Welcome to Oceanside High: Revenge of the Bully

Chapter 8

I look at him. "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to be disappointed or..."

Travis cocks an eyebrow. "Or?" The waitress brings over a small plate of mini cheeseburgers Carlos had ordered. She stops and looks down at me questioningly. "How many boys you got coming and going Miss?"

I huff out a little laugh. "Change of plans but I think we'll take that anyway. It's all paid for." I nod at the cheeseburgers.

"Well, I hope you're gonna behave now that this cute young man is here."

I smile bashfully. "I'll behave either way."

"Okay then. Eat up. I'll get you refills. Tea and a Coke?"

"Right." We both say at the same time. I wait for her to leave before I say anything more. "Or maybe I'm just shocked."

He nods, looking at the small little tabletop jukebox and begins flicking through song lists. "I think you just might be as confused as I am."

"Confused. That's one way to put it."

He pauses on a song list and looks at me quizzically. "What did the waitress mean about you misbehaving?"

I feel the heat rush to my cheeks. I look away and smile at how the family with the rambunctious toddler finally got him to focus more on his plate of macaroni. Now he's flinging it at his older sister as she scrunches up her face at him.

"Still here?" He reminds me.

"Yeah. Sorry. I, uh, had a problem with a blind date. Well, it wasn't exactly blind. He goes to our school but he came off a little strong. Too handsy for my taste."

"Ah, okay. How did the movies go?"

"What is this? Ask me everything? Twenty Questions?"

"Hey, you can definitely ask me anything. I'm an open book. Remember our little club meeting? You were a no show at the last one."

I shrug. "Yeah. Maybe I didn't feel like seeing Travis McDurn tell me how sorry he is. Doesn't fix nothing."

"I am sorry."

"You're just saying that—"

"Bull-fucking-shit," he declares as his back straightens against the hard seat and slings an arm over the back of the booth. "I've been waiting for this chance for a long time."

I glance up at him instead of focusing solely on my fries. Now they're not so warm as I poke them into the ketchup. "You think that line works on every girl?"

He shakes his head and keeps his stare trained on me. "Typical."

"Typical? How so?" I look up at him.

"You're clueless."

"Stop being so vague." I drop the damn fry and snatch one of the burgers off his plate and set it down on mine. "You're talking in riddles. First you're confused and then I'm clueless and typical?"

He grunts and leans forward scooping up another little cheeseburger as it drips melting cheese. "I've watched every match of yours." He takes a bite, chews it up and swallows it down. The whole time my mind is chewing up his words and trying to digest if he's lying.

"Bull shit." It's my turn to call him out.

"Ashley Wall, Emily Compton, and Kelly Sturgis...all of them, you beat. You even knocked out Riley Stillwater's front tooth. Why else do you think LuAnne wanted a piece of the top regional female boxer?"

I'm speechless. My mind is working around his confession trying to put 2 and 2 together. Travis McDurn paying attention to me? And in a good way? His apology at Club confessionals was one thing, but...this?