In Too Deep

“One more day!” Scooter exclaimed joyfully in the newsroom. A few weeks had passed, and the students of James Academy were eagerly awaiting tomorrow—the start of spring break.

Scooter was particularly excited, as was evident by his standing on his desk and doing a little dance. “Just a few minutes drive from LA!” he exclaimed. “Lots of sun, surfing, girls…”

Lexi cleared her throat. “Excuse me?”

Dina laughed from her desk. “Don’t worry, Lexi. Jeffrey and I will keep an eye on him for you.”

“What?” Jeffrey asked incredulously. “I don’t want to watch Scooter for a week!”

“Yeah, because you want to go do inappropriate things with your girlfriend,” Max muttered, though it was loud enough for all to hear. Everyone laughed, excluding Jeffrey, who raised his eyebrows.

“What will you be doing?” he asked Max suspiciously. He gestured his head in the direction of the editor’s desk, where Jackie sat, absorbed in her work.

Max rolled his eyes. “We’ll be avoiding my parents. Ooooh, we’re scandalous!”

Jeffrey smirked. “And when you’re alone in your bedroom…?”

“She’ll probably be doing homework, and I’ll probably be watching TV. Or you know what, we might be having a normal, friendly conversation. Because we’re friends.”

“Yeah right!” Scooter called from atop his desk, where he was still dancing in glee. “You and Jackie will probably be having violent, passionate…”

“I can hear you!” Jackie said suddenly, looking up from her work to glare at Scooter, who took in her angry stare and hurriedly jumped off his desk.

Lexi and Stella shared a look, which didn’t go unnoticed by Jeffrey. “What was that about?” he asked them quietly.

Lexi grinned. “Oh, nothing. Just that Max totally loves Jackie and Jackie totally regrets ever rejecting him.”

“And you totally know this how?” Jeffrey asked.

The girls ignored his ‘totally’ jibe. “Um, we’re her best friends and roommates. And we’re girls. We know everything,” Stella said pointedly.

Jeffrey nodded. “Oh, right. Of course.”

The bell rang and the newspaper staff hurriedly gathered their things to leave for second period. As Max began to move away from his desk, he found himself cornered by Lexi and Stella, both of whom were grinning widely.

“Uh… hi?” Max said, confused.

“Have you talked to her yet?” Stella asked quickly.

Max rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lexi rolled her eyes. “Come on, Max! She said she regretted telling you no. We told you this weeks ago! Why haven’t you said anything to her yet?”

“Because,” Max whispered, seeing as people were leaving around him, “she’s made it pretty obvious since January that she doesn’t want to… you know…”

“But she said–” Lexi began, but Max cut her off.

“Ever since you told me that, she’s been pushing me away even more,” Max said, bitterness evident in his voice.

Stella and Lexi frowned at each other. “Really?” Stella asked. “She seems to be perfectly normal around you.”

“Perfectly normal and friendly,” Max emphasized. “Because she’s my friend. And I’m fine with that. Content, in fact. Completely happy. How many times do I have to tell people this?”

“Tell people what?”

Stella, Lexi, and Max jumped at the sound of Jackie’s voice. She was standing several feet away, frowning suspiciously.

“That I hate you,” Max said instantly, ignoring Stella and Lexi’s looks of bewilderment.

“Oh,” Jackie said lightly, as if it was nothing. “Are you guys coming or what?”

Max shoved past Stella and Lexi and walked out the newsroom door beside Jackie. The two remaining girls shook their heads in unison.

“'I hate you'… 'I want you'… 'let’s be friends'… 'let’s cuddle up on the floor together'… 'come meet my parents'… what is their problem?” Lexi said. “Can’t they make up their minds?”

“It took one week for things to change last time,” Stella muttered as they began to walk out the door. “Maybe spring break is all they need.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Later that day, Jeffrey, Stella, Max, and Jackie were making their way to their last class—chemistry with Mr. McCauley. Jeffrey and Stella had transferred into the class at the start of the semester.

An junior boy named Jason appeared beside them, grinning brightly. “Hey, everyone!” he said excitedly. “Ready for spring break? I sure am! My buddies and I are going to a conference in Chicago for students interested in pursuing medical research as a career! Good thing I got a 108 on that last chem test, huh?”

He laughed loudly—an irritatingly high-pitched laugh—that made Max cover his ears. Jackie elbowed Max for being rude as Stella smiled politely at Jason. “Hope you have fun,” she said.

“Oh, I most certainly will. Say, Max, what did you get on your last chem test?”

Max shifted uncomfortably, and Jackie had to resist snorting with laughter. “I don’t remember,” he said, shrugging.

“He got a 110,” Jackie answered for him, grinning. Max stared at her open-mouthed, and she just smiled.

“Uh, yeah. I did,” Max said, coughing.

Jason’s perky face fell. “I didn’t know that was possible!” he exclaimed. “Well, see you guys in class!”

With that, he bounded away, practically skipping. Max glared after him. “What a little dickhead,” he growled, causing Jackie to laugh.

“Did you really get a 110?” Stella asked Max, frowning.

Max snorted. “Hell no. I got like a 68 or something.”

Jeffrey and Stella soon moved ahead of Jackie and Max, having their own discussion. Up ahead, Jason was talking animatedly with a group of students, all of whom were eagerly attempting to move away from him.

“Remember that party?” Jackie asked, turning to Max. “The one during the senior camping trip last semester?”

“How could I forget?” Max said, grinning seductively.

Jackie rolled her eyes. “Remember what someone wrote on Jason’s face?”

Max frowned. “Uh… I don’t remember much about that party except for… you know…”

“Well,” Jackie said, brushing aside his last comment. “Someone wrote ‘I like test tubes’ across Jason’s forehead.”

They both laughed loudly, causing people to stare. “Oh yeah! I do remember that!” Max said, still chuckling. “I’m surprised you even got the double meaning of that.”

Jackie pushed him. “I’m not a freaking prude!”

Max grinned. “I know, I know. Trust me, I know.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

“Okay class,” Mr. McCauley said loudly. “We’ll be doing a very complicated lab when you get back from break, so today I’m going to go step-by-step through it in front of you.”

The old teacher began to lay out his materials as the class watched, bored. Mr. McCauley went through the lab, pouring chemicals and samples here and there, and observing reactions over the Bunsen burner. At one point, he held up a test tube filled with a chemical that was very hot from the flame.

”Do not, I repeat, do not blow on the hot chemical,” Mr. McCauley said sternly. “Blowing into the test tube can have dire consequences…”

Jackie snorted loudly, and her hand flew over her mouth. On the other side of the room, Max was laughing hysterically into his arms while Jeffrey stared at him confusedly.

Stella elbowed Jackie. “What is wrong with you?” she whispered.

Jackie couldn’t answer, as she was shaking with silent laughter and trying her very hardest not to fall out of her chair. Slowly, she lost the ability to breathe from forcing her mouth shut, and she began to gasp and laugh at the same time.

Max was enduring something similar, and Mr. McCauley gave him an angry look. “Mr. Leopold? Do you have something you’d like to share?”

“T-test… t-tube… blow!” Max wheezed out. He finally gave in and collapsed on his desk in hysterical laughter. Jackie couldn’t hold it any longer either, causing Mr. McCauley to look up at her, startled.

“Ms. Bodello, what is it about my test tubes that you find so amusing?” the teacher asked irritably. This put both Max and Jackie over the edge, and Max literally fell out of his seat. Mr. McCauley clapped his hands. “Out of the classroom, both of you! NOW!”

Jackie was stifling laughter the entire way out of the classroom, ignoring the bewildered looks other students were shooting at her. As soon as she and Max were out of the room with the door shut, they collapsed onto the ground and laughed for a solid five minutes.

“Oh my God,” Jackie said, wiping tears from her eyes. “I can’t believe he said that.”

“I can’t believe Jackie Bodello got sent out of a classroom!” Max exclaimed, relaxing against the wall.

“Believe it, Leopold,” Jackie said jokingly. She was feeling incredibly giddy, like nothing could ever dampen her spirits.

“What’s gotten into you?” Max asked, grinning. “You’re going crazy.”

“I’m just…” Jackie sighed happily. “I don’t know. I’m in a good mood.”

“Test tubes will do that to ya!” Max said, and they both laughed again.

“Especially Mr. McCauley’s test tubes!” Jackie exclaimed. “Which I find so amusing!”

Max frowned in fake seriousness. “Now, Ms. Bodello, you’re not considering jumping said chemistry teacher, are you? Because that would be illegal and very, very disturbing.”

Jackie smiled sarcastically. “Oh, but what about you and Ms. Magaña?”

Max shrugged. “Massage buddies. She likes my test tubes.”

“Gross!” Jackie exclaimed, covering her mouth.

“You like it,” Max said simply.

Jackie shook her head hurriedly. “No, really, I don’t. Not at all.”

“But you like Mr. McCauley’s?”

“Oh yeah,” Jackie replied. “I like… wrinkles?”

Max pretended to gag. “And you think I’m gross? You are a very dirty girl, Ms. Bodello.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” Jackie asked, smiling slightly.

“Because I can, Ms. Bodello.”

“Can I call you Maxi-pad?”

Max stuttered. “Wh-what?!”

Jackie grinned. “Maxi-pad, don’t you like your new nickname?”

“Yeah, NO. Ms. Bodello, you are a bitch,” Max said.

“Jackass.”

“…with nice test tubes,” Max added, and Jackie rolled her eyes.

“Plural? As in, more than one?” she asked slowly.

“I’m an alien.”

“Oh right,” Jackie said. “That would explain why you’re so freaky looking, Maxi-pad.”

“Are you Mr. McCauley’s wife? Because I’d be bitchy too if I had to look at that guy all day… and his wrinkly test tubes.”

Jackie scrunched up her face in disgust. “Sorry I ever said that. Perhaps we should drop Mr. McCauley’s wrinkly test tubes, now. I’m sort of feeling ill.”

Max pretended to look disappointed. “But they’re filled with delightful chemicals and bubbles!”

The classroom door burst open and Mr. McCauley stood before them, looking menacing. Jackie and Max immediately scrambled up from the floor as their teacher said coldly, “Get in the room.”

Sharing a quick glance, the two walked back into the chemistry room and took their seats. The room was completely silent, but almost every students’ eyes were on them as they returned. All had looks of amusement on their faces.

“Why is everyone staring at me?” Jackie whispered to Stella.

Stella bit her lip. “We were having silent work time while you were out in the hall,” she explained. “So… uh… we heard every single word you and Max said.”

Jackie stared at her, openmouthed. “Everything?” she squeaked. Oh crap, she thought. Test tubes, maxi-pads, wrinkles… crap, crap, crap, crap.

Across the room, Jackie saw Jeffrey whispering into Max’s ear, and Max’s face grew redder and redder. Jackie slowly sunk in her seat as students around her chuckled.

Well, this was officially the most embarrassing moment of her life.

“Mr. Leopold, Ms. Bodello… you have detention with me in the library on the first evening of your return, understand?”

Jackie and Max nodded their heads hurriedly. “Got it,” Jackie said weakly, avoiding anyone’s eyes.

“And now that our friends have joined us again,” Mr. McCauley said, glaring, “may I proceed with the experiment?”

“Yes, sir, you most certainly may!” Jason chirped from a desk at the front of the room.

Jackie cracked a smile as she saw Max attempting to turn his laughter into a coughing fit. Jeffrey pounded on his back for effect.

“You two have a serious problem,” Stella muttered to Jackie.

“Yeah,” Jackie replied, her eyes still on Max. “We do.”