AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Kent is now distracted because Trina has just walked into the cafeteria. And she’s with Camden. Trina leans closer to hear whatever her friend is saying and then breaks into peals of laughter. I wouldn’t have guessed that Camden is capable of making a joke.
Kent waves to his girlfriend. Her smile broadens and she hurries right over so the two of them can stand in the middle of the cafeteria and suck face. Camden has followed rather awkwardly and she looks around as if she’s embarrassed while Kent gets his hands all over Trina. I wonder what that’s like, to have someone you’ve likely fucked a thousand times and can’t wait to fuck again. I wonder what it’s like to have a girl you can’t get enough of.
Camden’s eyes meet mine and I notice that her eyes are not blue like I thought they were. They are more grayish green. She holds my stare for a few additional seconds and I know enough about girls to understand that she enjoys looking at me. Finally she tears her eyes away and bites her lower lip, like she’s been caught doing something she shouldn’t.
The bell rings, activating everyone in sight except for Kent and Trina, who are too busy boning through their clothes to pay attention. I gather all my crap, drop off my tray and head to class. Camden must have run out of the room a split second after the bell sounded because I don’t see her anywhere. My next class is math and she’s not in that class. That’s too bad. I’m kind of in the mood to stare at her and remember all the filthy thoughts that rolled through my head after I saw her panties.
There’s a quiz today that totally slipped my mind but I was halfway paying attention during the lectures all week and I’m good at math so it’s not hard. I’m about to pass my paper forward when I catch sight of two words and freeze. My mind must have been on vacation for a few seconds when I scrawled my name at the top of the paper.
BENNET DREXLER.
The ballpoint pen I used is black ink. There is no way to erase it. And if I scribble over the name to block it out that would just make a big mess and call more attention to the mistake. I can’t believe I’ve committed such a huge blunder after all this time. I’ve let my guard down too much. I’ve screwed up.
“BEN!” Mr. Pertino bellows my name. He resembles a bullfrog on his best day and right now he’s become a furious bullfrog with a bright pink face, blinking at me in disbelief as I rip my quiz paper into tiny pieces.
Heads swivel around to stare at me. A few of them snicker.
“Sorry.” I sweep the pieces into my palm and stand up. “There was a spider on my paper.”
“A spider?”
“Afraid so.” This makes no sense to anyone in the room. “Can I get another copy? I know the answers. It would only take me a minute to write them down.”
Mr. Pertino frowns. In this class I’m a decent student and I don’t usually cause trouble. Still, tearing up a quiz comes across as a dick move and Black Mountain Academy doesn’t have much patience for dick moves.
“No, young man. You may not have another copy. You may take your garbage to the trash can and you may also take a zero for this quiz.”
This isn’t great news but it’s not the end of the world either. I don’t argue. I spend the remainder of the class sitting at my desk with my arms crossed and staring out the window at the snow-topped peak looming over the town.
Camden
Frankie is hunting through the junk drawer in the kitchen when I walk into the room. He quickly shuts the drawer and sits at the table while I pour a glass of orange juice for myself.
“What were you looking for?” I ask him when I take a seat.
My stepbrother pulls the strings of his faded red hoodie and averts his eyes. “Nothing. Just thought maybe there’d be some spare change in there.”
“You don’t need lunch money. It’s Saturday.”
He sighs. “The strap on my wrestling headgear is broken. It’s thirty bucks including tax for a new one. I’ve been skimping on lunch lately so I have twelve. I guess it was dumb to hope there might be eighteen bucks worth of quarters sitting in the drawer.”
I set my glass down. If my dad knew about this he’d hand over the money in a heartbeat but he left for work at the crack of dawn. He’s been picking up all the overtime weekend shifts he can get.
“Wait here.” I hurry off to my room and return with a twenty dollar bill.
“Thanks, Cam.” Frankie is happy to pocket the money at first and then he takes a closer look at the bill. “Did you write on it?”
“No.”
He’s no longer smiling. “It says ‘Happy Birthday, Camden’. This is the money that came in the mail from your grandma the other day.”
“My birthday isn’t for another two weeks. She sent it early because she gets confused.”
He pushes the bill at me. “I can’t take it.”
I push it back at him. “I want you to take it. Just promise me you won’t go without lunch anymore.”
He cooperates but looks miserable. “I’ll pay you back. I was going to try to get a job.”
