White is for Virgins (6 page)

“And
?” I pressed. I was going to enjoy this while I had the upper hand.

“And… I’ll take this seriously,” h
e promised through his teeth.

I stood on the tips of my toes and patted his
head. “Good boy,” I cooed at him like he was a little baby. Speaking of…

Daycare!

“Crap, I have to go,” I said, running over to get my backpack.

“See
ya later, teach,” he smirked, and just as I reached the door he called, “And for the record, I’ve never had an STD before!”

“It’s never too late,
” I countered as I reached the door, trying to hide my smile.

It was a short walk before I reached the building.

“Hey Holly!” I smiled as I walked out to the playground and saw her waiting for me by the slide. She’d quickly become one of my best friends there.

“I’ve never seen her take to someone so well before,” Georgina remarked, eyeing Holly.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yeah, she always cried when someone would try to touch her, or play with her,” she said, “But she seems to love you…”

I looked over at Holly and she smiled, reaching out to touch my hair.

What a cutie pie.

Chapter 4

After Holly’s mom, whose name was Millicent I learned, picked her up it was a little after nine. Holly would scream every time I tried to leave, so I was basically stuck at the daycare against my will. I felt bad for her, though… the slightest movement towards the door would make her cling to me and her emerald eyes would get wet, threatening to spill tears.

By the time
I got home it was practically ten at night; I’d run through the dark and desolate streets, slightly paranoid.

Remind me again why I don’t have a car?
Besides the whole dad’s-laid-off and mom-makes-money-to-feed-the-family-not-spoil-you scenario, I didn’t really have an excuse. I never thought about getting a job, even though I’d probably have an advantage, having volunteered at the American Red Cross center since I was fourteen.

Three
good years of my life… I could’ve spent at a grocery store organizing the shelves with processed cans and cleaning up spills on aisle three. I never once thought about saving up for a car.

I shuffled through the back door and sat on a stool by the kitchen counter, pulling out my SAT list. I didn’t really care
about supper, or the fact that I still needed to take a shower, change out of my uniform and get the skinny jeans bleached because Holly had decided to use them as a canvas for her doodling, and then sleep.

I hadn’t even noticed that the television wasn’t on until my dad walked through the back door, stopping as soon as he saw me.

No wonder it was so quiet earlier.

“Hello, stranger,” I smiled, “Where’ve you been?”

“Oh, just the pub with Larry,” he shrugged, searching his pockets for something.

He gave up and passed by me, giving me
a kiss on my head before going into the living room.

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes before getting back to t
he list. This wasn’t impossible, but it certainly proved that I was not one for doing things last minute.

I decided it
was best to just memorize the words and definitions, rather than practicing actually using them like I normally do. I didn’t have the time much less the patience.

I rubbed my sore neck and headed up to take a quick shower, throwing my jeans into the washing machine on the way.

***

Walking up to the front of the school building, I took a seat on the front steps. The purpose of arriving 30 minutes early? To study.

Zephyr… gentle wind.

Wizened… wrinkled.

Vicissitude… variability.

Unctuous… sycophantic.

Ubiquitous... omnipresent.

“You’re kidding me,” someone scoffed in front of me.

I looked up and fought the urge to roll my eyes.

“What are you doing here?” I asked him, eyeing the acoustic guitar he had strapped to his back.

He smirked, as if saying
‘I’m at school on a Friday morning, what do you think I’m doing here?’
but instead, he countered with, “I could ask you the very same question.”

I let the list dangle from my right hand until he realized what it was.

He raised his eyebrows and leaned against the railing.

“What’s with the face?” I questioned, annoyed and slightly uncomfortable being in his presence unsupervised.

“Nothing. I’m just… surprised that you’re studying so hard for one little test.”

“It may be one little test to you, Fox, but to me it’s the first grade that goes down on my first quarter report card, and I want it to be high. It’s important to me,” I said, feeling the need to defend myself. Being here on scholarship meant I needed to maintain a high GPA.

“Yeah, important enough to ruin any chances you have of having a life,” he remarked.

“You g
oing to continue insulting me? Because if my not-having-a-life bothers you so much, you can forget about the tutoring,” I warned him, giving him my best intimidating look and then go back to studying. “It’s contagious, you know. You’ll start studying every chance you get, and that would be horrible for your reputation, Fox. Horrible.”

He held his hands up in surrender, “Ok, ok. I guess it’s a touchy subject.”

“It’s not a touchy subject,” I snapped, “All I’m saying is that you’re rude.”

We both turned to look at the Mercedes that had pulled up in front of us
. The driver was honking the horn and blasting music. Completely obnoxious. The passenger’s tinted window rolled down.

“Sup, Fox,” Nick asked, completely ignoring me.

Fox nodded in his direction, and then at Justin behind the wheel. Evidently he was too cool to even greet them properly.

I got up and brushed my skirt off, taking the last few steps toward the front doors.

I heard Nick ask, “Who’s the reject?” and I stuck around behind the doorway long enough to hear Fox’s reply.

“She’s the new girl,” he muttered.

Is that my official title now? ‘New girl’?

“Nice. The naïve ones are always fun,” Justin commented.

Naïve?

“Yeah, hey man, I’ll see you later,” Fox said, and I heard him approaching.

Uh oh.

Before I had the chance to take cover, he spotted me and gave me a disapproving look.

I had no choice but to call him out.

“You give any of your buddies the wrong idea and I swear, the girl’s bathroom will be buzzing by lunch time,” I told him, and hurried off before he could scold my
eavesdropping ways.

***

I was sitting in my seat, tapping my pen rhythmically against the desk. Class would start in a minute.

“You really shouldn’t eavesdrop,
Em, it’s a horrid habit,” he whispered hoarsely, leaning against his desk.

“Yeah, well I’m
not
naïve,” I said over my shoulder.

“You’ve certainly demonstrated that
,” he said sarcastically.

Mrs. Sawyer started walking around, telling us to clear our desks as she explained the test format. I couldn’t let him get the last word, for such an allowance would only add to his swollen pride. But, unfortunately, I had nothi
ng to say.

I turned my head, preparing myself for a spontaneous comeback.

“Ms. Price, I’m handing the exam out now. Face forward,” Sawyer said sternly, staring me down.

I turned back around, letting my hair fall around my face as my cheeks grew rosy.

It turned out that the test was all about sentence use, and how to use the SAT words properly and determine their definitions based on context clues.

A little less confident than I would rather have been, I walked up to the front of the room and placed my test on Mrs. Sawyer’s desk. I was one of the last ones to finish, having triple-checked all my answers.

Running a hand through my hair, I noticed Fox smiling wickedly at me as he leaned back in his chair. I clenched my jaw and took my seat.

When the bell rung, I snatched my bag and raced out of the room. For on
ce, I was in a hurry to get to culinary.

***

“Welcome, students,” Mr. Aurelle smiled, emphasizing the ‘s’ sounds as he spoke. “Let’s all pair up with our partners and get cooking. Today’s recipe… the devilish soufflé!”

I assumed my position behind
kitchenette number four, next to my partner, Lily.

“I
love this guy,” Lily smiled, shaking her head as a small smile appeared on her face.