Page 9 of Winging it with My Ex
It’s Monday, and I’m mostly living down my unplanned swim with Jett. Of course I get some laughs but nothing excessive. There were strange looks too, especially from some of the parents. Even ones who weren’t at the Back-to-School bash. Misfortune travels fast in a small town though, so… what’s a gal to do?
I’m standing outside, greeting the kids as they trickle in.
It’s just what I do. My theory is that if I put the effort into making sure they’re seen, they’ll make the effort to show up. Kids want to know that people care, and I do. I love my job. My kids. My community.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I pull it out enough to see the text.We need to talk.I don’t usually get texts during this time of the morning. Everyone knows my routine, including Vivian—who sent the text. So for her to do that, it must be important.
She must have been watching the clock because the first-period bell rings, signaling for everyone to find their place. We’ve got a few stragglers, and I chit-chat with the last one, Warden Cameron—a freshman this year—while we walk.
“So…” he shuffles with me, “my mom said you and Jett Monroe are dating.”
I look at him. “What?”
He shrugs. “She said she saw you and Jett on ClickTok, and that everyone is saying you’re dating him.”
To say I’m stunned doesn’t do the sitch justice. “Uh?—”
“I just thought maybe you could get him to sign my jersey or something.” He turns and walks backward. “Maybe you could get him to come hang at the school one day!” Warden’s eyes are big and bright, and he looks like he’s thought of the best idea in the world. “That would be so fire—” He gasps. “No! You could have a contest, Ms. Whitaker. We have to get so many A’s or, or, or something like that.”
We reach his classroom, and he double finger-guns me. “You should totally think about that, Ms. Whitaker. Like, it could be epic.”
I don’t even get in a word before he disappears into the classroom, leaving me gaping like a fish on land.
My brain races to catch up, and I finally close my mouth.
Dating him?I choke on my own saliva.
A buzz from my pocket grabs my attention. It’s Vivi again.We really need to talk. Like pronto, chica.
What on earth could the hurry be?
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jett
“She’s going to kill me.”I pace the Bobcats’ conference room at the arena. “Kill me. Probably slowly, painfully, and honestly, I’ll write her an alibi, because I deserve it.”
I suspect she’s spent the entire school day seething and plotting my demise. The fact that she agreed so quickly to meet right after school lets me know she definitely has visions of making me suffer—a lot.
From his seat at the table, Coach Kessler sips his terrible protein shake—the same green sludge he drinks every day—and grins from ear to ear.
“I’ve known her since she was a baby.” Hank chuckles. “She’ll get over it.”
Vivi snorts. “She’s going to kill him. And when she finds out I helped, I’ll be in the casket next to him.”
I stop pacing. “I had no idea it’d blow up like this. It’s everywhere.”
“Believe me, I know. I fielded a call from BuzzBeat this morning. They’re working on a story about it.”
Hadley barges in. “It’s worse than bad. It’s everywhere!” She stomps over to me and points her finger in my face. “This is all your fault.”
I don’t say a word. I’m supposed to let her be mad—part of Vivi’s master plan to win Hadley back. None of us expected Greer to show up and blow things up this huge. We should have. I was there as a Bobcats Winger—it should’ve been obvious. Now that it is… Vivi says we need to take advantage of it.
Hadley looks at her. “Did you know that news stations were going to be camped outside the school?”
Vivi’s mouth drops open like she didn’t call all of them and tell them where to set up shop. “No way!” She jerks her attention to her phone screen and begins scrolling. “Holy wow… This is…”
