Researching With the Jock {BWWM High School Romance}

Acing Class and Hearts Cracking

Greg

The sound of my alarm buzzes in my ear, snapping me out of a dream I can't even remember. I groan, rolling over to slap the snooze button. I drag myself out of bed, the weight of this punishment hanging over me like a heavy cloud.

By the time I get to school, the halls are buzzing with chatter. I spot my boys, Chris, Juan, Ricky, and Brennan huddled near my locker, talking a mile a minute. Chris sees me first, waving me over with a big grin.

"Yo, Greg, did you catch Madonna's appearance?" Chris asks, eyes wide with excitement.

I shake my head, feeling a pang of envy. "Nah, man. You know I'm on lock-down."

"Aw, man, you missed it," Juan says, clapping me on the shoulder. "It was wild! She came out with two women—"

"—and they smoked on stage while she was presenting the Video Vanguard award to George Michael!" Ricky cuts in, laughing. "You gotta find a way to see it, dude."

"Yeah, maybe when my parents let me breathe again," I say, trying to keep my tone light, but I'm frustrated as hell.

Brennan leans against the locker, smirking. "You know what's worse? They said it was one of the best VMA's ever. You missed history in the making."

I roll my eyes. "Yeah, thanks for the reminder."

"Don't worry about it," Chris says, giving me a sympathetic look. "You'll catch the highlights eventually."

As they continue recapping the show, I glance down the hallway and spot Vincent, our other friend, leaning against the wall, chatting up some girl I've never seen before. He's got that lazy, confident smile on his face, the one that always seems to work for him. I shake my head, half-amused. Vincent's always been the smooth talker out of all of us.

Ricky follows my gaze and chuckles. "Vincent's at it again, huh?"

"Yeah, man. He's gonna be late for class if he keeps this up," I say, watching as Vincent leans in closer to the girl, making her laugh.

Chris nudges me with his elbow. "Jealous?"

"Of him? Nah," I say, but we both know that's a lie. Vincent's always been good at talking to girls, and I... well, I'm not exactly smooth.

The bell rings and we all start heading to our first classes. I have Living Environment, which is one of the few subjects I'm actually decent at. As I walk in, I feel the familiar mix of dread and determination. I can't afford to mess up today.

I take my usual seat near the middle of the room, pulling out my notebook and textbook. Mrs. Atkins, our teacher, is already at the front, writing something on the board about ecosystems. I try to focus, but my mind keeps drifting back to the VMA's and the fact that I missed out on everything everyone's talking about.

After Living Environment, I head to Boys P.E. I'm usually pretty pumped for P.E.—it's one of the few times I can let off some steam. Today's no different. We're playing basketball and I throw myself into the game, blocking out everything else. For a little while, it feels good to forget about Social Studies, forget about my punishment, and just play.

But the relief is short-lived. After the game, I'm back to reality. I grab my stuff from the locker room and head off to third period: Social Studies, the class that's been the bane of my existence.

The day feels like it's dragging, but when I walk into Mr. Marone's U.S. History class, I'm hit with a wave of determination. This is my shot. If I don't turn things around in Social Studies, my dreams of being quarterback for the school again someday might as well be dead.