Walk Through Hell

It's English class. We have a pretty cool teacher. Ms. Dupree. This is only her second year teaching.

Half the reason she's so awesome is because she gives us so much freedom. And she has us do a ton of projects, and I'm amazing at projects, by ourselves. Like, with no partners. Other people always just screw everything up anyways.

"Today, class," she started, "you're going to get a project. This is going to be a different kind of project, though. See, the curriculum requires us to teach 'people skills' so you guys are going to have to do some group projects."

Around the room, some people perked up and tried to make eye contact with the people they wanted to work with. Others, such as me, sunk deep into their chairs, hating every person in the class room.

"Now, I know you're going to hate this, but I don't feel like dealing with High School drama, this isn't theater class," I smirked at her comment as she contintued. "I'm going to choose your partners."

Well, it really couldn't get any worse. I mean, there's only one person in this class I can't stand.

"Amy Arango and Phil Sumaro" the teacher called out.

She's not going by alphabetical order, per say, so the chances are highly unlikely of us getting paired, right?

She went according to the alphabet, but she paired with two people in front of each person. Like, 1 and 3, 2 and 4, 5 and 7, and so on.

"Jason Vanderbilt and..." and it was Jake. No one came inbetween us. Phew. That's a relief. "... Larry Wilson."

Curse that Wilson!

"Lexie Wilde and Jake Winters. Okay, now this will be done in class, but you're most likely going to have to work outside of class to. I'm handing out the rubric. So, you're going to be reading another Shakespeare book. Now, it was either that or Steffenwolf, so I figured I'd do something easy for your paired project. The book is Taming of the Shrew. One of his easier pieces. Now, that is going to be the school play this year..."

"I thought you said this isn't drama class?" some smart ass from the back asked.

"Well, we're smarter than the drama class. You all are writing your own versions. However you like. Modernize it. Slightly modernize it. Put it in space. I don't care. Also, you are going to need to perform one scene in front of the class. Or you can video tape it. Either way, just be sure that you're doing the project according to the rubric, and keep it pg-13. Probably PG, actually, because the best one will be picked for the school play this year. Mrs. Stone is afraid that her theater class won't understand Shakespeare. Well, get to work."

"I can't believe she paired me with you." he started, coming over to my desk.

"You can't believe it? I have a 100% in this class. You're going to lower my grade."

"Oh, little miss goth cares about her grades?"

"Oh, Mr. Varsity quarterback doesn't? Are you trying to get below a 2.0 or does it just come naturally?"

He started getting angry. It was going to get serious. "So last night, I had trouble sleeping. See, the person in the house next to me has a tendency to leave the light on..."

He didn't know. I could feel the blood draining from my face. He wouldn't.

"And my neighbor also has a tendency to be very loud."

I started looking around, making sure no one was listening.

"It usually goes something like, 'OH! OH BEN! HARDER!'" he screamed in a girly voice. The whole class turned and stared.

"Look, Jake, I don't want to know about your gay escapades in the locker room! We need to get to work!" I said, playing it off. His face turned bright red.

The bell rang, signaling that the little yelling match was over.

Before he left, he said, "Your house, afterschool. I'll give you a ride home."

"Fine." I said and stormed out.

"Baby, coe on, can't you just blow it off?"

"Sorry, Ben, I have to keep my GPA up to be accepted to the colleges I'm applying at. I can't afford to mess up this year."

"Fine, at least let me take you home for a quickie?"

"Sorry, my partner is giving me a ride to my house, where we're working." I hadn't told him who my partner was yet.

"Okay," he said, leaning down and kissing me. "I'll see you later."

Glad that was over.

"Hey, freak! Get in before anyone recognizes my car!" someone yelled at me from a bright red sports car. BMW convertable. Delicious.

"So, my dad isn't home--"

"I know."

I stared for a second before I brushed it off. "and my step-mom should be getting home tonight, but not til later."

"Okay." he said, zooming down the street and making a sharp turn.

The car was silent for a while except for the purring of the engine.

"So," you started.

"So..." he said back. "Let me put on some music."

He hit volume button and Queens of the Stoneage's 'Burn the Witch' came on.

"Don't change this station, this is one of my favorite songs." I said.

"It's a CD." he said.

Well that just might have made it a little more akward. Luckily, the drive home was short. He pulled into my driveway. I pulled out my key as i closed the door.

"I think Rowdy might be in the house. I probably forgot to let him out this morning."

Sure enough, when I opened the door, Rowdy came bounding down the stairs and jumped right on Jake as he walked through the door.

"Calm down, boy." Jake said. Rowdy was just a puppy, but he was pretty big. My dad uses him to stay sane when he's at home. It's like having another kid around, except the dog actually listens to him.

"My room is--"

"I remember," he said.

We walked up the stairs and went to my room.

"Wow." he said.

"What?" I asked.

"I just expected it to be..."

"Like this?" I asked, opening up my walk-in closet, which didn't actually have many clothes in it. Probably two pairs of jeans on the floor with a few shirts, and some dresses my dad made me buy for different occasions that had to be hung up.

"Well... yeah."

I would to. My closet is painted red, but you can't tell by looking at it. There's a ton of stuff all over all of the walls. Pictures, posters, just random stuff. I think it's amazing. I checkered the wall with a sharpie on the left side of my closet where there was a blank spot.

My room, however, was painted to look like the sky. The walls were blue with clouds on them. My step-mom is really into painting. There's tan shelves and a tan covered queen sized bed in the center of the room [it's a circle!] and a tan dresser and a tan framed long mirror on the wall, and the trimming is in tan, and the curtains are heavy, dark blue velvet. She picked out the themes. I need complete darkness to sleep.

I walked over to my stereo and flipped it on and pressed play. Coheed CD is the first one. I have one of those big ones that takes 5 CD's. At this house, I'm quite spoiled.

"So... you wanna get started?"

"Uh, sure." I stammered. "There's a desk..." I gestured over to the far wall.

"So... you've read the book, I presume?"

"Yeah. So... any ideas?" I asked him.

"I think we should re-read it first." he said.

"Right. Hold on." I went out into the hallway to the linen closet. I opened it slowly, then leaned down towards the bottom and pulled out a copy. Jake came up behind me.

"I see you've cleaned it up a little bit." boy this was akward. "And taken out all of the Judy Blume books, of course."

He tried to get a laugh out of me. How pathetic.

"How about we just get this over with. Are you hungry?"

"Yeah. Why? You gonna cook for me?"

I stared at him. Well I was going to, but now, "I think I'll order a pizza. Pepperoni, right?"

"Correct. And I--"

"Call dibs on the peppers. I know."

I walked down stairs into the kitchen and ordered the pizza. It was wierd, at my mom's house, it took them 40 minutes to deliver a pizza. Here, it only took 20. Kind of odd considering Dominos is closer to her house.

I walked back up to my room, and, big suprise, he wasn't there.

Oh wait, he was in my closet. Typical nosy little jock boy.

Oh shit! I just realized what's in my closet.

"Jake?" I started. I walked into the closet to find him going through one of my drawers. Luckily, it was the top one, which meant I only had to go through a bit of immaturity.

"These are nice." he said, holding up a pair of black lace panties. "But I think I like this better." He gestured towards the red thong he picked up between two of his fingers.

"Get out of there."

"Holy crap! 34DD? Nice!"

"Look, can you discover the opposite sex with someone else, because it's gonna take a while to desanitize my house, so I have to get you out as soon as possible."

"What? I'm not inexperienced."

"Uh-huh. That's why you're fascinated by a bra, isn't it?"

"It's an impressive one!"

"As musch as anyone else would have taken that as a compliment, I'm immensely grossed out right now."

"Right... soo..."

"Umm... the book... on the table."

"Right." there were a couple akward seconds before the doorbell rang.

"I'll go get that" he said. "It's probably the pizza guy."

He ran down stairs and I followed. I reached inside my pocked and handed him a ten. He threw it on the ground and payed the guy.

"Hey! I was pitching in, you jerk!"

"I got it."

The pizza guy stared.

"So here you go, keep the change." he said.

I glared in the background.

"H-have a nice night." the guy said.

"You too!" Jake's an ass.

"Kitchen. I'll get plates."

Well, if the whole panty raid wasn't akward enough, now we have to eat together.

"TV?" I asked.

"Sure."

I hit the tivo button and put on the Scrubs episode from last night. Yay! It's the unicorn one!

We sat in silence and watched Scrubs.

"You fat ass, you ate six slices of pizza."

"I'm a growing boy. Besides, it's not like you payed for it."

I groaned and walked back up stairs.

So after that, we actually started working. I couldn't find another copy of the book, so we had to read aloud. Which was pretty ridiculous.

Anyways, we got to like, Act III and we started spacing off.

"This book is stupid. If the stupid slut would just give in then all of the problems would be solved."

"What? That's sexist!" What an ass!

"It is not. It was the times. They were different then. Guys were aloud to do that."

"Then how come Lucentio isn't like that?"

"Well how come Kate is a horrible bitch and Bianca is sweet and accepting of getting married?"

"Personal choice. You're only saying that because you'll never be able to bribe anyone to marry you."

"And you're just saying that because you're a hostile bitch who hates men."

I reached up to slap him but he caught my arm.

"You take that back." I said as I ripped my arm from his grasp.

"Why? It's the truth."

Jeez, this was just like when we were younger.

I pushed him down and sat on him. Now this is just like when we were younger.

"I'm not getting up til you take it back and admit that women are better than men."

"What? That's stupid."

I turned and sort of straddled him, then moved my right leg so it was right between his. I started inching it up.

"Well, I guess..."

"Uh-huh?"

"That women are sometimes... sort of... in some ways..."

I leaned down close to his face.

"Just say it, pretty boy."

"Oh my god!" someone screamed. Both of us turned our heads to see my step-mom, Caroline, standing in the door way hiding a grin behind her hand.

He pushed me off of him quickly and we both started stammering about Shrews and Kats and Petruchios. A little 'English project' here and there.

"No, it's fine!" Caroline said. "Go back to what you were doing!" She left the room with a whopping smile playing on her make-up caked face.

"I'm gonna go," he said after the shock wore off

"Yeah, that would be good," I said a little too quickly.

"I'll, uh, see you tomorrow. Same time?"

"I can't." Jesus Christ, thank god for my job! "I have work tomorrow."

"Okay, alright." He waited for a few more seconds and I nodded my head down, not breaking eye contact, screaming in my head for him to get out of my room. "Uh, bye."

He slammed the door behind him.

Dinner was gonna be tough tonight.