HEAD OVER HEELS - J. BREWER

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐍𝐄: 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄

The first thing that really got me crazy about Jack Brewer was that God-awful smirk.

He would do it whenever something went his way, which was often. A slight quirk of his lips upwards and a smug smile in his eyes. And as much as that smile was - most of the time - at my expense, it drove me insane in a good way.

As a member of the Black Dragons dojo, I was always pitted against Jack and his crew. They were rude to me and my fellow students the majority of the time when we were younger as well. Not that I can really blame them for that: we weren't exactly the most pleasant people to be around either. It was just ingrained into my brain that we weren't ever to be friendly to the students at the Bobby Wasabi dojo.

Did I listen to that? No, clearly I did not. At least, not once we reached junior year of high school.

That being said, Jack always seemed like the last person I'd fall for.

***

The first time we had an even slightly civil conversation was at school. Math class, actually, which was basically torture. We usually sat the furthest from each other we could get in every class possible. This teacher specifically, though, insisted on making a seating chart for us at the beginning of the semester and never changing it. It went in alphabetical order as well, which is how I ended up sitting directly in front of Jack. My last name, Blythe, was right before his, making me take the front seat. I was even the first one in the row, first in attendance, and first on Jack's hit list, apparently. Anything and everything he could do to torment me was done within a week of sitting near there. Throwing paper, kicking me, dropping stuff under and beside my chair, getting his friend Jerry to shoot spitballs at my head from the other end of the classroom. At the very least, he was resourceful. And I was annoyed 24/7. Not that him throwing things at the back of my head was the sole reason for that.

In truth, sophomore year was hell overall for me. The majority of girls I had been friends with at the dojo decided that it was no longer fun or cool to be around me and completely cut me out of their lives. Just dropped me cold turkey. With the added stress of my mom getting sick, and my dad not wanting to be around to take care of her, and even my sensei putting pressure on me to become a sensei myself, Jack's teasing only pushed me further over the edge. I spent the majority of my time at the dojo sparring with anyone who would still come near me just to take my anger out on something. Not that I injured anyone. I knew I would lose any hope of staying at any dojo in Seaford if I did that. And it's not like it would ever be my intention to hurt someone, I just wanted something to do. The rest of my time at home would be calm, and quiet, and peaceful, because that's what my mom needed. What my dad refused to provide. Because he was "too busy" with work - he stayed extra hours at his office doing nothing just so he wouldn't have to take care of his sick wife. I knew at the time that was wrong, but not exactly how wrong until I told Jack. But that's a story for another time.

It was just another day, maybe halfway through the semester. Everything was warming up again, and Easter was just around the corner. Which meant midterms. And a crap ton of homework.

One thing I never really understood or was good at was getting homework done. Anything I didn't get done in class seemed like too much work - since I rarely spoke to anyone and therefore got everything important done - so I just left it and said I forgot it. But the thing with math was that I used that excuse so I didn't feel as stupid. In reality, I almost never understood what we were doing. We moved too fast for anything to fully sink in before we had a unit final and were moving on to the next thing. My grades reflected this, not that anyone was looking anyway. Mom was the only one to ever check that, and we were lucky if she could get to the bathroom on her own at this point. It didn't feel good when I lied to her about how I was doing, but I didn't want to see the disappointed look on her face when I told her the highest score I'd gotten on a math test this semester was a 45. Grades had never been my issue before she got sick.

We had an assignment almost every night before our midterm. My teacher would come around and check everyone's papers, and though I didn't have a clue what was going on, my answers were always right. The internet is a wonderful thing. And there was no way he could prove I looked up my answers unless he looked at the browser history on my home computer. Like Jack, I was resourceful. Just not smart.

One night, though, I had completely forgotten my homework in my locker. I didn't get to school early enough to get it done, and just had to say that it was finished and on my desk in my room. The teacher clearly didn't believe me, but that's fine. He couldn't prove anything.

Jack had chuckled quietly behind me, which I chose to ignore. Until he tossed some paper at me like usual.

"Yes, Jack?" I asked as I turned around.

"You didn't do the work." he stated in a very matter-of-fact tone. I reached over and covered his mouth with my hand.

"Shut up. He's right there."

He smirked under my grip and slowly pulled me off. "So you didn't, huh?"

"How'd you guess?" I asked sarcastically.

"My giant brain. Plus the fact that I see your scores on tests and know you aren't doing the work, even the stuff you hand in."

"Why are you looking at my tests?"

"Pure boredom."

I frowned slightly. "Well, get a hobby, then. Don't look at that."

"Embarrassed?"

"Of my 45's? Yes, a little. Especially when it's you who's seeing them over my shoulder."

"Ouch. That hurt my heart a little, Cerys."

"What heart?"

He smirked wider and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why don't you get someone at your terrible dojo to tutor you? I'm sure Frank would just love to spend any time with a girl he can get."

"He's obsessed with your little girlfriend Kim, and no one really likes me much. Not that I would want Frank to tutor me. He's about as smart as this table right here," I said bitterly as I knocked on Jack's desk.

"Aren't you Dragons supposed to be thick as thieves?"

"Like I said, no one really likes me much, so no."

"I can't imagine why. You're so loving, and warm, and just overall so friendly! Not abrasive and rude at all!"

"Thanks, Jack. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear any of the sarcasm in your voice."

He untucked his arms and instead put them behind his head. "You want me to compliment you, huh?"

"Not that I trust your taste very much, but yeah, I do like hearing people say nice things about me."

"Egotistical?"

"You're one to talk. That's a big word for you, huh, big boy?"

His smile fell a little as he leaned forward on his desk. "Look, not to sound desperate here, but Rudy wants us to recruit as many Dragons to be Wasabi Warriors as possible, and I've heard about your sparring talent. I'll tutor you in math if you come to our dojo."

"What makes you think I want to come to your dojo? Or be tutored by you?"

"You're going to fail this class and have to take it until you pass anyway. Would you rather that be now or next year?"

I sighed. "Fine. Fine, I'll come to your stupid dojo. But the tutoring has to start immediately, and it has to actually help me."

"Oh, it will. Trust me. Come to the dojo right after school and we can start."

***

1418 words.