A Charming Story

Chapter 4 - Rider: Just another Jackson

It was five minutes til the bell for first period to get out. Brynn didn't even bother to show up to get the essay started. I had finished two pages by the end of class. It was just my opinion of secrets, but I figured she would want more space to write hers. She probably had more to say than I did. However, most people had already finished. Their partners showed up, I thought bitterly.

Once the bell rings and everyone practically runs out of class, Ms. H calls me to her desk. I would wonder why she was pestering me but I know it has to do with Brynn's absence. Note to self: always be the first to leave class. Back of the pack gets eaten.

"You do realize the essays are due tomorrow? Brynn isn't here, so I suggest you get her part of the essay written down before it's too late." She warns.

"Ms. Hobson, what if Brynn isn't here tomorrow?" It's brought to my attention now that Brynn does miss school quite a bit. It's possible she wouldn't show up again tomorrow, especially if she's sick.

"You will have to do the assignment along with a more difficult project to earn full credit. If you just turn in your portion tomorrow, I will be giving you a 50. I suggest you try to get in contact with Brynn. If not, say hello to another project."

They didn't call her Hateful Hobson for nothing. The old lady seemed evil some days. Who am I kidding? Every day. But why was it going to be my grade that dropped for Brynn's lack of presence?

As I stormed out of Ms. H's classroom, I ran into none other than Brynn. Oh, was I going to give her a piece of my mind. Then I saw the angry look in her eyes and realized now might not be the best time to aggravate someone like Brynn. I didn't feel like making an early will.

"You okay?" I asked her. She wasn't in my clique, whatsoever. My friends would question my popularity if I was caught talking to her. But at this point in the day, most everyone was in their second block class already and the hall was empty other than this one couple making out in a corner.

It's not that I have many real friends. They all try to be buddy-buddy with me to get to my family's fortune. I don't really care that people only like me for my money, but I'm kind of tired of people pretending like they don't care about my money.

"I'm fine," She snapped at me as she picked up the books she dropped when we ran into each other. "I'm sorry I couldn't come to first block. I... I had to do something before I came to school."

"It couldn't be done after school? Just to let you know, we have three pages left to write by tomorrow morning and if we can't turn it in then we have to do an extra project for full credit." I explain all of this rather quickly, so I hope she caught up.

"Sounds like I have some writing to do. Just give me what you already have and I'll go from there. No worries, Ms. H actually likes me."

Yes, I'm sure that's why she threatened the both of us. Though I know if I say this aloud, I will probably be making funeral arrangements. I keep quiet around Brynn.

"Whatever. Here's my portion. I'm not really good at opinionated stuff and I figured you liked it better and would want to write more anyways."

She blinks at me. Oh no. I should've wrote more. Now she's going to yell at me, call me lazy for putting more of a work load on her than myself. Stupid, Rider, stupid!

"Wow. Thanks." She says, just as I'm about to run away. Wait. She wasn't being sarcastic, either. Who is this person? I know girls can have mood swings but this was more like the whole mood playground.

"Uh... no problem? I have to get to-"

"Algebra 3, I have that with you, Rider." She reminds me. Oh. She... she has two classes with me. I just now realized she existed. I think I should get an award for ignoring someone I spend half my day with.

"Oh, yeah, I knew that. Come on, I'll walk you to class." I wink.

"Or am I walking you to class?" She throws back in my face. This girl has spunk. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it. "Besides, I think your entourage is waiting for you. And we wouldn't want the press to know you've been walking with some pathetic no-name to class. Tsk, tsk. What would your father say?"
She has wounded me. She cut me pretty deep. I look over at her to see if she's trying to be funny or if she's trying to be hurtful. Brynn wears a blank expression.

"You're... something. You know that?" I asked her.

"That's almost as vague as Ms. Hobson's directions." She replies, this time making me laugh. Just as we round a corner to the math hall I notice the purple ends of her hair have turned slightly pink.

"Did you dye your hair a different color?" I ask, not realizing I actually cared.

She looks over at me, "It's just Kool-Aid. The purple washed out and turned it pink." Ah, that would make sense. But I honestly thought she'd be the kind of rebellious girl to full on dye her hair. If I cared to, getting to know this girl would be quite interesting.

After we walk into class, I don't talk to Brynn the rest of the day. It's too bad, really. It's just that she sits on the opposite side of class from me. It's kind of a good deal for her, though. If she sat closer to me, she'd be in a lot of the pictures that girls take of me. They then post them. Word would get out that I was with Brynn and my dad's business would go down hill. Yes, for some reason my friendships and love life affect my dad's work.

This is why I never really tie myself down to a girlfriend. I mean, my brother is the lady's man anyways. The memory of that magazine telling the whole world he was making out with several of the girls at his party didn't settle well with our dad. What was the big deal? Yeah, I can't answer that question for you. It seemed just as ridiculous to me. I guess the press could take a picture of anyone and make it a phenomenal event somehow.

If someone were to see Brynn and I together, things would get bad. The press would make sure to interview my 'girlfriend' and it would basically be a sob story of how I cheated. I know, I know. I just told you how I'd never be tied down. For more publicity, my dad thought it would be great if there could be a girl always standing beside me at the parties we attended. Courtney was a decent human being, but not the girl I would ever choose to date. Her parents were on the same scale of wealth as mine, so it made the relationship look legit. In reality it was weird to be 'dating' a girl three years older than me.

Mr. Roberti started his lesson on logarithmic functions and I immediately zoned out. Something about the functions always have a base of 10, I don't know. I don't care! Math never really intrigued me. It was probably due to the fact that my dad told me it would be a crucial tool for when I joined the family business. If you ask me, Jackson Tech could work without one more Jackson running the main show.

It was then that I got a text from Courtney, saying she couldn't make the fake date tonight. The press already knew we were going to the five-star restaurant about five miles from here. There was no way we just couldn't show up. They would make it look like we broke up or something and dad would have my head served on a plate if I ruined this.

I looked over at Brynn, who was barely taking notes. She looked like she was doodling more than anything. I'll admit, I was amused with her character. There was always something new to learn about her. I wonder how I've managed to overlook her. Maybe she transferred a few years ago, or something.

A thought occurs to me. No, no, it's too crazy. But it might be genius, too. Either way, I think I know how to save this fake date and keep the family reputation in tact. It's just going to take some convincing, a brunette wig, and some fancy clothes.

Convincing Brynn to pretend to be my fake date will be the challenge.