Taking The Class Pt. 04

"You know we got your back, bruh," Daniel said, nodding. "I was gettin' ready to call in a favor from Ange or Keith if shit didn't get fixed last night. And you know how Keith woulda handled it."

Right up the chain to my father, or someone who would've told him along the way to fixing it. "I..." Will looked down at the ground in front of him and frowned. "I'm really glad you didn't."

Daniel turned around and rested a hand on his taller friend's shoulder. "I know you don't wanna hear it, but I was about to call him soon as I heard on Thursday. Don started ringin' again just as I was about to press the fuckin' button, kept sayin' Alaina's got a plan, Alaina's gonna figure it out, give her a day."

Will's friend let his hand slip and leaned his elbows on the fence, hanging his head. "Bruh, after last time, when I found out, I swore to myself. I said never again. Nah, bruh, once is more than enough for that shit. I know you woulda stopped bein' friends with me if I made that call, but... I woulda done it anyway."

Neither of them said anything for the next few minutes, watching as Vinnie's absence on the field led to a first touchdown being given up.

"Thanks, Daniel," said Will, not looking over.

"No prob, Will."

Will smiled a little. "So if you were willing to go that far, was Don's whole plan just waiting to see what Alaina did?"

Daniel began to chuckle. "Bruh, that was the reason I didn't make the call." He gave his friend a sober look. "You know me, I'm not gonna do some seriously crazy shit. Don, though, he said: if it's not dealt with by the weekend..."

They turned to look towards the other end of the bleachers, where their other friend was sitting with his hands up in a defensive posture as Alaina leaned over him aggressively, pointing her finger at the phone in her hand. He raised his hands, gesticulating wildly as he shook his head.

"I'm not gonna tell you what he said he was gonna do," Daniel said in a subdued tone. "You don't gotta know. But he hasn't changed since he was a kid, bruh. When we'd be playin' games over at his place and he was destroyin' us, and we kept askin' him to go easy on us—remember how he'd just laugh? I thought he grew outta that, but he's still a ruthless fuck when he's gotta be."

Will stared at the other end of the bleachers a while longer before turning back to the field.

"Shit, I shouldn't-a said nothin'," said Daniel, tapping a fist on the fence a couple times. "I just wanted you to know we got your back, bruh."

The football game continued. Vinnie shot to his feet, cheering his team on as one of the players made an interception.

"You really would've called Keith first?" Will asked.

Daniel gave him a confused look.

"You hate Keith," said Will, a grin spreading over his face.

His friend grinned back. "We kinda patched shit up at Pops's birthday last month. The old fuck locked us in a room, said he was getting' Dad to disinherit both of us if we didn't stop actin' like babies. Shit, bruh, Keith's like a fuckin' old man now. I never thought about it 'till then, but he's almost fuckin' thirty." He started to laugh.

Will chuckled. Daniel's family always did prefer more direct—and permanent—approaches to problem solving.

"So yeah, we're not tight like you and Marissa, but he'd pick up if I was callin'. And he'd at least hear me out if I said I was gonna tell Pops otherwise. You know I'm his favorite." Daniel grinned slyly.

Will broke into a laugh. "Yeah, that sounds more like it. He'll never completely forgive you after you almost totaled his car."

"Bruh! What the fuck, why you gotta bring that up again?" Daniel looked outraged. "That was like, five fuckin' years ago! It's like the fuckin' stone age!"

"Hey, if it's like the stone age to you, it was probably more like yesterday for him since he's so old now," said Will. "That's why I figured you'd call Ange first."

His greasy-haired friend gave him a look. "Nah, I wasn't gonna seriously call him. What's he gonna do, call up Floyd or one-a his other fuckin' idiot friends and let 'em try to figure it out with their Skills? That shit could go either way, bruh, and I wasn't gonna fuck around on somethin' like this. Ange means well, but he's... You know, he's Ange."

"I suppose I should be relieved you were prepared to go with the nuclear option, then."

"Bruh, you know I gotta be makin' the biggest boom wherever I go."

"Like when you crashed us into that fucking giant rock?"

"What the fuck, bruh, how you even gonna remember that shit? Fuck, that practically happened before the fuckin' big bang."

"Damn, really? I must be going senile, because I could have sworn you just admitted it was only five years ago."

* * *

"—Alright, I promise: I'll never break into your office again," said Don, looking defeated. "Happy?"

Daniel led the way as they arrived back at the rest of the group. "Aight, I had to give my boy Will a little pep talk 'cuz he was gettin' depressed after they took Vin out, but we good now." He gave Don a look.

"If we're good, how about one of you gets my phone back from Principal Alaina?" said Don. "I was just getting ready to start sexting this girl—"

"Hey," said Daniel. He fixed Alaina with a look that would brook absolutely no nonsense. "Give the man his fuckin' phone back. That's serious shit. You don't fuck with a man when he's gettin' his game on."

Alaina wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, are you kidding me?" She looked at Don. "Really?"

"I wasn't gonna make a big deal out of it, but—"

"You send her any dick pics yet?" Alaina asked, eyeing the phone suspiciously.

"Alaina, c'mon, I'm not Daniel."

"What the f—"

"Alright, let's see what this game of yours looks like," said Alaina, taking a seat next to Don and holding the phone between them. She tapped at it for a moment, then frowned. "Really? You call this game?"

"Like you could do better, dude?" Don taunted. "This is a little too high level for a student council president."

Rita looked on from Don's other side in fascination.

What the hell? Will stood and gawked. Don's talking to her like she's one of the guys!

"After the past few days she's like, a bruh-in-law now that you two're goin' out," Daniel whispered a little too loudly.

What.

"I'll only show you this one time," said Alaina, looking over at Will's long-haired nineteen year-old friend. "You sure you want me to use it on this girl, or do you—"

"You remember that cute waitress I told you about? Would you believe Tiffany pointed out her younger sister last night—there for a friend's birthday—and I got her number? She was hilarious, too, dude. Check this out, I got a pic..."

Alaina and Rita both leaned in closer.

"Oh, she's cute!" exclaimed Rita.

"Don, she's way out of your league," Alaina said. "It's a good thing I'm here. Clear your schedule for the rest of the day." She started tapping on the phone.

"Actually, I got a—"

"Don."

"Alright, dude, whatever you say. Wait, you can't—You sent that?"

"First I need to salvage something out of the wreckage of your so-called game. What the fuck, Don, use your brain a little."

I sort of want to know how this plays out, but I also—

Alaina looked up and winked at him. "I'll be done in a sec, Will."

"Whoa, she already replied! She was taking way longer when—Alaina, no!"

"Stop being such a wimp, Don. Look, she already replied again."

Daniel walked over and craned his head in.

Alaina looked up and grimaced, wrinkling her nose at the same time. "Look, if you're trying to learn from the master, Daniel, at least stay downwind. You smell gross." She went back to typing on the phone as Daniel shuffled to the side.

"Is this like, some kinda Skill or something?" Don asked, watching with wide eyes.

Alaina snorted. "Yeah, right. Rita, you could do this, couldn't you?"

The stocky brunette shook her head emphatically, her gaze riveted to the phone's screen. "Nope, no way! That's... Wow, um... Do you message a lot of girls like this?"

The redhead blushed slightly. "No! Why would you even ask that? It's just—"

"Bruh, how you even comin' up with this shit?"

Will's pocket buzzed. He pulled out his phone and managed to look away from the spectacle long enough to check the notification, followed by his messages.

Kay: Can't wait to see you again tonight! Toby says hi!

Attached to the message was a photo of a small brown kitten with his head poking out of an overflowing laundry hamper.

He's way too cute. Hm, I still have to figure out some way to bring this up with Alaina. And Kay. I...should probably check with Kay first. Don't want to seem like I'm pressuring her. He glanced up.

"Dude, are you fucking serious? Why would she wanna go there?"

"Just give her a second to reply... And now we just have to pick a time!"

"Dude."

Will grinned and pressed the call button on his phone. He held the phone to his ear and took a few steps away.

"Will! Hi!" Kay answered after a single ring.

"Hey, Kay, you start getting dressed up for tonight yet?" Will teased.

"You never told me which outfit you liked best, jerk. And if you just come straight here then I don't have to wear anything at all," Kay teased back.

"Skipping straight to the drooling tomorrow morning?"

"Ugh, I was really hoping you'd forget about that," she said in a disappointed tone.

"Holy shit!" came a yell from behind him.

"Who was that?" asked Kay.

"Eh just some people taking a sexting class. Don't worry about it."

Kay laughed. "A likely story. So um..." she hesitated briefly. "What do you wanna do tonight? Is it just sex or..." her voice trailed off in an uncertain tone.

Ah shit, I probably should have led with something else. "Actually, would you be terribly disappointed if I said there might be no sex at all?"

"Oh. Um, sorry, was I too—"

"No, no, it's not you, it's me. Ah, shit," he laughed. "This is a weird call, sorry. I've never done this before. Uh... I was calling to see if you might be interested in err...something a little unusual tonight?"

"Unusual how?" asked Kay, sounding suddenly wary.

"Well..." How do I even phrase this... "I remember you saying you liked redheads last week? Girls, that is."

"Did I really tell you that?" Kay said suspiciously. "I don't remember talking about it."

"Uh..." Fuck, I hate this Trait so much. "Anyway, I was thinking maybe we could go to karaoke again somewhere?"

"Okay, how's that unusual? You gonna sing show tunes all night?"

Will chuckled. "Can't say I know many of those. No, I um... I have someone who I think would want to meet you if you're up to it?"

The line went silent for a while. "Let me guess," Kay said at last with heat in her voice, "you took some nudes of me and showed 'em to a friend, and now you think I'm gonna be down to have a fucking threesome?"

What. "No. No, no, definitely not! Kay, I'd never do that, I promise. It's a girl!"

"Why would a girl you know wanna meet me?"

"Er... Well, she's my girlfriend and—"

The line went dead.

Fuck. Will ran a hand through his hair as he stared down at his phone. Fuck, that wasn't how I wanted to say it, especially after how she said her last relationship ended. He leaned against the fence, holding the device with both hands. I could try messaging her... But what would I even say? If I seem like I'm begging her that would make it worse. This was a bad idea to begin with. I should've—

His phone started to ring.

He picked up immediately. "Kay?"

"Sorry, Will, I just..." Kay sniffled. "Bad memories. Toby came up and headbutted me... I, um..." She sniffled again, then sighed. "I got Toby right after..." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, sorry. So your girlfriend wants to meet me? Why?"

I think I've never been happier to get a call than this one. "Nah, I shouldn't have brought it up at all, Kay, I'm the one who should be apologizing. That wasn't cool to do to a friend. I'm sorry."

Kay sniffled once more, then laughed. "You can't be sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Fine, we're both sorry. I guess we'll just have to kiss and make up later," said Will, grinning.

"Would your girlfriend allow that? Because I'm not gonna..." she trailed off.

"Sorry, um... Bad joke. Maybe. Let's skip past the constant apologizing. Deal?"

"Deal. So what's her name?"

"Alaina."

"Alaina, huh? Sounds kinda sexy. And she's a redhead?"

"She is."

"And she wants to meet me?"

"Well, probably? I haven't actually asked her yet."

Kay giggled. "Will, you're an asshole. I can't believe you just put me through that for a maybe."

"I wanted to ask you first to see if you'd be okay with it. I had plans with you for tonight before Alaina and I started going out, and I didn't want you to feel pressured to agree. If you're not comfortable with it, we can hang out—just the two of us—and sing some songs or grab dinner or something."

The call was silent for a long time, and Will checked to see if he'd been disconnected.

"That's really sweet of you," said Kay in a quiet voice. "Thanks, Will."

"You know, why don't we just forget I asked? I can—"

"No, I wanna meet her," Kay interrupted. "I think... I think it'll help. Um, if she wants to, that is?"

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Who knows, maybe we'll run off together without you!" Kay laughed.

"That would certainly be a tough night for me."

"Don't worry, I'd leave Toby to keep you company! You'd like to hang out with Will again, wouldn't you?" she finished in a cutesy, babying voice.

"What's he up to now?"

"I was laying here on my bed and he jumped up to sit on my chest. He's headbutting me again because I stopped petting him, aren't you, you little goober! Yes, you are!"

I'm feeling the cuteness overload through the phone. "I might need a photo of him to bribe Alaina with."

"Oh, she likes cats?"

Will paused. Does she? Now that I think about it, I don't know much about what she likes or dislikes at all. He tried to picture Alaina frolicking around with Toby and found it easier than he imagined. "Maybe? We uh... We sort of just started going out today."

"So you're saying I should be on my best behavior. And no sitting on your lap. Or dragging you out to my van between songs."

"Hm, I'm not going to rule out any of those. Just be yourself. You—"

"Who you talkin' to, bruh?" Daniel sidled over and butted in.

"Just one of my other girlfriends," said Will. "Give me a minute."

"One of?" Kay asked.

"No prob, bruh. She got any hot friends?"

"I don't think you're old enough for her friends, bud."

"If that's one of your friends, Mary would be more than happy to take him for a ride tonight. She's been driving me up the wall since her last boy-toy escaped. I can call her if you want me to."

"Bruhhh, you know I can handle the older girls. You remember that chick—"

"Nah, I don't think that's a great idea, Kay, we should uh... We should probably not do that."

"Bruh."

"Daniel, c'mon, dude. He's probably got Miss America on the phone or something."

Kay laughed. "Okay, I think you should probably go. I'll wait to hear back?"

"'Kay."

Kay blew a raspberry. "At least come up with a better joke by tonight." Then she hung up.

"Bruh, you hook me up or not?" asked Daniel, glancing at the phone as Will put it into his pocket.

"Nah, not this time. But she did say one of her friends might be interested," said Will. He turned to look at the rest of the group.

Don was sitting with a massive grin on his face, tapping away at his phone.

Rita was looking on next to him.

Alaina was giving Will an undecipherable look.

Uh oh.

"Her friend hot? You got any pics?"

Will's phone vibrated. He hesitated, glancing at Alaina again before he pulled it out to check. Oh, she sent me that photo. Let's see... Whoa! He quickly shoved the phone back into his pocket. What the hell, Kay, you didn't say you were laying on your bed with Toby in your underwear! Who does that!

"Problem?" asked Alaina, raising an eyebrow.

"Nope, definitely no problem," said Will, walking back over.

She rose to meet him, giving him a searching look for a moment. "You can tell me later." She grabbed his hand and turned back to the bench, moving to a spot on the other side of Rita, away from the giggling Don. "Sit for a bit."

Will followed her lead and sat.

"Hey, Will, good to see you again," said Rita, giving him a smile. "Vinnie and I had a great time Wednesday." She glanced at Alaina and her smile turned into a nervous expression. "Oh, um... I mean..."

Ugh, it never ends today. What happened Wednesday night?

"Oh, don't worry, Rita, I know all about the jazz club," said Alaina. She smiled reassuringly at the other girl.

"Oh!" Rita sighed in relief. "That's... I mean, I thought..." she trailed off, glancing at Alaina's and Will's joined hands uncertainly.

"Sorry, I should have given a better introduction before," said Alaina in a rueful tone. "Will's my boyfriend. But I'm very understanding about what he gets up to when I'm not around." She squeezed his hand and looked at him expectantly.

What the hell am I supposed to say to that? "Yeah, I'm a really lucky guy," he chuckled, managing to sound more confident than he felt.

"Don, stop messaging her, you're going to run out of stuff to talk about tonight," Alaina called over. "Or say something dumb and ruin it," she muttered.

"Yes, master!" Don said. He tapped a couple more times at his phone, then returned it to his pocket.

"Uh, master?" said Will, looking over at his friend. "You okay, bud?"

"Just paying my respects, dude. Alaina got me a date tonight with Alex in like five minutes. And then she got her to send a hand-bra pic like, maybe two minutes after that!"

Alaina preened, giving Will a look of ultimate smugness. "I mean, if I'm going to be dating The Legend, I'd have to be able to do at least that much, wouldn't I?"

I'm not really that into messaging, though. I'd rather call and hear a girl's voice.

"What's the legend?" asked Rita.

"Well," began Don.

"It's kind of an old inside joke," said Will. Who knows where he'd start. "Ask Vin about it sometime later. Much later."

"Is it like, bad?" asked Rita.

"Fuckin' shit, I gotta go," said Daniel, putting his phone away while rolling his eyes. "Keith's fuckin' bachelor party's comin' up and Ange wants me to help him taste test all the shit we're gonna be drinkin'. And somethin' about strippers." He sighed, looking mournful. "Bruh, I honestly couldn't be less psyched to see some titties."

Why would they be getting strippers for Keith? Unless...

Don was already laughing.

"And why is that, Daniel?" asked Alaina, visibly bracing to be disappointed.

Daniel sighed again.

"Because they're gonna be man titties, dude!" said Don, wheezing between laughs.

Alaina looked over to Will in confusion.

"Keith is Daniel's oldest brother," said Will. "He's twenty eight, works at the firm, all around a nice guy from the times I've met him—"

"Bruh."

"—and he's gay."

"Dude, that's the most Ange thing i've ever heard. Gets put in charge of his brother's bachelor party, decides to hand-pick the strippers even though he's not gay. Family first, right Daniel?"