Queen Bee Syndrome

Chapter 12: Two Weeks with Nash Grier, Aren't I Lucky?

I spent the weekend locked in my room. I didn’t really want to talk to my parents, because I was so angry at them. I had called Emma and explained everything to her, and she just told me she was sorry to hear that I couldn’t spend Spring Break with her and my friends. She didn’t sound very sincere, though. I’m not surprised, I thought, She’s probably just happy it’s not her.

On Monday, after my mom forced me to pack, we loaded all of our stuff into both my parents cars and headed down to the Griers lake house. I rode in my dads car with him, while my brother and sister rode with my mom. Most of the drive was spent in silence, with only the soft hum from the radio filling the air. Eventually, my dad got sick of us not talking and began to speak.

"I bet you’ll enjoy yourself."

I sent him a death glare as I responded, “Oh yeah. As much as Europe enjoyed The Black Death.”

"Funny," My dad rolled his eyes at me, "I still think you will, though."

"And why is that?"

"Well, for one thing, you have Nash," He shrugged, "At least that’s someone your age."

"Nash is the reason I don’t get to spend Spring Break by the beach with my friends, so I hardly think I’ll enjoy spending time with him," I huffed.

"You’re the reason you’re not spending Spring Break with your friends, Jolie," He lowered his voice some, "Nash only told us because he didn’t want you doing something you’d regret."

"Sure," I scoffed, "That’s totally why he told you guys.”

There was a few minutes of silence before my dad spoke again.

"Well, you’ve got Chad’s other son."

"Hayes?" I raised my eyebrows, "Yeah, ‘cause I want to hang around with a thirteen year old for my Spring Break."

"No, not Hayes," My dad shook his head, "Chad has another son, called Will. He’s eighteen, attending UF. He’s going to be there for a few days. Not all of Spring Break, though, because Chad thinks he should spend time with his friends too."

"What a great father," I commented, and my dad chuckled lightly.

"You know," My dad went on, "You brought all this on yourself, Jolie. I mean, what were you thinking hitting on your teacher?"

I sighed and turned to my dad as I answered, “We’ve been over this, dad. I wasn’t thinking. I just let my stupid crush get the better of me.”

"But, he’s your teacher, Jolie."

"I know," I yelled, throwing my hands into the air, "I know, okay? I was stupid to think he’d like me back. And I was stupid to start liking him anyways. But, come on, you know what I’m like. I’m the pickiest person ever. I’d never even consider going out with another student from my school."

"True," My dad nodded, "Unless Ryan Gosling enrolled."

"If Ryan Gosling was a student at my school, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation."

We both laughed some, and for a moment I didn’t feel so frustrated with my dad. I crossed my arms and looked out the window.

"How long until we get to the lake?"

"Not for another hour or so," My dad told me, "Why don’t you go to sleep for a bit?"

I nodded and reached into the backseat, grabbing a blanket I had tossed back there. I pulled it over me, and snuggled myself into the passenger seat. As I was starting to drift off, I opened my mouth and mumbled to my dad, “I’m still mad at you though.”