Just Try It

Chapter 25- Lunchtime Performance

Tuesday, February 14th 12:00 pm

Lincoln High School lunchroom

For Valentine's Day, things were actually pretty quiet. No Valentines and no Malcolm, Susie reassured herself. She still couldn't relax.  So she tried again.  When you didn't have a boyfriend, it was almost like every other day. This time she almost felt better.  Seeing flowers being delivered across the lunchroom had her tensing up yet again though. She didn't relax until the delivery went past her. The excited shriek and excited voices behind her were easy to block out, unlike her own thoughts. Reluctantly, Susie admitted to herself that she was dreading Malcolm's arrival.

Nancy's voice broke through her thoughts as she sneered, "Don't worry. Malcolm will arrive before the end of the day. She had better not have been lying."

In surprise, Susie followed Nancy's glare to see Sondra sitting and smiling next to Moe across the room. Blankly, Susie asked, "Sondra might have been lying?" even as she told herself to not get her hopes up.

With a shrug and a scowl, Nancy snarled, "There is no way she could compete with you, so it is possible. It would be a stupid thing to do, considering how much you would make her pay later. However, people have been known to do stupid things over guys."

Before Susie could start to hope again, the double doors to the lunchroom swung open dramatically. Everyone quieted as Malcolm made his big entrance. Even as smiles burst onto people's faces at the new drama, Susie's heart sunk.

When he burst through the doors with a large candy box in one hand and a bunch of roses in the other, every eye turned his way. Malcolm smiled at the room and the attention, but his smile widened when he spotted Susie. It wasn't a moment before he was striding confidently across the room. The lunchroom quieted even further as everyone strained to hear every word. When Malcolm got to Susie, he dropped his gifts on the table, picked her up, and spun her around.

With the romance of the moment Malcolm spun Susie in a circle so fast that her legs flew out and knocked a passing freshman to the ground. He chose to ignore that, and kept spinning them until Susie finally managed to say, "I'm going to throw up if you don't stop." That was when he finally noticed her green face and slowed to a stop. Susie tried to inch back, but he just stared down at her adoringly. She rubbed the new sore spot on her leg and glanced at the freshman who was picking himself up from the floor.

With an accusing glare, the freshman picked up his lunch and retreated without a word. As he left, Susie was tempted to call out an apology, but it hadn't been her fault. Besides, it would just draw Malcolm's attention to the kid and might make things worse. It would be better to just let it go, she reassured herself.

Oblivious to her thoughts, Malcolm sat her down on his lap, and said loud enough for the whole room to hear, I missed you while I was gone. I worked hard to be back for Valentine's Day.

Not knowing what to say, Susie opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, and looked around the room wishing for someone to rescue her. Her eyes were drawn across the room when Terrance stood up abruptly from his table.

Her gaze drifted to Sondra and Moe. She kept thinking about how Sondra had congratulated her on Malcolm's return. Everyone seemed to be smiling at the Malcolm's demonstration or glaring at her. Resentment built up inside. No one cared what she wanted. With Malcolm back, Susie couldn't use Moe to get her life back on track. There would be no escape this time. As her life was falling apart, Sondra was smiling. With Nancy's animosity toward Sondra, Sondra being the messenger of Malcolm's return, and how she was happy while Susie despaired, she was an easy, and safer target, for the negative feelings building inside. With a deep breath, Susie tried to shake off the unreasonable anger and reminded herself to focus on what was really important.

As Susie turned away from Sondra, she spotted the security camera on the wall. At first, she thought about jumping off Malcolm's lap before she was called to the office, but then she thought of the small consequences Jamie had earned for making out at school. A new plan burst into Susie's mind and she began to smile. Maybe, she could make the school cameras work for her. After all, the cameras were installed just after Malcolm had left, and he probably wouldn't know about them. It would take some acting, but it might just be worth it. Before she lost her nerve, Susie turned back to Malcolm and smiled up at him before she leaned up to whisper in his ear.

He let out a loud boisterous laugh and almost shoved her to the floor in his hurry to stand up. After regaining her balance, she pasted on a cocky grin and tugged him behind her as headed away from prying eyes of people that didn't really care about her.

This was going better than even he had expected, Malcolm thought to himself as he followed Susie through the crowded room. A knowing smirked twisted his lips as his gaze traced Susie's luscious curves. They were all his. No one had ever touched them before, and even though he hadn't claimed her body completely, those curves were definitely his. With another smile, Malcolm scanned the room and was satisfied by the jealous gazes. The attention his entrance had elicited had been very satisfying, but even better, no one would dare go near Susie after his romantic display. His proud smile faded when he noticed one person glaring like he hated him.

Kids at school never glared at him. He was a star of the football team. Even if he didn't like them, they always tried to get on his good side or they avoided him. No one had ever stared at him like they WANTED a fight. He vaguely knew the kid staring at him. The guy was a cop's son, but he was large and a decent fighter. No one he would usually cross paths with. Even though he was a jock, he was in a different sport, didn't need any enhancements, and he never partied. Besides, Malcolm didn't need the attention beating up a cop's son would bring. Malcolm couldn't help wondering what was going on. Then, he saw who was holding the glaring guy's hand and fear rose in the pit of his stomach as a cold sweat made his hands clammy.

Jamie's small smile and head nod actually made Malcolm flinch. He remembered her clearly, and it was a shock to see her here, on his home ground. It had been bad enough at the shelter. His dad was even glad that he had straightened up enough at the shelter to get out. No one knew that he had learned that if he stepped out of line she would plant him face first on the ground. If that wasn't enough, when the girl left, the teacher somehow gained a big body guard that could appear and disappear like a shadow. If that hadn't been enough, the teacher had then learned enough moves to make him let go. By that time, he hadn't been willing to try to do anything else.

No one, especially not family or friends, could find out everything that had happened at the shelter. His reputation would be ruined if this got around here. It would be even worse for him if his dad ever found out. Right now, his life was set on a path of luxury. He would be set for life, but weaknesses would not be tolerated. If it got around that a tiny GIRL could take him down his future would not be nearly as bright. Only with a lot of fast talking did he manage to keep his defeat off the records at the shelter and convince them not to call the police in on top of that.

Rage and fear rushed through him, and he barely managed a fake smile. A thin sheen of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he forced himself to look away from Jamie and focus on Susie. This was his special return and that girl was ruining it. Here he was with Susie, his girlfriend, taking him to a secluded spot in the school for a private welcome back, and he was freaking out. He had been afraid that he would have to remind Susie that she belonged to him, but she finally seemed to understand that they were meant to be together. It had taken some work for him to get her in the beginning, but Nancy had really come through.

The thought of Nancy settled his raw nerves. A true smile appeared on his face. He didn't need to worry after all. Nancy would take care of everything. She always had, and she always would. Right now, he had some adrenaline to burn off. His eyes drifted possessively over Susie's lush curves, and his smile grew wider as he thought about the best way to do that. To bad they were in school. He probably shouldn't skip out on his first day back. Besides, Susie wouldn't want to cut since she had tennis practice. A small frown appeared. Tennis was a fine diversion to keep her busy when he was gone, but now that he was back, she should devote her time to him. He would talk to Nancy later. With her guidance, she would help him get what he deserved.