Fragile

Even though I really wanted to just have a good time out with my friends, I couldn’t seem to be comfortable and crazy like I usually am. My eyes always stayed in Leah’s direction, making sure nothing happened to her. I only came to Olive Garden, the same place where Zacky was on a date with Leah and Johnny on a date with Mary, so that I could keep Zacky’s hands off of Leah while they were on their ‘date’. I really had no idea why Leah was even on this date with Zacky. From what I saw and heard at school, even though I am a teacher, I thought that she was with a guy named Jay.

My grip on my beer, that was in my hand, tightened when I saw Zacky touch Leah’s lower thigh. Even though I should be worried a little about Mary, I decided she could probably handle herself on her own. Something about Leah just attracted me to her. I don’t know if it was her looks or the fact that I couldn’t be with her because I was her teacher and she was my student. It didn’t seem to matter to me though. I didn’t want her to be with some other guy, especially not with one of my best friends. Even if she had a boyfriend, I figured she would break it off soon enough. Zacky on the other hand is kind of hard to get rid of because girls tend to think he is really attractive. Him and his gorgeous damn green eyes. I just want to rip his throat out right now! It’s like he is purposely trying to get me jealous over Leah.

“Dude, Brian!” a voice said, a hand waving in front of my face in a windshield wiper motion. I followed the hands movements for a second before turning to my two other friends. I then realized that they were both staring at me weirdly, and that it had been Jimmy who’d spoken.

“You on crack or something?” Matt asked me, leaning his chair onto two legs instead of four.

“Why would I be on crack?” I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows.

“Well, you’ve been out of it for like the past ten minutes. And you also started to follow my hands movements when I was waving it in your face. Like this,” Jimmy spoke, waving his hand in front of my face again. Instinctively, my eyes followed it movements again, as if I were under a trance or something.

“See? You did it again!” Jimmy exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger in my direction. “I want to know where you got the crack right now mister. Because as your friend, I need to know this information.”

I gripped Jimmy by his shoulders and pushed him a little, telling him slowly, “Jimmy, I’m not on crack. If I was, I wouldn’t even tell you where I got it from.”

“Then why are you acting all weird?” Matt asked me as I let go of Jimmy.

I shrugged, taking a big gulp of my beer and answering, “I’ve just been stressed is all. The fact that Zacky and Johnny are out on dates with two of my students doesn’t really help either. I’ve got tons of shit to do and-“

Jimmy clamped his hands on my shoulders, shaking me roughly while saying, “Tell me! I must know!”

“Jimmy, if anyone is on crack, I think it’s you,” Matt pointed out. “Brian, you just need to calm down. If you’re so stressed, then you just need to chill out for a while. Don’t think about work or your students. Mary and Leah can handle themselves, and I doubt that Zacky and Johnny will try anything on the girls. It’s not like they are going to keep dating the guys anyway. Johnny and Zacky aren’t that great, at least not to us.”

I sighed and admitted, “I guess you’re right.”

“I just wanted a little something to snort, just a little,” Jimmy mumbled, nibbling on a piece of his steak. Matt and I turned our attention to our friend and both frowned.

“Jimmy, shut the fuck up!” Matt and I shouted in unison.

“You two are so mean to me,” Jimmy cried, standing up and taking his food and himself over to Leah’s table. As he approached, I could see Zacky and him bickering about something. I then understood what they were saying when Johnny, Zacky, Leah, and Mary’s gazes fixed on Matt and I. Great. He probably told them something like Matt and I yelled at him for no reason.

“Something is wrong with that guy,” Matt mumbled, taking a swig of his beer.

I nodded my head, asking, “Should we go over there and get him back or what?”

“I guess. We wouldn’t want to ruin Zacky and Johnny’s dates. They need all the time they can with some decent girls.”

Matt and I then got up, collecting our items and beers before heading over towards Leah, Mary, and the guys. They were all laughing at something Jimmy had said. Once Matt and I stood by the table, Jimmy’s smile turned to a frown.

“Hey, guys,” Johnny sang, stretching his arm over the backboard of Mary’s seat. Mary then leaned in a little towards Johnny, a smile still plastered on her face. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Zacky and Leah doing the same thing pretty much.

“So, why exactly did you guys threaten to kill Jimmy’s stuffed stallion duck?” Zacky questioned, a smirk playing on his lips.

Matt and I glanced at each other before Matt replied, “We never said that!”

“He thought I was on crack, even though I’m not. So, him being the dumbass he is, he asked where I got if from, and I didn’t tell him because I’m not on it,” I explained, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Liars!” Jimmy screeched, pointing a finger in Matt and I’s direction.

“So, why are you guys over here exactly?” Mary asked, trying to sound polite. I guess she didn’t want to offend her teacher and get me pissed at her and fail her.

“We came to get him, so you guys wouldn’t have to put up with him,” Matt told them, walking over to Jimmy and grabbing ahold of his bicep and pulling on him. As soon as Matt did this, Jimmy started to scream and pull in the opposite direction as Matt.

I rolled my eyes and said, “Jimmy, if you get up, I’ll tell you where I got my coke from.”

Jimmy instantly stopped moving and smiled. “Really?” he asked, enthusiastically.

“Yep. But you gotta get up, so we can leave and go do something else,” I bargained.

“See you guys later!” Jimmy said before skipping out of the restaurant. Matt followed, making sure to say his goodbyes to the guys and girls. I sighed before turning towards the table again.

“I’ll see you two later,” I said, looking at Johnny and Zacky. “And I better see you two in class on Monday,” I said, pointing at Mary and Leah. They all just nodded before saying goodbyes to me.

Once I was outside of Olive Garden, Jimmy tackled me, asking, “Where, where, where?”

Matt pulled Jimmy off of me, helping me up afterwards. I dusted myself off a little, making my way towards my car. I could hear my friends behind me, but I could mostly make out Jimmy’s running steps. He clapped his hand on my shoulder expectantly.

“So?” he prompted me.

“I don’t do coke you dumbass,” I told him, throwing his hand off of my shoulder.

“So you did lie to me! Jerk!”