Duality: Vol 1, Melancholia (A New Adult Paranormal Romance) (12 page)

I knew then what I had to do.  I smiled, taking him up on his challenge.  “Don’t be a lame-ass pussy, Malcolm.  Do your homework at home.”

“Ha-haaaaa!”  Kootch held his hand out across the table.  “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about.  Give me some skin on that.”

I leaned over and tapped his palm lightly.

“Okay, people!” came the teacher’s voice.  “Detention has officially started!  When the paper comes around, please print and sign your name.  Do
not
sign any name other than your own, do
not
write so messy I can’t read it, and do
not
put a cartoon character’s name in any of the blanks, or I will find you and I will give you more detention.  For any repeat offenders, you will find yourself with in-school suspension.  Do I make myself clear?”

Someone called out in a whiney voice, “Yes, Mrs. Hannigan.”  Several students giggled.  I wasn’t sure if that was really her name or they were just quoting the movie line.

She made her way to the front of the room and was staring at our table, a very unhappy expression on her face.

I grinned hugely, feeling like I was personally being threatened with being kicked out of school. It was a first for me.

“Don’t be so happy about it,” whispered Kootch.  “She’s not kidding.”

“Care for another week, Mr. Kucharski?” the teacher yelled at the back of his head.

He ducked down but answered loudly.  “No, I do not care for another week, Mrs. Dickcheeser!”

“That’s Deckchester, Caden.
Deckchester
.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

Several students giggled again.

“No talking, no texting, no doing anything but homework.  Put your phones out on the table so I can collect them.”

We all put our phones together at the edge of the table nearest Malcolm.

“Dude, you told me you didn’t have a phone,” whispered Kootch, sounding offended.

“No talking!” yelled the teacher right behind Kootch, making him jump.

Malcolm ignored Kootch’s tantrum as he dug through his backpack, acting like he didn’t even hear him.  He took out a pen and opened up his notebook, dropping his backpack to the floor at the same time.

The teacher came by and took our phones, putting them in a shoebox.

Jasmine slid a piece of paper over to me, hiding it behind a pile of books she’d set out on the table.  Her handwriting was very jagged and artistic, almost like a fancy font from a computer.

Where do u live?  Maybe K can give u a ride 2.

I took a pen out of my purse and wrote my answer.

In the Highlands.  Do u know it?

She raised an eyebrow before writing:
How could I not?  Ritzy shitzy.

I smiled as I wrote back. 
Not as shitzy as u think.
  My parents always chose a community with gates and alarms.  We’d learned the hard way that being without them was too risky.

Kootch pushed a paper over to me.

Want a ride home?

I wrote out my answer,
Me and Jasmine, yes,
and slid it back to him.  He frowned at Jasmine but nodded eventually.  He slid the paper over to Malcolm.

Malcolm acted like he was going to blow him off, refusing to look at it at first.  But Kootch jabbed him several times with his elbow and forced him into it.

Malcolm looked down and shook his head,
No
.

I kicked him in the shins.

He looked up at me sharply and frowned.

I grinned, taking the paper from in front of him and writing out a message. 
I told u already … stop being a lame-A, P-word.

I pushed the paper over until it hit his notebook.

He stared at me for a few seconds and then finally dropped his gaze to read it.  A smile quirked up the corners of his mouth.  He took his pen and scratched out a response and pushed it over to me.

Jasmine leaned in and read it with me.

Careful. You could get yourself in big trouble calling a guy like me a lame-A, P-word.

I felt a flush in my cheeks start. 
A challenge for sure. 
His handwriting was so cool.  So much like a guy.  Messy, careless.  I wanted to fold the note away and put it in my purse and keep it so I could stare at it in my bedroom later, re-reading it about a thousand times, maybe more. 
Geez, what is wrong with me?  I’m acting like a lovesick fifth grader.

I was going to write a response, but Jasmine took the paper from me before I could.  She wrote something out and passed it back to Malcolm.

He read it and smiled, pointing to it and looking at me with a big question mark on his face.

I took the paper and read what she wrote.

Trouble is her middle name.  Bring it.

I snorted.  I couldn’t help it.

“No talking!  Did you hear me over there!  Table Kucharski!”

“Hey, it wasn’t me!” yelled Kootch.  “I’m just sitting here all innocent, studying and shit.”

“Add a day to your detention for that language, Caden!”

Kootch got a mutinous expression on his face.  He was opening his mouth to say something back when suddenly he jumped and a look of pain crossed his features.  He glared at Jasmine for a few seconds before grabbing the paper from us and writing on it furiously.  He shoved it over to her.

I leaned over and read it with her.

That’s physical abuse!  Now we’re even!  Keep ur pointy boots to urself!

She smiled all evil-like and wrote a response.  I caught most of it before she slid it over.  She followed it up by pointing to the corner of her eye.

U almost blinded me.  Not even….

Kootch read it and rolled his eyes, dropping his head in his arms in surrender.

Jasmine opened up a book and acted like she was studying.

I looked at Malcolm again, expecting him to be reading or writing in his notebook, but he wasn’t.  He was just looking at me with those deep brown eyes of his.

A shiver went down my spine.  I could feel my pulse in my neck.  All he had to do was look at me to get me feeling all hot and bothered.  It was sad, but oh so very exciting.  I hadn’t felt this alive in a long, long time.  So much of my life was about keeping my head down and not connecting with people.  And here he was, getting under my skin, making me think a lot of things I shouldn’t.

He pushed a paper over to me.

Ride with Kootch.

I answered him back. 
I will if you will
.

He read it and frowned.

His next note made me want to scream. 
It’s better if I don’t.

I shrugged, keeping it cool. 
Then I won’t either.

His nostrils flared. 
You’re stubborn and frustrating.

I gritted my teeth. 
You’re the master of that, I’m pretty sure.

He shook his head, smiling again like he’d given up on being mad at me.  He wrote a message and slid it over. 
I’ll go.  Just one time.

I felt like I’d triumphed in a serious business negotiation or something.  I couldn’t keep the grin off my face as I took one of Jasmine’s books and pretended to read it.

The rest of the hour flew by.  I got nothing done other than looking around the room and passing a few notes with my new friends.  Malcolm had been really fun at first, but after he agreed to ride with us, he stared at the people sitting at other tables as if he were measuring them up.  I tried not to be jealous whenever his gaze landed on another girl, and it made me feel better that he never smiled at any of them.  But still, I wondered why he kept doing that and why he seemed so intense.  His eyes would narrow as they landed on someone, and I could see his mind racing with something.  What I wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking…

I was really looking forward to the ride home, especially now that I knew Malcolm would be going with us.  He was trying to keep me away, but for now, I wasn’t going to let him.  As long as he wasn’t acting like a crazy Rainbow, I wanted to get to know him better and find out why he’d drawn such a dark picture of his life.  The danger of it was luring me in, and I ignored the alarm bells going off in my brain telling me to just walk away.

Chapter Thirteen: Malcolm

I DON’T KNOW WHAT POSSESSED me to say I’d ride home with Rae.  She’s trouble with a capital T; Jasmine wasn’t joking when she called her that, even if she thought she was.

What kept messing me up is the fact that Rae isn’t like any other Miserable I’ve been around.  She’s always smiling, she has nothing negative to say about anything, and that picture she painted with all those colors and brightness … none of it made sense.  She was like a Miserable in the way she was wanting to be near me, but the opposite in the way she was inside.

I scrubbed my hands against my hair in frustration.  She was looking at me again, but I didn’t want to make eye contact.  Every time our gazes met, I felt like I was going to have a heart attack and my body got all hot and sweaty.  Somehow she managed to turn up the temperature in any room she was standing in.

“Okay, time’s up,” said the teacher.  “Collect your phones before you go.  Don’t leave anything behind.  I’m not responsible for lost items.”  She put the shoebox of phones down on a table near the door and wandered over to her desk were she sat down and began typing something out on her own cell.  Apparently her job was over and she had no more interest in what we did.

“Finally,” said Kootch, dropping a pen into his backpack.  “That was the longest hour of my life.  You ready to go?”  He might have been talking to all of us, but he was looking at Rae.

“Show us the way to the beast,” said Jasmine.

Kootch glowered at her.  “Don’t make fun of my car, Butts.  She’s sensitive.”

“Dude.  It’s a car.”   Jasmine stood in the aisle next to the table waiting for Rae.

“If you can’t respect her feelings, you can’t ride in her.”  Kootch went around the chairs to stand next to Rae.

“Does that sound really wrong to anyone but me?” asked Jasmine, leading the way to the exit.

“It does sound a little off,” agreed Rae.  “But I appreciate the ride, so I’ll give her the respect.”

“Thank you,” said Kootch, sounding mollified.  “Finally.  Someone who appreciates a fine piece of machinery.”

I snorted, knowing exactly what his machinery looked like.  I’ve never been in it, but it managed to announce its presence to the whole school easily enough.

Kootch turned around and walked backwards so he could face me but not leave Rae’s side.  “Dude, you’ve turned me down every single time I’ve offered you a ride.  I’m glad you finally agreed to come, but if you mock her, I’m going to leave your sorry ass in the dust and you can just walk home.”

“That’s fine with me,” I said, not really sure if I meant it.  Walking through the halls and then out to the parking lot with three people who weren’t acting like they wanted to slit their wrists any second was really nice for a change.  Even Kootch seemed to be in a good mood.  He hadn’t acted angry about anything since early this morning.  Just before Rae walked into our classroom for the first time.

“Okay, now remember,” said Kootch, taking his keys out of his pocket.  “She’s sensitive.  So just compliment her when we get close, okay?”

Jasmine laughed quietly.

“Butts, I’m not kidding.  One word against Geneva and you’re done.”

“Geneva.  You named the car Geneva.  I don’t know which is sadder: the car or you.”

“Neither of us is.  You’ll see, Rae.  It suits her perfectly.”  He lifted up his key and pressed on the key chain, but no sound came out.

“What are you doing, fool?” asked Jasmine.  “Your POS doesn’t have enough juice in her shoe-sized battery to power an alarm.”

“We like to pretend that she has auto locks, not an alarm.”  He stepped up to the back of the smallest, ugliest car on the lot, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.

“We?  Kootch, you are a seriously lonely guy, you know that?  Please tell me you don’t take her out on dates.”  Jasmine was giving him a feigned frightened look.

“Sometimes we go for a shake at MickyD’s.  Now shut up or you’ll be sitting on the curb all afternoon.”

He walked around to the side of the vintage Gremlin and opened up the driver’s door.  “Chicks in the back.  Malcolm, get in front with me.”  He stroked the top of the car, using the side of his fist and some spit to remove something from the paint.

I held the seat forward so Jasmine could climb in.  Rae got in on Kootch’s side.  Once the seats were back in place, Kootch and I got in.  The door on my side made a hellaciously loud squeak as I tried to shut it.  I had to pull on it a few times to build up enough momentum to get past whatever was making it stick.  It slammed shut on the last attempt.

“Damn, I feel like I just got shut into a can,” said Jasmine in a low voice.

Rae giggled.

“Last warning, Butts.  Last warning.”  Kootch adjusted his rearview mirror so he could smile at Rae before putting it back.  “Okay, who’s up for a shake?”

“Me!” Rae said without hesitation.

“I gotta get home,” I said.  It wasn’t true, really.  At least not from a parental supervision perspective.

“Bullshit.  You can go for a shake.” Kootch reached over and tried to pound me on the leg, but I was too fast for him.

I moved to the side and knocked his fist away.  “Hands off,” I said, mostly unfazed.  “I’ve got homework.  Just take me home it’s not far.”  I did have homework but it wouldn’t take more than thirty minutes to do.

“Nope.  Mickey D’s first, then home.  If you don’t like it, you can walk.”

“If he doesn’t want to go, you can’t force him,” said Jasmine.

“Watch me,” said Kootch, looking up into the mirror and grinning like a mad man at the girls.

“Stay with us, Malcolm,” said Rae.  “It’ll be more fun if you’re there.”

Her voice slid over me like ribbons of silk.   Tickling.  A little scary, especially since I wasn’t in the habit of letting anyone get close enough to me that their words could affect me.