Chapter 34: Mad.
"Don't even think about it." I tell Tobias when I see him walking towards the bench I'm sitting on.
"Just hear me out, Vee." Tobias says, sitting beside me. I grab my books and stand up from the bench.
"Don't be difficult." He says and I glare at him.
"Difficult. Difficult?!!" I snap at him. "You don't know what difficult is. Difficult is watching your car burn as you wait for the firemen across town to put out the fire. Difficult is doing stupid community work for a crime I didn't commit. Difficult...difficult is being friends with you." I say, before walking away.
He doesn't chase me or anything, he just stands stills, watching me walk away.
My two hours of community work starts in five minutes. Today, I'll be cleaning the school's Olympic sized pool. Yeah, it's gonna take a while.
I walk through the doors of the and I see some of the members of the swim team toweling their bodies. I spot Ethan, he's still swimming. I watch his back muscles flex as he laps through the pool.
I'm supposed to ask for Agnes, she's the one that's going to sign the paper that says I did all the work. I spot a woman dressed in a pantsuit and I walk towards her. She looks very corporate, so she probably works here and knows who Agnes is.
"Excuse me?" I say, waiting for her to turn around and acknowledge my presence.
"Yes, can I help you?" She asks as she stares at me.
"Uh...yes. I'm Valarie, Mr. Mendes said I'll meet with you for the next thirty days to sign this." I say, handing her the piece of paper.
She scans it with her eyes before she looks at me and smiles.
"Follow me." She says and I walk behind her as she takes big steps.
She is fast.
I keep walking until she stops in front of a door.
"This is the storage unit. Everything you need is in here. I'll see you in two hours." She says before she walks away, her black stilettoes clicking on the floor.
Taking a deep breath before I walk into the storage unit, I brace myself for the amount of work I'm about to do. Once I'm in the storage unit, I drop my book and backpack on the floor and I carry the janitor cart and the pool cleaner before I leave.
I walk towards the pool, pushing the cart towards the pool. When I get there, I see Ethan wearing his maroon sweater, covering his shirtless torso. Pretending like I didn't see him, I take out the pool net and I start cleaning the pool.
"Valarie?" He says and I look down, not showing him my face.
He walks closer to me and lifts my chin up, making me stare at him.
"What are you doing here? And why are you cleaning?" He asks me and I roll my eyes.
"Like you haven't heard." I say, swatting his hand from my chin as I continue cleaning the pool.
"Heard what?" He asks me with a confused look on his face.
"At the rave last week, Gerald torched my car and ran away. The school blamed me and now I'm doing thirty days of community work. And therapy to deal with my inner 'anger'." I tell him.
"That sucks. Can I help?" He asks, taking the window wiper out of the janitor cart.
"Um, I think that's probably against the rules and besides you're probably tired from swimming all day. You should get some rest." I tell him.
"No. I want to help you." He says before he walks away and starts cleaning the windows.
What a gentleman.
***
Ethan helped me a lot.
He found evidence that Gerald started the fire, apparently he left his wallet there. Ethan found it beside a trash can. Mr. Mendes suspended Gerald indefinitely and your girl is a free girl.
Ethan and I are at Bob's Diner. We're celebrating.
"How are you feeling?" He asks me.
"I feel great. Thank you for everything." I say, touching his hand. "Really."
"It's nothing. You're my friend, I couldn't bear to see you suffer." He tells me and I smile at him.
"You're a sweetheart." I say, tapping his nose. He stares into my eyes as he leans in. I just stare at him anticipating his next move.
His body is so close to mine.
He captures my lips with his and I melt under his soft lips. But for some reason, my mind's not in it. I open my eyes and stare at him. His eyes are closed as he keeps kissing me. I slowly push him away from my body and he stares at me in confusion.
"Did I do something wrong?" He asks me and I shake my head.
"I thought we were friends, Ethan. And then you kiss me and I don't know." I tell him and he runs a hand through his hair.
"I mean, we are. It was stupid of me to kiss you. I don't know what I was thinking." He says, beating himself up.
"Don't do that." I say, touching his arm. "For once, I want someone to do nice things and hangout with me because they think I'm fun or interesting. Not because they like me or find me attractive. For once, I wanted a friend. Needed a friend. And then you kiss me." I tell him.
"I get it, Valarie. But it was kinda hard to not fall for you. You're amazing. You're funny, smart and drop dead gorgeous. And I'm saying that because I mean it, not because I like you." He says, smiling at me.
"Gee thanks, Ethan. But I'm not gonna give you what you want. I can't be with you...like that." I tell him and he sends me a sad smile.
"It's fine." He says before he slides out of the booth.
"I guess, I'll see you around." He tells me before he leaves the diner.
What was that?
***
I'm at the grocery store just throwing random flavors of Doritos in my cart when I see Riley and Tobias in front of me. I try to turn my cart back, but they spot me and start walking towards me.
No, go away.
I'm on my period, today is not the day.
"Hey, Valarie." Riley says, waving at me. I don't reply, I just stare at her.
"We know you're still mad at us, but we wanted to invite you to Riley's birthday party tonight." Tobias says and I roll my eyes.
"Still mad? Tobias, you're the reason I don't have a car anymore. And Riley I thought you were my friend. Turns out you have your head so far Tobias' ass that you can't see clearly. The two of you...deserve each other." I say before I roll my car away.
These two have really shown me their true colors and I'm so glad.
I roll my cart to self checkout and I scan my things and pay. Leaving the store with a bag in my hands. I call an Uber and I wait outside.
"Valarie, please just listen." I hear Tobias say behind me.
"Get the fuck away from me." I yell, so loud that people outside start staring at me.
"Gerald said someone paid him to do it, Vee." Riley says and I scoff.
"Stop lying. Tobias couldn't just walk away when Gerald shoved him, so he punched Gerald in the face and started the whole fight. And we all know Gerald will say anything to get out of suspension." I tell her.
"He said someone paid him and we know who. Well, we don't know who, but we have a name." Tobias says and I fold my arms as I stare at him.
"Who?" I ask him.
"Courtney Bridgeport." He tells me and I laugh.
"Courtney Bridgeport as in Courtney from my high school? You're pathetic, Tobe." I tell him. My phone starts ringing and it's my Uber driver. I spot the blue Mercedes across the street and I start walking towards it.
Riley and Tobias are unbelievable.
YOU ARE READING
Bradford.
Teen Fiction|𝗕𝗢𝗢𝗞 𝗜𝗜 𝗜𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗕𝗟𝗘 𝗦𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦| Valarie Stone is done with High School and is now ready to take on the world at Bradford University. Will she get through the struggles of college or fail miserably while trying to get her love...
