Page 51 of The Rebel
“Gah!” I scoffed. “It was a misunderstanding, that’s all. It’s all sorted now.”
“All sorted?” Mom’s voice lilted in disbelief. “I was told it was disruptive behavior, Valencia!”
“Mom, I promise, it was absolutely nothing. The sub just lost it. She’s like 90 years old. She was confused. Anyway, how is Paris doing?”
“Valencia! Mrs. Fox is a respected teacher and she isnot90 years old,” Mom said, but mention of Paris soothed and excited her. “He’s playing his first round match this afternoon against a boy from Bulgaria. He’s ranked below Paris.”
“So he has a good chance of winning?”
“Well, yes, he’s hitting the ball really well.”
“And he’s not having any trouble with his shoulder?” He’d complained of it being tight after the flight.
“No, massages have fixed it. He’s all good now.”
“Who’s doing his food and drink?”
“Dad and I are. We’ve—”
But I butted in. “You know he only likes berry flavor? Don’t get him lemon lime, he hates it. And don’t forget raisins in his oats. And don’t get bananas with any spots on them. He likes them yellow.”
“Yes, yes,” Mom said dismissively. “Your father and I are onto it. But let’s get back to you, young lady.” Her voice eased. “You’re helping Dani with chores, I hope.”
“I’m keeping my room tidy,” I said, hoping that would satisfy her, because to be honest I hadn’t done much around the house, well Jade hadn’t let me. He had heated the meal, served up, cleaned up, set the dishwasher.
Mom went on and on about Paris’s training and the facilities and a rant about the lines people who were officiating. At bigger events there would be electronic line calls, but at this level there were real people calling the lines. Mom was sure Paris had been hard done by one particular older person who called several center line serves out when they looked to be in. She complained that the seven hour time zone difference was super inconvenient and that she’d message me his results. She scolded me again for my detention and made me promise to do better, to keep out of trouble and to help Dani with chores. Dad came on the line, and I blasted Mrs. Fox again, though he was only a little more sympathetic than Mom.
“Be respectful to your elders,” he said. “We’re running late now, so we’ll call again. Love you, Poppet.”
“Love you too.”
“Oh, your mother asks if you’ve brought in the trash cart?” Dad asked, echoing Mom who I could hear in the background. “And used the milk?”
“Yep,” I said, and after Mom yapped on about yogurt and the fruit bowl and completing my detention, the call ended.
I tossed my phone down the bed and let out a muffled sound as my stupid chin wobbled. I bit down on my lower lip to stop my mouth twitching, not sure why I was so emotional. I mean, they’d only been gone a few days.
And ironically, the one person who I needed to talk to, my best friend, wasn’t there for me. Maybe that was why I was on the verge of blubbering. I missed Gabby. But she was making no attempt to reach out. If anything, it seemed like she was alienating me more. Yet our falling-out was so minor, so pathetic, blown out of all proportion.
Being wide awake, I decided I may as well get up. Hopefully I could leave the house without seeing anyone. I could hang out at home with Volley and call Jazmyn and see if she’d give me a ride to school. I needed to know what was happening with Gabby. Surely, we weren’t over, that this was just a glitch, a temporary drama. A misunderstanding—like Mrs. Fox. Or when Reina and Kelsey had a fight. Reina accused Kelsey of flirting with Ben Holmes back in sophomore year, her crush at the time. They didn’t talk for weeks. Then Ben Holmes moved away and it was like nothing had happened, everyone back to normal.
Maybe that would happen to me and Gabby. I’d sit next to her in Algebra class and we’d work through an equation together and our friendship would be miraculously reinstated. Laden with my school backpack and my art pad in my tote bag, I opened my door quietly, leaving the door partially open. That way, Dani would realize I’d left already.
When I heard Dani come home last night, I’d waited in my room wondering if I should talk to her, explain that the sleddinghad been my idea. I felt bad that Jade was prepared to lie to cover up for me and I didn’t want him to get into trouble. I could hear voices coming from the living room, so I headed down, but I froze outside the door. There was something in the tone of the conversation that told me they weren’t talking about sledding on a school night.
Dani was saying she was worried and Jade said that she didn’t need to be. At that, I’d scuttled away, feeling like I was intruding on something private and hoping I wasn’t the source of Dani’s worry.
“Oh, hi.”
My heart thundered in my chest as I met Jade in the hallway. With a protein shaker in his hand, he was vigorously shaking it up and down, but it was a wonder I even noticed that—because he was shirtless. Yes, his chest was bare, dressed only in long light blue pants that looked more like training pants than pajamas. They had the Manchester City club crest on it. I’d only been here three days but I knew that he was a fan of the soccer team, evident from souvenirs and clothing and photos around the house and the posters I’d seen on his bedroom wall.
“You’re leaving already?” he asked, glancing at my bags hanging off both shoulders.
“Uh, yep. I’ve got stuff to do.”
“You want a lift? I’m about to go to the gym.” He’d stopped shaking his drink and held it right in front of his pecs, his well defined pecs. I was accustomed to a boy’s physique with Paris obsessed with his physical appearance and not shy in showing it off, but Jade’s body was affecting me...in a weird way.
“Uh, no, it’s okay. I’ve got to feed Volley and...” I tapered off, already moving away, removing those shoulders and bulging biceps from my line of view.
