Teachers Pet

41: You Still Have Me

        My mom came out first with a smile on her face. Jake did too. They were speaking in whispered voices. I stood up, getting the attention of everyone here. It made my face go red. Jake looked my face over before leading my mom to me. She smiled at me with so much hope. It's been a long time since I've seen her like this. It made me hopeful just looking at her. She grabbed my hands and pulled me into a hug. Jake and I had a moment of our own as we stared at each other over my mom's shoulder.

       "Will you still be needing that transfer?" A woman asked. She didn't sound nice about it at all. My mother let me go and looked at the woman. She was too happy to care for her ignorance.

       "No, you can take that transfer and shove it -"

       "Mom, I still go here." She looked down at me and sighed with a small smile. She nodded before kissing my cheek and looking to Jake who was a little shocked by my mom's comment. It felt like I was getting the mom I once knew before back. The snippy woman who wasn't afraid to say what she thought. I thought Marcus had taken that part of her away for good. I guess I was wrong. I've never been happier to be wrong. The woman behind the counter that my mom insulted was silently fuming.

       "I'd walk your daughter to class, but I know it would just spark up more talk than there already is." It would also make it harder than it already was for me to be around him. I've been ignoring his calls and all of his text. The unheard voicemails have reached the max, but I can't find the strength to delete them. The last words we spoke to each other before all of this went south... I've been holding on to them like life support. It was the last time we were together. We were at the drive-in saying goodbye. "If you ever need anything... You still have me." Those words were burned into my head. That was more than two months ago.

       "Dean can walk her," My mom told Jake. Dean nodded as he stepped around me.

       "We have class in the same direction," he told them. Jake nodded, smiling at my mom once more.

       "Okay. We'll talk later, Sarah." Did he just call my mom Sarah? Am I making up the fact that he just addressed her by her first name? My mom reached for his hands and squeezed them as she had done to me. She was smiling with eyes full of hope again. He called her Sarah... Not Ms. Harper, but Sarah.

       "Jake." She pulled him into a hug, shocking Jake a bit. It took him a moment to realize what was happening. He carefully wrapped his arms around my mom before letting her go. She looked to me once more, touching my cheek as she passed.

       "I'll see you at home." I waved weakly, still confused at to what just happened. We all watched my mom leave and get stared at by every student in the hall. They knew she was my mom. The looks of disgust she got made me angry, but I knew they had worse reserved for me.

       "I'll see you in class... Miss Harper." Jake hurried out of the office, still leaving me in a very confused state. Dean stepped in front of me and smiled slightly.

       "Did he just call my mom, Sarah?" Dean laughed with a nod.

       "If you have no other business here, you should go to class. Both of you." We looked at the woman who was insulted by my mother. She was still angry and was taking it out on us now. I nodded as Dean put a hand behind my back and guided me out of the main office. When the door closed, I felt like I had been thrown to the wolves. All eyes were on me, hushed whispers and not so quiet conversations surrounded me and Dean. Dean did his best to pull me quickly through the halls to first period. The faster I got there, the faster this was over. I felt like I would throw up. I heard someone call me a lying bitch as we passed a small group of people that I knew to be Nolan's friends. I can only recall a few of their names, but that wasn't important to remember anymore. I caught small snippets of everyone's conversations as we weaved through people crowding the halls.