The Seventh Grade Wars

CHAPTER 17: JK

I hated to write essays. Yet here I was, Sunday morning, sitting at the kitchen table and writing an English paper. 

I was there against my will, of course. My mom was forcing me.

"I don't see why I have to do this now, Mom," I said. "The essay's not due until this Tuesday."

"Yes, and I know you won't have much time to do it later in the week," my mom replied. She was hurrying around the kitchen, throwing things into a casserole. She was going to yet another job interview, and wouldn't be back until later.

She paused before adding, "Not with football and everything."

"I thought you were glad I was making friends," I said. 

"I am. I'm very glad. But you need to focus on your studies."

I groaned. I hated doing anything unless I absolutely had to. That's why I left a lot of my homework to the last minute. That was when I had no choice but to do it. And right now, the rest of the A Side team was meeting at Jessica's house. Jessica had texted me that we were only going to "hang out," but I knew Jessica. She'd be up to much more than that, and I wanted to see what it was.

"Johnson, I'll be back in an hour," my mom told me. "Stay here and complete your paper, then you can do whatever you like. Make sure you take the casserole out of the oven, okay?"

"Got it," I said miserably. 

"Good," she answered. "Thanks for understanding, Johnson."

She smiled at me, grabbed her purse, and left the house. A couple moments later, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out. It was Thomas. 

You sure you can't come today? he'd written. Jessica's getting all fired up about something. 

What is it? I wrote back. 

I don't know. She hasn't exactly gotten to the point yet, LOL.

I hesitated. My mother wouldn't return in a while. I could totally go, hang out, and come back. No problem. I'd finish my essay tomorrow. 

So I texted Thomas saying I was on my way, and dashed out.

I'd never actually been to Jessica's house before, but she'd given me the address and it wasn't really too far away. Turns out, it was the big white thing sitting on the corner of the street, which I'd sometimes pass on the way to school if I took the long route. I'd always been envious of the house, especially when I compared it to mine. I heard her sister had another party when their parents were away and somebody crashed a Jeep into their pool.

I dropped my bike by the door, next to some others (undoubtedly my friends') and rang the doorbell. 

A tall, skinny,blonde girl, wearing a crop top and denim shorts opened the door. She looked about sixteen. Her face was covered in makeup, but unlike Jessica, she was actually good at painting her face on. Other than that and their height, she looked exactly like Jessica. 

"Who're you?" she asked, sounding bored. 

"Jessica invited me over," I said. 

"I don't think she knows anyone in the eighth grade," said the teenager. 

I rolled my eyes. "I'm tall for my age," I told her. 

"Avril!" Jessica called from somewhere inside the house. "Is that JK?"

"Yeah," I said. 

"Stop being a brat, Avril," said Jessica. "Let JK in."

"None of my business, anyway," said Avril, and stepped inside. 

The inside of the Malboys' house was all white. White shag carpets, wallpaper, and couches. It was like it was winter in here. Even the AC was turned up full blast. 

The rest of the team was sitting in the Malboys' living room, on bright white furniture. Even Danny was there, which probably meant Jessica was planning something. She wouldn't have invited him over anyways. 

"Hey, man, glad you could make it," said Thomas friendlily, as I sat down on a beanbag chair. 

"Yep. So, what's this meeting for anyway?" I asked Jessica. "You must have called us all here for something."

"Of course," said Jessica. On her lap she held a silver MacBook laptop, which I was instantly envious of. 

Jessica took a sip of the cup of soda at her side. "So, what I wanted to do was have a party for A Side."

"That's your big idea?" I said. "It's not even a prank."

"It'll make everyone envious," Jessica explained. "Who wouldn't want to go to a Malboy party, anyway? Plus, it's my time to throw a party. Avril's had so many already."

I shrugged. "Okay, fine. Do you have any ideas?"

"That's what we've been coming up with," said Harriet. 

Jessica peered at the list she had displayed on her laptop. "Well, the top idea we've had so far was a pool party right here," she said. "Everyone wants to come over to my house. And we've got a pretty bomb pool."

"So when will we have this party?" asked Thomas. 

"Patience, Thomas," said Jessica evenly. "We don't want to rush anything. We'll wait a while. When the time is right. Maybe B Side will want to prank us soon." She glanced at Danny. "And you have to figure out all the numbers," she said. "How much food to order, how to send the invites..."

Danny looked nervous. "Uh, I've never actually been to a real party before," he said quietly. "How does it work?"

Jessica snorted. "You'll figure it out."

"And how do you expect to pay for all this?" asked Ryan. "Don't ask us to help. I'm pretty much broke."

"Chill out. I've got it covered."

It was a while later before I went home, and I'd completely forgotten that I wasn't actually supposed to go anywhere. So when I stepped through my front door, the first thing I saw was my mom. She didn't look happy. 

"Johnson! Where've you been?" she demanded. "I thought I told you to stay here and study."

"Sorry," I said lamely. "I was just over at a friends' place..."

"And you left your phone here, too," she continued. "I tried to call you quite a few times already before I realized. How could you be so irresponsible?"

I instantly felt bad. Maybe I shouldn't have left in the first place. 

"Go upstairs," my mom said. "You're grounded."

"Mom—"

"Johnson."

I sighed and retreated upstairs. Perfect. This was one heck of a weekend.