On My Own Time

Chapter 7

Caden stayed back to take another shower while I went to school. Of course it took a lot to calm him down and I was still upset at how he treated my mother. Victor tried to take me to school but I told him no, it would most likely just piss off Caden even more. I knew he was still going to come to school, he was probably just going to miss first period. Max didn't bother me much on the bus, he probably saw my mood and decided to not comment. Sara, however, did not understand.

"What's up with you?"

"Caden," I grumbled and shoved my books inside my locker.

Charlie appeared soon and gave me a weird look, seeing my mood too. She mouthed what happened to Sara but she shrugged. I sighed and took a breath, trying to calm down. I knew I shouldn't take my anger out of them, they were only trying to help.

"I'm sorry, Caden and I just got into a disagreement."

"About what?"

I closed my locker and faced them. I want sure if I should tell them what happened. Sara had a habit of telling her friends drama and then the whole school knows the drama. Caden was considered popular and this would hurt his ego. He would definitely murder me then.

"It was nothing," I said, finally deciding to leave it at that.

Sara wanted to ask more but Max changed the subject, asking if I did the homework. I was grateful that Max understood me and came up with a different conversation. I probably would have caved in out of stress if they continued to ask me. We said our goodbyes to Charlie since her class was the other way and started to head towards our class. I was thankful that Caden was going to miss this period since he's in the class. I was quick to sit down and lay my head on the table. I really didn't feel like being in school today.

"Hello class! Today we are doing something different. We are doing sort of a guys versus girls activity. Of course, for that to work out we need to move some of you. So, Ashley please go to Julie's table, Mark go to Wyatt's table, Angel go to Roy's table, Tammy please go to Sara's table and Diego go to Max's table. Chop chop, this activity will last all class."

I mentally groaned when I noticed the only available seat is right next to Victor. This is just great. Of course this would happen to me. Sara smiled and said bye as I packed my stuff and stood up to go to the seat. I dropped my stuff on the desk and dropped myself on the seat, slouching a bit.

"Well, I'm glad you're here," Max said and nudged my arm.

I chuckled and focused my attention at him, warning myself to not even glance in Victor's direction. However, it was quite hard when I could feel him staring. Max even noticed and gave me a look. I blanked out as our teacher began to explain the activity, thinking of how I was going to live once Caden gets here. If a fight happened then the most I could do was protect my face. I didn't realize the teacher ended her instructions until I saw mostly all the girls in the class go straight into the assignment, most of the boys wondering what was going on. I was one of them.

"Shit did anyone listen?" Victor's friend asked.

Victor chuckled and I glanced at him to see him shake his head no. Max shrugged and I sighed. I noticed Sara glancing over and her face was in confusion. She was probably wondering why we weren't doing anything. I glanced around the room and noticed a lot of people working on a worksheet.

"Where did everyone get that paper?" Max asked.

"Probably in the front of the classroom," Victor's friend said.

Victor and I both stood up, ready to go get the papers. He chuckled and I didn't know what to do so I smiled a little and went to grab the papers. I didn't expect him to follow me but he did and grabbed the textbooks we were allowed to use to fill out the sheet.

"So, about this morning. . ."

I groaned and said, "He's gonna kill me."

"What happened?"

I sighed and grabbed the worksheets, saying, "Just issues between him and my mother."

"Ah, so mommy's son protecting his mommy," he said with a chuckle.

I gave him a playful glare to which he smirked and gave another chuckle. We went back to our seats and found out that the questions were pretty easy. Every now and then Victor would ask me for help or would ask to simply explain something to him. Max kept a close eye on us but at the same time Victor's friend was distracting him talking about nonsense. Approximately ten minutes before class ended we finished. We surprisingly weren't the last ones done. Two more tables needed to finish and of course, the table were filled with the kids that never do work or simply talk to much to get it done. Our teacher's game ended up being a tie because one of the table groups were a girls table and the other was a guys table. Our teacher never even mentioned the prize that was supposed to be, saying that since no one won she wouldn't reveal it. Part of me felt like there was no prize at all and he just wanted us to try and finish the work fast. I wasn't complaining though, I got to sit in a good table group. When the bell rang Victor and he friend left while I waited for Max. However, before Victor left he gave me a quick wink and softly bumped his shoulder into mine. I'm not stupid, that's fucking flirting. But something just seemed off. Why did he suddenly give a shit about me? He was a natural friendly guy but this is more than the occasional smile in the hallway. Max didn't see and Sara was too busy on her phone to notice. Charlie was tapping away at her phone too, probably still going back and forth with her ex-boyfriend.

We went to our next classes and Charlie decided that she would casually join our friend group. I mean she was always a friend, more Sara's than Max and I, but I guess since Sara was the only one who seemed to actually care about her situation with her ex-boyfriend, she decided to hang with us now. Max was completely cool with it, I guess those two really did hit it off. I had nothing to complain about, I was just glad I had Max there so I wouldn't hear the girl talk forever.

By the time lunch had began, I was starving like usual. It's not my fault, I was a growing boy that needed his food. Oh who am I kidding? I just love food. All the different tastes and the different textures. Like hard bread and soft bread. Both very delicious and have different flavors.

Sara was dragging me through the hallway, talking on and on about how she had a lot of homework to do tonight. I had to admit, I was only half listening. It was hard to concentrate when I was hungry. There was also the loud noises in the hallway from other kids so it's not just me and my hunger. Sara didn't seem to notice as she continued to drag me until we reached the cafeteria line.

"So yeah, that's all I have to do tonight. Are you busy?"

I was about to say no when it completely hit my mind that tutoring starts today with Victor. It was no secret, I mean Sara basically agreed to it for me. Speaking of Victor he was already sitting down at his table surrounded by his friends. They were laughing, mostly about something he said from the smirk he was currently displaying. I looked back at Sara before I got caught, especially from him.

"Just got that thing with Victor," I said with a casual shrug.

She made an 'o' shape with her mouth and nodded her head to show she understood. We made light talk as we grabbed our food and sat down at the table Max and Charlie were currently sitting at. Charlie immediately began talking about what her ex-boyfriend texted her and Max and I couldn't help but to roll our eyes. Max and I began our own conversation about his tattoo that he's planning. He wants the design to be perfect and we both got into the conversation. That is, until Caden arrived.

"Yo shithead!"

Everyone looked up to see Caden marching towards us, well, more specifically, towards me. In his hand he had a lemonade bottle that he was most likely going to use to get me back from this morning. Holy shit, I was about to die.