The Bet

Billie Joe leaned against the cool steal locker as his friend, Mike, knelt down in front of his own and dug through the loose papers.

"I swear it was here..." He muttered.

Billie Joe rolled his eyes and looked down at his friend.

"When I have the assignment, we know something is wrong." He laughed, shifting his weight as he lifted his left foot and placed it against the locker. Mike sat back on his heals and stared up at Billie Joe with an irritated glare.

"I would have it if somebody didn't have to rush out of here so fast!" He shot back, continuing to rummage through the pile of papers that gathered up throughout the days.

Billie decided it'd be best if he didn't reply, and instead scanned the females that passed by on their way to class. It was amusing how he could tell the difference between a freshman girl and a senior girl. He'd been with his share of girls, and was always looking for more. He pursued them until he got what he wanted, and left them to figure out 'what went wrong' on their own.

A lot of people knew his name for his reputation. Even if someone has not seen him before, they knew his name and what he's best at -- selling bud. He had obtained the name 'Two Dollar Bill' in the tenth grade, and sold two dollar joints to his clients.

"Hurry up, man." Billie yawned, watching a redhead pass by. His eyes followed her until she turned the corner.

"Found it!" Mike cheered, standing up and slamming the locker shut. He turned to his friend and smiled excitedly.

"Congratulations, now we can only be a minute late," Billie mocked, pushing off the locker.

The two boys made their way up the stairwell, hoping they wouldn't be late to their Chemistry class. Ms. Jackson had said in the previous class period that if they were late again they'd be looking at an hour after school detention, and they had band practice.

Mike jogged the last few feet and entered the class just as the bell rang. Billie slipped in the door as he noticed Ms. Jackson's back to them, and slid into the first empty seat he could find.

As Ms. Jackson explained the lab they'd be working on that day, Billie's eyes wandered from the chalkboard to his neighbor. It was a girl he had never seen before, and she didn't seem too sociable. Her notebook was open in front of her and her hand slid across the page smoothly as she scribbled down every word escaping the teachers mouth.

She had wavy brown hair, tucked behind her right ear and she seemed to be unaware of his stare. His gaze moved down her body and he noticed a fading bruise on her exposed leg from when her skirt had slid up when she took a seat. He felt his cheeks heat up as he stared and looked away embarrassed.

"This lab is going to take two weeks, and you're going to be working with a lab partner," Ms. Jackson began to explain. An eruption of excited chattered filled the room and Ms. Jackson shook her head. "I'll be picking your partners at random."

Billie wouldn't care who he was partnered with; they would learn that he was going to do the least amount of work. Ms. Jackson moved behind her desk and picked up the attendance sheet. She counted silently in her head the number of students and smiled cheerfully.

"When I call your name, grab a pair of goggles and head to a lab table," she explained as she started looking at the list in her hands.

Halfway through, she looked at him and read, "Summers and Armstrong."

Billie turned in his seat, looking for the person with the unfamiliar name.