Stir-Crazy

As much as I disliked it, school rolled around on Monday and it was unavoidable. And trust me, I tried.

My first solution was to fake a stomach ache and John fell for it easily.

Unfortunately, my mother held years of experience and saw right through my act.

My second solution was to pretend my car broke down, but now John was suspicious and checked my car.

So I ended up going to school, backpack slung over my shoulder and a scowl plastered on my face.

To say things were awkward was an understatement.

Cora had been touchy-feely with Jacob all day, and her public PDA made me feel like I would hurl.

Jacob didn’t seem to mind though, and seemed just as eager as Cora was.

But then, when Jacob saw me, he bounded over to greet me with a huge grin on his face.

“Hey!”

“Hello.”

“How was grocery shopping?”

“Huh?”

“Grocery shopping… you went with your mother on Saturday right?”

“Oh!” I nodded in recognition. “Yeah, it was okay.”

“Jacob!” We turned to see Cora coming near us.

“Elaine.” she narrowed her eyes.

“Cora.” I scowled.

“What’s up?” Jacob asked, still looking at me.

“Nothing, just wondering what you were up to?” She glared at me.

“Nothing, I was just hanging with Lainey.”

“Oh.”

“Lainey!” we turned and saw Seth coming towards us, grinning.

“Seth!” I laughed with equal enthusiasm, giving him a hug.

“You know each other?”

Jacob’s eyes traveled between us uncertainly.

“Yeah, we met at the grocery store.”

“Really?”

Cora seemed interested now, and I wanted to know what evil scheme she was planning. You could practically see the wheels turning inside her head.

“Yeah. I saw him and Leah in the check out line.”

“Cool.” Cora smiled maliciously.

“Uh-huh.”

Jacob was staring at Seth now, and Seth seemed to slink away slightly before maintaining his ground. It seemed as though they were in some sort of territorial battle.

“So what’s up?”

I turned to Seth as Cora began to chat up Jacob. I still felt his eyes burnign a hole into my back, but I chose to ignore it. Or at least I tried to.

“Er, I was wondering…” he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before glancing at Jacob and back at me. “…if you wanted to go to the m-movies with me tomorrow?”

My eyebrows shot up with surprise and Seth backed up slightly. He seemed more fixed on Jacob and a look of fear came across his face.

“Sure.” I smiled.

Seth was sweet, and very attractive. And kind, And cute.

“Really?”

His smile widened and he looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Of course.”

“I need a moment.”

We turned to face Jacob who was growling. He ripped away from Cora and stalked away quickly.

“Jake!”

Cora called after him, and I felt like I should follow him but I turned to Seth pleading with him for permission with my eyes.

“Let him blow of some steam. He has a lot on his mind.”

“Okay…” I glanced at him skeptically, and the smile returned on his face.

“So, what class do you have next?”

“Biology.”

“Cool, let’s go.”

Before I could respond, Seth grabbed my arm and looped it with his, and for some reason, I felt extremely comfortable.

As we walked people glanced at us, probably gathering gossip to return to Cora later, before walking away.

We eventually reached the biology lab-known as room 52 or lab E3, depending on how you looked at it. Also known as the epitome of hell.

He gave me a quick hug and I looked at him questionably. Realization hit quickly and I backed slightly.

“Seth, you’re younger than me.” He raised his eyebrows and his face fell slightly, as though I was about to reject him. “You don’t have Biology this period.”

“I know.”

And then he proceeded to walk the opposite way to Government which happened to be on the opposite side of the school, not giving a care in the world.