Page 43 of We Shouldn't Be Together
I rub two knuckles against my chest. What’s wrong with me? Why am I feeling sympathy for her instead of reveling in her struggle?
Soon, another student takes over when the character changes. Tabitha smooths a hand over her chocolaty curls, and from the side, I notice a poutiness to her lips. Wow, her lips are really full. She usually goes full-on witch when she speaks, so I never noticed before. Maybe she’d actually be pretty if she weren’t so vile.
My brother takes over King Lear’s lines and my mind goes back into blocking-out mode. Something about Milo reading Shakespeare is the best known cure for insomnia. I check the clock on the wall.Phew. Only ten more minutes of this crapola and I’m outta here.
After waiting out the clock, Jamie and I part ways in the hall because her ride is already waiting out front. Before I’m two steps away from the classroom, someone grabs my arm.
Shockingly, it’s Tabitha. “Hey, what was our homework assignment for chemistry?”
My eyebrows knit together. “Are you serious?”
She frowns at me, and for a moment, I get lost in the poutiness. “What? Mrs. Field only said it. She didn’t write on the board for me to copy, so I missed it.”
“It took two seconds to note the page numbers. Why are you hellbent on tanking my grade?”
She stomps her foot, hugging her books. “I’m not. I freaking asked you for the homework assignment. Why would I care if I wasn’t gonna do it?”
With a grunt, I look away from her. “I don’t have it off the top of my head.”
“So, you don’t remember either?”
“No. I wrote it down. I don’t hold that crap in my head.”
“Well, can you get it for me?”
I groan and scuff my way through the hallway. “Fine. I need to grab my stuff from my locker. I’ll find it before I leave this prison.”
“Prison?” she mimics, following me to my locker.
“Well, it ain’t Disneyland.”
“No, I guess not.”
“Well, wouldn’t you liken it more closely to a prison than a theme park?”
“Umm, no. We get to leave every day.”
“But we’re given a uniform, told when to exercise, and when to eat. We’re shut in small rooms with too many people, and we’re fed a bunch of garbage they force us to believe are facts.”
“Oh my gosh. I should’ve known you were a conspiracy theory guy.”
“What does that mean?”
“Goes with your whole defying authority and rebelling against social norms. I’ve seen you enough times in class, protesting against teachers and their rules.”
“Well, I’m not a sheep.”
She mumbles a laugh. “I’ll say. No one could ever accuse you of fitting into the preppy aesthetic.”
“And what makes you think I’d ever want to fit in?”
Tabitha clicks her tongue. “I don’t wanna keep arguing with you. I just need the homework, so Mrs. Field will stop riding me.”
I stop at my locker and turn the combination lock. “You know, it takes more than one night of homework.”
Tabitha leans against the adjacent locker and slouches on bended knees. “I know. But this way I’ll be less behind.” She hugs her books with one arm and massages her forehead with her free hand. “Geez, I’m drowning in work right now.”
My jaw rocks as I take her in. Part of me thinks I should offer to help her with the homework. It’d benefit me to give her a boost, seeing as we’re partners. But then all the vile things she’s said circle in my head.
