Chapter 4

Reese looked around the parking lot as students came pouring from the building after the dismissal bell. He carefully tried to blend in with the crowd so he wouldn't be spotted by Mr. Herkabe or any of the teachers whose classes he had skipped that afternoon. They would drag him back in the building and make him sit in detention for the rest of the afternoon even though he was suspended for the next month anyway. He finally saw Jade come out of the building so he quickly got her attention and followed her to her car.

"Let's hurry up and get out of here before someone sees me. I ditched third and fourth period." Reese said urgently.

"I take it that you got suspended?" Jade asked, climbing in behind the steering wheel.

"Yeah, he gave me a freakin' month!" Reese slid into the passenger seat next to her.

"No way! I saw those punks in the hall when we changed classes. They were all standing around laughing like idiots so I don't think they even got any time. "

"I know! It's so unfair. Herkabe totally has it out for me. I told him he could go to hell." Reese boasted. He didn't feel like going into detail about the rest of his encounter with the dean.

"No you didn't!" Jade exclaimed.

"Yeah, I really did. I don't care. I'm so over this school anyway. I wish he would've expelled me so I would never have to come back."

"I know what you mean. I'm outta here as soon as I turn eighteen." Jade said casually.

"Huh? You mean you're dropping out?" Reese asked with surprise.

"Yeah, I can't wait. All my friends have already dropped out. Well, except for Jen, but she's doing a year in the detention home because she got busted for having pot in her locker. You're close to eighteen, aren't you? You should drop out too if you hate it so much."

Although he barely knew Jade, Reese still couldn't believe what he was hearing. She came off as sweet and innocent, but here she was talking about her pothead friends and dropping out of school. She was nothing like what he'd first thought. "I…uh…can't drop out." Reese fumbled for words due to his surprise.

"Why not? When you're eighteen you can do whatever you want. You have go with what's right for you."

"My parents would go ballistic if another one of us dropped out. My brother Francis dropped out of military school three years ago and I really thought they were going to kill him. They probably would've if he hadn't bailed right away to go live in Alaska."

"Thank God I don't have to deal with controlling parents like that. I've never met my dad and my mom barely knows that I exist because she's too busy partying all the time. She wouldn't care if I dropped out today, but she says I have to go until I'm eighteen so she doesn't get in trouble."

"That's harsh." Reese said. Even though his family drove him crazy, he would never want to go through life without them.

"Not really. I can do whatever I want, it's great. Could you hand me my cigarettes from the glove compartment?"

The surprises just kept on coming. Reese didn't really like the idea that she smoked, but wasn't going to make a big deal about it. He retrieved the pack and handed it to her.

"Want one?" Jade asked.

"Thanks, but I don't smoke."

"Oh…you should try it sometime. It's very relaxing." She said as she lit a cigarette.

"So, where are we going anyway?" Reese wanted to change the subject.

"My house, it's not much further. Chris and Zack are probably already there."

"Chris and Zack?"

"My friends that I've been telling you about…Don't worry, they're like my brothers." Jade added, detecting a slight hint of jealousy from Reese.

"That's cool. What do you all do?"

"Just hang out and drink or get high, you know, the usual. My mom's never home in the evenings so we'll have the house to ourselves. You like to party, right?"

"Yeah, who doesn't?" Reese said. In reality though, he was beginning to feel uneasy about the situation. He'd had no idea what he was getting himself into when he agreed to meet her after school. Although he had done a lot of really stupid things in his life, he had never been tempted to take drugs before. His parents had drilled the whole 'drugs are bad' speech into his brain for years, but what really mattered was that Francis had told him to stay away from them too. If Francis said something was a bad idea, he believed it. 'Ok…no problem. I'll just have a few beers. That's it. No drugs though.' He rationalized to himself as they drove the rest of the way to Jade's house.

They pulled into Jade's driveway and went inside she introduced him to her friends who were watching TV. "Hi guys. This is Reese. That's Chris and that's Zack." She pointed out each of them. Reese immediately recognized them from school although he hadn't seen them around in months. They were known for being hard-core stoners around campus. Chris was tall and lanky with shoulder length brown hair and gaunt features while Zack was of average build with spiked hair that was dyed jet black and a tattoo of a dragon on his forearm. Both boys seemed to have a passion for body piercings.

"Sup." They both muttered, obviously already drunk or stoned, or both.

"I think I know you. You're that dude who's always kicking the crap out of someone. Zack pointed out.

"Yeah, he beat the hell out of Brandon Adams just today. It was so sweet!" Jade exclaimed. "Then he got kicked out for a month for telling Herkabe to go to hell!"

"Sweet." Chris mumbled without emotion.

"Actually, it was. I've been waiting for a chance to tell him that for three years." Reese grinned, feeling better for the first time all day.

Jade motioned for him to take a seat on the couch then went to the refrigerator, returning with two beers. Reese cracked his open and took a long gulp. He was thankful for something to take the edge off of the long evening the he had ahead of him when he got home.

They spent the next hour getting to know each other better. He told them about his crazy family, leaving out the part where they were all terrified of his mother. He found out that his family was nowhere near as messed up as theirs though. As he popped open his third beer, he glanced at the clock and realized that it was 4:20. He had to leave soon so he could be home when his mom got there.

"So you guys ready to fire up?" Chris asked, pulling a bag of pot from his coat pocket.

"Actually, I gotta go." Reese said. "I promised my little brother that I would...uh...take him to...to the mall so he could get a new game for his Xbox." Reese groped for an excuse. He couldn't sound lame by telling them that was grounded. "He'll be so disappointed if I don't take him today. He's a sensitive kid."

"That's really sweet of you, Reese. Come on, I'll drive you home." Jade offered.

"Later." Reese said to Chris and Zack. He grabbed his beer and followed Jade out the door.

XXXXX

"That was fun." Jade said as she drove toward Reese's house.

"Yeah, we'll do it again soon." Reese smiled. He knew this girl was bad news, but he couldn't help but like her.

"I was kinda hoping that we could do something tomorrow. I'll skip school and we can hang out all day." She said and lit a cigarette.

Reese knew that he wouldn't be going anywhere tomorrow, or any other day for that matter, once his parents learned about his suspension. "I'd love to, but my mom will probably be calling to make sure I'm home. She's going to ground me for the next ten years after she hears what happened. Man, I hate how she controls me!" Reese grumbled. He was surprised to hear her giggling. "What's so funny about that?"

"Nothing, you're just cute when you're mad. Your mom just worries about you, that's all. Sometimes I wish that I had a mom who cared, but then again, I'm glad I don't."

"I'm cute?" Reese hadn't heard a word she'd said after that. "Cute is for puppies and little kids." He joked.

"Sorry. How about hot then?Does that work for you?"

"Yeah, I guess hot will do" Reese tried to act cool even though he could feel himself blushing.

When they were a few miles away from his house, Reese got that familiar sinking feeling in his stomach. He was having such a good time that he'd almost forgotten that he'd have to face his mother in a little while. With his mind a little fuzzy from the beer, he watched Jade finish her cigarette and started to wonder if there was any truth to what she told him. "So, do they really calm you down?"

"What? Cigarettes? Yeah, most people think so….Why, you want one now?"

"I'm feeling really tense. Maybe it'll help." He took one of the cigarettes from her pack and lit it, then immediately started coughing. "How can you breathe this stuff in?" He asked between coughs.

"You have to start out easy. Don't inhale so much at a time"

After a few tries he finally stopped coughing. He started to get a little light headed, but it wasn't a bad feeling. "Hey, you're right. I do feel more relaxed." When they neared his house, he quickly threw the remainder of the cigarette out the window. Neither of his parents' cars was there, but he wasn't taking any chances.

"So, you never gave me an answer about tomorrow." Jade said.

"I'll try to sneak out at some point, but I don't know when yet. I'll call you."

"Ok. I can't wait to see you again."

"I can't wait to see you either." Reese whispered. Slowly, he leaned closer in hopes of kissing her. He was happy when she eagerly returned the gesture. As their lips met, she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close.

"I have to go." Reese opened the door to get out after they broke the kiss. He didn't really want her to leave, but he knew his mom could show up at any minute. "Mind if I borrow a couple smokes? It's going to be a rough night." He took two cigarettes from the pack and shoved them in his jacket.

"No problem. See you tomorrow." Jade replied.

"Ok, later." He watched her back out of the driveway, then hurried into his house.

XXXXX

AN: Thanks for your nice reviews MysticDreamer and Cassie!