Ugly Confidence

Chapter 2

The next day school went pretty smoothly. No one brought up what happened the day before, and I had managed to make myself forget about it. At least until it was time for history class. I peeked through the door before making my entrance.

My stomach clenched when I saw Malcolm laughing with his friends. They were close together, their faces lit up with humor. A small part of me wondered if they were laughing at me. If they were, I should not care right? Sadly, I did.

Despite my uneasiness, I walked into the classroom with my head held high. I took my seat, and placed all the research I had done on Franklin Roosevelt onto my desk. As much as I did not like my partner, I was not going to let that influence my grade. The more I did, the faster it would all be over with.

"I want everyone to get with their partners, and continue working on your projects." Mr. Stanley said, facing the class.

I stifled a groan, and reluctantly cleared a space on my desk for Seth. I saw him slowly get up from his desk with an angry expression. He sauntered over to me, and slammed his books down onto the surface. What a jerk.

"Here is some research I did during my free." I said, thrusting the papers at him. A part of me really hoped he got a paper cut. He creased his eyebrows as he looked over everything, forming a grimace on his face. What was his problem now?

"Is something wrong?" I asked impatiently.

"This information is exactly the same is mine, you are going to have to find something else."

I looked at him in disbelief. Was he crazy?

"I spent my entire free gathering this research, and I am not changing it. So either you find new information, or we will just have a bunch of repeated crap." I argued, pointing my finger at him. I had never been more serious in my entire life. There was no way I was doing everything over.

He clenched his jaw in agitation, but did not say a word. I used his silence as an opportunity to say something else that was on my mind.

"Whether we like it or not we are partners, and we are going to finish this project in peace. That means there will be no more shit like you pulled yesterday. If you have a problem with me, keep it to yourself." I said in a stern voice. I was nobody's punching bag, and he needed to understand that.

He rolled his eyes. "Would you just shut up?"

My eyes widened, and I had to resist the urge to punch him in the face. I must not have made myself very clear.

"Do not tell me to shut up again." I commanded, my face flushing red with anger.

"Or else what?"

"Or else I will go straight to Mr. Stanley and tell him I want to work alone. But you don't want me to do that, do you? Because then you'll fail." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. I would prefer not to work alone, seeming the work load would be greater, but I was willing if I had to. He was going to learn respect one way or another.

Seth did not say anything, but I could see that he was struggling to keep a composed expression. I definitely pissed him off. Excellent.

I took out my laptop and began pulling up as many internet resources on Franklin Roosevelt as I could find. I found a list of all the acts he put into place, as well as various anecdotes about his personal life. It was all surprisingly interesting. I pointed to whatever I wanted Seth to look at, keeping our verbal communication to a minimum.

When class was over I let out a deep breath. I was so happy that I was done dealing with him for the day. To say he was an unpleasant person was an understatement, and he got under my skin. I put away my things in my book bag quickly, and headed out of the door without saying a single parting word to him. Good riddance.