Crushes Over Papercuts- A Mid 90s Tale

Chapter 37

It was obvious I had been crying. My red, puffy eyes betrayed me but I didn't avoid anyone's gaze during third period. Nicole still had my notebook from earlier so I rewrote my thoughts on this whole mess onto a fresh piece of paper, trying to will an answer to my problem. I couldn't sit there and do nothing.

I ignored the American History lesson being taught in the front of the class and studied the five Ws: Who, What, When, Where and Why, though I suspected the Why had multiple reasons. There was no doubt Courtney wanted to punish me but she also wanted to win Ben back. But how did she do it? I needed the How to prove she was capable of framing me. I needed to -

"Jenny?"

It took a second to register that my name had been called out. I looked at Ms. Pitowsky standing in front of the blackboard.

I lifted my head up. "What was the question?"

She looked over her glasses at me. "The 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution gave us what right?"

"The right for women to vote," I answered. "The Suffrage Movement.'

"Correct," she said then moved on to the next person.

I looked at the paper in front of me.

Women have fought much harder battles than me and won.

#

Lunch was the worst. Word had spread of our breakup and I couldn't bear to look at Ben's table. After what happened at my locker yesterday and now the breakup, I wanted more than anything to vanish from school. I averted my gaze and kept my eyes only on the girls or the untouched tray of food in front of me. My appetite was non-existent.

I kept my back to his table but curiosity got the best of me. In a low voice I asked Lauren, "What's going on at their table?"

She gave me a play by play in between sips of her Snapple. "He's sitting on one end of the table next to Cody and that horrible girl is sitting on the opposite end."

"Are they talking or making eye contact?"

"She's being really obnoxious like "Oh Cody you're so funny" and rubbing his back." Lauren rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she hopes she'll catch Ben's attention but it doesn't seem to be working."

I almost turned my head to look but stopped myself. "How is he? Like do you think he's mad at me?"

"He understands and I'm sure -," she choked on her drink. "Oops! He just glanced over here but quickly looked away. He probably knows we're talking about him."

Nicole furrowed her eyes. "Courtney saw him look at you then she looked over here. I can't stand her."

"We should pop her tires or something." Lily rolled up her sleeves. "You know...get her back somehow."

I shook my head. "We can't do anything illegal. I don't want us to get in any trouble."

She sighed. "Can we at least toilet paper her house?"

I shrugged. "Her mom is nice so I don't think that would be fair."

"We need a plan and we need it soon," Lily stared at Courtney. "Someone needs to wipe that smug look off her face."

"I'm working on it," I told her.

#

Lily got me home with five minutes to spare before I was required to call mom. After checking in with her, I changed into my running clothes, double knotted my shoes, and did a little stretching in the driveway in hopes that Ms. Webster was watching from across the street. If my mom called while I was out, Ms. Webster would confirm I was on a run, which was technically the truth. Only problem was I ran to Nicole's house which was definitely off-limits.