at Jamie. She did look rather upset, I saw from my quick sideways glance.
“My brother’s girlfriend broke up with him after practice last night, and he’s really upset about it,” she said with a sigh. Emma’s fraternal twin, Brad Mosely, was one of our school’s best pitchers. “She said that she was dumping him for Tim Deans, that new kid from Ohio. He wasted a whole year on her. I think he really thought it was going somewhere, and that’s what bothers him most.” Emma pushed her tray away, just keeping her apple juice.
“It just makes me so angry that she would treat him that way,” she continued. “I’d love nothing more than to walk up to her in gym later and smack her senseless.” At that, I had to look up. I’d never heard meek little Emma talk about hitting anyone.
“You and Brad must be very close,” I commented, not sure if I was supposed to even be part of this conversation. She seemed to tolerate me because I was Jamie’s best friend, but I got the feeling that she was jealous of our closeness. He said that once, she’d even said that maybe I should be his girlfriend. That sent him into a little bit of a panic until I assured him that I didn’t think she meant it quite that way.
“He’s my twin brother, technically my big brother by two and a half minutes. He means the world to me, and it just makes me so mad that he’s hurting.”
The constant interaction between Emma and Jamie continued throughout the day, until I sat conspicuously alone in study hall.
I checked around to make sure I hadn’t missed him when I had come in, but he wasn’t there. Neither was Emma. Had they gotten sick? Was Jamie hurt and was she helping him? Jamie never ditched, and hard as it was for me to admit, Emma wasn’t that kind of girl. No one else in the class seemed to have noticed their absence. Even Karen was just leafing through some teenage magazine, passing the time until the period was over. I left the dingy paperback I had been reading on my chair as I walked up to the teacher’s desk.
“Mrs. Barachek, I had to stay late in my last class and didn’t get a chance to use the rest room on my way here. May I please have the pass?” I asked in an angelic voice. Mrs. Barachek, the matronly lady who also ran the lunch line, knew I was a good student. The faint smell of cabbage accompanied the pass that she handed to me without a word. I left the classroom and turned right, toward the bathroom, just in case she was watching.
Looking up and down each hallway, I started to panic when I couldn’t find him. Had he been beaten up? Where the hell was he? Frantically, I ran down the south hallway and skidded to a stop when I heard his voice. He was talking, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying, and then everything went quiet. I sprinted down the hall and quietly opened the band room double doors at the end. If he was talking to a teacher, I didn’t want to get either of us into trouble. I just needed to know that he was okay.
The sight of Jamie kissing Emma as she sat on the teacher’s desk and he stood in front of her nearly brought me to my knees. My eyes caught every detail, from her hands on the outsides of his thighs to his fingers in her hair. It seemed like time stood still for just an instant before they realized that I was there. My chest ached, and I heard a faint ringing in my ears as finally, mercifully, they broke apart. Jamie’s eyes met mine, and he looked like someone who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The door banged on the wall with the force of my anger, and the panic that replaced the guilt in Jamie’s face went unnoticed by Emma, who was still smiling dreamily. Her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open, just waiting for her prince to continue the kiss. Backing out of the room, I heard Jamie call out after me, but I didn’t stop. I turned and ran. It was something I had started to become very good at, because I had learned all of my life to avoid
“My brother’s girlfriend broke up with him after practice last night, and he’s really upset about it,” she said with a sigh. Emma’s fraternal twin, Brad Mosely, was one of our school’s best pitchers. “She said that she was dumping him for Tim Deans, that new kid from Ohio. He wasted a whole year on her. I think he really thought it was going somewhere, and that’s what bothers him most.” Emma pushed her tray away, just keeping her apple juice.
“It just makes me so angry that she would treat him that way,” she continued. “I’d love nothing more than to walk up to her in gym later and smack her senseless.” At that, I had to look up. I’d never heard meek little Emma talk about hitting anyone.
“You and Brad must be very close,” I commented, not sure if I was supposed to even be part of this conversation. She seemed to tolerate me because I was Jamie’s best friend, but I got the feeling that she was jealous of our closeness. He said that once, she’d even said that maybe I should be his girlfriend. That sent him into a little bit of a panic until I assured him that I didn’t think she meant it quite that way.
“He’s my twin brother, technically my big brother by two and a half minutes. He means the world to me, and it just makes me so mad that he’s hurting.”
The constant interaction between Emma and Jamie continued throughout the day, until I sat conspicuously alone in study hall.
I checked around to make sure I hadn’t missed him when I had come in, but he wasn’t there. Neither was Emma. Had they gotten sick? Was Jamie hurt and was she helping him? Jamie never ditched, and hard as it was for me to admit, Emma wasn’t that kind of girl. No one else in the class seemed to have noticed their absence. Even Karen was just leafing through some teenage magazine, passing the time until the period was over. I left the dingy paperback I had been reading on my chair as I walked up to the teacher’s desk.
“Mrs. Barachek, I had to stay late in my last class and didn’t get a chance to use the rest room on my way here. May I please have the pass?” I asked in an angelic voice. Mrs. Barachek, the matronly lady who also ran the lunch line, knew I was a good student. The faint smell of cabbage accompanied the pass that she handed to me without a word. I left the classroom and turned right, toward the bathroom, just in case she was watching.
Looking up and down each hallway, I started to panic when I couldn’t find him. Had he been beaten up? Where the hell was he? Frantically, I ran down the south hallway and skidded to a stop when I heard his voice. He was talking, but I couldn’t make out what he was saying, and then everything went quiet. I sprinted down the hall and quietly opened the band room double doors at the end. If he was talking to a teacher, I didn’t want to get either of us into trouble. I just needed to know that he was okay.
The sight of Jamie kissing Emma as she sat on the teacher’s desk and he stood in front of her nearly brought me to my knees. My eyes caught every detail, from her hands on the outsides of his thighs to his fingers in her hair. It seemed like time stood still for just an instant before they realized that I was there. My chest ached, and I heard a faint ringing in my ears as finally, mercifully, they broke apart. Jamie’s eyes met mine, and he looked like someone who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The door banged on the wall with the force of my anger, and the panic that replaced the guilt in Jamie’s face went unnoticed by Emma, who was still smiling dreamily. Her eyes were closed and her mouth slightly open, just waiting for her prince to continue the kiss. Backing out of the room, I heard Jamie call out after me, but I didn’t stop. I turned and ran. It was something I had started to become very good at, because I had learned all of my life to avoid
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