I toss my books into my bag as the bell rings. Mrs. Sengal walks up to me.
"Mr. Jones," she says, her voice sharp and grating in my ears. I look up and plaster a fake smile on my face.
"Yes Mrs. Sengal?" I ask her in a bright voice.
"I am not impressed with your recent grades," she complains in the meanest voice imaginable. She takes evil teacher to the next level.
"I understand, Mrs. Sengal. I'm sorry. Is there any extra credit I can do to make up for my recent grade?"
Her face softens the slightest bit.
"I will give you one chance to retake the test. If your grade doesn't change I will have to speak with your guardians."
I feel a sting at this term. It's bad when people say "parents," but guardians is nearly worse. Parents is trying to avoid it. Guardians is just a painful reminder that my mother left me for some fantasy. I'd rather people just say aunt and uncle.
"Thank you," I respond, standing up with my bag over my shoulder.
"See you Monday," she says. I nod my head and leave the classroom. My buddy Jack appears in the doorway of another classroom. Science, I think.
"Hey man," I say, bumping my shoulder to his.
"Wassup," he replies, running a hand through dirty blond hair.
"Nothin'. Mrs. Sengal just got on my back for my D-. Like, dude, that is my only bad grade this year. Back off," I complain. He nods.
"Yeah man. I feel ya. Actually I don't because I always get bad grades and no one even cares anymore."
We both laugh.
"Hey, you wanna come over and play some video games?" he asks. I shake my head.
"Sorry dude. I'm grounded for the grade."
"Whoa, seriously?"
I nod. He rolls his eyes.
"Screw it! Just come over and say you're at the library."
"I uh, really have to um, study for a test," I stammer.
He glances at me sideways. The truth is, my uncle is a genius police officer and he'll figure it out. And I want to talk to my sister. There. I said it. We reach the exit.
"See you Monday," I say, pushing open the door and heading right. He waves over his shoulders as he starts in the opposite direction. I walk down the sidewalk to my house, backpack hanging off one shoulder. I slip my key into the slot of 62 Valley Boulevard. I twist it open to a quiet house. Kathy and Ted must still be at work. I flick on the hall light and dump my backpack underneath the coats. I rip off my Nike's and throw them under the bench. I walk into the kitchen and grab a bag of chips from the cabinet. I walk into the living room and turn on the TV. I cruise the channels until I find Law & Order, my guilty pleasure. Two episodes later the door slams open and the smell of hot pizza greets my nose. I leap off the couch and run to the hall. Ted is taking off his shoes, a large pizza box resting on the bench next to him. I grab it and open the lid. A waft of hot, delicious air slaps my face. Pepperoni. Ahhh. I inhale the sweet smells as Ted neatly places his boots under the bench. He stands up and takes the pizza box.
"Hey kiddo," he says with a snort. I follow the pizza like a dog.
"Uh huh," I say, trotting to keep up. "Sup."
He sets the box on the island in the kitchen and opens the fridge. He pulls out a bag of cut romaine and dumps it in a bowl.
"Get me the cherry tomatoes, would you?" he asks, picking out some brown lettuce leaves.
"Okay," I say, walking to the fridge. I take out the plastic carton of tomatoes and place them on the counter near my uncle.
"Can I go now?" I ask, my eyes still trained on the pizza.
"Yup! And take a piece of pizza already before you drive me insane!" he cries, throwing his arm in the direction of the box. I give a leap and grab a plate and a slice of pizza. I rush up the stairs, making as much noise as I can. I slam my door and drop the plate on my bed. I follow the plate and take a huge bite of the cheesy goodness. Still chewing I scroll through my Instagram feed. I respond to Jack's text of "Dude u are missing outttttt" with "Pizza, man. Pizza." After eating my pizza I summon my sister to see how her race went. I tuned in earlier during study hall but didn't say anything because I would have gotten in trouble. I think she came in second or something. She seemed in a really bad mood though.
"You good fam? I tuned in a while ago and noticed you were all stony and crap. What's the matter? You came in second in your first race," I say, hoping that's right.
"You sound mad. Are you mad at me?" She replies, deflecting my question.
"Nah. School was rough. Sorta got a D minus on my math test," I admit, knowing she will laugh at me. I don't care though. I would laugh at her...
She snorts.
"I wish I could tutor you, brother! Did Kathy get upset?" She says, a chuckle in her throat. It turns to concern when she mentions Kathy. She knows how upset Kathy gets when I get a bad grade. Kathy expects a lot from me because she wants me to get into a good college.
"I wish you could too. And yeah. I'm grounded," I reply, sighing
"Well, I have to go celebrate with my friends. Good luck!" She says.
"Wait!" I cry quickly.
"What?" she hisses angrily.
"Maybe you could tutor me! It might be hard but you're smart. So, talk about that later?" I ask hopefully. I hear some chewing noises.
A swallow, then, "Yeah ok. Also, what's a grounding?"
I laugh. "It's when you lose all access to your phone and laptop and you can't go out."
She doesn't know what a grounding is?!
"I have more questions about that for later. I'll try and figure out a way to tutor you. Now get out of my head!"
"Yes ma'am," I whimper.
The front door opens and the click of Kathy's heels on the floor echo up the stairs. I shove the rest of the pizza down my throat and leap off the bed. I run down the stairs to see Kathy in one of her Real Estate Agent outfit. Long, fitted black pants, a plain white silk top and a matching black coat. Her hair is sleeked back in a low bun. I give her a hug.
"How'd the showing go?" I ask, flashing her a smile.
"It was fantastic," she replies, a puzzled look on her face. "What makes you so interested?"
I wrap my arm around her waist.
"Ted brought home pizza and made a salad," I tell her, leading her into the kitchen where the pizza and salad are laid out on the island. Ted has a glass of wine in his hand.
"Hey, honey," he says, giving her a peck on the cheek.
"Hi," she smiles. "You know the house on Cherry Avenue? The one the Baxter's moved out of a year or so ago?"
"Yes. Cute little tan house was it? I drive by there on the way to work."
"That one. Well, they finally put it on the market. I showed it to a nice couple and I think they are very interested."
"Oh good," Ted says, pouring Kathy a glass of wine. I grab a Coke from the fridge and take a gulp.
"Can we eat now?" I ask, getting three plates from the cabinet.
"Sure," Kathy says. "I'm hungry."
I load some salad on my plate and drown it in ranch. I take my plate to the dinner table. Kathy slides into her seat.
"So. Your teacher called me last night about your grade...she thinks you've had trouble paying attention in school recently. Even more so than usual. Why do you think that is?"
I take a bite of pizza.
"I dunno," I say.
"Well, you're really going to need to straighten up your schoolwork or..." Ted trails off.
"Uh huh. I'm gonna, don't stress."
I finish my last slice of pizza and start on my salad.
"Do we have any ice cream?" I ask. Ted and Kathy look at each other.
"Noah, you realize this is serious, correct?" Ted asks me.
"Yeah, I know!" God! Can they just back of?
"We understand you've struggled...with your mom and sister and everything..." Kathy looks down at her still full plate.
I bring my fist down hard on the table. Kathy's head jerks up. Ted stares at me in shock.
"Why the hell do you have to bring that up every freaking time a get a bad grade?! It's not that big of a deal! My friends get bad grade! I'm not the only one who screws up! The reason I get bad grades sometimes does not always mean I'm 'struggling' with my 'position?' I mean I've kinda accepted the fact that my mom friggin' left me for whatever and took my unborn sister with her."
I leap up from the table and rush up to my room. Fully pissed I slam my door as hard as I can. I twist the lock and fall on my bed. A light knock falls on my door.
"You okay, bud?" Ted's gentle voice reaches my ears.
"I'm fine," I growl. "Leave me alone. Please."
"Alright."
I hear his heavy retreating footsteps descend the stairs. A creak as he settles in his chair. The clink of fork on plate as he eats his salad.
I summon my sister, but she doesn't respond. Is she forgetting the times she has summoned my in the middle of the night with some stupid sob story about who the hell knows what and I have woken up to comfort her? I mean, she has done that for me...sometimes...a lot...but who cares?Now would be a nice time. But whatever. I grab the remote and put it on Cartoon Network. The noise soothes me until I can't keep my eyes on the characters on the screen. I turn the volume down and turn onto my side.