Surviving the McLane Boys - New and Improved

3: Problems - Life's full of them

Chapter 3 - Problems - Life's full of them

“As I was saying, my seniors are taking Geography as one of their subjects and they will benefit from it so much…” Mr Hench voice drones on. He’s already told us about his seniors that many times I expect he wants someone to quote him.

Mitch is slumped on her desk behind her large Atlas, snoring softly.

I smile fondly at her. She’s the one who’s actually made my day bearable so far. She’s quirky sure. But she’s kind, has a good sense of humor and, well, seems to understand me.

I watch the clock. 2 minutes till we’re allowed out to freedom!

I snake my right leg out into the aisle and nudge Mitch with my sneaker. She jolts awake and immediately starts to read the paragraph in front of her.

Now that’s talent….

She glances up at the clock and then mouths a ‘thank you’ to me. I smile in return and then tap the page number of my open book. She quickly turns to it and acts like she was on the proper page and listening attentively the whole time.

The bell rings and there’s a huge jam at the door as all 29 students in our Geography class try to fit through the door at the same time. It’s a tight squeeze and it’s only when I’m shoved up against the door frame that I realize that Jake has cornered me.

“Let go,” I say through gritted teeth as people either glance at us quickly or concentrate on getting out to freedom.

He looks down at me, a hint of something in his eyes.

“Um, what I said back before, that wasn’t cool of me. That was way out of line. Uh, I’m sorry.”

I look up, straight into his deep blue eyes. “Well maybe you should have thought before you said all that in front of the whole class.”

I try to slip by him and out into the hallway but he presses closer against me. “Please, Hale,” his tone is pleading now, “I’m sorry.”

I look up sharply at him “How can you ask me to forgive you? I’m sick of you and your snarky comments. That happened once when I was eleven because of something you said.” I feel him ease up in surprise and I shove past him while I have the chance.  My hair falls back into its usual curtain and I clutch my books to my chest. I’m shocked to find tears pricking my eyes and I swipe at them quickly. Frustration. One word that sums up everything I’m feeling right now.

“Hailey! Hey! Wait Up!” A hand comes down on my shoulder, stopping me. Mitch leans down trying to see through my hair. “Hey, I lost you for a second there. You just took off! You’re pretty fast for someone so small– ” she stops in surprise when she sees my face.

I grimace at her, pulling my bag up my shoulder, aware of my red eyes. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. I’ll just stop by the bathroom… or something.”

“Ok, I’ll come with, then.”

I muster up a proper smile, secretly glad that she hasn’t pressed me for answers. 

“Do you mind if we stop by my locker though? I just need to grab my jeans and shoes so I can change.”

I nod my head and she starts to lead me through a labyrinth of corridors full of staring teens, curious to see if the rumors are really true and my bra is full of fake padding. If not for my modesty, I’d probably rip my shirt off to prove them wrong.

We stop in front of a rainbow polka dot locker. In a sea of grey-blue, this is a surprise. Mitch sees me staring at it, “Like it? I painted it with a stencil, took long enough… You’re allowed to – the school doesn’t really mind.” She opens her locker and grabs a duffel bag. She then opens the one on its right. Grabbing a couple of books and a sports bag she chucks them into her own locker before gesturing at it. “You can take this one. It’s been empty for ages so I’ve just been using it for storing some of my stuff.”