Where We Begin

Chapter 23 - Right Before She Went Through With It

Two Months Later

Sept 9th, 2002 - Busta

Finally, I stepped into the halls of Mt Blue High School. If you had told me when I moved here that come September I'd be walking through those double doors with not only a whole crew of friends, but with a gorgeous girlfriend too, I would have told you to pull your head out of your ass. But that's exactly how it went and it felt pretty freakin' sweet.

The last weeks of summer had been a lot of fun. Taylor's family are totally cool, I can't believe how freaked out I was to tell them we were dating. I spent a lot of time hanging out at their pool and having barbecues, when I wasn't trimming hedges. 

Amber, Brandy and Kiki were all easy to get along with. It was so funny to me that Taylor and her friends were all so different, but so incredibly bonded. You know that Spice Girls song that says "you gotta get with my friends"? Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's how these chicks roll. 

I was glad to have Jake there to break up all the girl power, and I got the feeling he was on the same page. I think I broke his heart a little bit when I told him I was going to go out for lacrosse instead of football, but it didn't last long. 

Brandy's cousin Brent moved in with her a couple weeks ago, so we have one more male to lessen the female majority. The thing is, I'm not really sure if he likes any of us very much yet. I don't know, maybe he does. Brent is just such a serious dude, it's hard to tell. He definitely likes Amber though.

On the first day, I remember walking around with Taylor as she showed me where to go and all that. Everyone said hi to her, and she said hi to everyone. A few girls had to stop and ask her about her new Chanel backpack and her outfit, dark denim shorts with a black top and a fitted blazer that was the same turquoise shade as her eyes. No one was interested in my faded Fender shirt or my dirty sneakers. 

When I got into Taylor's car this morning, my first thought at the sight of her long, smooth legs in her high heels was that I had never seen any girls in Chicago showing up to school like that. I was beginning to see the benefits of living somewhere that's warm and sunny all year long.

Everyone at school seemed to know Taylor. Interestingly enough, no one brought up the incident from her birthday to us, but I could tell they all knew the story. Wherever we walked together, I noticed people watching us, even gesturing to their friends. 

Taylor was oblivious, too busy pointing out classrooms and asking about other people's summers, but I wasn't used to being a topic of gossip. I was slowly realizing that dating Taylor wasn't exactly going to allow me to fly under the radar here.

* * * * *

Toward the end of the day, Jake and I were in the locker room before PE. As we laced up our sneakers, a particularly pretentious shadow fell over us. I was looking at the floor, but the loafers and the pungent smell of cologne told me it was Kit.

"This is fucking sad," Kit said, shaking his head with a blank expression.

I wasn't sure where this was going, so I just glared at him. Jake sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I don't want to hear it, man." 

"I figured the charity would wear off after a while, but this clown has really won over you and all your little friends, huh?" Kit laughed, and turned to me. "Hey, when Taylor gets bored and you need me to step in so you can play the big hero again, I'm here for you."

I was on my feet before I could think. "This game didn't end well for you the last time you tried it with me," I threatened.

Kit rolled his eyes. "Yeah, good for you, but this isn't the slums of Chicago. I don't expect sucker punches flying at me when I am at a restaurant. But by all means, let's have round two. Let's see how it goes for you this time."