Battlefield: Control (Book Two)

Chapter Two - Orlando

Orlando Holmes hated chemistry class with a passion. Not because he wasn't interested in science, nor because he wasn't good at it even. It was just boring.

Watching paint dry sounded like a better idea than sitting through the lecture. When he first came to Lunar Falls High School around a month ago, he thought for sure he'd enjoy the class. The teacher was nice even if she was dull, and it was so laid back which was how he preferred to learn. Having his girlfriend Tait in there with him also helped of course.

The minutes dragged on, and soon he found himself having a hard time sitting still. There were only so many ways he could occupy himself without getting in trouble. Doodling in his notebook took up the bulk of his time and sometimes he discreetly did homework for his other classes.

Sleep wasn't an option, unfortunately. While it was his first class, by the time it started he generally was able to wake up enough for a few hours, and function.

No, he was stuck doing nothing, and it stunk. Especially when he noticed how his girlfriend was passing notes to her ex-boyfriend who also happened to be in the class.

Orlando didn't know a lot about their relationship, but he knew enough to come to the conclusion that the guy was bad news. Tait's body language started to change the longer the notes kept being passed, and not in a good way.

At first she slouched, then her head dropped, and finally she went rigid. He was about to tap her shoulder and butt in when they were asked to get into their lab groups. She stood up and left for her table, placing the note inside her textbook for the time being. Curiosity getting the better of him, he lifted the cover to take a peek at the exchange.

"It's true?" Written in sloppy handwriting.

"That you're a jerk? Yes." She wrote back in her unmistakably script. It was so full of loops Orlando couldn't decide whose writing was more illegible.

"That you're dating the delinquent."

"He's not a delinquent, and why do you care? You told me eight months ago you never wanted to speak to me again. You told me we couldn't be friends. It's none of your business."

"I thought you had better taste."

"He's better than you. Leave me alone. I was serious about the restraining order."

"Gold digger."

Orlando studied the last two words which her ex had written, trying to decide how he felt about the whole conversation. The fact she had threatened the guy with a restraining order was a big red flag. Not like he'd heard about it yet. Shouldn't he have? What if the guy tried something?

"Orlando?" one of his lab partners called him.

"Coming," he said and quickly shut the book. He searched the room for Tait, but she was missing.

No doubt she was in the bathroom crying her eyes out. As tough as Tait acted, he knew she had a gentle heart. She wasn't always like the other girls which was one of the things he liked about her the most, despite the fact that they came from completely different universes.

The pretty blonde cheerleader didn't usually date the Gothic "troublemaker". Even though he didn't cause problems, he had a reputation given how he had gotten to Lunar Falls. Getting expelled from another high school would do that.

Still, she wasn't heartless, and had emotions. The notes had upset him, which really said a lot since hardly anything fazed him. If he felt angry, he concluded she did as well and needed to deal with it accordingly.

The question was, how did he help? Should he butt in? Let her ex know to leave her alone—or else? Did he play dumb?

When she came back to class, he was still chewing over the predicament as he meticulously measured random objects to prove he did in fact know how to do so. Busy work was the worst.