Page 1 of We Shouldn't Be Together
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“Mrs.Field,you’rebeingcompletely unfair,” Camila complains.
She takes the lead as I awkwardly stand behind her.
What’s new?
Cammy always takes the lead.
Mrs. Field doesn’t budge. “Unfair?” she echos. “No, ladies. What I think is unfair is how you two use my classroom as your personal gossip center and disrupt the entire class.”
Camila scoffs. “They only listen to us because they’re bored.”
“No, it’s because you, Miss Garcia, have a voice that’s hard to ignore,” Mrs. Field says bluntly.
Cammy grunts, slamming her hands on her hips. “Can you really talk to me like that? You know who my father is, right?”
Mrs. Field’s eyebrows raise in a did-you-just-say-that-to-me kind of way.
“Mrs. Field,” Cammy continues, “I don’t think it’s fair to blame us for yourentireclass getting off track. Maybe if you taught something lessboring, they wouldn’t have to turn to me for entertainment.”
“Miss Garcia,” our chemistry teacher says with an exasperated sigh. “This isn’t up for discussion. From now on, I’m separating you and Tabitha in my classroom. And if you ever speak to me in this tone again, you’ll be up for a month of detention.”
Cammy scoffs, popping her hip in indignation.
Mrs. Field stands her ground. “Am I clear?”
Cammy grabs her books from the nearby lab bench where she slammed them down mere minutes ago. “Whatever,” she grumbles. “Can we go?”
“Of course,” Mrs. Field says, stepping aside. “I don’t want you to be late for your next class.”
Camila makes more grizzled noises and then stomps out of the room. Without making eye contact with our teacher, I follow my friend out of our chemistry classroom.
When we get into the hallway, it’s almost empty, with most students already having made it to their next classroom. Thank goodness there wasn’t another class filing into the chemistry lab while Mrs. Field was going off on us. That level of mortification would have had me sinking into the floor with no hope of retrieval.
“That absolute cow!” Cammy yells once we’ve passed two more classrooms. “If she thinks she won’t pay for speaking to me like that, she has another thing coming.”
“You’re gonna tell your dad about it?” I ask, my mouth inexplicably drying. “When did he get back from his honeymoon?”
At that, Cammy halts in place, making me almost trip at the abruptness. Next second, she’s jabbing a pointed finger just below my shoulder. “What’s wrong with you, Tabitha?”
“Me?” I gasp. “What are you talking about?”
“Why the heck were you on mute back there? Couldn’t you at least stand up for me for half a second?”
“I… I didn’t know what to say,” I stammer the truth.
“You tell her she’s out of line. Like, what even, Tab? I thought you were my friend.”
“I am,” I wheeze. “I was right there with you. She went off on me too.”
“I can never rely on you.” There’s a coldness in her stare that makes the tiny hairs on my arms stand on end. “How on earth will you make this up to me?”
I gulp hard. “I’m sorry. But, umm… You know, I heard Clint has been ditching classes to mope.”
Camila lights up with glee. “Really?”
I nod at the half-truth. Cammy’s ex-boyfriend has been skipping classes, but I haven’t heard he’s the least upset about their breakup. “How could he not be cut up when he no longer has you in his life?”
