Abercrombie & Bitch

Thursday, May 1, 2:26pm – 7th period Government

Tap. Tap tap. Tap tap tap.

I clenched my fists as Bryce continued to tap his pencil against his desk next to me. I hadn’t spoken to him since Zach’s party, and I wasn’t about to start. Ms. Weber must’ve thought it would be a decent idea to pair me with my ex-boyfriend for a worksheet we were filling out.

“Stop, Bryce,” I hissed without looking at him.

This was extremely awkward. It wasn’t like we were on speaking terms; I’d pretty much totaled his car for him. His parents are rich and bought him a new car already, but that’s not the point. The point is, two weeks ago we were a more-or-less happy couple. Okay, maybe things weren’t perfect, and we both knew it wasn’t going to work out, but… ten months (give or take – I suck with anniversaries) has to count for something. You don’t just go out with someone for that long – and remain a virgin – for the heck of it.

The truth was, I really had cared about Bryce when we were dating. I think I just realized that what I felt for hm wasn’t really couple love – more like the love I had for my friends. Cheesy. But true.

One thing I don’t stand for is cheating. Even if we both knew that our, uh, relationship was going downhill.

Tap tap.

“Bryce!”

Unfortunately, that got Ms. Weber’s attention. “Is there a problem, Miss Gregory?”

I cursed under my breath. She didn’t hear it. “No, ma’am.”

I went back to working. Which was difficult, because he’d started the tapping again about five seconds later. The worksheet was easy – it was a year-long review, so we’d already learned everything. I have a fairly good memory when I need it. I was done within a matter of minutes.

Striding up to her desk and not glancing back at the curly-haired boy next to me, I placed the worksheet in the little plastic tray. “Um, may I be excused?” I asked, putting on my best ‘I’m sick’ face. “I’m not feeling well.”

Ms. Weber nodded reluctantly. “Here’s a bathroom pass.”

I took off down the hallway and out the doors. I wasn’t going anywhere off campus – I’d gotten in trouble for that before, and I wasn’t going to do it again. I just needed some fresh air for a few minutes. Clear my head.

I hadn’t expected Bryce to follow me.

“Hey,” he said softly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. His overly curly hair was blowing in all directions from the wind, and I couldn’t help but smile at the way it made him look so innocent.

“Hi,” I whispered. I was never good with that post-breakup talk. And it wasn’t like we’d made a clean break.

“Look, Miranda-”

“Bryce, I-”

We both looked at each other for a few seconds. I hugged my jacket closer to my body. Who knew there’d be a breeze today?

“Go ahead.”

He ran a hand through his hair. He always did that, whether he was nervous about something or if he just needed something to keep his hands busy. That was a big thing with him; he could never sit still. Which explains the pencil thing. It always annoyed me when we were together, but now… I don’t know. It was kinda cute.

Don’t get me wrong, though. I didn’t want to get back together with him. It was just one of those things you never notice about someone until you stop spending time with them.

“I think I should apologize,” he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. “I was an ass, okay? You… God, I’m bad at this…”

I couldn’t help the smile that spread on my face.

He sighed. “What I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry, Miranda.” He looked up at me and bit his lip, trying to gauge my reaction. Or possibly trying to figure out if my smile was genuine or an evil one. I don’t blame him. He ran his hand through his hair again.

I still didn’t say anything.

“Um… are you still mad?”

Okay, then I laughed. I shook my head. “How could I be mad at you? I was hurt, that much was obvious,” I said dryly, “But I’m not mad at you. I figure you’ve suffered enough, dating Ashley.”

On any other person, those words would’ve sounded bitter. With me, I’m pretty sure anyone could tell that I was just kidding around.

He visibly cringed. “Yeah. Not anymore.” I raised an eyebrow at him. “I broke up with her. She’s a bitch. Have you realized that?”

“You have no idea.” But something was still bugging me. “If you knew she was such a bitch, why’d you cheat on me with her?”

His eyes turned sad. “I don’t know, Randy.” I winced. That was my nickname. “It just… It all happened so fast…” He glanced over his shoulder to see that no one was in earshot, and lowered his voice. “Her brother is… he’s powerful.”

I clenched my jaw. Ladies and gentlemen, Bryce has officially gone off the deep end. “Let me get this straight. You dumped me, for her, because her brother sells pot?”

He shifted uncomfortably. “No. I mean, when you put it that way-”

“Believe me, I can find many other ways to put it.”

“-I was trying to protect you, okay?” I cocked my head, telling him to continue. “I was in deep, Miranda. Jack was the only guy that could help. And Ash was there, and I don’t know what happened after that. We really weren’t going anywhere, but-”

“Don’t try to pin this on me, bucko.”

“-Jack said that he’d help me pay it off, and all I had to do was give in to Ashley. I don’t know what she wanted me for, okay? I couldn’t just tell her to fuck off. Look, to answer your question, I don’t know. I guess…I guess I did it because-”

“Because you were stoned?”

“Because I was scared!” he finally hissed at me, gripping my shoulders. “I was scared he might come after me! Or worse, after you!”

I knew about Bryce’s problem while we were dating. Obviously; I don’t think it’s very easy to for him to hide it. I never smoked pot – or did anything else – but I was always worried about him. I’d heard horror stories about what happens when you get in over your head. Bryce was tough, but he looked like about as threatening as a Chihuahua compared to some of the guys he’d associated with.

My voice was quiet. “You could’ve told me.”

“I didn’t want you to get involved,” he murmured, “And I know you would’ve. Look, I knew I was screwing things up. Okay? I deserved the car and the… the, um, cafeteria.”

For the first time in a while, I didn’t know what to say to him. Had I known what was going on… Well, actually, I don’t think anything would’ve changed. But I certainly wouldn’t have made as big of a deal about it as I did. He still deserved every ounce of humiliation he got out of the whole deal. I just think I could’ve probably handled it better.

I finally sighed. “Yeah. You did.” I took his hand in mine. “But I was a… um, a bitch,” I said sheepishly. I couldn’t find the words. “And I deserved the slut comments.”

He shifted uncomfortably again. “So… what now?”

“I… I don’t know.” I stuck my hand out awkwardly. “Friends?”

He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes, as he shook my hand. “Friends.”

After a few minutes, I kind of realized that we had to get back to class. I was only supposed to be going to the bathroom, and Bryce the same excuse. We headed back to Ms. Weber’s room, just in time to hear Mr. Flanagan, the vice principal, announcing something over the loudspeaker.

“And last but not least are the nominees for Prom King and Queen,” he said. There were a few unenthusiastic cheers, courtesy of a few very bored students in the back of the room. “For Prom King: Mika Goldman… Bryce Reynolds… Tyler Winchcombe… And Zachary Sinclair!”

Aw, jeez. This was definitely going to go to Zach’s head.

I smiled at Bryce and gave him a pat on the back. He shrugged nonchalantly.

“And your nominees for Prom Queen: Ashley Hotchkiss…”

Ashley stood up at the back row of the classroom and gave a not-so-subtle bow. I rolled my eyes. She’d probably just given the guys behind her a thrill, I can tell you that.

“Jenna Sanders…”

Jenna, one of the girls sitting a few rows ahead of me, pumped her fist in the air and high-fived the girl sitting next to her. Her jet black hair fell into her eyes and she brushed it away, flustered.

“Bethany White…”

Surprise, Surprise. Beth shrugged one shoulder and flipped her stick-straight auburn hair over her shoulder. No, she did that weird little flip-hair-and-wave thing. The one that only works for pretty girls.

“And… Miranda Gregory!”

You have got to be kidding me.