Where is Your Heart? // Jason McCann

Chapter 11

Autumn

The alarm on my phone starting going off, signaling it was time for me to get up. I groaned tiredly and shut the alarm off, sitting up in my bed and stretching.

Suddenly my mom yelled, "Autumn Elizabeth Jones!"

Uh oh, she used my first, middle, and last name. I'm in trouble.

I scurried out of my room slipping on my glasses so I could actually see, and scrambled down the stairs into the kitchen where my mom was waiting for me.

"Yes mom?"

"I just got a phone call from your school," she started. Crap. "The principle told me you had detention yesterday."

"Mom I-but-he-I-" I stammered, trying to find a way to explain, but found nothing.

"And," she continued furiously, ignoring my blabbering. "That was the second time." She stared at me like I had just killed someone. 'What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Okay so the only reason why I had detention was because this kid kept talking to me and I was telling him to stop, but my teacher thought I was talking to him and she gave me detention. At least that was the first time." I started, I was basically heaving from my nervousness and my talking so fast without taking any breaths. "The second time, the same kid was kicking my foot and I was asking him to stop and then the teacher, which was the same teacher as before, thought I was talking to him, like having a conversation with him, and gave me detention again."

"Okay..." she said. "Ask your teacher to move you away from him, or him from you, whichever way she wants to. And if she doesn't, tell me and I'll have a talk with her."

"Okay." I said. "So... I'm not in trouble?"

She sighed. "I guess not."

"Okay, good." I said. "Now I should probably be getting ready for school."

"Yeah, breakfast will be done in a few minutes."

"Okay."

I jogged up the stairs and walked into my room, beginning to get ready.

Is it bad that I don't want to have Ms. Brown move either Jason or me?

I mean, he was so sweet yesterday, and he actually told me how he felt. I would feel bad if I made Ms. Brown move me. But what if he was making all that stuff up? What if he's just messing with me and telling me all that stuff so I would get close enough with him and give in to what he wants? All these questions and confusing thoughts made my head spin and I just wanted to bang my head against the wall, but I knew my mom would hear the banging, freak out, then and demand to know what's bothering me.

I decided to continue talking to him and not move or have him be moved, but I wouldn't give in to anything I wasn't comfortable with.

~~

When I arrived at school I got the usual stares and glares, but I did my best to ignore them and went straight to my locker. I put in the combination and opened my locker, searching for my textbook.

"Autumn!" a voice called from behind me. I turned around to see Seth jogging over to me. "We still good for hanging out today?"

"Yeah." I assured him. "Definitely."

"Cool." he said. "So, I'll see you later." Then he walked over to his friends.

"You and Seth are hanging out today?" Emily asked, stadnind beside me.

"Yup." I answered, finally finding my textbook and closing my locker.

"You lucky little bitch!" Amy said and lightly slapped my arm.