Lure of the Monster

This

Jane was true to her word. She and Alex turned my room upside down searching for any drugs that I had stashed as I leaned against the doorframe, watching them. The bottle of pills I'd had in my duffel bag were safely stashed in my pocket. They went through every bag I had. They looked under my mattress, in my pillowcases, even in my shoes. When they were done with my room, they searched my car.

I safely placed my pills back in the closet as they went downstairs. I followed them out and watched as they searched my car, thankful that everything I had ever done was in Chris' car.

I missed my car. That was what I thought about as Jane inched her way through the drop off lane that was only used by freshmen and sophomores who didn't have their licenses or someone to ride with. I slumped down in the seat, well aware that I was one of the few upperclassmen being dropped off by a parent or someone who played the part.

"Alex is going to pick you up after school. He has a late appointment, so you'll have to hang out with him until he's done. It'll give you some time to do your homework," Jane said as she came to a stop near the doors.

I started to open the door, but she put a hand on my arm, stopping me. "What?"

"Take advantage of this, Beckham," she said quietly. "We're giving you a chance here and you need to put some effort in if this is going to work."

"Got it," I told her and pulled away, climbing out of the car.

I ducked my head and slipped in the side door. I really didn't care about what people thought about me, but I didn't need any more attention than what I already got.

For once, I was at school before the warning bell rang, so the hallways were a lot more crowded than what I was used to. I pushed my way through the crowd and managed to make it to my locker. As I spun the dial, a fist slammed against the locker next to me.

"What the fuck, Beckham?" Chris hissed as I opened my locker. "I woke up and you were just gone. People were saying you nearly died. You weren't in school for two days, and then you show up today acting like nothing happened? What the hell happened?"

I shrugged, taking out my French book and slamming my locker shut. "I almost OD'd and my aunt found out, so I've been in some deep shit with her because she thinks I'm trying to kill myself. Oh, and the boyfriend that my dad killed my mom over? Yeah, I hooked up with him over the weekend like nothing even happened. So, sorry that you thought I was dead because I kind of wished I were this weekend."

"Damn," Chris said with a whistle. "Wanna skip out, then? Head downtown. Forget about everything."

I shook my head. "I can't. My aunt and her boyfriend took my car keys until I can prove that I'm not a complete fuck up."

"Wanna smoke a joint before class, then?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"That is an offer I will take you up on," I said, clapping him on the shoulder. We turned and started down the hallway.

"Mr. Stanton," a voice called. I winced, feeling as though everyone was looking at me.

"What does he want?" Chris muttered as I turned around to see Mr. Naylor heading in my direction.

"Your aunt said that you were willing to take me up on my offer, so I just wanted to make sure that you remembered to come in today during your free period," Mr. Naylor said as he reached us. "And we need to set up your tutoring sessions. Miss. Edmund will want to have a schedule."

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," I told him.

Mr. Naylor glanced over at Chris. "Mr. Dumont, it would be nice if you could stop by and see me as well sometime."