Unfortunately the quiz wasn't a joke like the rest of the morning. It was on a book that we were supposed to read over spring break. Noah and I had both read it earlier thanks to being grounded but from the way the class groaned, it was obvious that not everyone had done it.
History was next and instead of a student playing a joke on everyone, it was the teacher. He had flipped all of our desks around to face the back of the class, and then began teaching like it was normal. Throughout the day, some of the teachers came up with little things like that to tease the students. Noah didn't find it funny, but to me it was amusing.
The jokes didn't even stop for lunch. We both sat down at our table outside and opened our bags of food to reveal a bunch of eyes. Mrs. Atkins stuck a pair of googly eyes on everything from my sandwich bag, to my juice, to my chips, to the bag of cookies. She just did it all. I laughed at the creepiness.
"She does the same things every year." Noah told me. He just ignored the eyes and began to eat. "Thankfully she's not like Dad who tries to come up with new material every year."
I wrinkled my nose. "Yea, I don't think I could handle being woken up by water balloons." I'd probably die of a heart attack or maybe pee my pants from fright.
Noah laughed. "I think they could have guessed that. Thankfully they left me out of it too." He grinned. "I guess you're somewhat useful."
"Ha." I said sarcastically.
Halfway through lunch, Noah stopped talking about baseball. I looked up at him to see him staring pass me. I peeked and saw Kaylee headed our way.
"Let me handle this." Noah told me, never taking his eyes off her. As she got closer, he spoke up for her to hear. "If you want to say anything mean, then I suggest you turn back around without a word. I won't hit a girl, but that doesn't mean I'll let you be as rude as your parents."
Kaylee stopped at the end of the picnic table. She was red in the face and had beads of sweat on the corner of her forehead even though it was nice and cool. "I just wanted to apologize."
Why? It's not like she did anything wrong.
"Good. I accept the apology." Noah answered. I kicked his foot under the table. He looked at me, surprised I would do such a thing.
Fine. If he wasn't going to say it, I will. I cleared my throat and sat up a little straighter. "It's not like you're the one who said those things. Your parents aren't your responsibility. You are their responsibility."
Kaylee scratched her arm and avoided eye contact. "But still. Mom and Dad said some mean things. When they told me what they were thinking about you, I felt angry. I know you aren't…'that'. Noah treats you like a little brother and I see that, but their…" She shifted from foot to foot, unsure of how to explain her parents thoughts and actions.
"Just sit down already." Noah scooted over. "Seeing you move back and forth is making me lose my appetite. We're not mad at you so you shouldn't look so pitiful."
"I can't help but feel ashamed." She mumbled while sitting down.
I gulped. "I-I know what it's like. To have an embarrassment of a parent." I thought back to all the days I would have to walk home alone from school, or went to school with a myriad number of bruises covering my body, or the days I would cringe because my stomach was too loud from going days without food. "Your parents aren't terrible people. They're just inconsiderate." They still fed her, clothed her, and loved her. They just thought something was wrong with me.
"Jake-" Kaylee started to say, but I got up.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom before class." I looked at Noah. "I'll see you in health." I bolted out of there. I wanted to make Kaylee feel better, I did. Yet…every time I compare anyone to my mom, I'm the one that feels worse. Maybe she feels better, maybe she doesn't.
I haven't seen the woman in half a year, yet it was like she was still hovering over me. A ghost I couldn't get rid of. I could go days without thinking about my father and brother, but she…the scar she left on me was too deep.
I spent the rest of lunch, hiding in the bathroom stall, trying to calm my inner struggle. When it was time for math with the twins, I was back to normal. Or as normal as I could get. The twins were a good distraction as they liked to talk a lot. Kyle was excited from seeing Marie at lunch and happy that she agreed to be together even though their parents had conflict. Dave couldn't care less about his twin's dating life and instead was stressing over how long his finger was taking to heal.
"Didn't they say, a week or two?" I asked.
Dave glared at his finger. He wasn't even abled to hold a pencil, let alone pitch a ball. "I should heal faster though. I'm super healthy. And I've been taking those vitamins that Mom bought for me."
"This week is two games against non-important schools so why even stress." Kyle shrugged before copying the notes from the board.
"I don't want to fall behind." Dave said in a low voice. "There's got to be something I can do this week."
"Ask Drew!" I told him. "Drew is a trainer. He helps with injuries. He probably can't do anything for your finger, but maybe he can come up with some kind of training regimen for you." And if he's busy with Julian, Kelvin, and Dave, that means he won't have any time for me.
Dave nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. I'll have to talk to him and Coach. I can't just sit back and waste away over a stupid fingernail." He reached out and patted my head with his good hand. "Look at you, being more outspoken. If I didn't know better, I would think that you're trying to make Drew busy." My grin faltered and Dave laughed. "It's still a good idea though. I don't know if it'll help you stay safe from running and sliding practice though."
I sighed.
