KISS: Casablanca High School

Ch 68: Boiling Point (Gene)

I slid into my desk and let out a sigh. Not math, not at 8 AM. That's too early. Aucoin walked to the front of the room, rapping on his desk with the ruler. "Partner quiz today. Pair up. You will each be in charge of half of the questions then will exchange answers. It will count for half as much as a normal quiz, but it will still be significant. Now pick your partner." 

Peter shot me a hopeful grin and I shrugged, motioning for him to come over. To my surprise, Bruce walked over to Eric's desk, resulting in a huge smile spreading across Eric's face. "Oh, that's surprising! Guess you were right, they're not mad at each other. But anyway, do you know how to do any of this? Because I don't but I really need an A my grandparents keep asking me how my grades are and I think saying they're just fine is only gonna get me so far," Peter babbled, taking over Singer's desk. Grinning, I shook my head, accepting the paper from Aucoin. "Lucky for you, I do. Now come on, you do the first three then we'll switch."

Quiz was cake. Aucoin slowly read out the correct answers, and with each one Peter got more and more excited. Eric's face, on the other hand, grew redder and redder. By the time the last answer had been read, he had dropped his head to his desk. Hm.

Peter gave me a high five, heading back to his desk. "Oh Gene baby you came in clutch with that, I needed an A!" 

I barely nodded, still looking at Eric, who was on the verge of tears as he pulled out his notebook. The instant class was over, I rushed to catch up with him. "Hey Eric, how'd you do on the quiz?" I asked, trying to casually break the ice. His face went red again and he shook his head. "I got a 0! I thought I knew what I was doing but then Bruce told me I was wrong and he told me how to actually do it and so I changed all my answers but I was right the first time but then I got them all wrong and none of his were right and he didn't even seem that upset so I feel like he was doing it on purpose because he got suspended from the wrestling team and he's blaming me for it even though I didn't do anything!" he cried, eyes welling with tears. I slipped an arm around his shoulder, steering him toward gov. "I'm sure he didn't mean to make you guys fail, he probably thought he was right. Just talk to Aucoin about it, explain what happened. He can be pretty reasonable." 

Eric let out a huge sigh, rubbing his face with his hands. "It's just so stupid because he's so mad at me but I didn't even do anything! I was just trying to help him!" I nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it, he's just upset because he got suspended from the team and he needs someone to blame it on. I can talk to him about it though if you need me to." 

Shrugging, he pushed open the door to class. "It's alright. Thanks, though, I appreciate it." 

By the time practice rolled around, he had gone from being upset at Bruce to being mad at Bruce. I sat on the mat next to him, stretching. "Hey man, you okay?" 

Eric hooked a foot behind his head, scowling. "No. No, not at all." I raised an eyebrow, twisting around and cracking my back. "You wanna talk about it?"

"Bruce is my best friend but he's being such an ass about this whole thing! I tried to talk to him about the math quiz but he won't even talk to me he just keeps making vague comments about how mad he is he can't go to state because of 'some people' and being so stupid!" he cried, rolling over into a backbend.

I stood up, holding out a hand and pulling him to his feet. "Look man, you just need to keep your distance from him right now. I know he's your friend but he's mad and upset about state. You did the right thing by reporting it and I'm sure he knows it. Just...just give him some time."

He just shrugged, tying up his hair. "Yeah okay."

Coach dismissed us at the usual time but shot a glance at Eric, motioning for him. "Carr, come here, I need to talk to you." Frowning in confusion, Eric walked over to his desk. Interesting.

 I stood outside the wrestling room, shivering in the cold and waiting for him. About five minutes later, Eric came storming out, practically shaking with rage. "Whoa hey what happened?" I asked, eyes widening. 

"You know what he did?! You know what he fucking did?!? He told McGee I was anorexic! He's trying to get me kicked off the team!" he shouted, tears rolling down his cheeks. "I didn't even do anything and he's doing everything he can to make my life miserable! Why is he doing this? I thought he was my friend!" he wailed. I pulled him into a hug, feeling him trembling. "Look, Eric, listen to me. Keep your distance from him. I'll talk to him, I'll tell him I was the one who actually told you to report him. He's just...he's going through a lot and he's taking it out on you. He shouldn't be doing that, I'm not saying he's right, but just uh...try and understand it or something." 

He took a shaking breath, sitting abruptly on the curb. "He sucks, man, he really sucks. I thought he was my friend." 

I sat next to him, looking at the snow. "He is your friend. I'll talk to him, alright? Don't worry about it. Just go home and don't worry I'll take care of it I promise." 

"You're on a full ride too, what happens to the scholarship if you were to, say, get suspended for fighting?" he asked innocently after a pause. I gave him a look, raising an eyebrow. "Eric. No. I'll take care of him, I swear." 

Shaking his head, he rose to his feet. "Thanks man, I appreciate it. I'll see you tomorrow." 

I nodded,  wincing as I stood up. "Yeah, don't mention it," I said, pulling out my phone as he walked to his car and drove away. "Hey Gene, what's up?"  I took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. "Bruce Kulick I swear if you keep picking on Eric because you got your sorry ass suspended from the wrestling team I'm going to kill you," I hissed.

"Excuse me?  What the hell are you talking about?"  "You know exactly what I'm talking about! Failing the math quiz on purpose? Reporting him for being anorexic?? Are you serious, man, that's pathetic! He didn't even do anything to you!" 

"I  got suspended from the team because of him! Sorry if I don't feel like being the nicest person to him!"  

I took a deep breath, hands balling into fists. "Eric didn't do shit to you! You're the one with the eating disorder, which is why you got suspended! He didn't even report you! It was my idea for him to go to Elder, I was the one who actually told Elder you have bulimia! If you want to fight someone, then fight me! You didn't have to take the math quiz with him, you did that just to hurt him! You know how important his grades are to him! What the hell are you doing?! Stop being such a little bitch about all this!" 

Bruce went silent for a moment. "He got me suspended." 

"No! He! Didn't! Listen Bruce, I'm serious, if you do anything else to hurt him you're dead. Get your head out of your ass and accept it's your fault and get better. I can understand that you're hurt and that you're looking for someone to blame but you and I both know the only person you can blame is yourself. Just get better so you can get back on the team." 

"Yeah I--I'm sorry I guess."  "Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Eric. And tell Aucoin how you failed the quiz on purpose. You'll be lucky if Eric forgives you," I growled, hanging up. 

Damn this is a mess. 

ERIC

I stepped out of the shower, still reeling from what he had done earlier. I walked over to the mirror in my bedroom, numb, slowly reaching up to pull down the check from my first night at Huey's. I looked at it for a moment before dropping it behind the dresser and out of sight. Methodically, without even really realizing what I was doing, I kept going until all signs of Bruce were gone. 

Still on autopilot, I pulled on my pajamas and turned off the light with a shaking hand before collapsing into my bed and sobbing myself to sleep for the first time in a long time.

For the first time since I had found a best friend.