the price of being ace

Chapter 2

Jo^
I get out of math which apparently Erin had with me and unfortunately have to go to my locker to grab my lunch because I forgot it
"Ditch with me" jo says coming up to me
"What" i say because this catches me a bit off guard
"Let's go to the mall,skip everything else today and just go besides you need some volleyball training gear because I don't think you brought everything you need" she says and I smile
"I could use some new clothes and my aunt and uncle don't have a very good volleyball so I'm down" I say after contemplating whether or not to skip sports pro
"By the way what bag did you bring instead of your gym stuff?" She asks and I smile
"I accidentally brought my volleyball equipment bag with all my state gear" I say and she laughs

"You really couldn't just wear that" she says tucking a strand of her green hair behind her ear
"I guess but if I show up in training gear from one of the best state teams in the country on my first day I'll get a lot more attention than I need not to mention I want to leave that behind" I say and she nods
"I guess" she says as I take my backpack out of my locker
"Come on I know how to avoid the officer better than you" I say and she laughs at me
"The last time you ditched was your first day when you had a mental breakdown the cop left you alone because you were really upset" she says as we get close to the side doors

We take her car to the mall and go in through the food court entrance
"It's almost 12 why don't we eat" jo says and I look around at all the different choices
"Let's get sushi" I say and she agrees
"Uh oh" Jo says as my phone dings while we're eating
"It's Jackson" I say letting out a sigh of relief because he has a habit of just starting a conversation full well knowing I'm in class but I know he won't tell on me when I'm not
Jackson:hey how's class?
Me:it's probably good but im at the mall
Jackson:Wow Same
Me:where are you maybe we could meet up
Jackson:I'm with some of the football team
Me:oh ok well it was just an idea
Jackson:I'll meet you at GameStop in 5 minutes if you want though
Me:no it's ok have fun with your friends

We stop by the sports store and I end up buying some adidas work out clothes and a volleyball while jo now has a a new pair of kickboxing gloves
"We really are 'those' girls aren't we" I say to jo as we put our stuff on the counter for the cashier
"We kind of are" jo says as I hand the man at the counter my debit card
"It's not that I want to be bullied for being the dud cousin of the football star It's just I came here to leave the daughter of millionaires  always in the public eye life behind" I say as we walk away
"Your cousin is cute too by the way" jo say and I laugh
"I'm not setting you two up" I say and she looks at me with mock hurt
"I would never ask you to do that" she says and we both laugh

We end up sitting on a bench after buying soft pretzels when someone calls my name
"Ace" someone calls and I look over and see my English partner who I'm supposed to be doing a project with for class
"Schools already out" jo say and I click my phone display on and see its 3:30 already
"Hey Paige what's up" I say and she smiles
"You weren't in class today and I don't think you came along on the football teams monthly ditch day tradition" she says and I laugh
"No but it sure has been fun dipping out at second period and everything after that" I say which makes Paige kind of mad
"I bet this was Jolene's idea" she says and I know I'll have to step in because I've heard stories of the last time someone called jo by her full name on purpose
"Don't call me Jolene" she says angrily
"She's always been in class until today and You usually only come to class 3 or 4 days a week" Paige says and I sigh
"I have a lot of responsibilities " jo says seeing my agitation and backing down a bit
"Look Paige tonight I'll do whatever part of the project you want me to" I say and she then swings her backpack off her shoulder and hands me a couple papers
"This is the homework and the sheet outlining what I want you to do" Paige says practically shoving it into my hands

Jo drives me home and I get inside to find my uncle standing in the kitchen
"Hi ace" he says as I drop my bag and come into the kitchen
"Hey uncle Martin"I say before looking in the fridge for a snack and decide on an apple
"How did volleyball go?" He asks as I take a bite
"Pretty good but coach said I'll be competing with a senior for the starting position I want" I say before sitting down at the kitchen table
"Well I'm sure you'll get the spot" he says before walking into the living room
"Of course Paige left me to do the essay" I say looking over one of the sheets of paper which outline having to do an essay on Macbeth and stuff
"An essay huh" aunt Kate says coming in
"Yup and I guess I should get on it" I say reaching into my backpack for my laptop
"I heard what happened yesterday at the assembly are you ok?" She says sitting down across from me
"I mean I don't like that my personal history is out around school but whatever it's fine" I say making it clear I don't want to talk about it anymore