This Was Not the Plan (gxg)

Chapter 13

Reagan eagerly welcomed me at the front doors Monday morning, a cup of black cafeteria coffee in hand. I greeted her with a sleepy smile as she handed me the Styrofoam cup.

"Welcome back little delinquent." She jested.

"Glad to be back." I smiled as I took a large drink of coffee, burning my throat in the process.

I never thought I would be excited to return to school. The week I spent at home during my suspension was quite possibly the worst week of my life. between being forced to volunteer at church functions and cleaning my entire house with a toothbrush, I was thankful to not be home anymore. Needless to say, I didn't plan on getting into trouble any time soon.

"How was church rehabilitation anyway? Did your mom cure you with the power of Jesus?" Reagan asked while trying to stifle her laughter.

"She sure tried." I said shaking my head.

We made our way to the cafeteria and took a seat at an empty table.

"Still not really speaking to her?"

"Nope. If all she sees me as is a lost cause, what's the point in trying to rebuild a relationship? I get I messed up and being suspended is a big deal, but she crossed a line. It's not like she was ever super involved in my life to begin with. The only time she is interested in me was when I first got in a relationship with Nick."

Mom and I had pretty much spent the week avoiding each other. Neither of us had acknowledged the tension between us and neither of us had apologized. Instead, I mostly kept my distance and my mouth shut. The only time we spoke was when I had finished a task around the house and needed a new one. Dad had tried to encourage us to communicate but it was in vain. I wasn't going to go to her first. I had done everything I could to appease her, she needed to make the next move.

"Just give her time, she will come around." Reagan said with a sympathetic smile.

"I doubt that." I shook my head.

"I still can't believe you took the fall for that bitch." Reagan scrunched her nose, "I mean, you basically ruined your home life over a girl that has been nothing but a nightmare to you."

I knew this conversation was coming. Reagan basically cussed me out when she found out I took the fall for Kendall. According to her, I should have just let her get kicked off the team, payback for everything awful she had ever done to me. I tried to explain to Reagan that it wasn't a big deal and that I wasn't holding any animosity against Kendall, but she didn't care. She was holding a grudge big enough for both of us. I had to talk her down from going up to Kendall and cussing her out too.

"She's not a bitch," I said, trying to suppress my irritation, "I already told you, I couldn't stomach letting her take the blame. Besides, I had just as much of a part to play as she did. I let us in the locker room. I stayed back and helped them fill the room. I was going to get suspended either way. The least I could do was keep her from losing the only thing she cares about."

"You are way too nice for your own good. Seriously, Ronnie. I don't get why you care so much. You said she tried to keep you out of trouble, that's the least she could do. If I was you, I would have let that bitch drown." She said crossing her arms.

I let out a sigh, realizing this conversation was going nowhere. I glanced away, just in time to see Nick enter the cafeteria. Trailing a few feet behind him was Kendall and Zach. I felt my stomach flip as my eyes landed on her.  She looked stunning, even with Zach's letterman jacket draped over her shoulders.

It took every ounce of willpower I had not to get up and run up to her. I needed to be cool, collected, and not overly eager. For all I knew she would still be cold toward me. Kendall was pretty persistent that way.  I wanted to know where we stood. The last conversation we had was when we cleaned the locker room. She had apologized for everything, but I wasn't sure if that meant we were friends, or maybe she was just done hating me? I wanted to know if we were at least on speaking terms. All I had wanted was to just a have conversation with her that wasn't hostile. One where her guard wasn't completely up and I wasn't trying to convince her that she could trust me.