Enemies with Benefits

Chapter Five

       Mrs. Blinks began to walk around the room, sticking her basket in everyone's face. A few people leaned back, and Dan Reeve practically ducked out of the way. I watched, bored, as she made her way through the desks, and when she landed on Josh, I saw that he was looking directly at me. I quickly looked away.

      Our teacher came up to our desk, and I solemnly stuck my hand into the basket. Please be something good, I thought to myself. Not something like the stupid family vacation, since the last time my family and I went on a vaycay I was ten, and it wasn't so memorable as having Regina get carsick and Mallory nearly drowning whilst trying to surf to impress some hunky lifeguard. Nope, not very favorable. So, hopefully, it was summer memory or something like that.

      Most traumatic incident, the slip of paper read.

      Son of a bitch.

      "What's it say?" Spencer asked in monotone.

      "Um, a traumatic incident," I mumbled.

       That sure got his attention. "Wha-what?"

       I cocked an eyebrow. "You heard me."

       "Yeah, well, I don't wanna talk about it," he huffed.

        "Me neither," I told him. I sighed, "but we have to." I hated this, though. Why the hell did Mrs. Blinks just assume that two people, who hate each other more than you seriously can possibly imagine, would just spill something so private to one another? Was the woman dropped as a child?

       "Fine," Spencer said. He sat up straighter. "You first."

        What did Katz have to hide? Like he'd ever been through something difficult! Like he'd ever had something even remotely bad happen to him! Maybe he was just trying to act like there had been a time when he didn't know what to do, just to get some sympathy? No, not that. The last thing Spencer Katz would want from me is sympathy.

      "No." I furrowed my brows. "First you."

      He breathed out heavily and looked to the ceiling as if to say, Unbelievable. "Ever hear of ladies first?" he asked.

     "Ever hear of shut up and freaking tell me already?"

     He sighed again, then he looked me straight in the eye, his lips drawn into a thin line. "Fine. You wanna know? My sister tried to kill herself. Now it's your turn."

       I couldn't speak. Was he serious? He couldn't be! I mean, I knew Spencer had a sister, but I thought she went off to college like a year ago. I was always kind of confused as to why I'd never seen her on Thanksgiving or Christmas or even Easter, but I always assumed that maybe she left on bad terms? Unless, Spencer's telling the truth.

      "You're lying," I said, shaking my head. "There is no way your sister . . . ."

     "Tried to commit suicide? Well, yeah she did." He looked down, tapped his pencil against the desk. Obviously he was uncomfortable with the subject. "So." He locked his brown eyes to mine, somehow making it impossible to look away. "What horrible thing happened to Miss Amelia Thampton?" The hatred just rolled of his tongue

      Okay, I couldn't believe I thought this, but I actually felt a little obligated to. I mean, come on. The guy just announced to his sworn enemy that his sister had tried to end her life.

      "Um, okay well . . . " I stumbled over my words, something that has never happened before. Least of all with Spencer. "My, uh, my mom---she kinda, um. She sort of got in a car accident." I paused, then added, "We both did."