Since Way Back ↷ Jeff Atkins

↷ TWENTY NINE

''Fine, um..'' She taps her index finger against the desk. ''I have a brother, I live with my dad and I have two stitches.''

Mrs. Bradley held her arms out and looks around. ''Any guesses? I say it's the stitches.''

''What do you think, Jeff?'' Pratters questions aloud. Instantly, the tension grew. ''You know her more than any of us.''

''That's enough,'' Mrs. Bradley scolds. ''This is a game for all of us in order to get to know each other.''

''It's been three years!'' Zach exclaims incredulously. Devin laughs. ''For god sake, half us just wanna graduate just to get away from the same people.''

''Enough,'' The teacher demanded. ''Mr. Atkins, would you like to take a guess?''

''Uh..'' He shrugs his shoulders. ''The stitches?''

Zach snorts at his answer. Devin playfully slaps his arm, quietly shushing him.

''Mr. Dempsey.''

''I'm sorry,'' He apologizes. Yet, his goofy grin displayed his more truer emotions. That he wasn't really sorry. ''But, I'll take a guess. Which is living with her dad.''

Devin peeks a glance over at Jeff who was cracking his knuckles. He wanted to take a guess at that, but three months feels like forever. He didn't know what aspects of her life changed during their summer break.

She looks back at Zach and nods.

''What?'' Mrs. Bradley gasp. ''You really have two stitches?'' Devin hums her response. ''Where?''

''On my chin and eyebrows.''

Some of the students in the class winced.

''Ooh, how'd you get it in your brows?'' Pratters asks, intrigued by the gory details already.

''When I was younger, my mom had left to get the new mattress and I was jumping on the old one. So while she was gone, I ended up falling off of the bed, face first.''

''You're so dumb,'' Zach laughs.

''Shut up,'' Devin giggles, laughing along with him.

× × ×

Devin felt the comfortable routine of returning to the back end of the library later that morning, with the hateful old hag sitting behind the reception desk.

Once she appeared at her usual table, she froze instantly at the sight of Jeff sitting in his same seat.

Of course they had to have their free period together.

''What are you doing here?'' She asks.

He looks up from his notes. ''It's says Study Hall takes place in the library on my schedule, so, based on common sense-''

She raised a hand to silence him. ''I mean, what are you doing on my end of the library?''

''You can't own an end of the library, remember?''