Page 33 of Jack

Mike was a decent-looking guy, a basketball player, and ranked second in our class, so he had no problem picking up girls. Was he tutoring her?

Even though I had been avoiding her, I felt an emotion I could only sickeningly identify as jealousy clawing at the inside of my chest cavity. I had a hard time determining which bothered me more; Ava hanging out with Crenshaw or how much I fucking hated it.

I walked over to where Nikolai and Hannah were sitting. Hannah was typing something into a laptop, and Nikolai was eating, but periodically holding French fries in front of her face so she could eat while she typed. The two of them were sickening.

“Hey,” I said as I sat across from them, giving me a clear view of Ava and that dickhead she was sitting with.

“Hey, Becker,” Nikolai responded, then took a bite of his hamburger. Hannah mumbled a hello but didn’t take her eyes off the computer screen.

“Hey, you going to Rico’s party this weekend?” Rico was Richard Grodzki, who, for reasons I didn’t even remember, we all call Rico.

Nikolai shrugged. “Maybe.” Nikolai nudged Hannah with his elbow. “Hannah, you want to go to Rico’s this weekend?”

No response, just frantic typing. Nikolai gave her another nudge, but she still didn’t respond. Clearly not a fan of being ignored, Nikolai put his arm around the front of her waist and started to kiss the side of her neck, his hand slowly creeping up her stomach to just under her left breast.

Hannah jolted in her seat and turned on Nikolai with an outraged look. “What the hell are you doing?” She looked around the cafeteria to see who had been watching him try and cop a feel. As if anyone would acknowledge they saw anything with Nikolai sitting next to her. They knew better.

Nikolai guffawed. “I was just trying to get your attention, Han.”

“Every time you call her that, I think of Han Solo,” I interjected while stealing a few fries off Nikolai’s plate. Hannah continued to stare down Nikolai, her brow beetled in irritation.

Nikolai ignored me, still giving Hannah a look of mock innocence. “I’m sorry, baby, does it distract you when I put my hands on you,” he asked in a low voice, her expression now evolving into something more carnal as he started to lean toward her.

“Ask her about the party before you try to fuck her on a cafeteria table, you horny asshole.”

Nikolai tossed me a dirty look as Hannah turned her flushed face back to the computer. “What party?” she asked.

“Rico is having a party this weekend, I asked your boyfriend if you two are going because I knew Nikolai’s whipped ass wouldn’t come without you?”

Nikolai snorted and flipped me off.

“Um, Emmy is having a recital that night, but we can probably go afterward.” Hannah’s expression suddenly brightened. “Actually, we should invite her to the party! She’s been having a hard time since…well, you know. Maybe she’s ready to go out and do something fun, especially if we’re all there.”

Nikolai nodded and stroked back some of Hannah’s dark hair in a consoling gesture. It was obvious Emmy’s slow recovery from the ordeal with Nikolai’s dad weighed on Hannah.

“Okay, cool, we’ll take Emmy to the party,” Nikolai replied. Hannah smiled at Nikolai, communicating in that weird telepathic way that couples do, and turned back to her computer. “So, I guess we’re going.”

“Cool,” I said, glancing over Nikolai’s shoulder as Ava giggled at something that dipshit Crenshaw said, and thinking how nice my fist would feel punching the smile off his face. Ava stopped laughing and looked over to our table, catching my eye. The smile immediately dropped off her face as we stared at each other. She darted a quick look at Crenshaw as he started talking to her, and I felt my brow pinching in irritation that he had distracted her.

“Oh, I need to tell Ava about the party,” Hannah said reaching for her phone.

“Why are you calling her? She’s right over there,” I said, nodding my head in Ava’s direction.

Hannah shrugged. “I don’t know…I don’t want to interrupt her.”

“What’s the deal with Ava and Crenshaw?” Finally asking the question I really wanted answered.

“I think she’s helping him with calculus.”

“What?” I barked, as I looked at Ava explaining something to Crenshaw. “He asked her to help him with math? He’s a fucking math scholar, why the fuck does he need her help?” I knew I was overreacting, but the anger coursing through me felt like lava searching for a place to erupt. Angry that Crenshaw was lying so he could get close to Ava. Angry that it might fucking work.

I found two sets of blue eyes suddenly staring at me in surprise.

“Are you going over there?” Hannah asked in astonishment.

I looked at Hannah in confusion, then realized I was suddenly standing.

I wanted to. I wanted to go over there, and fucking strangle Crenshaw for talking to her, for sitting next to her, for fucking looking at her.

---