"HOW WERE THOSE errands yesterday?" Amber asked as she sat behind me in biology.
"What?" I suddenly realized what she was talking about. "Oh! They were great."
She gave me an odd look and laughed. "Not typically the word I'd use to describe a chore. So, how's your research presentation going?" Judging by the smirk on her face I doubted she had much care for disease outbreaks.
"Haven't started yet," I answered.
"I would kill to be partners with the mysterious babe," she whined. "Instead I'm stuck with Lesley Canters."
"Lesley's nice."
Amber gave me a flat look. "She hyperventilates if you make eye contact, Dani. How am I going to get anything done?" She sighed. "You're so ungrateful."
"No, you're delusional," I corrected.
"Good morning," Mrs. Frazer said as she entered the classroom. She cocked an eyebrow when she saw Amber. "Ms. Lane, please move to your assigned seat."
Amber glumly stood up and swapped seats with James. I didn't turn around once, unwilling to make eye contact with him. Mrs. Frazer began today's lesson and I just quietly took notes. Without having Amber to talk to, my mind wandered. It wasn't until I heard someone clear their throat did I snap out of my daze. Mrs. Frazer stood in front of me, a stack of papers in her hands.
"In case you weren't listening, I am handing back last week's quiz," she said. Mrs. Frazer placed a sheet in front of me. "It would do you good to stay awake in my class and potentially review your notes too."
Written in red ink on the top of my quiz was my score which happened to be 12/20. I did the math in my head and had to suppress a gasp when I realized I got a C- on this quiz. With college applications right around the corner I couldn't afford anything lower than a B+ or else my future would be at stake.
"Don't forget there's a unit test on Monday," Mrs. Frazer said to the class. "For some of you, this could determine whether or not you get into your desired schools."
I couldn't help but feel like that last remark was aimed at me. Regardless, the crabby bitch was right. I had to ace this test.
When I felt someone kick my chair from behind I instinctively turned around, thinking it was Amber. Much to my dismay it was just James. He wrote in his notebook and didn't look up at me as he spoke.
"Since we're stuck doing this project together, I want to start it sooner than later. We're meeting up after school to start planning."
"Try asking instead of demanding," I suggested.
"Unless you'd rather fail." His eyes dropped to my quiz. "Nice grade, I'm sure colleges will love that."
I felt my right eye twitch due to my annoyance with him. "After school it is."
"Excellent. Don't be late, neighbour. And don't show up drunk either."
"Why the hell would I show up drunk?"
He put his pen behind his ear, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "You seem to have a knack for being intoxicated when we're alone."
"It was one time!"
"Ms. Parker, do we need to review indoor voices?"
I slumped in my seat, avoiding Mrs. Frazer's death stare. "No, ma'am."
~*~
My crappy day had almost reached its end when the final bell rang. All I had to do now was work on the project with James and then I could go home and sleep. Liberation was only a few hours away. I could do this.
Inevitably it was much easier said than done. I walked out to the parking lot, almost at the safety of my car, but my phone suddenly vibrated. Peering down, I saw it was a text message from Brenton.
Skipped fourth with Holden but if Mom asks we had a game
I raised my eyebrows, interested to see what incentive I would get for keeping quiet.
You want me to lie for you? Bad Brent
If you shut up I'll make sure Alex gets home for the rest of the week
Deal
If that meant the next few days would be free of the awkward as hell car rides, then I was willing to keep secrets for anyone. My awful day took a slightly positive turn, but of course that didn't last long because just as I reached my car I noticed a familiar face. Leaning against my jeep was none other than Cade. He smiled when he saw me.
"Hey."
"Get off my car," I snapped.
"I want to talk."
"I don't."
"About the party..."
I let out a sigh. "I really don't want to hear this."
"Dani, please let me explain."
"I don't want to hear anything you have to say," I told him.
"But..." His voice trailed off and he stared at something past me. Following his gaze I turned around to see James standing a few feet away.
"Ready to go?" James said as he approached me. He stopped in front of Cade, who quickly stepped to the side. James then opened the passenger door and sat inside.
I was about to follow but Cade grabbed my arm. "Where are you going with him?"
"That's really not any of your business."
He lowered his voice. "I've heard some things about the new guy, so be safe."
I pulled my arm out of his grip. "If I want to be safe I guess I should start by avoiding you then." I walked past him and sat in the driver's seat.
"Cute reunion," James teased.
"Say another word and you're walking to the library."
"Can you see that?"
I raised my eyebrow. "See what?"
"I'm quivering with fear."
I sighed loudly. "I'm not in the mood."
"He seems to be quite skilled at getting you riled up," James observed.
I gave him a flat look. "So are you." I paused for a moment. "Why don't we just work in the school's library? It'll save the trip."
He shook his head. "I checked it out at lunch. The book selection isn't that great and the study spots are cramped."
"I never pinned you as a bookworm," I mused.
He rolled his eyes. "And I never pinned my neighbour as a criminal."
"I hit your bike by accident!"
"Oh, and you broke into my house by accident too?"
"I forgot about that," I muttered, hoping he'd forget about it too.
James was conveniently there to witness my worst moments which only made me worry about what was to come considering we were going to be spending a fair amount of time with each other for this project.
This was going to be an interesting semester.
~*~
"Great research session. I say we go get food now." I picked up my backpack and stood up, ready to bolt.
James didn't even bother to look at me. "Sit your ass back down." He placed a stack of books in front of me. "Pick which disease you want us to do."
The sight of all those books made me feel doozy. I didn't hate books per se, I just wasn't an avid reader. Especially not when it came to research material. I opened up the first book on the pile. I was only on the publication page when I slammed it shut, already bored.
James raised his eyebrows. "There's more than one page in a book."
"I know," I snapped. "I just don't want to read them all."
"Tell me." He closed the book he was reading and looked at me. "How do you propose we start this assignment, let alone finish it if we don't read any of the required research material?"
"You're annoying," I responded, unable to think of a good retort.
"And you're stupid. Now can we continue?"
I started glancing through the book I had opened prior. I read in silence about the West Nile Virus, not wanting to speak to him again. There were times I was tempted to make some kind of remark, but I chose against it. Roughly an hour had passed as I skimmed through the books in silence.
"That's the longest I've seen you so quiet," James said. I was taken aback that he was the one to break the silence. "It's quite refreshing."
"I found a disease I want to do," I said.
"What is it?"
"SARS," I answered. When James raised his eyebrows I continued talking. "You know, the something-something-something syndrome."
"Severe acute respiratory syndrome," he filled in.
"Yeah! Let's do it."
"I wanted to do a pandemic," he said.
"SARS was a pandemic."
He shook his head. "It was an epidemic, and it wasn't a traditional one either considering preventive measures were taken immediately when it was discovered the disease was airborne."
I blinked. "How'd you know that?"
He shrugged. "Someone had to make up for your stupidity."
My gaze fell to James' binder sitting open in front of him. When my eyes locked on the sheet of paper I was looking for, I snatched it before he could protest. "Holy crap."
"Give it back," he demanded.
"You got an A on the quiz?"
"It's not my best work," he admitted. "I overslept and didn't review in the morning."
"An A is a hell of a lot better than a C-."
"You really are stupid."
There was no way this was his quiz. I skimmed through his responses, recognizing the messy scrawl to match with the one on the note in my locker. "I can't believe it. You're smart?"
He scowled at me. "Don't sound so surprised."
I couldn't wrap my head around it. I had James pinned as a wisecracking idiot, but my assumption was far from the truth. Upon the discovery of James' intelligence, I tried to hide my smile when I realized we were going to ace this project. All I had to do in the meantime was score highly on this test.
"Have you started studying for the unit test yet?"
James was already nose deep in another book as he searched for our topic. "I've loosely reviewed key concepts." His lips curved into a frown as he read. "H1N1 or HIV? I can't decide."
"How would you feel about having a study buddy for the test?"
His head snapped up so fast, I got whiplashed just by looking at him. "No thanks."
"Come on, neighbour."
"I prefer to work in solitude," he said.
"Please?"
"Why don't you study with that girl you're always talking to in class?"
I might have been bad at biology, but Amber was far worse. Although my grade was dropping, with hard work I could get back up there but Amber was a lost cause. The only reason she even took biology was because Brenton was enrolled in the class. When my idiot of a twin realized just how stupid he was, he dropped out of the class. Amber, on the other hand, decided to stay and try it out anyway. Obviously she deeply regretted it now.
"Please tutor me, James."
He tilted his head to the side. "I still don't recall ever giving you my name."
"I have a way of finding things out."
"You really are a stalker, aren't you?"
"I'll pay you," I said all of a sudden. I didn't care what it took, but I needed to ace this test.
He arched an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'm interested in your money?"
"You need to fix that bike somehow, don't you?"
"I was going to fix it myself." He paused to reflect over my offer. "I do need some new parts though..."
"Is that a yes?" I asked eagerly.
"Where would you even get the money?" he asked.
"Don't you worry about that."
I had planned to get the money from my mother who counteracted as my ATM. I had money saved in my bank account from summer jobs, but that was strictly for college so I was going to get the money from Mom. She disliked the idea of her kids needing a tutor, but she was so keen on us being nothing but excellent I knew she'd turn her cheek the other way and hand me her cheque book.
"If I agree," James said after a moment of silence. "Then we need to stay strictly on topic. I don't want to hear about what John from French class said about your hair, or how Sue and Steve broke up for the fifth time this year."
"I don't know what school you went to, but there's no Sue here."
An odd look flashed in his eyes but it disappeared just as soon as it came. I figured I was seeing things so I brushed it off. When one's face was constantly in a scowl sometimes you'd see them scowling even when they weren't.
"The plague," he said after a while.
"What?"
"We're going to do the bubonic plague as our disease topic."
I nodded. "Okay, sounds interesting."
James threw his binder into his backpack. "We'll meet up again tomorrow. Feel free to enlighten yourself on the plague because we both know you don't know shit."
"Who doesn't know what the plague was?" I scoffed.
James took a book from his pile on the table and slid it over to me. "I suggest you start reading."
"You're annoying."
"Rather annoying than ignorant."
I tossed the book inside my backpack, earning a questioning look from James. "I may or may not be on library probation right now."
He shook his head in disapproval. "What a crook."
"In my defence, I don't have the book they're looking for."
"That's what they all say."
I rolled my eyes as I took out my car keys. "Ready to go?"
"I don't need a ride home," he said with a wave of his hand.
I swung the keys on my finger. "Where are you off to?"
"None of your business," he answered coldly.
Just when I thought we were bonding it was back to square one. One step forward, two steps back.
~*~
When I got home that evening, I made it just in time for yet another instalment of the most awkward dinner segments. Lucky me. The dinner began with Mom chastising me for being late. The night then progressed with Mom telling us about her day over plates of spaghetti and meatballs with third-degree burns. It was tragic that I was currently the chef of the house and the best dish I could make was boxed macaroni and cheese.
Niko, however, was a true artist when it came to the world of culinary arts. If Mom didn't force him back to school on a whim, Niko would've made some dishes and frozen them for us to enjoy later. Niko was irresponsible, short-tempered, and possessed terrible taste in women, but he was an excellent cook.
Mom continued talking about the election that felt like it would never come, while we all pretended to listen and care. When she finally opened the floor for anyone else to talk about their day she suddenly received an urgent phone call to attend to.
"Well my day was stellar," Brenton said. "How was your day, Alex?"
"Spectacular," he said with a yawn. "What about you, Dani?"
I twisted my fork around the disgustingly hardened pasta. "Absolutely stupendous."
"It's not so bad if you scrape the outside of the meatballs," Brenton suggested.
I grimaced at my plate. "Really?"
I knew my twin was a human garbage disposal, but this was a bit too much, even for him.
He abruptly stood up and slammed his hands on the table. "No! I can't take it!"
I raised my eyebrows. "The hell's wrong with you?"
"This shit's inedible!" he cried. "Do you guys want to go out and get real food?"
"Yes!" Alex exclaimed, his eyes wide in desperation.
"Grab your coats, children," Brenton instructed. "We've only got a few minutes before she gets off the phone."