High School

Lee pulled the little green golf into the Edgeview high school parking lot. She was lucky to have found a parking space right next to the science building. Her therapy had run a little late and she was now five minutes late for biology, again. Miss Don wouldn’t be too patient with her this time. It was her third strike, and that meant detention or massive mountains of homework because calling her legal guardian, Ann, had proved useless in the past. She rebelled against authority worse than Lee did.

On therapy free days, it took her close to five minutes to get to school, but when she did go to therapy it took her half an hour.

She ran down the brightly-lit corridor full of student lockers and the red Eagle’s football team banners hung everywhere. She stopped at the glass door and straightened out her ruffled hair. She held her backpack in front of her to cover the large brown coffee stain on the hip of her blue jeans. She had driven to school in a frenzy and spilled the entire cup on herself when she took a sharp turn.

She took a deep breath, opened the door and took a step in.

Miss Don was a tall thin woman who always dressed like she was still stuck in the fifties with a high neck blouse and an ankle long skirt. Her small frame always gave the impression that she was a walking warning advertisement against anorexia. Her hair was held up in a twist around her head, her face was tight and rigid, and her eyes were slit harshly. Her lips were blood red, which screamed out against her pale white skin.

The kids in her class always made a crack that she was a vampire and her lips were only that red because she drank students’ blood. Most people believed she was evil because of the amount of homework she gave for the weekend but the vampire fuss wasn’t accepted as true because there had been no cases of missing children since she started teaching at Edgeview twenty years ago.

Lee could always be the first.

“You are late again, Miss Jackson,” she hissed out. Even her voice didn’t sound human. There was a spark in her eye, like she was glad Lee was late.

Lee stood in front of the small cool-colored classroom. She tried to think of an excuse she hadn’t used yet, although the truth might just get her off, she wasn’t quite willing to share that particular private detail.

“Sorry, Miss Don, I got delayed,” Lee said politely. She pushed her beanie lower over her forehead unnerved by the twenty-five pairs of eyes looking at her.

“Doing what?” Miss Don pushed. She was going to make an inquisition out of it.

“It’s personal,” Lee answered directly. She wasn’t going to offer any more information than that.

Miss Don sneered. “More important than what I’m doing?”

Lee didn’t answer. She didn’t see a reason to if she was still going to get punished anyway.

“Since you are too good to answer me, you’ll be giving a report in next week’s class. Read on the next topic, the male reproductive system.” Miss Don’s lips slightly curved up in a smile. “Don’t be late for that class.”

Lee turned and walked to the back of the class to her seat, peeved. She would have gladly taken detention or a mountain of homework. She knew Miss Don wanted to embarrass her, especially since she knew Lee hated public attention.

Josh placed a note on her desk. Lee thought of ignoring it, she was sure it was a joke that would piss her off further. She heard him snicker and turned to look at him. He was hiding a smile behind his hand, pretending to be paying attention to Miss Don.

It had Josh’s name on it. She opened the note discreetly, careful not to draw Miss Don’s attention. Even if it was at her expense, she was sure the joke must be funny enough to get her out of the mood she was in.

George had written the note. She stifled a laugh when she read what was in it.

It would give her a chance to daydream while Merilee talks about it. She should do her a favor and go further and explain how it’s used. I think the only male organ she’s seen is that in a textbook.

Josh chuckled louder covering his mouth with his hand. Miss Don turned around and looked at them, her eyes slit sharply as she eyed Josh. Lee tucked the note in her sleeve, her mood lightened by George’s crude joke.

After the bell rang signaling the end of biology class, Lee jumped out of her seat and rushed for the door before Josh or George stopped her. She only got to the hallway before she heard her name called out. She stopped rebuking herself for not walking faster. She turned around with a tight smile on her face.

“Did you get caught up in traffic?” Josh asked with a beautiful grin on his face.

Lee always found it difficult to be rude to him. He was tall and well built. He had too much of a man’s body to be eighteen, one of the reasons girls were all too willing to fall at his feet. He had gentle brown eyes that were angelic. His black kinky hair was always cut short in a mock mow-hawk.

He liked wearing fitted shirts that didn’t accentuate his broad chest or biceps too much. If the girls in Edgeview had a vote in his wardrobe he would be walking around naked. His body was perfect. One would expect him to have a massive ego, but he was down to earth, polite and a gentleman.

“No, I just got delayed,” she answered with a more sincere smile.

“Well if you have any trouble getting to school, call me. I’d be happy to give you a ride.”

“Where do you live?” Lee asked without thinking but it was time she had an actual conversation with him. Usually they lasted thirty seconds before she took off.

“Conway. You live in Orlando right? It’s like fifteen minutes from my place to yours.”

Lee looked at him with raised eyebrows. She had never told anyone where she lived. “How do you know where I live?”

Josh’s eyes popped for a moment before he looked apologetic. “George.”

Lee smiled out of frustration. Of course it was George. He always seemed to get the girls from the student office to do what he wanted.

“Which of the two bird brains did he mesmerize to get it?” Lee turned and kept walking, slower than before; Josh fell in step with her.

“Both. I’m sorry. He told me right after he got it.” Josh sounded guilty.

“What does he intend on doing with it?” Lee raised her hand to stop him from answering. “Actually, I don’t want to know, just tell him we moved, or that address burned down or something.”

Josh chuckled softly. “Sure. But I would have loved to see your boyfriend throw him out when he appeared at your door.”

Lee smiled. She didn’t know which was worse, George showing up at her doorstep or Steve not caring enough to throw a jealous fit.

“Throw whom out?” George spoke behind them. He draped his arms over their shoulders and squeezed in between Josh and Lee.

Him, Lee didn’t mind being rude to. She shrugged his arm off and took a side step away from him.

George was a foot shorter than Josh. His body wasn’t as broad or as toned as Josh’s either. He was blond and had a very striking face. He knew he was cute and he used it to his advantage, which only made him more obsessed with himself because he could get any girl he wanted—except for Lee. She was immune to his charms. There was not one gallant bone in his body and he always thought of number one first.

“It was a private conversation, George,” Josh said shrugging his arm off.

“Since when do the two of you have private conversations?” George asked annoyed.

Lee stopped at the door of her next class. “Since forever.” She smiled and winked at Josh enjoying how annoyed George was getting. “Josh, I might take you up on that offer one day.” She walked into class but she didn’t go too far, she wanted to hear George’s reaction to that.

“What offer?” George yelled.

“None of your business, and by the way, her home burnt down,” Josh said casually.

“What! I was going to surprise her this weekend. Did she give you her new address?” George sounded upset.

“No.”

Lee smiled glad Josh had lied to George. The bell drowned the rest of their conversation out. She walked into the classroom and took her normal seat at the back of the class.

George and Steve were cut from the same cloth. It was amazing she tolerated Steve. She had enough of a headache with Steve, having George chase her down would be a strain she couldn’t possibly handle.