Page 46 of When It Burns

The song ends with thunderous applause and the crowd starts to break off and the team heads towards the locker room. I feel my phone buzz and look down to see a text from Theo.

Theo: Gotta finish up with the team. Meet me by my truck?

Me: Sure thing. Good game, Coach ??

Tucking my phone back away, I start to pack up our run through sign, the emergency bucket, and coolers. Once Hannah, Margaret, and I make sure everything is put away, Hannah hugs me and says, “Go get ‘em, Cowgirl,” with a laugh.

I roll my eyes while Margaret wrinkles her nose at us. “Ugh, Hannah, you're the worst. You know that right?”

“I knew you were gonna take the nickname out of context,” I tell them, while Hannah cackles away at her own antics.

“You know you love me. But for real. Go have fun. I want all the details tomorrow morning. Are we still on to pick pumpkins?” Hannah asks us both.

“Yep,” I say. “Pumpkins in the morning, and the fair tomorrow night. I’ll pick you both up around ten.”

“Do y’all ever feel like you’re living in a real life episode of Gilmore Girls?” Margaret asks with a laugh.

“Yep. But we don’t have a Luke’s Diner and our books are way smuttier,” Hannah says.

“Yeah, it's too bad. I wouldn’t mind having a hot Huntzburger to sweep me off my feet,” Margaret says looking wistful.

“You’re team Logan?!” Hannah and I scream in unison.

“Uhhh yeah,” she says with wide eyes.

“No!” Hannah yells loud enough to gather the attention of a few fans making their way to their cars.

“What are y’all?” Margaret asks, narrowing her eyes at us.

“Team Jess,” we say in unison while Margaret laughs.

“I should have known. You both may as well have ‘broken boys welcome’ written across your forehead,” she says, shaking her head at us and making us all fall into a fit of giggles.

“Well, Logan is fine. But it’s a good thing you aren’t Team Dean, or we would have to seriously reevaluate this friendship,” I tell her, and we spend a few more minutes chatting before they both walk to their vehicles. I spot Theo’s truck by the fence, and start to make my way over through the now empty parking lot.

I am halfway there when I see a boy coming towards me. Due to the poor lighting, it’s hard to tell who it is, but I assume it’s one of my students coming to speak to me. It isn’t until he’s standing right in front of me that I realize it’s Michael.

“Oh, hi Michael,” I say as he towers over me and looks at me with a look of disdain.

“You know, you really are such a bitch, Miss Caroline,” the boy says with a sneer.

“Michael, I understand you’re upset with me, but this isn’t the way to handle it,” I say, trying to make sure my voice doesn’t shake as he takes another step towards me.

“You ruined my whole life because you couldn’t just mind your damn business!” Michael explodes. “You know what happened? After that stupid shit in your class, it brought attention to me. Mr. Hale kept trying to call home, and when he couldn’t get anyone he decided without a parent conference, I can’t come back to school”

He looks at me and as he yells, I realize it isn’t hatred I’m seeing in his eyes—it’s pain.

Michael starts yelling again, “Because of your shitty journal entries, I won't graduate high school. Because guess what? I don’t have a parent to come meet with Mr. Hale! I-”

“Son, I don’t know who you are, but you better back the hell up,” I hear a deep voice say as I make eye contact with Theo. His eyes blaze with anger, but I silently hold up a hand to him.

“Michael,” I say while still looking at Theo. Recognition flashes in his eyes at the name, and I keep talking before Theo can make the situation worse. “What do you mean you don't have parents? I’ve talked to your mom before. Did something happen?” I ask. Surely if there had been an accident, the school would have notified us.

“Yeah, something fucking happened!” Michael yells but must sense Theo moving closer because he lowers his voice a few octaves. “My mom left just like everyone else in my life does. She just decided she was tired of being a mom and ran off. She left me ten dollars on the counter with a note that said ‘Good luck kid’.

“It wasn’t enough that half the kids at school already hate me because she slept around with their dads. She couldn’t be content with just stripping in Crestview, but she had to bring a different guy home every night. It wasn’t enough that she said she was too damn drunk the night she got pregnant to remember who my dad was. But she couldn’t hold on another year. I turn eighteen in eleven months, but she was so damn tired of taking care of me that she packed up and moved out while I was at school. It’s pretty fucking ironic if you ask me because I’ve been taking care of us for years.”

My heart breaks for the boy in front of me as he continues to rant. I don’t try to stop him, and Theo makes eye contact with me as he listens to Michael go on.

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