Time for School Ch. 12

"Kin-ky," Lila chimed in. "Yeah, share it on Napster. Call it 'Two horny teens go muff diving.'"


I nearly choked on my food. "And here I thought I was the 'bad' one."


As the two shared another laugh, I got one of those buzzing sensations again. This one was pretty powerful, enough to jar my senses. I groaned quietly and shook my head, trying to re-focus. The two girls looked at me and became concerned.


"What's wrong?" Eve asked.


"Uh, ... probably nothing. Feels like I'm getting a headache, I guess."


"Aww. Well, we can help you 'relax'..." Lila suggestively said as she gently rubbed the back of my neck while I finished off my food.


"You two are a couple of sex kittens, I hope you know that," I said, pointing my spork to the two of them. We all shared a laugh as I got to my feet with my empty tray. "I'll be right back."


I dropped my tray in the trash, and suddenly got another powerful buzz. It felt like it was emanating from a point nearby, magnetizing me toward it. I curiously walked forward and there, I saw Jason and Nora. They were having their 'discussion,' but it looked pretty one-sided from what I was seeing.




He was getting loud with her back up against the wall. She looked absolutely miserable, unable to even look at him as she nervously held her arm. I could barely make out Jason's voice from afar.


"What did I tell you, huh?" he shouted. "You're too stupid! You don't know how to listen to me!" To my horror, I then saw him slap her across the face. The sound of her cry of pain echoed in my head a thousand times over.


And that was all I needed to see before I pretty much blanked out in a rage.


I charged at him as fast as I could, past a bunch of students whose attention I immediately caught. I threw my fist forward and smashed it right into the side of his face before he even saw me coming. Startled, Nora gasped in terror. The impact literally took him off his feet and threw him several meters where he hit the ground hard. Then, there was the collective gasp of shock and awe from the nearby group of onlookers.


"Holy shit," someone behind me remarked.


"Did you see that?" another asked.


I hissed from the pain in my fist, shaking it off and flexing my hand. Jason leaned up on his forearm, staring at me with a vindictive scowl. He flexed his jaw around before spitting out a wad of bloody saliva.




"Don't come near her anymore!" I uncharacteristically raised my voice in a rage. "You're done! Leave her alone!"


Jason slowly got to his feet, gritting his bloody teeth at me.


"Fuck you," he angrily muttered before shouting, "you little shit! You don't tell me what to fucking do!"


I stepped toward him, ready to let my fists tell him what to do. Nora immediately got in front of me.


"No!" she shouted as she held me back. "Please, stop!!"


I stopped in my tracks, keeping my eyes solidly locked on Jason. I was ready to send him through a damn wall. Jason scoffed and shook his head.


"Fuck you," he said, pointing to me and then to her. "Fuck both of you. You hear me, Nora?! We're though! We're through, you stupid bitch!!"




I growled, attempting to go after him as he limped away.


"No!" Nora exclaimed, keeping herself in my path. "Just let him go, please..." I heeded her wishes and let him flee, begrudgingly watching him slither off to go lick his wounds.


I was so angry – probably more angry than I'd ever been. Nora kept me firmly in place as I took some deep breaths, opening and clenching my fists. Damn him. I wanted to knock him unconscious so badly. But Nora's feelings meant more to me than kicking that idiot's ass. I looked down at her – she was hurting a lot worse than I realized.


"Nora...," I quietly spoke as I saw her shaking.


"Don't," she quietly pleaded, huffing as the tears started to fall from her eyes. "Please, don't fight. Don't fight because of me."


"Okay," I reassured her. "No more fighting - I promise."


She nodded in thanks, huffing and sobbing as she grabbed my shoulders and huddled into my chest. When I heard her starting to cry, my heart simultaneously sank and burned for revenge at the same time. I hated him so much for everything he did to her. I was more than ready to drag him back by his stupid, spiked hair and make him apologize to Nora. But, I made a promise to her. As much as I absolutely detested it, I'd have to stand back and allow fate to teach him a lesson instead.


I leaned against the wall, holding the girl crying incessantly into my chest. Unsurprisingly, the crowd wasn't as interested as they were a minute ago when there was the attractive call of a fight looming. They began to break away and go back to their routines. I was more than fine with that. I didn't want or need a crowd gathered around Nora, not when she was in so much pain. She'd just abruptly gotten dumped by the scum of the earth. No matter how much I hated him, Nora had still loved him. I didn't know what she saw in him, but my point of view was irrelevant. It was her heart that was broken.


There was nothing I could think of, to say or do, that would've possibly made her feel any better. All I could do was continue to hold her, and remember that her heart would heal in time.




I looked up at a nearby wall clock. There was only a couple minutes before lunch was over, but I didn't care. I was more than willing to skip class if it meant taking care of one of my most closest friends. She seemed to have a knack for what time it was, since she then pulled away from me a bit. She sniffled, taking off her glasses to dry her eyes off with the sleeve of her sweater.


"Thank you," she spoke in the softest voice I'd ever heard.


"You don't need to thank me," I softly replied. "You know I'd do anything for you."


She sniffled and nodded. "That means a lot to me right now..."


"Do you want me to ... take you to the office? Maybe you can call your parents to take you home."


"No," she quickly replied. "I don't ... really want to explain this to my parents right now. I'll be okay. I'll just take a few moments to freshen up in the bathroom."


"Okay. Is there anything else I can do? Just name it."


"You already have," she replied before looking up at me with a heartbroken smile that was hard to look at. She then sighed heavily and left my company.


I felt so bad letting her walk away like that. I swear, I would've swam across the ocean to get her Belgian chocolates if it would've cheered her up. Or I could've gone to the nearest grocery store for them, I guess. Still, I wanted her to be happy again. I sighed heavily, stuffed my hands in my pockets and idly kicked the dirt at the ground as I walked away. Lunch was over.




I was full of rotten emotions back in class. I tried to not let it show, but it was pretty obvious to some of my friends in class; especially after I didn't come back to Eve and Lila. Without telling them the details, they seemed to let it slide and were quite understanding. Maybe they'd witnessed what happened. I kept myself mildly focused on my work but, for the most part, the scene at lunch kept replaying in my head over and over again.


I just couldn't believe that something like this had to happen to Nora of all people. The minute I found out that Jason was her boyfriend, I knew it was going to end this way. I only felt fortunate that infection was neutralized before it got worse. Seeing him hit her like that ... it wasn't something I was prepared for. Just thinking about it again got my blood boiling. I wanted to deck that guy every single time I saw him for the rest of the school year.


I sighed heavily, stretching my neck while rubbing the back of it. I was losing focus on my class work. Before the bell rang to end class, I knew I'd have to just make it up at home. I put my belongings away and quickly said my 'goodbye's to all of my "girlfriends." I then moved on to Spanish class. Seeing Ms. Adanna's beautiful face smile at me as I walked through the door cheered me up some. But, for the rest of class, I was just driving on coast. Spanish was the one class I was looking forward to all day long and now, I felt so much less enthusiastic. Sarah and Jordan seemed to have a sixth sense for that, as they didn't even try to get my attention for the entirety of class.


Once I was done with Spanish, I picked up my backpack and quietly moved on to Driving class. I took my usual seat and, not long after, Frank, Josh and Brandon all came in at once.




"Hey, man," Brandon said as he walked on by me. He placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder before taking his seat. I knew there was no way they didn't know by now what had transpired, not with how quiet they were being.


"How's Nora doing?" I asked Frank as he sat down.


He sighed before replying. "Like you'd expect – she's being pretty quiet about the whole thing. I did manage to get the details out of her. Good job on punching that guy straight into next week."


"He had it coming," Josh added.


"For sure," Brandon quietly chimed in.


"That guy's lucky we didn't know what was going on," Frank said. "He would've had three very angry black guys on him before he could even blink."


Brandon then added, "And one angrier white guy, with a fist of steel and balls to match."


"Thanks," I replied with a smile. "I've been pretty out of it since it happened. Talking to you guys ... I feel a bit better."


"Don't sweat it, man," Frank reassured me. "Nora's upset but, I also felt like she seemed a little happy. Dunno if it's because she knows it's over between her and that dickwad or from watching you come to her rescue."


I nodded confidently. "I would've done it any day of the week, any time of day."


"We know," Frank replied, "and we thank you for it."


"Thanks, man," Brandon gratefully added.


"It was real cool of you," Josh said.


Each of them then extended their hand to me. I shared a handshake with all of them. Looking in their eyes and seeing the thankfulness there reminded me why I was such close friends with all of them. We all brought out the best in each other. When one of us was hurting – in this case, Nora – the others won't hesitate to aid them. I took a deep breath and let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as though a big weight was lifted off my shoulders. With that, I was able to concentrate on my work ... and my driving.




With fifth period out of the way, I broke away from my friends to move onto last.


"Nice work," I heard a voice come up from behind me. It was Nick, smirking proudly at me. "You've got him on the ropes. I've never seen him as panicked as he is now."


"Thanks," I replied with a smirk of my own. "It was out of necessity. He laid a hand on my friend."


"So I heard," he said as we walked toward the main building together. "He tried to justify what he did, but ... something tells me my aunt's not going to be happy when she hears what cousin Nick has to say about what Jason did today."


"Thanks again, man." We then pushed the doors open in unison to head on inside.


"No problem. No guy should get away with hitting a woman. I would've decked him myself, but I like it better when he thinks he has a friend in me. All that ammunition I've got against him ... it's not pretty. Trust me, he's got a lot of secrets he confided in me. Once they get out, he's going to find himself with a lot less friends and a whole school full of enemies. I wouldn't be surprised if he high-tailed it to another school before long."


"Good," I said, narrowing my eyes as my voice lowered. "Finally he gets to know what it feels like to be the outcast."


Nick came to a stop, as did I. He turned to me, placing his hands on my shoulders and looking me squarely in the eye.


"You've grown up a lot since then. I can see it in your eyes. You're a lot stronger and a lot wiser. Keep focusing on you — not on others. Rising up and becoming a better person is the best revenge you can have against someone like Jason. He knows that you're not going to be held down by him any longer. It doesn't take a balled-up fist to prove that. Just remember that."


"I will," I replied with a nod, uplifted by his words. "I would say 'thanks' again, but I've said it about a thousand times already."


"That's okay," he said as he took his hands away. "Just remember that you are who you choose to be. You're a smart dude and you like to use your words. But just remember what they say about actions speaking louder than words." He left me to think about his words, turning and giving me a casual wave. "See ya later, Anthony."


"See ya," I replied and watched him take his leave.


Nick was really wise beyond his years. It was what I certainly aspired to be. His words were fuel enough to bounce me right back from my slump. It's amazing what a good friend is able to do, if for nothing else than to just talk to. I smiled and headed up to English class, which I then breezed through.




Soon, school was over and I felt the usual elation I got knowing that I was free for the rest of the day. I went downstairs, onto the bus and into my seat that I could not wait to start hogging. Once everyone was aboard, surprisingly, the bus got rolling to take us all home. I, for one, could not wait to decompress after such a stressful day.


At the end of the ride, I hopped off the bus and was met once again with the smiling face of Sofia.


"Hello again," I pleasantly greeted her.


"Hey, you," she replied. "So, do anything interesting today?"


"Oh, just the usual," I said as we headed across the street. "One of my female friends' asshole boyfriend slapped her and I punched his lights out."


She gasped in surprise. "... I don't even know where to start with that. ... Is she okay?"


"Yeah. She's upset because he decided to dump her right afterward, but she's way better off without him anyway."


"I agree," she remarked, shaking her head in disbelief. "Wow, he seriously hit her right in front of you?"


"In front of everyone during lunch."


"What a real jackass," she said with disgust. She then turned to me with a warm smile. "But then you came in like a knight in shining armor to her rescue, huh?"


I laughed at the very suggestion. "I am nowhere near a 'knight in shining armor.' I was just sticking up for my friend. I would've done the same for anyone – like you."


She giggled softly, a big grin upon her face. "It really doesn't surprise me that you would do something like that – I always knew you were a sweet guy. You don't have to tell me that."


Sofia had a smitten look in her eyes on the rest of the walk home. The way she looked over and smiled at me at points was quite infectious. We made our way into the building and waited for the elevator. That great, big smile was pasted on her face, as evidenced from what I saw through the mirrors by the elevator. I also noticed her amazing legs that filled out those tight capris she always wore. For a brief moment, I found myself mentally undressing her and envisioned her standing there completely nude. That put a playful smile upon my face before I looked up at what floor the elevator was at.


When the elevator arrived, we paused for someone to get off before both heading on. Once again, she looked a little tense about something. Only this time, she actually acted upon impulse rather than sitting back and doing nothing.




When I went to press for my floor, she suddenly grabbed my hand.


"Wait," she quickly said. "I'd like it if you came over my house for a bit."


"How come?" I curiously asked.


"I want to hang out with you some more," she warmly explained, grinning sweetly as she gazed into my eyes. "I like hanging out with you."


"Oh," I replied, taken aback. "Okay, sure. I like hanging out with you, too, Sofia," I added, smiling at her.


"Great!" she exclaimed before stepping back and allowing me to press for her floor. The doors closed and we were on our way.


There was a certain amount of nervousness that I could see from her. She seemed a little ... fidgety, like she was worried something was going to go wrong.


"Don't be so nervous," I reassured her. "I'm not gonna judge you or your place."


She nervously laughed. "Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I just don't want you to get bored and leave or anything."


"C'mon, I wouldn't do that to you," I said before putting on a playfully suave smile. "You did say you thought I was a sweet guy."


"Mm-hmm," she softly replied as the elevator reached her floor. "That's exactly why I want you to come over..."