The Plus Side of Negative Thinking

Chapter Two

"I don't really see what the big deal is," Kelly said with a shrug as Principal Mackey paced in front of them in the reception area. Mrs. Wilkes looked on disapprovingly from behind the counter. With the glares she was sending his way, Jeisson had the suspicion that she no longer considered him a "good boy."

Mackey stopped pacing and placed his hands on his hips. "Really? You don't see a problem with what you two just did? In my office?"

"Okay, maybe it wasn't the best place," Kelly admitted. "But come on, we're teenagers! We're frisky! That's what all the movies tell us, anyway. Besides, Jeisson is pretty much like the only guy in school who isn't too scared or too much of a dick to go down on a girl and you expect me to just not make use of that?"

Jeisson couldn't help but laugh at that. Which earned him more glares from Mrs. Wilkes, as well as Principal Mackey. "You think this is funny?"

"We should have just stuck to the dugout like usual," Kelly said, leaning her head back against the glass partition that separated this office from the hallway.

Mackey's eyes practically bugged out of his head. "The dugout?!"

"Oh, please, don't act like you don't know that's the hook-up spot. Everyone knows that."

Mackey shook his head and threw his hands up. "I do now." He pinched the bridge of his nose, taking a deep breath. "Look, what you two want to do on your own time is entirely up to you. But this is a school. A place of learning. There are rules. And that," he pointed to his door, "is my office."

Kelly's mother arrived then. Kelly was the spitting image of her. The same wavy brown hair and honey-brown eyes. Jeisson waited in the reception area while Mackey spoke to Kelly and her mother alone, in his office. His high was wearing off and he wished he hadn't given his last joint away. 

A few minutes later, Mackey emerged from the office, Kelly and her mother trailing after him. Her mom looked relatively unbothered by Kelly getting in trouble. Kelly told him once that her mom pretty much let her get away with anything. Her dad was in the army and currently stationed overseas. When he was home, apparently the rules were much more strict. But when he was gone, her mom was really lenient. Kelly thought it was because she felt bad that her dad was gone so much.

"Jeisson?" Principal Mackey called, motioning into his office.

Kelly made a face at Jeisson as she passed him, sticking her tongue out. It made him smile. Jeisson took a seat in the same chair he had been in just an hour before. Mackey gave his desk a wide birth, leaning instead against the window.

"Sorry?" Jeisson said half-heartedly.

Mackey just shook his head. "Really, Jeisson?"

"In my defense, I did not think you were coming back here."

"I forgot my notecards. And I don't know if I buy that."

"What?"

"I think you wanted to get caught. I think this was your way of punishing me."

Jeisson shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Punishing you for what?"

"I don't know. For actually giving a crap about what happens to you?"

"That's stupid."

"Yeah. It is."

Mackey looked Jeisson in the eye, making him feel even more uncomfortable. He could feel himself starting to sweat. He looked away first. "You're wrong," he said lamely. And besides, Mackey didn't even really care about him. He cared about his potential. He cared about his brain. That was it.