Stole My Heart

5. Matter Of Time

It has been a few days since the party, and I feel much better. When Dad spanked me that night, it was one of the easiest ones I've ever gotten despite the severity of my crime. Mom must've really not wanted him to. She's not against spanking but she doesn't really like it. I still don't have my truck or my phone, but that is ok, I guess.
The triplets and I are in Dad's office eating breakfast. Auston's talking about how terrible everyone was doing in the game last night. Other than himself that is. I know I sucked last night, but it's still not a nice feeling when someone is telling you that you did. We still won, thanks to Mason and another star basketball player, Gage.

I quickly finish my cereal bar and walk out of the room. I walked through the double doors and accidentally bumped into someone. When I looked to see who it was, I was met with a glare and a small smile. It was Alex who I bumped into. From the looks of it, when I bumped into him, he bumped into Taylen. He laughed at her face, which of course, made her even less amused at the situation. I mumbled a quick sorry and patted his shoulder, and went on my way.

My friends' conversation was even less entertaining, and to say the bell was my saving grace would be an understatement. My college class went well since I found out I made an A on my last assignment. Fourth hour, all the senior basketball boys were called to the gym. Dad and Colten, the assistant coach, talk for over thirty minutes about the negative effects of underage drinking, smoking, and vaping.

I was looking at the ground the whole time until Dad called me out."Peter, eyes up. You especially need to hear this."

I instantly turned 14 shades of red. Everyone turned their heads to look at me. Most of them had heard about the whole incident because of Auston's big mouth. Colten continued to talk for another ten minutes after that before dismissing everyone.

The bell is going to ring any minute, so I didn't bother going back to Mrs. Miller's. The bell rang before I had even got to my locker. I go to my locker and get out my Algebra book. Devin and Alex are jumping on each other and run into several people, and people are not happy. There were not very many people in the classroom yet when I got there. Kevin, the kid who sits in front of me that ,more often than not, cheats off me, was being loud. He kept trying to make conversation, not getting the hint that I was not in the mood. Devin and Alex filtered in at the same time. Alex sits to my left against the wall, and Devin sits in front of him. I look over at the door when Taylen and Jaelynn walk in.
Jaelynn was wearing her usual attire, a hoodie with a pair of ripped jeans and a low bun. Taylen was sporting a pair of black, ripped jeans and an off the shoulder sweater that you could see her black, lace bra through. Her makeup was all the same, except her eyes were darker. Her hair was down but more wavy than usual. In simple words, she looked stunning.

"Damn," I accidentally whispered out loud.

Hoping no one had heard me, I turned my attention back to the front. All hope was lost when I heard Alex chuckle and whisper," Me too."

After that, Mrs. Sandy, the substitute, announced that our teacher was quarantined and wanted to Google Meet with us. She told Taylen that she needed to log in and get it set up. Everyone was watching because it was the only thing going on in the classroom. I was all the way across the room, and I could still see the pink cheeks she now had. She got it set up then went back to her seat. She picked up her phone, smiled, looked at Alex, and rolled her eyes. He laughed again, so it was clear that they were texting each other.

Math ended quickly, and we didn't have much homework, which I was grateful for. We have another game tonight. I hid in Dad's office to eat my Ramen noodles. The triplets typically leave during lunch, and Dad has lunch duty so I can be alone. I'm super glad about that because the extra thirty minutes gives me some time to recharge.

Turns out thirty minutes was not enough to satisfy me today. If I had my truck, I could drive myself to the game and get in a few more minutes of me-time today. I shouldn't have even gone to that party. I didn't even enjoy myself.
Sixth hour was a bore. Though when I went to Coach G's, Alex was in there. He was sitting in the seat beside me. I sat down and learned that we didn't have an assignment.
Alex looked at me for a minute before speaking,"So you got a crush on my best friend?"
I laughed nervously, knowing I'd been caught."Um, sorta."
He laughs again, "She's something special."
"Yeah, I don't know her that well though."
"Well, I'm sure it's only a matter of time."