Loving Storm

6. Partners in Crime

"Sorry!" she said hitting the unlock button. "It's too early for me." She sunk in her seat, praying Hudson had not noticed her gawking.

"Good morning American degenerates," Jack greeted. He slid down the back leather seats with a pair of Walkman headphones around his neck.

"Our sleepyhead here hit snooze six times," Hudson said.

Storm caught a scent of clean alpine as Jack shut the door. No longer the boy that smelled of copper and sweat from running around in the sun all day.

"I was studying for that make-up exam! You should be proud," she said in defense.

Jack slid forward on his seat, tapping Hudson's left shoulder. "Weren't you the early bird that catches the worm? What happened to you?"

Hudson looked at Storm beside him and smiled. "I don't know. Maybe I've been spending too much time with procrastinators."

Storm smiled proudly at him. "Let's get out of here before we end up in detention."

"Wake me up when we get there," Jack said as he placed the headphones from his walkman over his ears.

~~

"Jesus, you almost killed us." Jack shut the door behind him, taking a deep breath. "You're not driving again."

"Yes I am!"

"Not with me in the car you're not."

"Fine. Find your own ride to school on Monday."

"I already have my own ride," he said chuckling.

Storm rolled her eyes, giving up and joined Hudson at his side.

The three of them now stood together looking out onto the ripe green grass, where the different social classes defined under the universal Highschool hierarchy conquered their spaces on the lawn. The goth kids were under a willow tree reading horror comics, and necromancy books, minding their own business. While the popular group, mostly Hudson's friends, shined under the sun like glistening diamonds in a rough patch, laughing and gossiping on whose vacation spot was more scandalous than the others. The math club had a flip open wooden table where they prepared for the mathematicians competition at the Broadhollow library in grand square. Then there were the metalheads dressed in ripped grunge jeans and dragon weave collars while blasting a Prong hit song. They were hanging in the parking lot sitting atop of cars they did not own while smoking pot with their girlfriends.

Hudson, Jack and Storm didn't fit in any of these groups, they were their own unconventional group, each different and yet so in-sync.

"Well this is it guys, Senior year," Hudson said, embracing the sunny day and the smell of a fresh new start, that and the magnolias.

Storm wasn't thrilled about high school ending, she felt she needed 10 more years before her scattered brain focused on one thing, the future. After Jack left, she got back on track. Hudson made sure of that. But good grades aren't the only thing that you need to get into a worthy college and eventually a career. You need drive and ambition, two things she fell short of.

"Let's get this over with," she said as she led the way in coquette strides onto the lawn that crawled with Broadhollow high students. Hudson lost himself in the swing of her hips in front of him, her bronzed legs from the summer sun now compelling curious eyes. He fell in a trance watching her until quarterback Luca Freeman's whistling caught his attention. He looked back at Storm to see her reaction, expecting her to give them her signature Tom boy look, the one that warded off all the boys from even approaching her but she didn't. This time, there was a poised smile and a flip of the hair during the whistling. Hudson seethed inside, and marched up towards Luca. "What the hell is your deal?"