In Too Deep

The bell rang. Students instantly flooded the hallway, hurrying to their next classrooms. Max and Jackie remained immobile, their faces only an inch apart.

“Friends,” Jackie said quietly, though her eyes were locked on Max’s lips. “Let’s be friends.”

Max paused. “Friends,” he agreed in a whisper. Silently, he thought that was better than nothing, and it was even probably for the best. Still, neither one moved from their position until people they knew came around the corner, causing them to instantly jump apart.

“Oh, good, they didn’t kill each other!” Scooter exclaimed, earning himself a glare from Max.

“Jackie, I got your stuff,” Stella said, handing over her bag. “Are you… okay?”

“Hm? Fine!” Jackie said quickly. “Problem… problem solved.”

Lexi stared at them in disbelief. “You two actually solved a problem?”

“Yes,” Max snapped. “Don’t be so shocked.”

“We’re friends,” Jackie said to the others with a tight smile. “Come on, let’s get lunch.”

As the seven of them–Jackie, Max, Stella, Lexi, Scooter, Jeffrey, and Dina–made their way to the dining hall, Stella and Lexi pulled Jackie back a few feet. “What?” she snapped.

“Do you really expect us to believe that it took all of five minutes for you and Max to go from utterly despising each other to being friends?” Stella asked skeptically. “You were fighting worse than ever earlier. We know you better than that.”

“What did you guys say?” Lexi asked.

“Um…” Jackie internally debated whether or not to tell them. I’ve lied to them enough times, might as well go with the truth just once, she thought. “I’ll tell you in the dorm tonight.”

At lunch, things were actually… calm. The seven of them sat at a table together, though Jackie sat as far away from Dina as possible. Max’s girlfriend Catie didn’t even sit with them—she stayed at a table with her friends. Stella quietly informed Jackie that this was normal for Max and Catie.

Halfway through lunch, things became… less calm. Michael Stevens, a junior on the basketball team, suddenly squeezed himself between Jackie and Stella and flung his arm around Jackie. Most girls loved him for his appearance, but everyone knew he was a player who, as Lexi always said, "just wanted to get some."

Jackie gave him a dirty look. He had told Dina about she and Max making out at the party last semester when that terrible article was written, and Jackie hadn’t really forgiven him. Plus, Michael was one of the school’s biggest jerks, after Max, of course.

“So, Jackie Bodello. You’re back at James Academy, huh?” Michael asked her, tightening his arm around her shoulders.

“Um, yeah,” Jackie answered, obviously uncomfortable. Everyone at the table was watching.

Michael smiled flirtatiously. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Okay…” Jackie said slowly, giving Lexi, who sat across from her, a confused look. Lexi just shrugged uneasily.

“If I could rearrange the alphabet, I’d put ‘U’ and ‘I’ together,” Michael said. His hand lowered from Jackie’s shoulder and began to creep down her body.

“If I could rearrange the alphabet,” Jackie responded, smiling seductively at him, “I would put ‘F’ and ‘U’ together.”

The table erupted into laughter, mainly from Max. Michael’s smile vanished and he stared at her confusedly. Jackie elbowed him in the ribs and he fell out of his seat and onto the floor with a grunt.

“You are such jerk,” she said to him as he stood up angrily from the floor. “And that pick-up line was terrible.”

“You’re with Max again, aren’t you?” Michael asked, clenching his fists. He was obviously trying to regain composure after being embarrassed in front of so many people.

“No,” Jackie answered. “I’m not with anybody. I just think you’re a sad excuse for a human being.”

Michael opened his mouth to retaliate, but Max cut him off. “Dude, save it. I think you just got majorly rejected,” he said, laughter evident in his voice.

After Michael stormed off, Max said, “I’m totally going to kick his ass at basketball practice today.”

“I don’t know why I ever talked to him,” Dina said, shaking her head.

“I know why,” Jackie replied, still on a roll, “because you’re a–”

“MUFFIN!” Max shouted, causing everyone at the table to jump. Jackie gave him the best ‘WTF?’ look she could muster.

Jeffrey frowned. “My girlfriend’s a muffin?”

“That’s not very nice,” Max said, covering the fact that he had just shouted the first word that came to mind. “Jackie, can I talk to you?”

Everyone at the table looked at her quizzically. Scooter looked between the two. “You guys aren’t going to go back on this ‘friends’ thing and go beat each other up, are you? Because it’s only been about twenty minutes.”

“No, I just have a question about… newspaper stuff,” Max invented, already standing up. “Jackie. Come. Now.”

“Okay, geez,” she muttered, standing up and following him to an empty table in the dining hall. They sat across from one another. “What?” she asked, irritated.

“Don’t call Dina a bitch in front of everyone,” Max ordered. “She’s been cool lately, and I’ve never seen Jeffrey happier.”

“Am I really the only one who remembers what she did?” Jackie asked, narrowing her eyes.

Max sighed. “No, Jackie, everyone remembers. But I screwed things up with Jeffrey last semester, and I’m trying to make it up to him by letting him be happy. Okay? Just cool it.”

“Don’t tell me to cool it,” Jackie snapped.

“Don’t be a bitch,” Max snapped back.

Jackie raised her eyebrows. “But it’s okay for her to be one?”

“She’s not anymore,” Max said firmly. “Come on. Do it for Jeffrey. He’s always looking out for everyone. I know you flipping hate Dina, but Jeffrey loves her.”

Jackie sighed. “For Jeffrey.”

“Atta girl!” Max exclaimed, reaching over the table and ruffling her hair.

“Stop, stop!” Jackie said, slapping him away.

Max continued to grin. “Irritable, much?”

Jackie smiled a little. “Only when you’re around.”