The Gray Zone

CHAPTER 19

/Jesse's POV/

Another day at Newbury Park Highschool had begun like every other day but no matter how much I tried to keep myself busy just a few minutes after the first lesson had begun I received a note from Andrea I think is her name which had following content.

"Rumor has it that you + Rachel are back together?!"

I read it another two times while clenching my jaw before asking my teacher for going to the bathroom. With an annoyed look he handed me a hall pass. I snapped it out of his hand and went still tense out of the classroom, not without throwing the little note angrily in the trash can. 

In the boy's restrooms I went into the last cabin and began to light a cigarette, not that my last one was just half an hour ago. I leaned against the wall and try to stare the opposite wall to death. I felt terrible. Terrible about Alex and how things are and that I saw Francesca, the closest friend of Rachel in that fucking restaurant. I needed to clean a few things up first. I needed to tell Rachel how fucked up she was. And now this Madison girl was also mentioned? Who even thought of such bullshit?  After I halfway finished the cigarette I flushed it down the toilet and opened the cabin again and felt not a single bit better. 

When I was just about to walk out again Sasha came through the door and immediately stopped walking. Damn he was at least three foots taller than me. "Can I help you?" I asked ironically and made a step towards him but he didn't move. 

"You do know that Alexis has crush on you, don't ya?" He began and made a big step forward. 

I didn't break eye contact. How nice of him reminding me that my girlfriend actually likes me. 

"So why do you think it's okay to play with her like that and then choose her best friend?" Woah, the big boy gotta calm down a bit. 

"It's none of your fucking business." I spat out and walked next to him through the door not giving him another look. Just after I made a step outside I could hear Sasha bristle with anger "Well yeah, it actually is.".

On my way to class again I was now, thanks to a big blond jerk, even more pissed than before and kicked against a locker. God damn, I hated all of this fucking teenage drama. Why can't people just tell the truth?

/Alexis' POV/

Because my Mom wanted to see one of my teachers, but didn't specify which one, I decided that Mr. Dannie would be a good choice since I wasn't that bad at math and maybe he'd say a few nice things. Luckily I passed him in one of the breaks and he agreed and we set the appointment for Thursday. Finally a teacher with whom one could talk and not be treated like a little child. There was not much happening that day (which was exactly what I expected) and I spend most of my time daydreaming about yesterday and smiled to myself a bunch of times.

In the afternoon I doodled around in my notebook and thought of texting Jesse but didn't do it since he was probably busy with saving our relationship or whatever. 

Just a few minutes after seven PM I heard my mom coming home and quickly pulled some Geography books out of my bag. I opened a random page and read the headline. "The postponement of the Indian tectonic plate and its impact on the sea depth in south Asia." What the hell was that? Luckily I couldn't do any more "studying" because of mom standing in my room. 

"Did you make an appointment with one of your teachers?" Her voice was full of confidence, as if she wanted to say "I know you didn't do it." 

"Yes, I did." I answered unimpressed and turned around. "With my Math teacher, this Thursday at two PM." 

"Well then" My mom snipped and walked out. Was she really still pissed about yesterday?

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The empty classroom made the middle aged women a bit melancholic. It felt like just a few years ago she was also a young, bold student having fun and studying in halls just like these. But those days were long gone and the only reason she was here now was that her daughter, else wise a kind and nice girl, made her worry in the last weeks, if not months. There was something about her behavior when she was around that was different nowadays. 

The woman's thoughts were interrupted by a man walking in the classroom. He was just about the same age as her and had olive skin with longer brayed back hair and a warm smile. 

"Hello, Mrs. Marker. I'm Joseph Dannie." She shook hands with him and he put his brown bag on the teacher's desk. 

"Good afternoon, it's very nice to meet you." Now the woman smiled too. 

They sat down on two chairs while leaving some windows open because of the thick, Californian air. She was still not used to this since she had spent her whole life in Illinois. "So your daughter said that you wanted to talk to me, Mrs.?" 

"Indeed." she said joking to break the ice a bit. "I just wanted to know how she is doing and understands everything." 

The man let a little laugh out. "If I had to name one student who understands everything, then it would have to be Alexis. Seriously, it's very nice having her in my class since she understands basically at the first try. I heard she even helps her friends sometimes." Mrs. Marker was visibly surprised what the man noticed. "I've got some other boys in this class who are one grade above her but she could still mentally knock them out." 

"Well, I am very glad to hear that." The mother said.

After they talked a few more minutes Mrs. Marker got up to leave and Mr. Dannie suggested to walk with her to the parking lots since he also wanted to head home. When they arrived at the women's silver Ford the man wanted to keep the conversation going. 

"So is the family Marker coming to the big game this weekend?" 

"Which game?" She interjected and squished her eyes to see him better. 

"The football match on Sunday! The Newbury Panthers versus the Pacifica Tritons from Oxnard - it's going to be a pretty big game! Almost everybody comes so we're expecting a full stadium" The woman nodded empathetic.

For one, was it an opportunity to do something as a whole family, they would become a more visible part of the neighborhood and she may see Mr. Dannie, whom she found very sympathetic, again. "Sounds great! I think we'll definitely find some time for that." She smiled at him one last time before shaking hands for maybe a little too long than usual but both didn't seem to mind.