No Pressure: Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It happened after 5th period.

I was at my locker. I finished dumping my various books and junk (a.k.a homework).

I stood up. Banged my head on Denner’s locker. It was an echo of a poignant moment. 

This time, Denner didn’t offer me his hand.

Two sets of feet headed toward the same class, not together, but not quite apart. It was surreal, like in one of those gasping dramas. 

But this was no drama. There was no guaranteed happily ever after. 

And I had a horrible feeling that we weren’t one of those rom-coms. 

“Look out,” Denner whispered. “Here comes Dorothy.”

Or maybe we were. Why was Denner so hard to read?

Dorothy’s group sashayed down the hall like they owned the school. 

Which, to be unfair, they kinda did. 

“Well, girls, what have we here?” Dorothy’s perfectly glossed lips returned to their resting smirk.

“Looks like a pair of filthy gays,” one of her friends snickered. 

“Homophobes,” Denner hissed under his breath. “That all, Dorothy?” Denner’s tone betrayed none of his fury. 

“No. I think we need to teach you a lesson in normalcy,” Dorothy’s sickeningly sweet purr filled my ears. 

When asked what I did next, I can barely remember. My vision went red. 

I felt my arm pull back, then it shot forward. My fist connected with Dorothy’s stupid, perfect face. 

The next thing I remember, I was sitting in the principal’s office, Mrs. Schmidt glaring at me across her desk.

“Your parents will be here soon. In the meantime, care to explain yourself?” I recalled that people called her the Titanium Teach. 

Great, Jaimie, you remember that now? Stupid.

“Dorothy called Denner and I ‘filthy gays’ and said she was going to teach us a lesson in normalcy.” I made the quotation marks with my fingers. 

Mrs. Schmidt rubbed her forehead. “Still, that’s not grounds to hit a student.”

I shrugged. “As the bruise on Dorothy’s cheek may suggest, I was not quite right in the head.”

A half-smile flickered across Mrs. Schmidt’s face, then disappeared. 

“You hit a girl because she called you and a friend ‘filthy gays’ and possibly threatened you?”

“Yeah.” In that moment, I really hated her. Sure, she was summarizing, but I wish she wouldn’t make my end of things feel small.

That was the minute my parents chose to barrel into the office. 

They both opened their mouths to yell, but Mrs. Schmidt coolly cut them off. 

“Next time knock before you enter my office, yes? Jaimie, you may go. I’d like to speak to your parents alone.”

I hurried out of there like someone had set fire to the office. Less than a minute after I closed the door, I heard angry yelling. 

It kinda stopped mattering as soon as I spotted Denner sitting in one of the sticky plastic chairs outside. He was bent over, head in his hands. 

I tuned out the shouting in the background until all I could hear was Denner breathing. 

He caught me looking and flashed a weak smile. “Hello, Jaimie.”

I sat next to him. Didn’t say a word. There really wasn’t much to say. 

Sorry I punched Dorothy? No, I absolutely wasn’t sorry. That lady 100% deserved it. Are you okay? A stupid question, since he obviously wasn’t. 

“I can’t believe you punched Dorothy,” Denner murmured. 

“I can,” I said. I didn’t say that she had it coming, but I sure as heck wanted to. 

“I hope Mrs. Schmidt didn’t tear you up too much.” Denner lifted his head and crinkled his forehead in concern. 

“Nah. I was more worried about my parents.” I pointed over my shoulder to the closed door, from which yelling still issued. “Mrs. Schmidt got me out of there before they could yell at me.” 

Denner shook his head. “You didn’t have to hit her.”

“Yes, I did. She threatened us.” 

“I disagree. Hitting her first made it seem like you were the aggressor, Jaimie.” His eyes seemed much larger for all the tears swimming in them. “I don’t want you to get suspended or expelled.”

“I don’t want that either, but I’m not sorry.” I stayed firm. 

Denner leaned his head onto my shoulder. I swear my heart skipped a beat. Truly, it was a miracle loving this guy hadn’t killed me yet. 

Almost too quietly for me to hear, Denner whispered, “Thank you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

In the end, I was suspended for three days, and grounded for a month. It was not as bad as I was expecting. 

Minus the part where my parents confiscated my phone, saying, “Clearly we need to keep you away from that boy we saw in the office!” 

I hated them, in that moment. I really did. Dark, fiery, bottomless hatred. 

Like a dramatic teenage girl, I threw myself on my bed, crying. If I was the kind of person who wore mascara, it would have been streaming in black rivers down my face. 

I didn’t leave my room. Distantly, I heard the doorbell ring. I closed my eyes, barely listening.

My eyes snapped open when I heard a familiar voice saying, “Ma’am-”

“No, you’re a horrible influence on my son. Stay away from us!”

“MOTHER!” I bellowed down the stairs. You could hear the crickets chirping downstairs. 

I took advantage of the stunned silence, and bounded down the stairs. Mother’s mouth opened to scold: “Jaimie Andrew-”

“Come on in, Denner.” I cut over her. He quickly followed.

When we reached my room, Denner turned to face me. 

“There’s something I have to ask you,” Denner said.

My heart rate doubled. “Yeah?” I replied, trying to play it cool.

“Andrew? Seriously?” Denner raised an eyebrow.

Omagodletdown. God********, Denner! “Yeah, it’s….very formal.”

A beat of quiet. “Man, I don’t want to be rude, but your mom really popped off.”

I nodded. “Sorry about her. She’s…” I paused, then whispered, “Homophobic.”

Denner shook his head. “Too many folks like that.”

“How about your mom? Does she…get you?”

Denner shrugged. “She really does try her best, but she doesn’t fully understand. Y’know, she’s straight.”

I nodded. I can understand you, I thought. Mostly. If you’d let me.

I made sure to escort Denner to the door. This served two purposes: one, I wanted to make sure Mother couldn’t pounce on him, and two, it was chivalrous. 

I saw Mother glaring at me from the kitchen. I ignored her. 

Denner whispered, “Can I give you a hug?” 

Yesyesyesalways. “Yeah,” I whispered back. 

His arms folded around me. Cautious. Warm. I wanted to stay there forever. 

But it ended too quickly, too soon. The sudden loss was a cold shower. 

“…bye.” I said.

Denner smiled and walked out the door.