Almost Straight Read online

  Almost Straight

  By Justice Serai

  Almost Straight

  Copyright © December 2015 by Justice Serai

  http://www.justiceserai.com/

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book only. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials.

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Dedicated to Mercy

  Chapter 1

  If high school was hell, the cafeteria was the deepest, darkest pit of it. The last circle of Dante’s Inferno. Nothing reminded me of that more than standing in the middle of the room, surrounded by meaningless chatter, trying to find somewhere to sit.

  Grayson Dillon waved me over and I wasn’t sure whether to sigh in relief or panic. I planned on breaking up with him today, or maybe tomorrow – I was waiting for the right time. But when was the right time to tell the second most popular junior at Freedom High that you’d rather go back to being a nobody than date him?

  Still, having a place to sit during the most anxiety-ridden twenty-five minutes of the school day won out and I headed toward his table.

  Thoughts of Dante’s Inferno made me wonder if I should give him a second chance – the whole forgiveness and cleansing of the past thing. It was what Jesus would do. Grayson wasn’t so terrible – just a little rough around the edges. For instance, his older brother drove him to school every day but Grayson wouldn’t ask him to pick me up because it meant that Gray would have to wake up a whole fifteen minutes earlier. Little stuff like that coupled with almost zero chemistry made me wonder how I’d lasted a whole month with him in the first place.

  “Hey,” he said when I reached him. His gaze darted around the cafeteria and he leaned in. “Do you happen to have the homework for calculus done? I forgot mine and need to copy someone’s.”

  I stared at him, waiting for him to laugh and say he was joking. But he didn’t. Yeah. I was definitely breaking up with him.

  “No. I handed it in already.” A lie but there was no way I was giving him a free ride just because he was my boyfriend – especially because he was my boyfriend. I suddenly felt used.

  He groaned then turned back to his table. When we had lunch period together, I sat with him and his friends, quietly picking at my homemade lunch, thankful no one made fun of me for it. But my mom insisted. It was always healthy too. And probably made with love.

  “Hey, Audrey,” Beth said, waving as I reached the table. Her boyfriend snatched a French fry off her tray and she squealed and pretended to smack him.

  A few other football players grunted greetings and I smiled then took a seat next to Gray. Dating a football player (even second string) had catapulted me to semi-popularity at the beginning of the school year. Sports were the single most important thing at Freedom High. The varsity team players were treated like celebrities, which irked me to no end. The members of the science team would go on to do things like stem cell research and cure cancer but throwing a ball while smashing into each other was somehow heroic.

  “I’ll ask Aubrey,” someone said from across the table.

  Grayson growled at Chase, “It’s Audrey, not Aubrey.”

  That he defended me made him almost redeemable.

  “Do you have a dollar for the soda machine?” Chase said. He didn’t even bother to correct his mistake.

  “Sorry. I don’t have any money.”

  A book nerd who cared about getting good grades didn’t keep you popular for long. I wondered when my cool status would wear off. Not that I cared about stuff like that. I mean, it was nice while it lasted. I got a taste of fame, so to speak, but the pressure to stay on top was too much. I felt watched and constantly scrutinized.

  Once I broke up with Gray, I’d probably get thrown off the social ladder. Or maybe one of his friends would ask me out. Guys did that – shared leftovers. Not that I’d say yes. I missed my real friends.

  I shouldn’t generalize though. Just because a few of the football players were rude, entitled jerks didn’t mean all popular kids were. Beth had always been nice to me, and a few others. Now that I was a junior, I tried not to see the world in black and white, but more in shades of gray. Between church and Dante’s Inferno, I knew if eternal punishment (or even temporary punishment) was real, we’d all be there, getting rained on by hellfire and chased by beasts.

  Still, Grayson had to go. I chugged my organic grape juice, wishing it was alcohol. Wasn’t that what they called “liquid courage?” I needed it to have “the talk” with Gray later.

  My parents liked Grayson but that was because he attended the other church in town and our parents travelled in the same circles of potlucks and prayer meetings. Church guys fell into one of two camps: goody-goodies who quoted Bible verses if I dropped the f-bomb (by accident) or alcoholic idiots rebelling against their upbringing.

  As for me, I was a middle of the road kind of girl. No criminals need apply but I didn’t want to be dating my grandma in high school boy form either.

  Gray slung his arm around my shoulders and yanked me against him, making me flinch. His fingers dug into my arm. The poor guy didn’t know his strength.

  I wriggled free then distracted him with a cookie. “Here. Freshly baked. You can have it.”

  A high school boy could never resist free food. “Thanks, babe.” He ate it in two bites. “I love your mom’s cooking. She should give my mom lessons.”

  I had to lean back to avoid pieces of cookie torpedoing out of his mouth. “Your mom is a good cook,” I scolded. She was a sweet woman who busted ass to keep up with three teenage boys and a demanding husband, all while wearing an apron and a smile.

  I couldn’t think of anything more stereotypical. Well, except my own perfect little nuclear family. But this was small town America. When it came to stereotypes, we in Freedom, Indiana did them well. Like a freakin’ Norman Rockwell painting.

  After lunch, Grayson walked me to class. We paused outside the door. I couldn’t fake this sad attempt at romance anymore. Maybe I could do it now, quick like a band-aid.

  “Listen, Gray...” My heart pounded so loudly he could probably hear it. “I’m not sure this is working.”

  “Me neither.”

  “Really?” Well, that made things easier. Relief swept through me.

  “Yeah. I have class on the third floor and walking you to the first floor after lunch always makes me late.”

  What? “Oh. Um.”

  He smiled. “I’m glad you said something first. But look, I’ll catch you after fifth, right?”

  The bell rang as I floundered for the right words. The moment was slipping away.

  Rocking back on his heels, he gave me a smoldering look. I knew that look. He was going to kiss me. We’d spent a lot of the last two weeks kissing – usually with him initiating and me trying to feel something other than disgusted by his thick tongue in my mouth.

  He leaned in, taking advantage of the wall at my back, and pressed his lips against mine. Kissing Grayson used to feel good. That flutter of a new relationship, the hope of finding love masked the sloppiness. But he’d quickly turned stale and boring.

  When the second bell rang, I pulled away. “You’re late.”

  He gave me a crooked smile. “It was worth it.”

  As Grayson left, I walke
d into Biology, head spinning. I felt like washing my mouth out, but didn’t have time without getting a tardy.

  At first, I’d thought I’d like Biology because of all the experiments, which beat listening to lectures all day, but the ones listed on the syllabus were elementary at best. I sat in the same spot I had the first day of class a month ago, just like everyone else did – creatures of habit and all. The classroom filled as I turned my cell phone to vibrate then shoved it into my bag.

  I liked our teacher, Mr. Marks, because he was young but didn’t try to be cool like the other fresh recruits, which always wore off eventually. The new teachers, straight out of college, played the buddy role the first half of the year but once they realized they weren’t getting respect, the sudden shift from Good Cop to Bad Cop gave students whiplash.

  The seat next to mine at the lab table was empty. Where was Ian? Skipping class the first month of school? Typical.

  A girl wearing all black slipped in just before Mr. Marks shut the door. Her tall, slender figure looked like a shadow against the wall as she made her way to an open seat in the back. Strange. I’d never seen her in class before.

  Something about her drew my eye. Maybe it was the confidence she wore like a new Prada bag or her clothing that reminded me of those New York fashion magazines where the models were dressed to look like they didn’t care about their appearance but were gorgeous and uniquely stylish anyway. This was a junior level course and everyone in it had been in school with me for two years. So this girl must be new. But who started a new school just one month in?

  “I heard she got kicked out of her last school for practicing witchcraft,” someone whispered behind me.

  A witch? I snorted. What a stupid thing to say. Just because she wore black? New kids always got pegged with the worst of the rumors.

  The next thing I knew, we were breaking into our lab pairs. Ian still hadn’t shown up. I looked to Mr. Marks for what to do, but he was talking to the new girl.

  “Umm.” He peered around the room then caught my gaze. “Audrey. Where’s your partner?”

  I shrugged then someone spoke up behind me. “I heard Ian has mono.”

  “Good,” Mr. Marks said, oblivious to how funny it sounded even though a few of us giggled. Then he addressed the new girl. “You can work with Audrey.”

  She set her gaze on me and for some reason, my face felt hot.

  Weird.

  She dropped her bag on the floor then perched on the stool across from me. Long, dark red hair cascaded down one of her shoulders, almost brushing the top of the counter. Her eyes were a strange mix of green and brown, like they couldn’t decide which one they wanted to be. Next to her pale skin, her lashes looked dark and endless and her lips shined as if she’d just smothered them with lip gloss.

  “Hi,” she said, smiling.

  It took me a few seconds to reply, which made me feel stupid and probably blush even more. “Um. Hi.”

  “Audrey, is it?”

  I nodded.

  “Like the Audrey?”

  “She’s my mom’s favorite actress.” My mom was obsessed with Audrey Hepburn. She said Audrey had class. My mom had class. Guess who didn’t have class? Me. I wore short, colorful skirts and funny sunglasses, bangly bracelets and converse sneakers. I popped my gum, even in church (gasp!), and I danced without abandon when my favorite song came on the radio.

  “Ah.” She narrowed her eyes and looked me over. “You look like her.”

  “My mom?”

  Chuckling, she bit down on her pen, squishing her lush lips against it. “No. Audrey Hepburn, silly.”

  “Oh.” Duh. What the hell was wrong with me? I wasn’t usually this awkward, even with new people.

  Amusement lit up in her eyes, making them crinkle in the corners. “So what’s this experiment we have to do?” She picked up the packet Mr. Marks had given her.

  “Um. We have to prove why plants need light and water.” It was selfish but I was kinda glad Ian had Mono. I mean, I hoped he got better and all, but he was dead weight as far as lab partners went. Maybe this girl would be better.

  Her brows shot up. “Seriously? Everyone already knows why. It’s called photosynthesis.”

  Okay, I was officially ready to beg Mr. Marks to let me keep her.

  She browsed the syllabus then sighed. “I already did all of these at my last school.”

  “The one you got kicked out of?”

  Her gaze flicked to mine, seeming surprised, before she burst out laughing. It took me a few seconds to realize I’d said that out loud.

  Oh my god. How could I be so stupid?

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t know why I said that.” Covering my burning face with my hands, I shook my head.

  “You’re blushing,” she said.

  “Shut up.”

  Silence. I peeked at my new partner through my fingers.

  Her lips quirked. “Don’t hide. It’s cute.”

  Cute? Heat crept down my neck and my stomach fluttered. Why did this girl make me feel so...weird? Sure, she was cool in a way I felt like I could never be, but I wasn’t desperate for friends or anything. Why was I falling all over myself?

  “I’m Liv, by the way.” She bent her head to see my eyes shielded under my hand. “In case you wanted to know.”

  Liv. It fit her. Stylish but unconventional.

  “So I got kicked out of school, huh?” she said, rolling the pen over her lips.

  I wished she’d stop. It was terribly distracting.

  “What’d they say it was for? Starting fires? Bank heist?”

  Since she didn’t seem offended, I answered honestly. “Witchcraft.”

  She laughed again. “That’s good. I like that one. Creative at least.”

  “I didn’t say it...” I stuttered. “I mean, I didn’t make it up. I just...”

  “Relax.” That smirk returned – the one that made me feel funny inside. “You look too sweet to start rumors like that.” She chuckled and I felt like I was missing a joke.

  “Okay,” I murmured. Or something like that. I wasn’t sure what to think. This girl scared me a little, honestly. Was it the witch thing? Or the way she looked at me like she was studying me for the science experiment?

  A nervous pit formed in my stomach. After I cleared my throat, I managed to speak. “Um. Should we get started?”

  “Yes.” She straightened on the stool. “Let’s get started on our wildly innovative experiment to uncover the greatest mystery of the world. Do plants need water and sunlight?”

  I giggled then set to work. We had to form a hypothesis then outline the ways we would test it before we could actually do anything hands-on. As for the experiment itself, Mr. Marks had a bag of dirt and a box of uprooted plants in the back. A long artificial light served as a substitute for the sun.

  When we finished the paper part, Liv bent down at the bag of dirt and shoved her hands in recklessly. “I love the feel of the earth in my fingers.”

  I snorted. “And you say you’re not a witch.”

  She looked up at me, a regal brow arched. My breath caught in my throat. Then she grabbed my wrist with her gritty hand and yanked me down.

  “Get over here and help.”

  “Ew.”

  Chuckling, she stuck my hand in the bag. “Dude, don’t be such a girl.”

  “I am a girl.” I let my hand wiggle in, cringing at the feel of it. “And you are too.”

  “Barely,” she muttered.

  It made me laugh because she was the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen. When we finished with the soil, I washed my hands in the sink. Liv merely dusted hers off on her pants. I shook my head and she shook hers then we both laughed.

  The bell rang, we smiled and said goodbye, and I left class with the distinct feeling I’d just made a new friend.

  Chapter 2

  Turned out Liv and I had two other classes together. I wanted to sit next to her again but seats had already been assigned. She’d ended up on
the other side of the room in one class, then in the seat behind me in Spanish.

  I tried to pay attention to the teacher but all I could focus on was every noise she made – when she shifted in her seat, when she sighed tiredly, and I thought I could even feel her breath on the back of my neck.

  Shudders wracked my body.

  “Cold?” she asked when Señora Martinez turned to the blackboard.

  I nodded, not feeling cold at all. Feeling strangely warm and self-conscious. After spending an entire hour this way, I was relieved when the bell rang. School was out. Now I had to break up with Grayson. I’d almost forgotten about him.

  Suddenly sick with nerves, I picked up my bag and threw it weakly over my shoulder. This would be my second break-up. The other hadn’t gone so well. He’d cried and I’d walked away feeling like the crappiest person in the world.

  I still wasn’t sure why Grayson had asked me out to begin with. When I’d bugged him for an answer, he’d said I was hot and he’d already dated everyone else. Romantic, right? Honestly, I’d known he wasn’t my type right away but I couldn’t resist the temptation to try the sweet life. Just once.

  “Wanna walk out together?” Liv asked, appearing at my side.

  I gulped. I really wanted to but I couldn’t leave things with Grayson hanging over my head. We’d had an interesting month – getting ice cream after football practice, going to bonfires at night with his friends. But sometimes I felt more like his personal cheerleader and arm candy than a real girlfriend – or even a friend. It didn’t seem like he knew me at all, or wanted to. It stung, even though I was the one about to dump him.

  “I can’t. I...have to talk to Grayson.”

  “Is that your boyfriend?”

  I nodded. “Well, not for long.”

  Her eyes went wide. “You’re gonna dump him?”

  “Yeah. Things aren’t working out.” My stomach lurched and I must’ve made a face because Liv frowned.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Just nervous.” I half chucked half sighed.