Surviving Elite High (9 page)

“Looks like I'm going to need a tutor,” I told Nick as I read my literature assignment.

The girls left early because they wanted to give us some alone time. I loved them for that. Nick was sitting on a recliner and reading The Scarlet Letter. He turned to me with a smile.

“Nah, we've been handing your assignments in time. The girls have kept you up to date.”

“I should be tutoring you. What will your parents say?”

“They understand and they support you. They want you to be my tutor.”

“Thank you for paying my hospital bills, Nick.”

“I didn't pay your hospital bills. I wanted to, but when I went to pay them, someone had already paid them. I thought Madison or Kitty beat me to it.”

I examined him closely. Nick wasn’t lying; he was telling the truth.

“Madison, Kitty and my mom thought that you paid them.”

“What? No I didn't.”

“If it wasn't you, then who was it?”

We looked at each other in deep thought. My only friends were Kitty, Madison and Nick.

“Maybe it was a generous patron,” Nick suggested.

“Perhaps.”

There was a tiny knock on my door. Nick stood up. The door opened slightly and my mom peeped inside.

“You have a visitor. Should I send him in?”

“Sure, mom,” I answered.

“Okay,” she replied.

“A visitor? Whoa, you truly are famous! You sure you don't need some extra pillows?”

“No, I’m fine, Nick. You—”

I froze when I saw my mysterious visitor. Nick turned to the door. He menacingly walked up to Jacob and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Jacob was like a deer caught in headlights. He didn’t know what to do. Nick slammed him against the wall.

“What the fuck are you doing here!?”

“Nick!” I shouted.

“Nick, what's wrong? I thought that we were cool, buddy?” Jacob questioned him.

“Cool? After your best friend tried to kill me?”

“Nick! Please! Put him down!” I shouted as I stood up.

“Don't get up, John!” Nick told me as he let go of Jacob and walked up to me.

Nick helped me to lie down again.

“Nick, please don't fight in my mom's house.”

Nick was angry. He slowly let out a deep sigh and cooled down a little.

“Fine.”

“If you want I'll leave right now,” Jacob stated as he made his way towards the door.

“No! Wait!” I told Jacob as Nick scowled at him.

Jacob froze. He glanced at Nick and rested his eyes on me.

“I just wanted to talk to you,” Jacob told me as he glanced at Nick.

“Okay, speak,” Nick told him.

“It's okay, I'll come back when John isn't busy,” he replied as he headed towards the door again.

“Wait!” I shouted as I glanced at Nick. I turned to Jacob. “Do you want to talk in private?”

Jacob glanced at Nick and then nodded his answer. Nick shook his head tentatively. He was getting angrier by each passing second.

“Nick? Will you please –”

“You can't possibly be thinking about asking me to leave and leave you alone with this bitch!?”

“Nick, I just want to know what he has to say and you're scaring him off.”

“He better be scared,” Nick told me as he glanced at Jacob. “What if he came back to finish what his little friend started, huh?”

I glanced at Jacob who was silently crying.

“Nick? Look at him.”

Nick turned to Jacob. After a few seconds, he sighed.

“Five minutes, and I'll be standing outside the door,” Nick demanded as he walked towards the door. “You better not touch him.”

Jacob nodded as Nick stepped outside. Jacob immediately turned to me. I knew he was nervous because he carefully made his way towards my bed.

“I'm so sorry,” Jacob started, crying. “I'm sorry for everything I did to you and for what Matthew did. I know that my apologies come too late, but I'm really sorry, John.”

It was at that moment that I saw him, the real Jacob, not the bully or the jock, but the human being. The sincere person that was sorry for his mistakes. Jacob was not perfect, but he wanted to make amends. He took the first two steps all by himself; he was remorseful and asked for forgiveness. I no longer saw him as a monster, but as a person. I saw a seventeen-year-old basketball jock with black hair, light green eyes and evenly tan skin. I saw a human being standing in front of me with tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Don't dwell on the shadows of the past, but move on with your future. That's what my mom says to me and that's what I say to you. Let's place the past behind and move forward with our lives.”

Jacob cried until he had the courage to speak up again.

“God, you're an amazing person! I always knew that, but my ex-friend was a real asshole. He forced me to do treacherous things so I wouldn't look weak in his eyes.”

“Then the asshole wasn't a good friend to start with.”

He chuckled.

“Yeah, nothing like Nick. He really protects you,” Jacob observed as he sat on the recliner.

“Yes, he does. He's the older brother I never wished to have.”

Jacob laughed while he shook his head.

“I don't even want to think about what someone has to go through just to go on a date with you while Nick is around.”

I laughed, but I found his comment really interesting.

“Yeah, he'll probably tackle those bitches to the ground,” I replied with a smile as he laughed. “Thank you Jacob.”

“It's okay. It was the least I could do. I knew your mom would find it difficult to pay the hospital bills.”

I was speechless. Jacob was the one who paid my hospital bills!

“I was going to say thank you for the flowers, but thanks for letting me know that too.”

“You didn't know?” he asked me. I shook my head. “You do now. You like the flowers then?”

“Yes! Yellow and white roses are my favorite. How did you know that?”

“Remember in second grade when Mrs. Trolley's class and Mrs. Jones' class united to paint flowers in groups of two's for Mother's Day?”

“Yes I do! Wait…you were my third grade partner!? How do you remember that? I was one year below you.”

Jacob chuckled.

“I'm not that dumb. I remember that you painted yours yellow and white.”

“Yes! And you painted yours…black.”

He laughed again.

“Yeah, I thought that they'd look manlier,” he confessed with a smile.

“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked him, smiling.

“That –”

His smile faded as the door swung open. Nick stood looking at us.

“Time's up.”

Jacob instantly stood up. He turned to me.

“It was great talking to you, John. I guess I'll see you on…”

“Monday,” I finished with a smile.

“Cool,” Jacob answered and walked towards the door. He glanced at Nick, but Nick gave him an angry stare. “See you, Nick.”

“See you,” Nick mocked as he slammed the door close.

Nick stared at me for a few seconds. I smiled weakly. Shit! Nick was angry at me now!

“I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at him. What the fuck did he want?”

“Talk.”

“About?”

“He came to apologize and I forgave him.”

“You forgave him after his friend tried to kill us!?”

“His ex-friend, Nick. It was Matthew who tried to kill us, not Jacob.”

Nick stared at me for a few more seconds. He sighed.

“Nick? Why do you hate him? You were so cool with him.”

“I don't want him to hurt you again.”

“He won't. I know you won't let him.”

“You bet your ass I won't,” he answered, smiling.

We laughed. Nick walked to the recliner, picked up his copy of The Scarlet Letter and we continued with our literature assignment. Unbeknownst to Nick, I was thinking about the short and intriguing conversation I had with Jacob.

* * *

I sat alone in my room after days of having people in and out. It was a very peaceful and relaxing Sunday afternoon. Detective Morgan had visited me the previous day. Finally, I gave him my statement. He told me that he would contact me in a few days regarding Matthew Ward's trial on the third week of January. My heart sank at the thought of seeing him again. I did not know if I was ready to see him or how I was going to react to his presence. Thanks to Matthew, I relived the school shooting every single night. Sometimes he would kill Madison while other times he would kill Nick. I dreamt several outcomes, but all of them ended with my being dead. I hated being alone in my room since I thought Matthew would return to finish what he started. I would lock my door and cover myself with all the bed sheets. I knew Matthew's ghost would haunt me forever.

“Are you awake?” my mom asked as she knocked at the door.

“I'm up, Mom!” I announced as I slowly stood up. I made my way towards the door and unlocked it. I examined her face. She was smiling warmly. “What is it?”

“You have a visitor.”

“Really? Who?”

“I don't know. She says that she knows you. Should I send her in?”

“Sure, Mom,” I answered as I walked back to my bed.

“Okay, honey.”

I fixed my bed a little and sat down. I stared at the door until a young woman stepped inside. I immediately recognized her. It was Jessica Allen, the new Homecoming Queen. She looked a lot like Allison, but was ten times bitchier. She carefully examined me from head to toe and faked a smile. She was holding a get well card inside her hands. As Jessica walked to the foot of my bed, she scrutinized every inch of my room. After she inspected it, a smirk developed on her face. I had always disliked her. She was one of those rich kids who viewed the poor worth absolutely nothing.

“Hello,” I told to her.

“Hi,” she declared with a nasally voice. “You might be wondering why I'm here.”

The bitch actually read my mind. I nodded to her question.

“I just wanted to meet the Great John. The legend behind the name,” Jessica told me as she raised one eyebrow. “Nick has told me so much about you.”

I did not like the feeling in the pit of my stomach. I knew something bad was coming.

“Really? Why would Nick be talking about me with you?”

“Oh, you don't know,” she said, smiling. “Hasn’t Nick told you that I'm his new girlfriend?”

When she said those words, my heart stopped. I glanced at my lap and turned to her. Jessica was smiling happily. I pulled myself together before speaking again.

“No.”

“Oh, really? I thought you two were best friends.”

“Maybe he's waiting for the right time. I found out yesterday that my best friend Kitty is dating Ryan. He'd have told me when the time was right.”

“Oh, whatever. I just wanted to give you this,” Jessica explained as she threw the card on my bed.

“Thanks.”

“I also wanted to see the place and the person that my boyfriend spends so much time with. He barely has time for me.”

“Okay,” I told her as she walked around my room. While she admired the teddy bear that Nick gave me, I spoke up to her. “When did you guys start dating?”

“Friday, during the silent march. He's such a gentleman, you know. He's not the type of guy everyone says. He truly is a prince charming.”

A gentleman? Thanks to me! She should have met him a few weeks ago.

“I'm glad to hear that.”

“Yeah,” Jessica answered as she turned to me. “I hope we can be friends.”

“Sure,” I mumbled as my heart froze.

“Very well then. See you around. Ah, one more thing! Please don't tell Nick I dropped by. For some reason or the other, he doesn't want me to meet you yet. I don't really know why though.”

“Sure,” I answered her as she walked out of my room.

After Jessica closed the door, I sobbed uncontrollably. Nick was moving on with his life and I was still stuck on the tiny kiss that he gave me! The kiss meant absolutely nothing to him! It was just another goodbye kiss that he would have given to anyone who was about to die. I was nothing to him, but a close friend. I was angry at myself for actually thinking that someone like Nick Wild Hawk would fall for an insect like me. That was how Jessica and many other students saw me. They saw me as a weird bug that needed to be crushed sooner or later. I examined the card with her name on it and threw it across the room.

Suddenly, my phone rang. I glanced at the screen. It was Nick. I contemplated answering, but I simply turned it off. I could not speak to him while I wanted to vomit all over his face. I stood up, but my knees caved in and I dropped on the floor sobbing. I wanted to die and mend my broken heart with tears.

I have no idea how long I was on the floor. I cried and cried, and made no effort to get up. I wanted to die rather than live through the terrible pain inside my heart. Nick should have left me to die on that gymnasium floor. It was less painful than having my heart stabbed to death by Jessica Allen. I hated that bitch! The fact that she would be with him hurt me even more. She would kiss and touch him while his heart skipped happily. All of a sudden, the door swung open, but I didn’t turn to look.

“John!” Nick gasped as he cupped me into his arm. He immediately carried me to my bed. “What happened? Are you okay? Did you get hurt? I called you, but you didn't answer. I was worried, so I came over.”

I wiped my tears away. He stared at me for few seconds and I looked away. Suddenly, Nick made his way to the jar of water on the other side of the room. He poured some into a glass while he continued to look at me. He looked confused and lost. As Nick walked towards my bed, he came across the card on the floor. He silently picked it up. While he examined the card, I cried even more. Nick sighed deeply. He walked to my bed with a faint smile on his face. As he handed me the glass of water, he sat on my bedside.

“I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't find the words,” Nick told me as I placed the glass of water on my nightstand. “I didn't want to hurt you. Jess shouldn't have come here anyway! I ordered her not to visit you.”

I shook my head.

“It's okay Nick. You're free to do as you wish with your life. You don't have to answer to me or ask for my permission. We're just friends.”

“But, I know how you feel about me and that's why I feel bad.”