Teaching Jenny (student/teacher)

Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The rest of the week passed the same. Ben was his normal self one minute and then staring daggers at me the next. For example, when me and Charlie were laughing about something as we collected our lunch, I turned around to head to our usual table and there Ben was glaring at the two of us. That boy was really starting to confuse me. After Monday I thought it would be all sorted out.

I tried not to think about Ben as it was finally Friday and today after school I was going out with Laura. We had arranged to go to the movies straight after school as she still had the traditional family dinner to go to in the evening.

By the time the bell rang at four o'clock I could not be happier to be leaving. Ben had been grumpy with Charlie and I the whole of geography and decided that the homework was actually too important for me to miss. Although I had complained he stood his ground, so now I knew what I would be spending the weekend doing.

By the time I clambered into Laura's car I was fuming and she could tell. She opened her mouth to talk but a sudden knock on the car window made us both jump. Swivelling in my seat I rolled my eyes when I saw Ben waiting outside the car. Painfully slowly, to piss Ben off, I opened my window so he could talk to his sister.

"Hey," Laura chirped when the window was finally completely down. I smirked challengingly at Ben who looked away from me when his sister started talking.

"Hey, um can you tell mum and dad I can't make it tonight," he said his eyes flickering back and fourth between Laura and me while he spoke. I could tell he was uncomfortable and I had probably only heightened that feeling with acting so immaturely.

"Oh how come?" His sister responded clearly disappointed. It was nice how well they got on. I had always wanted a brother or sister from a young age.

"I just can't," Ben said, not really explaining anything as he stared at me. My eyes held his and I felt myself melting under his intense stare. "Can you please just let them know?" He said pleadingly when I finally managed to drag my stare from his.

Laura let out a frustrated sigh before nodding her head. "Fine, but you better come next week. I'm going to call you later ok?" She said before saying her goodbyes. However, Ben didn't leave the car. I knew his eyes were on me, as if waiting for me to say something but I didn't know what.

"Bye Jenny," he blurted out before practically running away from the car. I really did not understand him sometimes. One minute he was fine the next he acted as if I was the plague. It felt like I could do nothing right.

Laura sighed heavily again as she pulled out of the school parking lot and started driving towards the cinema. "That boy," she groaned as she ran her hands through her hair, clearly annoyed at Ben's behaviour. "He's become so flaky recently," she explained as we pulled out onto the main road.

"He's going on a date," I said, a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was so obvious now. He hadn't wanted to tell Laura where he was going because I was there. I felt tears well in my eyes at the thought of him with another woman. I knew he hadn't cared about me like I did about him, but this was quick. Gulping down my tears I forced a smile onto my face. I was going to be strong. I was sick of crying over him.

"No he's not," Laura said with small laugh and the shake of her head. My eyebrows pulled together at her words. Why was she suddenly so sure of what he was doing? With a confused expression on my face, I turned to her.

"How do you know?" I asked as she pulled into a parking space at the cinema. I just stared at her as she put the car into park and unclipped her seat belt.

With another laugh she said, "Sometimes you two are so blind." I repeated her words in my head trying to understand what she meant. However, she had just confused me even more.