Broken Until You

Chapter 2 - Confronting the Bad Boy

Autumn

The cafeteria was bustling with teenagers all finding places to sit with their friends or hurrying to the lunch line.

I sat with Grace and three of her other friends. Lila, Ruby, and Taylor.

Twirling my pasta around with my plastic fork, I let out an overly dramatic sigh. "Grace? Do you think Mr. Rosenberg would let me switch partners? I don't want to be stuck with someone who does no work then gets into a good college all because I did their work for them."

Grace shrugged. "Ehh, probably not. You get who you get."

"But to be honest," Ruby chimed in, "I think you working with Ryder will be useful."

I stopped twirling my pasta and looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ruby chomped on her red apple. "I mean like you're really pretty, maybe that will motivate him to work with you. And it may be useful to you because it will teach you how to work with people who aren't as corporative. May help in a job."

I rapidly blinked. "Wait what I wasn't listening."

Taylor nodded her head in agreement. "Ruby's right. Plus if he does say that he's not gonna do the work, put him in his place and tell him his whole 'bad boy' act won't help him later in life and that he needs to stop acting better than everyone else."

Grace rested her elbow on the table as she leaned on the palm of her hand. "But he is very handsome," she sighed with admiration, "you have to admit."

"Shut the hell up about Ryder, Gray!" Ruby elbowed her in the stomach, "you literally have a boyfriend that, not to mention, also goes too this school." She glanced around, turning her head in every which way. "By the way, where is he?"

Grace also glanced around. "I dunno," she shrugged as she plopped a grape into her mouth. "He usually comes by right about now. I think he went early to football practice."

Ruby face-palmed her self. "If he told you that he's at practice then he's bullshittng you. Grace, football doesn't start till 5:00pm, it's freaking 12:10pm!"

"Ok well then he's sick."

"We hung out with him yesterday what do you mean he's 'sick'," she put air quotations around 'sick'.

Grace scratched her head furiously. "I don't know! Oh wait I know, he's out banging another girl! Perfect!"

"Wouldn't be surprised if he was," Taylor whispered but we all heard it.

The girls continued to eat their lunches as I began to think of all the things I was going to say to Ryder.

Ok how about this: hey man, wassup?

Ew what the hell Autumn, you're not a dude.

Fine. This?: hey Ryder, do you want to start our project?

Yeah yeah that's pretty good.

I closed my container of pasta and shoved it into my backpack. "I'm going to go talk to Ryder. Do you know where he sits?"

"I heard he sits at the bleachers watching the girls soccer with his friends." Grace claimed.

I rolled my eyes. "What the hell is with him and soccer girls? He couldn't stop staring at them in class?"

All four girls shrugged and then giggled.

"Are you sure you want to confront him in front of his friends?" Ruby questioned.

Throwing my black bag over my shoulder, I nodded. "Who cares about his friends."

Then, I headed out of the cafeteria and to the bleachers.