Why aren’t you talking to me?”
Taylor looked at me steadily, probably wondering if he should even answer a simple question asked by the reason for his silence. We were sitting in Mr. Price’s office, in two of his brown, leather chairs facing his mammoth size desk. Why the principal couldn’t buy a normal desk like the regular staff was beyond me.
“My lawyer isn’t present…”he answered me, glancing away, and slouching down even more in his seat.
I rolled my eyes. For one brief moment I wanted to inflict physical harm. But I held myself back.
“Oh, so you have a lawyer on hand for this kind of stuff, huh? You must vandalize property all the time.”
He shrugged. “Maybe…I’m such a rebel, I mix up all the bad stuff I do. Vandalism, shooting people in cold blood, burglary. It all gets fuzzy after my usual 4 liters of vodka-“
“Ah. Vodka. I knew you were that kind of man…” I muttered, slightly amused.
“Oh, I only drink that after my 8 cans of beer. Freshens the breath up a bit…”
“Gross.”
“Hey…” he answered, looking at me with a smirk, “girls like me when I’m drunk. Take the cheerleaders for example. Last Friday, at this party, all 13 of us went up to this chick’s bedroom…”
“Okay, Taylor, you can stop now,” I said quickly. Shivers were started to crawl up and down my back.
“Well, hey, you asked…I told.”
I rolled my eyes again. I hated the “sarcastic Taylor.” It was worse than the lying one.
My father and the principal were in the faculty lounge, probably arguing over if I was going to get blamed for the vandalism, just because my name was in the lettering. I really couldn’t care less. I had a headache, I was mentally exhausted, and all I wanted to do was crawl into a warm bed and sleep…
With Taylor. Well, you know, with just him there to snuggle with, not…
I slapped my hand over my face.
“I know you’re upset, but you don’t have to hit yourself.”
I threw Taylor a look and clasped my hands in my lap. He was sitting right there. The least I could do was not think of him physically while he was sitting right there.
“So,” I started, trying to make my voice seem bright.
“Please don’t be chipper, it doesn’t fit the mood,” he told me, resting his head on his hand.
“Sorryy, Mr. Sunshine…I’ll let you know the next time I decide to be happy so you can cover your ears.”
Thank you. And by the way, could you also let me know before hand when you leave me stranded at the supermarket?”
Can guilt lead to extreme nausea? Hopefully I was just coming down with something…
“So that’s why you’re so mean. You’re bitter about walking home from the grocery store…” I said, planting a fake, pleased look on my features.
“I didn’t walk home…I used the contraption called “the telephone” to call my older brother…useful little thing, it works wonders.”
“Too bad,” I replied, “those scrawny little legs of yours looked like they needed some exercise.”
“You know what?” he asked me, turning his head.
“What?”
“I think you dream about my legs…” he told me, leaning forward, his hand resting on the armrest of my chair.
“In fact, I think you dream about my whole body.”
“You’re right.”
“What?”
“You’re right,” I told him, crossing my legs and placing my hand on his, “I dream of you every single night, in fact, I even daydream about you. In math, in biology, even in gym class when we’re doing push-ups-“
I stopped as his face turned a slight pink, and his eyes seemed to bulge out of his sockets. But they weren’t on me. I heard someone clear their throat, and I immediately threw my hand over my face.
“Well, Alex, that’s all very interesting, but let’s put that on hold, and get down to business,” Mr. Price said, coming around to stand behind his desk. I felt my dad’s presence behind me and a few of my hair strands tug as he placed his hands on the back of chair.
“What’s going to happen…”Mr. Price went on, “is the two of you are going to clean up the mess. No detentions, no expulsions, just plain simple clean-up fun every Saturday until the wall is back to the way it was. Understood?”
“I have to work, with him?” I asked loudly.
“What’s the matter, Al, you afraid?” Taylor asked me, his teeth almost glinting as he smiled pathetically at me.
“My name’s Alexandria. Use it.”
“My apologies…”
“Okay, enough,” my dad said, coming to stand in front of us. “I don’t know what the deal is with the two of you, but you’re going to have to sort it out. We’ve decided not to involve the authorities in this. Mainly because it’s you Alex, a student with no record, and Taylor, well-“
“Another student with no record,” Mr. Price ended for him. My father’s eyes narrowed and remained fixed on Taylor. My father. Actually irritated with a guy who seemed to be involved with his daughter…somehow, some way, I was proud. Probably because it never happened before.
“Another student with no record,” dad repeated, “but listen. I want the work done, and I want it done good, you two understand me?”
“Doesn’t Alexandria get some kind of trial?” Taylor asked, shooting me a glance.
“Don’t do me any favors,” I said, under my breath.
“Or me for that matter?” Taylor revised, sitting up straighter, “I mean, for all you know, some hoodlum from another school could have done it.”
“You said you did it,” Mr. Price said, his gray unibrow shooting straight up.
“I could be lying.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Oh, just to see the look on ya’lls face.”
“Are you being insubordinate young man?” the principal asked him. He was obviously trying to control his anger, his knuckles white from his death like grip on the desk.
“I plead the 5th.”
“Okay, you know what?” I interrupted, standing up and pulling my purse and bag over my shoulders, “I’ll be here at 7 o’clock on Saturday morning, and if I have to drag Taylor out of his bed, I will do so. I have class.”
I pushed past my dad and headed towards the door. I needed some fresh air. With my dad and his disappointed looks, Mr. Price and his referral slips just waiting to be signed, and Taylor with his obnoxious mouth, the room seemed to be just a little bit stuffy. My dad caught my arm just outside the door, and pulled me further along the hallway away from the office.
“Are you and Taylor together, Alex?“
I blew out the breath I’d been holding, which seemed like forever. My dad and me have sort of a hands-off relationship. He trusts me, I uphold his trust, both of us are happy, and we don’t need to do much conversing. I’ve never talked to him about guys before…I’ve never needed to. And I wasn’t about to start now. Especially since I just turned into his slave, in a matter of speaking.
“I really don’t want to talk about it,” I told him honestly.
He sighed and looked me in the eye. “I know it’s none of my business, but if you’re with that boy, it’s bad news. Did you hear the way he talked to us in there? I want you to stay away from him, except on these Saturdays.”
“Dad, I’m not with him. You can breathe a sigh of relief,” I told him, heading towards the front hallway. All the students were still in 2nd period, thank God, and I could get out without being stared at.
“Where are you going?” he called after me.
“Home,” I replied, glancing behind me at his worried face, “I missed my classes for the day. See you later.”
I walked out into the parking lot and discovered it was sprinkling. I looked above me, and saw dark rain clouds shifting in the sky, a blue line of clear out in the distance. Shivering slightly, and pulling myself more into my sweater, I headed towards my car. But before I could turn the key in the door, I heard footsteps behind me.
“Alex, stop.”
I whirled around. Taylor. I should have known. The boy just never gave up.
“What do you want now? You’ve already accomplished the task of humiliating me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You know my dad asked me to stay away from you?” I asked him, hugging my arms around myself, not even noticing my body was about to be soaked to the bone.
“I know, I heard him, that’s why I apologized,” he told me, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket, and flashing it in my face.
“Mr. Price gave you a referral for insubordination?”
“Yeah. Look, the things I said in there weren’t right…and I apologized to your dad, hopefully he’s okay with it now.”
I shook my head. “Okay. Well, great. But I have to go.” I turned around to return the key to the lock, but Taylor grabbed hold of my hand.
“Don’t…please don’t go.”
“Why is it…” I suddenly wondered outloud, “that around my dad you can be the perfect gentlemen, but around me you act like I’m some sort of an idiot?”
“I don’t think you’re an idiot, just listen to me,” he pleaded, his fingers threading through mine.
“You’re holding my hand. Why are you holding my hand?” I asked him, suddenly feeling very much like an idiot.
“It’s either this or kissing you, which one would it be?” he asked me quietly, not even a spark of amusement in his glance.
“Don’t do this to me…it’s not a game,” I whispered, my voice trying not to catch.
“I know it’s not,” he told me, bringing me closer. My body softly bumped into his, his nose a mere inch from mine. I imagined his lips were close too, but I was too much of a chicken to look down.
“Get in the car,” he whispered.
