Losing Grip

Chapter 28➷ Am I Stupid or Something?

The second I walked through the door, on Tuesday morning, I knew our school had won.

Green and silver banners decorated the halls, and the school speakers actually transmitted the morning announcements for the first time in months. A cheerful voice recounted the highlights of the game against Marvin Ridge and provided the details for the championship game.

All the hype was understandable. I couldn't remember the last time our school had gotten this far in a tournament.

"It was a brilliant idea to name Jimmy the co-captain," Matthew said, patting Arson on the back. "Who knew that when he didn't start fights, he was actually good?"

Arson smiled, visibly proud about sticking to his decision, even when all the other members had been perplexed that he picked Jimmy. "We all just underestimated him because he's a sophomore."

The team was in the spotlight all day, and the guys couldn't walk two feet without getting congratulations from the students and the teachers.

If this sudden popularity should have told us anything, it was that things would go downhill very fast.

It possibly started when I saw Bradley walking down the halls with a girl I had seen before in English class, congratulating him on his scores. I didn't think much of it then, and I barely even noticed their excited chatter during class.

Something finally clicked when I saw Bradley lean in to give her a quick kiss before she walked away.

Unfortunately, I hadn't been alone. Arson and I had been walking to the cafeteria, and I saw him tense next to me. Before I could react, he strode towards Bradley, pulled on his hood, and knocked him into the nearest wall.

Using his right hand made him wince, but he didn't let go of his grasp on Bradley's shirt. "What are you doing?" Arson asked, speaking through his teeth.

Bradley was much more muscular than him and probably could have gotten himself out of the hold if he had wanted to, but he simply held up his hands in defense. "What's your problem, man?"

"Arson," I hissed, tugging on his sleeve when the argument started gathering attention. "Let go of him."

He didn't budge as if my words couldn't reach him. "How could you do this to Brooklyn?"

Bradley seemed to have finally understood, and his mouth formed a quiet "oh".

I noticed Brooklyn and Jayce walking down the halls, and I waved to get their attention. When they finally saw me, they ran toward us. Brooklyn placed her hand on Arson's shoulder and pulled him away from Bradley.

He turned to her as Bradley fixed the collar of his shirt. Arson looked at Brooklyn with confusion painted on his face.

"He was—" he started.

"I know," she interrupted him. "We... uh, well, we sort of broke up." Then she sighed, maybe finally fed up with the lies. "Arson, we weren't dating."

His eyes narrowed at her, and something flickered in them that I had never seen before. "What do you mean?"

As he waited for her to explain, he took a deep breath, as though he already knew her answer.

Jayce and I just stood there, glancing at each other with anticipation. I wished I hadn't been there. It felt like I was eavesdropping on a conversation I wasn't meant to hear, but it would be odd to walk away now.

Brooklyn glanced down at her fingers before looking up at him. "You kept mentioning Emily," she said, her voice barely audible. "I was—" She sighed before speaking again— "I was jealous. And it just came out, and I said the first name I could think of."