Tough

By the time Officer Shindler had dragged Matt into his office, the first bell of the day had already rung. Shindler sighed, motioning for the teen to take a seat, and pulled a sizeable folder out of his desk drawer. It was nearly an inch thick, full of papers that had Matt’s name written all over them.

Insubordination, fighting, destruction of personal property - the list got longer every year.

“I don’t get it,” muttered Shindler. “First period hasn’t even started, and yet here you are. In my office. On the first day of school. Seriously, son, what the hell is going on with you?”

Matt Sanders shrugged, slouching back in the cushioned chair with his arms crossed over his chest. “Sorry. Haven’t been sleeping well. Won’t happen again,” He watched as Shindler’s expression fell into a look of pure exhaustion. Matt would’ve found it amusing had he not been in such a shit mood. “Can we hurry this up? I gotta get to class.”

“Why did you hit him?”

“Does it matter?”

“Matt.”

“Because he wouldn’t shut the fuck up.”

“Language. What did he say?”

A pause.

“Was it about...?”

Silence.

“Look, I know things haven’t been easy for you lately, and I know that what happened to your mom is─”

”Don’t.”

Shindler seemed unfazed. “Matt, you need to talk about it.”

Matt stared down the officer across from him. “Drop it.”

“I can’t, son. Not if you’re hurting other students as a result of it.”

Matt scoffed quietly, running his hand over his head. “I barely even touched him.”

“His broken nose and busted lip say otherwise,” Shindler sighed. “I’m serious, kid. This is serious. One more slip up and I’ll have no choice but to send you away. And, believe it or not, Matt, but I don’t want to do that.”

“Whatever.”

The officer studied Matt for a moment, before scribbling something down on his notepad. “This is a phone number. When you get home, I want you to call it,” Matt took the paper and shoved it in his pocket, not even bothering to read it. “Detention starts next week. I want you there, every day, until I say otherwise, alright? Don’t let me see you in here again.”

Without a response from Matt, Shindler motioned for the door. “Dismissed.”



Sadie sat in the back of her Economics class with her head tucked into her arms.

She really hadn’t had much of a chance to process what had happened earlier. But honestly, why was it such a big deal? Fights happen at HBHS all the time, and she had seen her fair share of them, so why was this one any different?

Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you were almost indirectly a part of the fight? Maybe because the kid’s blood is still smudged onto your boots? You should really get that cleaned, by the way.

True.

It also may or may not have something to do with the fact that Matt Sanders called you ‘sweetheart’...

She rolled her eyes.

Don’t roll your eyes, you know I’m right. But who cares. He’s not a priority, right now. Your priority is graduating and getting the fuck out of California. Let’s focus on that for now.

Also true.

Was she just talking to herself?

Probably not the weirdest thing she’s done.

“Psst. Hey,” Sadie pulled herself from her thoughts and lifted her head, meeting a wild mane of hair and bright blue eyes that she had seen before.

Jimmy Sullivan.

“It’s Sadie, right?” She nodded, arching an eyebrow. He gave her a sweet grin. “You got a pencil I can borrow?”

Sadie reached into her bag and shuffled some things around. All she found was a pen. She held it up to show him, “Will this work?” She asked.

His smile broadened, gently taking the pen from her hands. “Even better. Thanks, dude.”

“No problem,” she replied, before dropping her head back to her folded arms.

“So I saw you in the hallway earlier,” Jimmy spoke again. “With Matt.”

Sadie’s head lifted again and she peered over at her taller classmate. She had almost forgotten that the two of them were friends.“Yeah, that was pretty crazy, huh?”

“Yeah,” Jimmy nodded. “Thanks for kinda...pulling him out of it, I guess. I’m glad the fucker will finally listen to someone.”

Sadie shrugged, feeling her cheeks warm. She inwardly rolled her eyes. Just take the compliment. Don’t make it weird. “Oh, yeah, no problem.”

“He’s not usually like that, you know,” Jimmy murmured. “He’s just been going through some shit.”

Sadie nodded. “Hey, I get it. Shit happens, people snap,” She said in understanding. “I’m sure that freshman was being a little fuck anyways.”

Jimmy grinned, knocking his knuckles against her desk. “I like you. Why haven’t we met before? And why aren’t we friends yet?”

“I tend to keep to myself, I guess,” She shrugged, resting her chin on her palm. “It’s kinda sad. Cara’s like the only person I talk to anymore.”

His eyes lit up. “Fleeter?”

She nodded. “Yeah, we’ve been friends since before I can even remember. You know her?”

He cleared his throat and looked down at his hands bashfully. “No. But I really, really want to. Is she as cool as she looks? Because she looks so fuckin’ cool.”

Sadie’s first instinct was to tell him no, that Cara was actually a giant nerd who cries everytime she see’s a cat and choked on a corndog at the fair two years ago…

But she didn’t. Instead, she smiled and nodded. “Cara’s probably the coolest person I know, hands down. I’m surprised you and her aren’t friends - she thought the prank you pulled on Mr. Crenshaw last year was legendary. She wouldn’t shut up about it for days.”

Jimmy gasped, catching the attention of everyone in the room. “She said that?!”

“Mr. Sullivan and Miss Greyson, is there a reason you’re disrupting my class?” Mr. Board, the economics teacher, called out. The two teens shrunk into their seats, shaking their heads. He fixed them with a slight glare before continuing on with his lecture.

Jimmy turned to Sadie quietly. “She said that?”

Sadie nodded, trying desperately to not laugh. This was adorable. Cara was gonna kick her ass. “She did, I’m serious. If you want, I can talk to her for y-”

“No!” He yelled in a whisper, smacking Sadie lightly against the shoulder. “No, no don’t do that. It has to happen naturally. Well, I mean, if you want to, I can’t stop you, technically, but I don’t want her to think I’m weird or anything.”

“She won’t think you’re weird. Besides, there’s no way you’re weirder than she is. Trust me.”

Jimmy nodded and grinned. “Aw man, today is like the best day ever. My new best friend is gonna introduce me to my new girlfriend. I’m so fuckin’ stoked.”

Sadie couldn’t help but laugh. She realized there was no way Cara would be mad at her - Jimmy was the girl’s fucking soulmate. It was perfect.

Suddenly, the door to the class opened and in walked Matt Sanders. He had changed, no longer wearing the blood-stained shirt from earlier, and his knuckles had been tended to. Sadie felt her face heat up. What the hell was he doing in here? Shouldn’t he be with Officer Shindler? Was he in this class now?

“Mr. Sanders, nice of you to join us,” Mr. Board spoke crudely. “How can I help you?”

Matt’s eyes scanned the class, stopping directly on Sadie.

Whatever you do, don’t be an idiot, She warned herself, meeting his gaze.

They eyed each other for a few long seconds before he fixed his gaze on the lanky teen beside her. Sadie felt like she could breathe again.

“He has my things,” Matt murmured, pointing towards Jimmy.

Jimmy stood from his seat, grabbing the black bag from beside his desk. Sadie hadn’t even thought to ask why he had two backpacks. He sauntered to the front of the class and handed Matt his bag. “You leavin’, bro?” He asked, bumping Matt on the shoulder.

Matt shook his head moving his gaze back to Sadie. Her chest felt tight and her fingers fidgeted with the pen in her hands, but she still couldn’t look away. The corner of his mouth lifted and he gave her a nod, to which she returned. What the nod meant, she wasn’t sure.

Matt turned back to Jimmy. “Nah, just detention for the next couple weeks. My schedule in here?”

“Should be,” Jimmy replied, watching his friend cautiously. “You good, man?”

Matt nodded, sneaking one final look back at Sadie. He then turned back to Jimmy, murmured something that Sadie couldn’t quite hear, and left.

Okay, but what did he just say? Was it about her? Should she ask? But what if it wasn’t about her and she asks and then she makes herself look like an idiot?

“He wants to talk to you,” Jimmy spoke, scribbling something down.

Wait, what? “He does?”

Jimmy nodded, handing her the piece of paper. It was a phone number. “He said to text him later when you get the chance.”

“Okay,” She nervously slipped the paper in her pocket and glanced up at Jimmy. “Can I ask why?”

Jimmy gave a wild grin and shrugged.

She frowned and rolled her eyes. “Wow. Thanks. Very helpful.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of class, and the two gathered their things. “So, I don’t know if we have any more classes together, but I don’t care. You’re now my new bestie. Which means we need to hang out together,” Jimmy spoke up, tossing a slender arm over Sadie’s shoulders as they meandered down the hall. “Please feel free to include Cara into our newfound friendship. In fact, I insist you do so. Seriously. Please.”

Sadie laughed, lightly knocking an elbow into his ribs. “Sure, fine, whatever. I’ll let her know she has some new competition. This might actually backfire.”

“Nah,” He boasted. “I’m gonna charm the pants off her fine ass. And then, once she and I are happily together, you and I are gonna open up a matchmaking service because we are so fucking good at it.”

“If you say so,” Her next period class was approaching and she nodded towards the door. “This is my stop.”

Jimmy made a disgusted noise. “History. Sounds like fun,” He gave her a wink. “But listen, you should seriously text Matt. I know he seems like some crazy hothead but the kid’s got a good heart, I promise.”

Sadie’s stomach did a little flip. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe Jimmy, but that she didn’t trust herself. Texting Matt would only be the beginning of this...obsession? No, not obsession, that’s creepy. This interest in him? Yeah, she was interested. And curious. And, well, slightly turned on by him but that is beside the point. The point being that she didn’t have time for whatever this was. Matt Sanders was not a priority.

“Okay, you’re like, waaaay overthinking this,” Jimmy snapped her out of her thoughts. “Seriously, just text him as if you were texting Cara. Or me. Which reminds me,” He grabbed Sadie’s hand, scribbling his number down with the pen she had loaned him. “Now you can actually text me. I’m gonna send you a shit-ton of memes.”

Sadie snorted, rolling her eyes. “Wow. Two boy’s phone numbers in one day. I’m on a roll.”

“Look at you, ya little slut!” Jimmy joked, squeezing her into his side before dropping his arm from her shoulders. “Anyway, get to class. And think about what I said. Seriously.”

“Yeah, yeah, I will,” She replied, giving him a little wave.

“Later bestie! Love you, mean it!” He blew her an exaggerated kiss and sauntered down the hall and out of sight.

What a weird fucking day.