Chapter 9: Cold Milk

I groaned as the teacher told us what our homework is. Like I need more things to think about. Today has been terrible so far and it doesn’t look like it’s going to get any better. It turns out that some people at the party weren’t as oblivious as we made them out to be and they actually saw my kiss with Grayson when they entered Shane’s house. The students made sure that by the time I stepped out of first period, the word had spread and everyone stared at me with wide eyes.

Everyone knows I hate Grayson and they all know he hates me, too. I’m the only one that knows that there might be a slim (very slim) chance that I don’t actually hate him. Well, Sandra and Lola claim to know but I think they’re just going out on a whim. Just because I don’t hate him doesn’t mean that I don’t strongly dislike him, because trust me, I do. It doesn’t help that Grayson isn’t denying or agreeing to the rumors and people assume that my word isn’t good enough. They want the king of the school to say that it isn’t true.

Yesterday was a bad day, too. I was shouted at by my father who heard me come in at 2 in the morning. I don’t think he was mad that I came in late; I just think he was mad at the sound of a motorcycle driving down the street a few seconds before my entrance. My mother told him, before she went to work, that I was to be home by 12 o’clock but she never relayed the message to me so as of yesterday, I’m grounded for a week. That means that until next Sunday, I can’t leave the house unless I’m going to school, work, or running an errand for my parents. I also had to have Sandra drive my car to my house, and then I had to drive her back but I couldn’t even stay.

“You kissed Grayson?” a freshman girl asked me as I stood at my locker. I turned to look at her and in an annoyed voice, I replied.

“No, I didn’t kiss Grayson. Why would I do that?” I snapped but instead of running away like the last one, she stood her ground.

“Well, if a girl kisses a guy, that means she likes him. Plus, there are witnesses that say they saw you making out with him more than once,” how did the rumors escalate in the matter of an hour and 25 minutes? Weren’t people supposed to be in class? Cell phones, bathroom breaks, skipping, free periods.

“Well, whoever told you that, little girl, is lying,” I slammed my locker and stormed down the hallway. I didn’t manage to get the point across that I was angry because two more people stopped me again in the matter of five minutes, asking me if I locked lips with Grayson Carter.

“Do you people have nothing better to do?” I screamed angrily as I walked to lunch, escaping the crowd of sophomore girls.

I was in the lunch line when I received a text from my friends. They, like the rest of the student body, decided to eat outside and they’re currently inviting me to go with them. I looked around the nearly empty cafeteria, filled with only 10 people; I decided that I should go outside.

My friends were eating at the table next to the fence that was separating us from the football field, where Grayson and his friends were coincidentally playing. I wonder why my friends chose this spot. “Did you hear the rumors?”

My friends nodded, Lola looking up at me with innocent eyes. “It wasn’t me, I swear,” I caught the gaze of a junior girl behind Lola and I shot her a glare, earning a scared look from her before she turned away. I smirked as I sat down. The air was cold and I wished my friends would have told me that we were eating outside before third period; I would have grabbed my coat.

“I didn’t say anything!” Sandra whispered and I furrowed my eyebrows.

For the first time today, I let out a small chuckle. “I know it wasn’t you guys or else you wouldn’t be here right now.”

Lola rolled her eyes before they landed on the guys playing football not even twenty feet beside us. I urged to go sit on the bleachers. I realized that my friends, once again, chose this seat so they can stare at Carson and Kyle. It’s like they have nothing better to do than indiscreetly spy on the guys. “Can you guys not stare at them?”

Sandra let out a nervous giggle. “Carson waved at me.”

“Kyle waved at me!” Lola squealed and I wanted to rip my hair out. I looked at the protective fence that surrounded the football field. We had to get it installed ever since one of the football players hit a kid in the face with a ball, accidentally of course. It had thin but strong wires to keep footballs from roaming into the bleachers area but we still had a clear view of the field.

The area we were sat at displayed the part of the football field that, coincidentally, the football players decide to practice on during lunch time. I refused to look over there. “How do you know they’re waving at you? They could be waving at the hordes of girls that are staring at them like fishes in a fish tank.”

“They made eye contact with us, duh,” Lola retorted before going back to staring out at the football field.

“Is this gate even strong enough to keep footballs out?” I asked curiously. I looked up at the fence and saw Grayson standing about thirty feet away. He didn’t have a helmet on, that’s totally not safe. Keep doing it then, Grayson. He caught my gaze and winked, most likely misidentifying me for one of the crazy girls. I just rolled my eyes and continued examining the gate.

I heard my two friends gasp and I immediately looked up, unhooking my hands from the gate’s loops. The football crashed into the gate where my hand had just been and I immediately began to fume. The speed of the football would’ve definitely broken my fingers. I gaped at Grayson who was grinning widely, it was visible from here.

I have had enough; first being grounded, then repeatedly being asked about me and Grayson’s kiss, and then the devil himself trying to pelt me with a football. “You idiot! What’s your problem!?”

Grayson began approaching the fence and I clenched my fist, wishing the thing was invisible so I could punch him clear in the face. I then mentally stomped my thought because if the fence wasn’t there, I would’ve been keeled over in pain, or dead. Probably dead. “Calm down.”

I turned to look at Lola and Sandra. “Don’t tell me to calm down! You weren’t the target of a speeding football!”

The girls just shook their heads and continued eating, their thoughts focused on other things. I heard the laughter of the other football players, laughing at my expense. I watched as Grayson continued approaching us. I quickly turned and opened the small pint of milk and I clutched it in my hand behind my back. I let my other hand swing beside me, trying to look casual.

Once I realized that he didn’t have a football in his clutches, I took a step closer to the gate. Grayson stopped when he was about six inches away from the gate. The satisfied grin didn’t leave his face. He had his two hands resting on the gate as he stared at me. I looked so small compared to him. He’s at least a foot taller than me, ten inches taller at the least.

“Why did you do that?” I asked in an eerily calm voice. I focused on Grayson’s face. He may be very attractive but that does not make up for his… (attitude, stupidity, cockiness) behavior! He’s wild like a...like a…like wild something, okay! His mouth parted to speak before it closed again.

“Did you not see me wink at you?” he asked and I puckered out my lower lip, trying to be flirty. I hoped I didn’t look stupid, but odds are- I did look stupid.

I took a step closer and rested my hand against the gate, holding his hand through the gate. His eyebrows rose from surprise as he glanced at our (somewhat) entwined hands. He didn’t bother to move his hand, though. Somehow, that stupid action bothered me. He’s used to female attention and mine didn’t mean anything at all to him, not that I expected it to. “I’m sorry; let me make it up to you,” I motioned for him to step closer to the gate.

He followed my instructions and I separated our hands and reached out. The football players stopped laughing and I hoped I had a full audience. I heard whispers and I’m sure at least one person was recording this. Let’s just hope it goes as well as something planned last minute can go. I grabbed the neck of his shirt through the gate and yanked it towards me.

Before Grayson could think twice, the milk in my other hand was pouring down the front of his shirt, the coldness hitting his skin, ruining his shirt. Let’s just hope he gets hypothermia from the refrigerated milk and the 40 degree weather. I laughed maniacally once the pint was emptied down his shirt. I took a step back and realized that it soaked not only his shirt, but his pants, too.

His eyes narrowed and he clenched his teeth. I noticed his hands physically tighten around the gate and his lips were pressed into a thin line. I couldn’t help but grin at my piece of work. I lifted my bag off of the floor and fixed it around my shoulders, double strapping it. I had a feeling I would need to make a quick escape. “Got milk?”

With those parting words, I rushed to enter the school with a grin on my face.

Everything was going perfect until I realized that I have Home Economics with Grayson next class.

~~~

“Welcome!” Mr. Hugh announced when we were all seated, well, everyone except Grayson, who didn’t bother to show up. I was on edge, I guess you can say. I’m scared of what he’ll do when he gets to me. He might snap my neck or rip my intestines out and use them as a jump rope.

Mr. Hugh continued talking but I wasn’t listening. Instead, I was glancing at the clock. Would he show up? Or will he just ditch? If I were him, I’d ditch and hey, I wouldn’t even bother showing up to work today! I let out a nervous laugh as I stared at the desk in front of me.

I looked up to see Carson sitting two seats ahead of me. He was tapping his pencil rhythmically and he was obviously not paying attention. I ripped out a sheet of notebook paper and scribbled my number onto the paper, hoping that it lands on him. I scribbled beside it, ‘text me.’ Let’s hope my aim is as good as my trash talk.

I threw it when the teachers weren’t looking, Mr. Hugh and Ms. Cora probably would’ve made me read it aloud and it would’ve seemed like a controversial paper to throw. People would’ve had the wrong thoughts swirling around their perverted minds. When it reached Carson, it fell over his shoulder and landed on his notebook. He looked down at it and opened it up. I saw him casually glance at the teachers before taking out his cell phone.

A moment later, my phone vibrated in my pocket. I hid it behind the thick table and read the message. ‘Meet me after class near my locker: 568. ;)’

I scowled at the message. ‘It’s me, Audrey, you idiot.’

‘The message goes for you too. ;)’ was his idiotic reply. This earned a visual glare to which he winked in response. Not even a moment later, my phone vibrated again. ‘Unless you’ll pour milk down my shirt, too.’

I internally groaned but ignored the statement. ‘About that….is he angry?’

‘No, he loves having milk poured onto his clothes in very cold temperatures, don’t you?’ the sarcasm in this message was strong.

‘Of course I do, I’d love the person who poured it down my shirt, too,' I replied with a flat look.

‘Are you saying that you love Grayson? Oooh, I’m telling!’ I narrowed my eyes at the childish message before slamming my fingers across the screen.

‘I said no such thing, what I’m saying is that he shouldn’t be mad at me, he earned it,’ that was the last thing I sent before the door to the classroom opened loudly.

“Mr. Carter, you are 14 minutes late.” Give it to Ms. Cora to be as specific as possible. Grayson’s eyes glanced around the room until they landed on me. His grin widened as he looked back at the teacher. I tossed a worried look to Carson who just shook his head; he was just as clueless as me. Grayson’s wading around in the deep end, that’s for sure.

“I apologize; Ms. Cora, Mr. Hugh, but someone accidentally poured milk all over me,” all of the eyes in the classroom turned to me aside from the interrogating teachers. “The boy’s locker room, the place where I keep a change of clothing because I’m on the football team, was locked so I had to go to the janitor’s office and wait for him to unlock it.”

Give it to him to rub his football superiority into the teacher’s faces. Mr. Hugh’s eyes lit up like lights on a Christmas tree at the mention of football. The man attended every school football game and sometimes, he even ranted about our teams losses during class. We all know he dreamed of being a football coach but he failed.

I don’t know what it is that compelled me to make a remark, but it obviously wasn’t my common sense. “Today’s your lucky day, isn’t it?”

Like he was expecting input from me, Grayson’s head swiftly snapped in my direction and his eyes had a tint of crazy in them (at least more than he usually has). “So it seems, Darling.”

Him addressing me as ‘Darling’ caused a few people to gasp and glance at me, while I sat there shocked that he said that in such a public area. How can he say that? People will twist his words into something along the lines of: ‘So it seems that we made out several times over this weekend, Darling.’ “Since you two seem so friendly to each other, why don’t you sit next to Audrey and stop disrupting my class?”

If this classroom wasn’t on the 3rd floor, I’d be out of the window, running (okay jogging…okay, walking) to my house. Grayson nodded his head as he walked through the rows of paired up empty desks until he reached my table. He grinned at me, but it came out more like a sickly sweet smile. He dropped his bag onto the table and sat down beside me.

When the teacher began talking again, he turned to look at me, the grin still on his face. “You’re going to pay for this.”

I smiled back at him, a sense of fear rising in me at his words. “And how will I pay for it?”

The grin turned into a smirk that churned my stomach. “Don’t worry about it.”

~~~

The whole class period was spent with the teacher talking but I wasn’t listening. When I tuned back in, we had 15 minutes left of class and Ms. Cora was counting down from 10, while students (the reason why I zoned back in) were racing around the classroom. I turned to Grayson. “What’s going on?”

He smirked at me, his eyes sparkled with amusement. “Just a task.”

I furrowed my eyebrows. “Why aren’t you participating?” I asked but was interrupted by Mr. Hugh who was imitating a blaring noise.

“I assume you’re all partnered up,” he announced and my head shot to Grayson who was smirking at me.

“What does he mean?” I snapped in a whisper.

Grayson smirked. “Just a project.”

“What do you mean ‘just a project’?” I barked angrily.

He shrugged, obviously amused at the fact that I was angered. “Just a project.”

“Ms. Cora is going around with the ‘project box’, pick a card from the box and read it aloud,” Mr. Hugh announced as Ms. Cora walked around the classroom.

Carson was paired with a guy who is on the football team. The team before them had received ‘sew an outfit for a doll.’ When it was Carson’s turn to pick, he grinned but it was short-lived as he read the card. “Take care of an electronic baby for a week?”

The girl beside him laughed and he narrowed his eyes at her. “Can I please choose a different card?”

Ms. Cora shook her head. “You get what you get.”

When she reached us, she smiled at the two of us for a bit longer than I would have liked. I had a feeling she thinks we’re a couple thanks to Grayson’s usage of the word ‘darling.’ I winced as I reached forward and dug my hand around the box. I pulled out a card and let my eyes skim over it. “Purchase ingredients and make a full meal for the classroom.”

I gave Ms. Cora a confused look. “We’re supposed to spend our own money on thirty people?” I asked.

“It takes money to support a household; your parents signed a permission slip stating that they understand. Besides, you have a job,” she grinned at me.

“What does a full meal include?” I asked her and she laughed.

“A drink, dinner or lunch, and a dessert,” she explained and I stared at the card in my hand. She walked away, going to the next table. I turned to look at Grayson who was grinning.

“I hope you know how to cook because I don’t,” I muttered as I stared at him.

He maintained eye contact and winked at me. “Only for you, darling.”

I felt my face warm up as I scowled at him. What is he doing to me?