I ***ed up Again

I sat studying my sociology textbook carefully by my lamp. Midterms were coming up and I was scared to death. My reading glasses were perched on my nose and my cat Burt was curled up on my neck. As I read about the effects of body language, my phone started to vibrate.

Don't look at it. You need to study, I thought to myself.

My curiosity got the best of me though and I tore my eyes away from the book and to my Blackberry.

Josh

I really shouldn't answer it, I have to study. But it could be important.

Josh and I were officially a couple. After our project was over in August, we kept hanging out, mostly going to parties, and he eventually asked me to be his girlfriend. Now it's December already.

We were attending a party together and somebody asked him who I was and he immediately blurted out, "my girlfriend," before turning to me and grinning. So, I guess he didn't really ask me, but it didn't matter. We're together.

I bit my lip and decided to give in and answer the telephone.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Hey babe, what are you doing?" He asked.

"Um, just studying. Why?" I replied.

"Get ready. I'm picking you up to meet my family. John just got back today." He stated, and by the background noise, I knew he was already on his way to get me.

"Josh! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" I cried.

"I forgot. Come on, just get ready quick. I'll be at your place in like five minutes." He told me.

"Fine." I groaned as I hung up the phone and ran to my bedroom. I changed into a pair of dark skinny jeans and a teal sweater. I quickly did my makeup and grabbed my purse after kissing Burt goodbye.

I hurried to Josh's car because he hated waiting on me.

"Hey, sorry I took so long." I apologized, knowing he'd been waiting for probably five or ten minutes.

"It's fine." He huffed as he peeled out of the parking lot.

I rolled my eyes and stared and the window for the short trip.

As we pulled up to the house in the small cul de-sac, I smiled slightly at the peaceful neighborhood. His house was gorgeous too, which slightly intimidated me.

He got out of the car and started walking inside, so I quickly followed him. I sighed knowing he was still upset with me. I walked through the door of the house and followed Josh into what was the kitchen.

"Bro!" He called out as he went to hug a tall figure dressed in a black peacoat, whose back was turned to me.

Once the person turned around my heart started beating faster and my throat got dry. He was tall, with the most gorgeous hair and features. He had a strong jaw and looked a lot more mature than Josh, although they did look similar. I noticed that he had tattoos as well.

"Hi." I heard from next to me. I pulled my eyes away from the brothers and saw a tall women whose hair color matched Josh's and his brother's.

"Hi, I'm Palmer. I'm Josh's girlfriend." I smiled as I introduced myself.

"Oh, right. Well, I'm his mom, Sarah." She smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm fine." I replied. "I'll be better when midterms are over." I chuckled nervously.

"I remember how that was." She laughed. "I could get by on the midterms, but when it came to finals I was a wreck."

"I'm the same way. Once the year is almost over, I just give up on studying." I said.

"Well you must be doing pretty well. Didn't you make the Dean's list?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah I did last semester." I nodded.

"I thought so. I saw your name when I was looking for that one." She said, nodding towards Josh. "So I hear you're a journalism major?"

"Yeah, I am. I-"

"Palmer! Meet John." I heard my boyfriend yell.

"Oh, alright." I agreed, excusing myself and making my way over to the gorgeous guy.

"Hey, I'm John." He greeted politely as he stuck out his hand.

"Hi, I've heard a lot about you." I smiled. "I'm Palmer."

"Palmer? That's a great name. How did your parents choose it?" He asked.

"My mom really wanted to go to Hawaii and Palmer means Palm tree, so.." I chuckled. Surprisingly, I wasn't nervous around him. I felt like we'd been friends for years.

"That's awesome. Have you ever been to Hawaii?" He asked, seeming genuinely interested.

"No, I haven't." I frowned. "I'd really like to someday, though. Have you?"

"Yeah, my band played a few shows down there. It's beautiful and the volcanoes are sick." He told me.

"I heard that the one is-"

"Alright guys, dinner's ready." Josh interrupted as he pushed between us. I could tell he was still annoyed with me. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw John give me a sympathetic look.

Josh's parents sat next to each other on one side of the table, John sat on the end, and I sat between him and Josh.

We had hamburgers, salad, and fries for dinner. Nothing fancy, but it was still delicious. I avoided soda and drank water instead so I didn't accidentally burp or something. I already felt weird since Josh was upset with me.

"So, Palmer, what kind of business do you want to work for someday?" John asked, breaking the tension.

"As stupid as it sounds, I'd like to work for some sort of local newspaper." I answered.

"That doesn't sound stupid." He smiled. "Do you mean a paper here or anywhere?"

"Anywhere, I guess. I just like the feeling of working somewhere small and community focused, rather than in some big corporate office where I'm just a paycheck." I explained.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I think that's really cool." He told me as he took a bite of his burger.

I blushed and focused on my plate as their dad spoke up.

"So tell us about tour! Highs and lows and everything in between."

John went on to explain his adventures while he was touring the country and I listened intently.

Soon everybody was finished with their meal and we all started clearing the table. I followed the boys into the kitchen where their parents were starting the dishes. Seeing such a happy couple like that made my chest ache a little bit. I'd never grown up around anything like that. Sure, my mom had a few boyfriends, but nobody that stuck. I didn't really know what a good marriage looked like, but Mr and Mrs O'Callaghan would probably be spokespeople or something. They were chatting and laughing as they worked together. And the way he looked at her was incredible. It was like she was the only woman in the world.

"Thirty years." Someone whispered into my ear.

"What?" I turned around and asked John.

"That's how long they've been together. Married for twenty-four, but they've been together for thirty." He explained, nodding toward his parents.

"Wow. That's unbelievable." I remarked.

"Yeah. I just wish I was that lucky." He replied, with a slight frown.

I was about to say something back when Josh announced that we were leaving and pulled me out the door.

"Bye Palmer. It was nice meeting you." Sarah called out the door.

"Thanks! It was nice meeting you all too." I replied.

Josh was still annoyed with me for some reason, but that didn't stop me from trying to make conversation with him.

"Do you think they liked me?" I asked, looking over at him.

"Yeah." He scoffed, speeding up the car.

"Josh, you're going too fast." I warned him.

"Can you just shut up?" He boomed.

"I-I'm sorry." I frowned.

"I just-" he sighed. "Nevermind."

I stayed quiet the rest of the way, pissed off that he yelled at me.

He pulled up in front of my townhouse complex, not even bothering to pull up to my place.

"Palmer..."

"Goodbye." I spat, stepping out and slamming the car door shut.

I didn't look back after I heard him drive away.

I was pissed off. Who did he think he was? I dropped everything just to meet his family and I was polite and now it's past eleven and I have to wake up at six in the morning.

---

"Please Professor James, there's got to be something I can do to make it up. Can I please reschedule? I was studying late last night and-"

"Miss Locklear, if I let you get away with not facing the consequence for your action, then I'd have to let every student make up an exam that they overslept for." He explained to me.

"So you mean I get a zero?" I asked, tears welling up in my eyes.

"I'm afraid so." He frowned as he packed up his briefcase.

"Thank you for your time." I mumbled before trudging out of the empty classroom.

I walked to a near by coffee shop and ordered a large milkshake, which they usually don't make, but the girl behind the counter was really nice. I sat alone at a table sniffling as I slurped my shake. The thick ice cream was moving through the straw at an excruciatingly slow pace, making me suck so hard that my cheeks were caving in.

I can't believe I got a zero on my midterm. I've never gotten a zero on a test before. Ever. And now I failed a test in a class that I'm not even doing well in.

"Hey..." I heard someone say from next to me.

I looked up and saw John standing there with a coffee in his hand.

"Oh, hi." I said wiping my eyes and sniffling.

"Are you okay?" He asked, seeming really concerned.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just a bad day, you know?"

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked sweetly before pulling a chair up and sitting across from me.

"I overslept for my sociology midterm and Josh is mad at me for some reason." I confessed with a sigh.

"Don't worry about Josh. He can be a little bitch sometimes. Did you oversleep for your test because of last night?"

"I've been studying really hard these past few days. I can't just blame it on last night." I shrugged.

"I'm sure it'll be alright. I mean, as long as you pass you're alright. It's not like any companies will check your grades." He joked. I just gave a small smile and stirred my shake. "So you and Josh met in a class?"

"Yeah. Public speaking, we had to write speeches on each other." I told him.

"How was his speech?" He asked with a smirk.

"It was...brief." I chuckled.

"Yeah, he really doesn't pick up on detail, but you probably know that."

"Oh, yes, I've noticed." I smiled.

"He doesn't really do sensitivity either." He mentioned.

"That couldn't be truer."

After talking about everything and anything with him, I looked at the big clock on the wall.

"Oh, I should go. I forgot to feed my cat." I said before getting up. "I really need to stop talking about my cat in conversation."

"It's alright, I don't mind. I actually like cats, but don't tell anybody." He smiled.

"You like cats? Josh hates Burt." I sighed as I pulled my coat on.

"I figured when you told me Josh kicked him." He chuckled. "Don't worry, though. He had a bad experience with a stray cat when we were kids."

"Oh really? You'll have to tell me about that sometime." I giggled.

"I'd love to. We should definitely do this again. You're a lot of fun to talk to." He complimented.

"Thanks." I blushed.

I got in my car and smiled to myself. I felt a lot better than I had in ages. I just felt...happy.

I like being happy.

I like John.