
She nodded solemnly. "I'd understand if you didn't ever want to talk to me again." She looked down. "Like what type of person would steal a jersey because they pushed the actually person away right?"
I knew it was a rhetorical question, but I had to answer it for her. "The type of person who isn't sure what she wants."
She took a deep breath. "Yeah well, again, hurricane Josie hits the corridors of Eden Hall once again to ruin the lives just a select few." She grabbed her bag and shoved the papers into her bag quickly. She turned away from me and began walking to the door in silence.
I smiled. "I'm glad I'm one of the few."
She looked over her shoulder at me and blinked. "Don't be."
~*~
I waited for the guys outside the change room. Charlie came out first with a grin spread across his face, and his hair still damp from the shower.
"I told you, you would win."
Charlie rolled his eyes. "Just barely. We would have done better with you." He replied throwing his arm over my shoulder.
I shook it off. "Dude, you still stink."
"Some hockey player you are." He laughed shaking his head.
I smiled as we continued to walk through the courtyard back to the dorms.
"Adam Banks, please come to the office, Adam Banks." The secretary said in a wheezy monotone voice over the intercom
Charlie shoved me. "Ooh! Did our little Adam get in trouble?" He cooed in baby talk.
I glared at him. "No. Probably one of my teachers wants to give me another review sheet I didn't get or something."
He scoffed. "You're no fun." He looked around and frowned. "I don't have anything to do, I'm coming with you."
"Aren't you failing math or something?" I asked frowning at him, making my way to the main building.
"No, I'm passing with a C-, so?"
I looked at him exasperated. "Shouldn't you be like you know, studying so you don't fail the exam and get kicked off the team?"
He pouted as he walked through the main doors. "You mean you don't want to help me?"
I rolled my eyes. "I don't have math until next semester."
He pouted again as we rounded the corner and walked into the office. "But you're the 'oh so smart one'. You know everything."
I rolled my eyes. "How long have you been working on flattering people until they give in?"
He frowned. "I'm thinking since we met Bombay. Around then at least."
"Adam! Where were you! It took you a while to get there!"
I looked up. "Dad? What are you doing here?"
He smiled innocently. "I'm here to take you to dinner."
I frowned. "Dinner? Actually I'm fine really. I just go into the dining hall. . ."
He shook his head. "Nonsense. Besides we're having guests over for dinner. Just say goodbye to Chad. . ."
"It's Charlie." Charlie and I said together as he dragged me out of the office by my shoulders.
"Charlie, whatever, say goodbye, because you have a date."
I immediately dug my heels into the ground. "Date? No . . . no dates. We're you the one who said I was concentrating too much on girls and not on hockey?"
My father sighed. "Look son. You don't have to talk to her. Just show up, smile, and be quiet. This isn't about you for once, it's about my business. Because of this I may get a new client, and he is extremely well off and. . . ."
I frowned. "Is that all you think about? Money?"
The happy expression on my father's face dropped. "Look, if I get this you could be set for life. You could go to almost any university you wish and become a successful business man, or you could be a hockey player. I don't care." He pushed me a little out the door. "Now you will look nice and smile and be on you're best behavior, now to the car."
"Exams dad! I have to study. . ." I said trying to walk the opposite way.
He rolled his eyes. "If you had been studying before, you wouldn't have to worry."
I was pushed into the car and sighed. I hated these stupid dinner parties that my parents threw. The guys knew exactly how much I hated them. First of all I would end up in a dress shirt and a wool sweater over top that itched like crazy. Then I would have to sit beside a girl who was completely boring and couldn't communicate any sentences more complicated than, 'I'm hungry' or 'Don't I look pretty?' and then I would have to listen hour upon hour of business stuff.
We suddenly stopped. "Ok I'm just going in to pick up you're date and her roommate. Stay here." My father growled as he stepped out of the car walking towards the girl's dormitories.
I sighed and wondered who exactly this girl was. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe she came to this school through a scholarship. I frowned. No she wouldn't be. Her parents were 'V.I.P.' in my father's eyes, therefore they had to have money coming out of their ears, so she most likely would be the typical girl my parents would like to see me end up with.
I looked out the window and my jaw dropped. Why was Josie with my dad? My father opened the backseat door behind me. "Joslyn, you know my son." My father spoke gently.
Josie nodded silently and eyed me as my father shut the door. I spun around. "You're my date?"
She scowled at me. "No, my date is William. That guy who was in my dorm on Sunday."
My brow furrowed. "Then who's my date?"
She frowned and pointed out the window.
Oh. No.
"Adam, this is Erica, my roommate." Josie said rolling her eyes.
Erica bounced into the seat behind my father. "Hi Adam!" She said giddily. "Or maybe you know me as Gina, the Gossip Ghost of Eden Hall!"
Wow, alliteration. She must've actually learned something in class this year. I plastered on a smile. "Adam Banks, JV. . ."
"Hockey team. Number 99 from Edina Minnesota, best friends with Charlie Conaway number 96, JV hockey team from Minneapolis. You guys played together in pee-wees, and then you were team America a few years back and then you can to Eden Hall." She smiled and smirked. "You just got beaten up over some unknown facts, but I'll figure it out sooner or later."
My smile fell away. "How did you know . . .?"
She rolled her eyes. "Gossip column, duh. You have no idea how hard it is to get juicy info on you JV guys. You guys keep to yourselves WAY too much."
I frowned. "But how did you know about me?"
Josie rolled her eyes and mumbled, "She's obsessed."
Erica scoffed and rolled her eyes. It began to annoy Adam all to hell because it made him feel completely insignificant. "Hello! I have connections, you have connections. Duh!"
I nodded and glared at my father who smiled obliviously as he drove, to my home, or what I called it, my own personal hell, complete with a torturer (Erica), a beater (William), a temptation (Josie) and the Devil. But then I guess I would be the spawn of Satan but it didn't matter. This dinner was going to be hell in a hand basket.
~
*
~
*
~
*
A/N: Ok, I'm not going to be posting for a little while, mainly because I have exams on Thursday (Canadian History), Friday (Music), and Monday (English) and Tuesday (Math), I seriously need to study for some of them. I might update on the weekend (to unwind) but, I doubt that I will actually finish a chapter. Anywho, hope you enjoyed and Review please!!!
~Toodles!!!