AP Economics & Virtual Enterprise – Mr. Quiroz
AP Physics – Mr. Hicks
The target of my ire walked into the kitchen.
“I see you gave him his schedule,” she said, and gave me a look that dared me to object.
“I really wanted to take Rock Music Appreciation,” I complained.
“First, you should be thanking me,” she said and paused for me to do just that.
I still didn’t get how she was able to change my classes. There surely had to be some kind of rule against that. When she recognized that Hell might freeze over before I ‘appreciated’ her meddling, she continued.
“With your five AP classes, you can overtake Gina Tasman for valedictorian. She’s only taking three,” Mom explained.
Advanced Placement classes had a multiplier that added to your grade point average. Gina was slightly ahead of me in the class standings. The competitive side of me understood my mom’s logic, but I did want to take the rock music class.
“Did you give Dare a heads-up that you changed my schedule?” I asked.
“He needs to learn to be more independent,” Mom said.
She had a point. Until now, I’d had Brook to help keep an eye on him. My first option now was Cassidy, but I would bet big money that she wasn’t interested in any of the classes he would be in.
Speaking of the little ninja, I heard the back door open, and she waltzed in. Someone felt comfortable enough to walk right in without knocking. It made me smile because when I was growing up, Tami, Alan, and Jeff had done just that. We treated each other’s houses like our own.
“Oh, good, I didn’t miss breakfast,” she said as she claimed my seat at the table.
Everyone looked at me, and I suppressed a smile. Leave it to my family to bring me back to earth. In their eyes, I was still a high school kid, not a movie star. I stepped over to the refrigerator to see what I would make for breakfast.
◊◊◊
It upset Cassidy that I wouldn’t let her drive the Dodge Demon in the snow. It was too much car on dry pavement; I didn’t even want to imagine what would happen if it was driven in icy conditions. Instead, we took the SUV. I felt much safer with her driving that.
When we pulled up to the school, I got out, and Cassidy scowled at me.
“I’m supposed to do a security check before you get out of the car,” she complained.
I looked around, and there wasn’t another car parked within thirty feet of us. She made me get back in and, out of spite, had me wait while she did her check. When she opened my door to let me out, I grabbed my duffle bag and bolted for the school’s front door.
“Jerk!”
I looked toward the door and noticed a girl between me and the building. She heard my boots crunching in the snow, which caused her to turn to see who was coming. I darted past her to be a gentleman and open the door.
She pushed around me and was halfway in when she recognized me. The girl stood in the middle of the doorway, looking up into my eyes with her mouth open. Then she did the full checkout as her gaze ran up and down my body.
I was both amused and irritated when the girl looked at my crotch. Mr. Happy must have sensed the scrutiny because he twitched awake. She spotted the movement in my jeans and blinked several times.
“Not that I mind you staring, but I need to get inside so I can go lift,” I said.
By now, Cassidy had caught up with me and stood there, taking in the show.
The girl pried her eyes away from my crotch and looked totally mortified at being caught ogling me. I felt like a piece of meat she was about to kneel before and devour. Her eyes finally met mine, and I had an ironic smile on my face that I hoped conveyed that I wasn’t serious. She opened and closed her mouth a couple times before she could talk.
“Ah, yes, uhm, nice of you to, ah … I mean nice of you to meet with me, me, to meet you. Uh, I mean …” she managed. Then the girl turned to run away like I’d asked her to sacrifice kittens to raise some demonic entity from the depths of Hell.
As she stumbled through her incoherent little speech, I’d zoned out because she was the vision of precisely the type of cute girl that I wanted to get to know. Her eyes were the dark blue of the night sky and a great complement to her gorgeous full lips. Her thick dark hair smelled of coconut and looked silky to the touch, making me want to run my fingers through it.
I couldn’t tell much else because she had bundled herself up in an oversized parka that hung down to her knees. She was such a little tease, hiding her goodies from me.
Then this girl did the unexpected. She stopped herself from scampering away, then turned and squared her shoulders.
It was my turn to blink. She made sure she had my full attention and looked down at the bulge in my jeans. Her little pink tongue darted over her lips as those dark eyes watched Mr. Happy make a play for the body. It caused him to thicken and stretch as he attempted to escape through my jeans like that monster in
