Bitter Affectionate

Chapter 8

I approached Joseph at school that day. Me and Brent walked in in the middle of the day, and while he got called to the principals office for leaving school to get me, I found Joseph in the library.

"Hey," I said, sitting beside him and giving him a small smile. He closed the book in front of him and turned to me.

"Hey. How'd your end of the bargain go?"

I had half the mind to say, "There was no bargaining with you," but, since I was in such a good mood, I just said, "Perfect."

He raised a brow. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. We managed to stay friends, too."

"Huh. Well, I'm proud of you. See? On the road to recovery."

I didn't know what to say, except to swell with pride from him saying he was proud of me. Instead, I asked, "What are you reading?"

Joseph slid his book in front of me. Biology. Yuck.

"Not the most exciting thing in the world," He said. "Anyway, why aren't you in class?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I've got a free period, jackass. What's your excuse?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "I just didn't want to go to class."

Joseph chuckled and muttered, "Hoodlum."

I laughed, but didn't make any move to defend myself. Brent walked into the library and nodded his head toward the hall, so I followed him out.

"Hey, I don't really feel like being here for the rest of the day. I'm in enough trouble already, and you haven't signed in yet, so let's ditch."

I completely agreed. My head felt cloudy with idiotic bliss. So, with one last glance back at Joseph, we left the school.

...

Back at Brents place, he handed me a controller and sat down beside me on the couch.

"I like Piper a lot. I can't tell how much she likes me, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Like, she's smart," he said, his nose scrunched as he thinks,"And, I don't know how to deal with smart people. Not that you're not smart, you're one of the smartest people I know. It's just different. Because, you still dumb things down for me to understand them."

"You're not dumb, Brent."

He seemed unconvinced. "I'm not sure how to talk to her, though. You have to help me."

"Calm down. It's simple; take interest in things she's interested in. Books, space, whatever else. Just, look into it. That'll show her you care."

Brent nodded, then changed the subject. "How was your date?"

"It was... great," I said, honestly. "Really. I don't know how I feel about him, though."

"You don't like him?"

"I want to. I mean, he's hot, and a lot of fun, and I want to like him, but I guess it isn't that simple."

Brent shook his head, and said exactly what I was thinking, "I wish it was."

For the rest of the afternoon, we played video games and enjoyed a mostly silent house. I left when my uncle told me to, and got home to him sitting in the kitchen.

"Drew, get in here," He called. I couldn't tell if he was angry or not, so I complied without a hitch. "Sit down."

I took the seat across from him and folded my hands in my lap.

"You skipped again today?" He said simply. I nodded. "What are you doing, Drew? You're a smart kid, you've been in basketball since you were eight, and football since you were twelve. You're wasting your potential, skipping school with Brent."

"I'm not..." I trailed off. I felt like saying, what potential? But, I didn't. I remained silent.

"Your mom wouldn't take this. So, I won't either. If I hear of you skipping again, you'll regret it, got it?"

I nodded stiffly.

"I love you, kid. I just want what's best for you, alright?"

"Yeah, I know. I'm sorry, Mark."

"Don't sweat it. Now, go do homework or something productive."

I marched upstairs to my room, inspired to get to work. I took out my books to study, but the moment I began reading, my phone buzzed.

From Calvin: Hey.

I tried to ignore it, I really did. However...

To Calvin: Hey. I was wondering when you'd start missing me.

From Calvin: What can I say? You're easy to miss.

To Calvin: I'll have to keep that in mind. How was class?

From Calvin: Dull, as usual. How about you?

To Calvin: I skipped today.

From Calvin: How irresponsible.

To Calvin: Says the one who went to school drunk.

From Calvin: Touché.

I smiled at my phone. I got a knock on the door and quickly pushed my phone underneath my book and called, "Come in."

Mark opened the door and gave me a small smile. "Studying. That's what I like to see," He said, "Take a break and come downstairs. I've got pizza on the table."

"Alright, if I have to," I replied, as if I'd even glanced at my book for more than a minute, and followed him downstairs.