Crush Crush

Chapter Four

The next day at school, I did a play-by-play of the night before for Chloe, who squealed and slapped my arm excitedly. "You ballsy bitch! I'm so proud of you!"

I laughed. "His face was priceless."

"Did he look like a lost puppy?"

I shook my head. "He looked confused. But," I paused. This was going to sound ridiculous. "I don't know. It was like he was trying to tell me something with his eyes. He seemed . . . amused."

Chloe raised her eyebrows at me. "Amused?"

"Yeah. Like, you know how people laugh or smile with their eyes?" She nodded. "Well, it was like he was grinning at me with just his eyes, even though his mouth was puckered in a tight line."

"I wonder if anyone's asked him about the little love bite on his neck. That was a good touch."

I grinned and shrugged. "I learned from the best." I bumped her hip as we walked from the cafeteria to our next class. 

"Hey! I resent that comment!" she shrieked.

I laughed. "What about Matt behind the bleachers freshman year?"

She thought about it for a second and then smiled coyly. "That was pretty good, huh?"

We giggled all the way to class.

                                                                   ...

After the last period of the day, I was on my way out of the building when I suddenly heard my name called over the intercom, instructing me to go to the front office.

I frowned, confused, but I went to the office and asked the secretary why I was called down. She led me to a conference room next door to the principal and counselor's office. I entered the room warily. It was empty minus a large round table and a few chairs. I sat in a chair opposite the door, alternating between picking at my nail polish and tugging the loose threads of my skater skirt.

The door swung open and my homeroom teacher sat across from me. She was all smiles, which told me that I wasn't in deep trouble. I mentally tried to file through my semester, but no misconduct was ever reported that I knew of.

I cleared my throat, "Ms. Beats, I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

"Oh, heavens no, Isabel. This is just the mandatory parent-teacher conference."

I frowned. "But, my parents are out of town."

She opened her mouth to explain, but the door opened. I glanced above her head and scowled. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

Ryder confidently strode into the conference room. His lips twitched when he saw me glaring at him as he sat in the seat beside me. I moved to scoot my chair away from him, but his hand snaked out and latched around my thigh, holding me in my place. I gave him a dirty look, digging my nails into his knuckles. He didn't even wince.

I turned back to my teacher, who was too occupied shuffling through a manila folder to notice our exchange. 

I cleared my throat. "I believe there's been a mistake, Ms. Beats. Ryder isn't my guardian."

"Oh?" Ms. Beats glanced up at me, pushing her glasses back on the bridge of her nose. She pulled a sheet of paper from the folder, which I noticed was labeled with my full name. She slid the paper across the table. I picked it up and examined its contents.

Name :      Isabel Marie Rodriguez     

Emergency Contact Information :     Serena Rodriguez ( mother )    Ricardo Rodriguez ( father )