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Chapter 13

The last day of winter break is boring. I spend most the day watching Netflix as the temperature outside has fallen to 24 degrees. Snow has been showering here and there, but is unexpected to leave anything in the morning. I finish an episode of Grey's Anatomy and start writing an English paper that is due tomorrow. I have had two weeks to finish it, but why do today what you can put off until tomorrow. By the time I finish my paper it is close to 11 pm. I email my paper in and close my laptop.

****

"Welcome back students. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas break." Principal Kelly announced to the entire school. "Let's make sure to give it our all for the last few months of school. You are dismissed." The students get up and begin going to their classes. We wait as the younger classmen get out of the room to start towards our first classes.

"How is Alyssa?" Bradley asks as he catches up to me. His tan face hides a bruise pretty well, but not completely that has formed around his jaw line.

"She's fine. She talked to Mitchel and they are working things out." I replied as I took his face into my hand turning it to the side. "Don't you know better than to get into fights with guys that are larger than you?" I asked as we took our seats in Mr. Reynolds' class.

"He is not larger than me." Bradley proclaims shaking his head with every word he says.

"Ok, Bradley." I say as I look back down at the Trigonometry book sitting on the table in front of me.

"If my man hadn't stepped in," Bradley reaches across the table and puts his hand on Logan's shoulder as he sits down, "I would have had him pinned against the floor." Bradley smiles and takes his hand off of Logan and sits back down on his stool.

Logan shakes his head and turns his attention to me. "Alyssa has heard from Mitchel?"

I was taken by surprise at his interest to talk to me while surrounded by other people. "Yeah, well they have been texting all day trying to get things worked out. He apparently did sleep with some college girl at some party, but that was before they had officially gotten back together."

"Oh. That's good that they are working it out." He says carefully as Mr. Reynolds starts to write math questions onto the board. His tone catches me off guard.

***

Lunch time comes and all the seniors meet in Mr. Reynolds' classroom which we had designated as our senior hangout. I could leave school and go if I wanted to, but I had to wait until David got out of school. There was no use in leaving and coming back only 2 hours later to pick David up.

After lunch was over I sat at the tables in the back of the auditorium and started to work on some homework. Five minutes into math homework, I jump as I feel the table shake as a binder and book are dropped into the space right across from me. I look up to see Logan moving his leg over the bench and under the table.

"Mind if I sit here?" Logan asks as he begins to open his trigonometry book and pulls a piece of paper out from the plastic blue binder.

"No, but you'll have to earn your stay." I reply.

"And how may I do that?"

"You have to help me understand question number six."

He looks down at his book, "Come on now Theresa, you have to give me something harder than this." He reaches into the front pocket of his grey sweatshirt and pulls out a pencil while smiling at his own words.

"Don't give me sass or I'll deny you access to this table." I joke back.

"Fine, if you don't want my help..." he begins as he starts to close his textbook.

"No, no. I do want/need your help!" I say reaching across the table to stop him from losing his page in the textbook. He smiles and reopens his textbook. He takes the next 10 minutes to explain how to work the problem. "That makes a lot more sense then what I was trying to do." I say looking back at the piece of paper that had the wrong answer on it. "What are you still doing here?" I asked being curious.

"The school, of course, gave me a class the last period of the day."

"Oh. Are you in the same class with Bradley?"

"Yeah. I don't know why I am even in that class. Mr. Reynolds has lost all his teaching steam by that time so we just sit there talking or playing some stupid game. Why do you stay?"

"I have to wait for David to get out of class. I see no point in leaving and going anywhere only to come back an hour later to pick him up."

"You could always just go pick up come lunch. It beats the nasty school lunch and sit and do your homework somewhere besides this place." He says as he looks around at the small auditorium we have to report to every morning before first period.

"Yeah. I don't know."

"Pack up your books." He demands as he closes his book and stands up.

"What?"

"I don't think I am speaking alien am I?" He jokingly questions. "Now, get those books into your backpack and let's go." I unzip my teal backpack and place my books inside. I swing the bag over my shoulder and stand up from the bench.

"Where are we going?" I ask while I follow him towards the backdoor. At our school you are supposed to sign out at the front desk if you are leaving early. He pushes the backdoor open with both hands and holds it open as I pass through into the back parking lot. He walks down the stairs and looks behind to make sure that I am following. "Logan. Are you seriously ditching school right now?" I ask smiling from the adrenalin and worry running through my body.

"Technically we both are ditching school right now." He says as we reach his large lifted blacked out Ford truck. He throws his backpack into the bed of the truck and puts his hand out waiting for me to give him mine. I hesitate, "By the time we leave the parking lot school will be out." He says as he rolls his eyes. My body moves against my conscious will and hands him my heavy backpack. He places it into the bed and instructs me to jump in as he walks around the other side and opens the driver's side door. I open the passenger's door and climb in having to use the step due to the height of the cab.