An Unlikely Duo

Chapter 2: Putting Jerks in Their Place

Kayla's P.O.V.

“Wait a minute.  Jake Mitchells as in starting runningback, drop dead gorgeous, Jake Mitchells?”  Paige was waving her pizza around like a maniac later thantnight after I told her who my new doubles partner was.

“Yeah.  How many Jake Mitchells do you know?”

“That’s beside the point.  So what’s he like?” Clearly Paige was more interested in hearing about my practice with Jake that day than watching Grease.  We had seen it dozens of times and knew almost all the words, but it was tradition, pizza and that movie were kind of our thing, always had been.

“Surprisingly normal.  I was expecting him to be cocky and arrogant.  I mean a guy who looks like that has to know he looks like that, but he doesn’t seem like he does.  Anyway it doesn’t really matter.  It’s not like we’re friends, he’s just my partner.  And he better take this seriously and not screw this up for me.  I need that scholarship prize money for college next year.” 

“Kayla Kayla Kayla.  Why must you always take everything so seriously?  I know you need to win the prize money, but that doesn’t mean you can’t flirt with Jake and get him to fall madly in love with you along the way.  I’m so jealous” She glared at me with her mouth full of pizza.

Paige was constantly trying to convince me to “be spontaneous” and “live in the moment” and “stop planning every move”, but in my mind planning made sure nothing messed with my main goal: Columbia.  We were a single income family and I was going to have to pay for college mostly on my own.  I had been babysitting since I was twelve and had been waitressing at a restaurant in town for the past two years, but all that barely made a dent in what I needed for tuition.  The $5,000 scholarship given to the winners of the summer league tournament would help, a lot.

“I don’t want him falling in love with me, not that he would anyway, feelings complicate things.  Volleyball should not be complicated.  Feelings are distracting and mess with the plan.  Besides he’s not my type.” For a second I couldn’t tell who I was trying to convince, Paige or myself.

“There you go with your whole “plan” speech again.  And besides Jake Mitchells is every girl’s type.  He’s hot.  How is hot not your type.  And for the whole feelings thing you need to quit being afraid of that.  What about Danny?  I thought you really liked him and he liked you back.  He was nice, smart, athletic, and he was cute, but after three dates when he wanted to make things official you shut the whole thing down.  Kay you can’t keep doing this.”  Paige squeezed my knee empathetically. 

Paige had already had two serious relationships sophomore and junior year, whereas I haven’t had any.  It wasn’t that I couldn’t get guys, but I always freaked out when things started to smell slightly serious and backed out with some lame excuse.  “I had to focus on my family” or “We were just too different” or my favorite “it wasn’t the right time” the truth was it was never the “right time”. 

In my mind the best way to deal with feelings and relationships was to avoid them like the plague.  I mean what do you do with a boyfriend?  Do you have to feed it?  Walk it?  That seems like a lot of effort and responsibility.

***

“Char let’s go we’re going to miss the bus if you don’t get your butt down here in the next thirty seconds” I shouted upstairs as I filled my water bottle and shoved it in my volleyball bag.

“I can’t find matching socks” Charlotte shouted back.  I made a mental note to do laundry after practice.

“Just grab any socks.  Not matching socks are the new thing.  All the kids are doing it” I tried to stifle a laugh when Charlotte came down the stairs wearing one pink sock and one orange sock.  Six year olds were so gullible sometimes.  I handed her a bagel and tweaked her pig tail before pushing her out the door.  As I turned around after locking the front door I was shocked to see a black pickup in my drive way.  Charlotte ran over and climbed in.