Without a Fight

Chapter 1: No Way

The bell rung loudly, interrupting Mr.Lozarti's speech on World War 2. I stuffed my History book in my bag. "Sofia?" Mr. Lozarti yelled from his desk. I looked up at him. He curled his finger and motioned for me to come to his desk. I hooked my bag on my shoulder and walked up to his mahogany desk. The short, stout teacher was tapping on his laptop. He held out an envelope to me without looking up from his computer screen. "For your parents. It's about you doing some tutoring. Usually we don't give students the option to do so until they have finished a full year at the school, but I took a special interest in you, Miss Kingsley," he says, finally looking up at me and smiling. "You have accomplished a lot in your 2 months here at Elizabeth High School. I expect great things from you."

"Yes, Mr. Lozarti" I say. Mr. Lozarti writes up my hall pass on a pink slip of paper and sends me off. I walk leisurely down the mostly empty hallway. In my 2 months at Elizabeth High School I had made a lot of progress. Without Jordan in my life anymore, I could concentrate on other things. As if on cue, the sound of Jordan's name brings painful memories to my mind. I stop for a second and let the woozy feeling pass. 'Breath in, breath out,' I chant to myself, mimicking my therapist. I run a hand through my dark brown hair and try to relax. I pick up the pace as I walk into Literature and hand the teacher my hall pass.

--

I walked into the line for the cafeteria and picked up a slice of pizza and a bottle of water. I made my way through the cramped room and sat next to my best friend Elise. "Hey!" she said in her usual bubbly way.

"Hey," I said back, mirroring her enthusiam.

She looks at me with wide eyes. "You know that guy I was telling you about? Who got arrested?"

I give her a look. "El, you tell me that story practically every day, about how they caught him at that party you were at and all. His name is Jacob, you said he's really hot with dark hair and brown eyes and all," I say, waiting for her to get to the point.

"Yeah," she says. "Have you.... I don't know, heard any news about him lately?" she asks me.

"Why would I know anything about him?" I question

" 'Cause your Uncle Seth arrested him and all..."

"Yeah, I've heard some news on him. His sentence is finished soon. They said that he'll be leaving jail in a few days."

Elise looks at me with bright eyes. "Wow!" Only a few days left, huh!"

I frown. "Why are you so excited about it? From what I've heard, he's a stupid player who thinks he can get away with breaking girls hearts."

El turns back to her all vegetarian meal of pita bread and hummus. "He's still a major hottie," she says with a shrug . I quickly change the subject. "How can you eat that stuff?" I ask her, eyeing the meatless dish.

"How can you eat chickens and pigs and cows?" she says back not looking up from her meal.

Touche," I finish. Elise smiles at me and shakes her head like I am the stupidest person on Earth. I give her a lopsided smile back.

---

I walk to the house silently. I know that Uncle Seth would probably be taking his usual nap around this time to be ready for his night shift, so I pull my set of house keys out of my bag and unlock the door. I set my backpack down by the door and take my shoes off by the door mat. I hear a crash of pans and run to the kitchen. Uncle Seth is sitting on the floor with an apron tied around his neck. Pots and pans are lying on the floor and I chuckle. "Uncle Seth, you know that you can't cook," I say concealing my laughter as I help him collect the cooking utensils.

"I know, I know," he says with a laugh. "I actually wanted to talk to you before I took my nap," he says.

I take a seat on the barstool and Uncle Seth stands on the opposite side. He is only in his early 30s and has a little goatee that I am constantly on top of him to shave off. He was the only family member that invited me in after my break-up with Jordan. I wanted to be as far away from Jordan as possible, and Uncle Seth knew that. He was like my dad. Suddenly he clears his throat. He fiddles with his fingers before speaking. "You know how I was telling you about Jacob? He needs a place to stay until he finishes senior year. I invited him to stay here. This house is big enough for all of us, and he has really been through a lot. I was hoping that you would understand," he said, a pained expression forming on his face.

I could feel my eyes getting wider. "No. No way, Uncle Seth! Are you crazy?! He's a criminal!" I yell, getting off the barstool.

Uncle Seth grabs my hands to keep me from jumping off the stoolq. "Why not? You don't even know him!" he yells.

"He went to juvie for some crime! Isn't that enough to let you know that he's not a good kid? And I've heard enough about him," I mumble, snatching my hands away from his.

"You can't judge him because of that! He has been through hell and back. This is the least I can do. At least give him a chance, Sofie. He is only 18, but he has been through a hell of a lot more than you have!" yells Uncle Seth. He suddenly.stops and runs his hands across his face. He speaks once more, his voice getting soft again. "You have been through a lot, but he never had a chance at a future. I want to give him that."

"Fine. It looks like your mind is made up anyway, " I mumble. "Don't expect me to treat him like my brother or anything," I say as I begin heading up the stairs.

"Just be kind and polite. Only for one year Sofie. That's it," Uncle Seth yells from the kitchen.

Only one year, I say to myself. It can't be that bad.