Page 1 of My Twin Sister's Ex

1

Bennett

Itapped my pencil on the corner of Mrs. Monroe’s desk. She was a short, round woman with dark hair, and her keyboard clicked rapidly as she pulled up my file. The school counselor peered at the screen and frowned, the clock ticking on the wall above her desk. I stopped tapping my pencil and gripped it instead.

She unwrapped a mint and popped it into her mouth. “It looks like your grade in drama is an F.”

Drama. I’d thought it was going to be an easy class, but it turned out that Mr. Brownley liked to challenge his students. It had been much tougher than I’d anticipated. I’d barely put in the minimum effort, and clearly, that hadn’t been enough for the teacher. But why try hard when everyone already expected me to fail? It was easier to give them what they wanted.

“If you want to graduate, you’re going to need to pull it up to at least a D.”

My stomach sank. I didn’t want to be one of those people who never graduated.

Mrs. Monroe looked at me from across the desk with kind eyes. “Have you tried talking to Mr. Brownley to see what you can do to pull your grade up?”

“No. I haven’t talked to him about my grade,” I growled. The walls felt like they were starting to close in on me. I didn’t want her sympathy. I was tired of being the guy everyone felt sorry for.

“You’re a smart kid, Bennett. I know you can do it. But you’re going to have to work hard. I can encourage you all day long, but in the end, it’s up to you to decide if you want to graduate. I know it’s what your mom would have wanted.”

I didn’t want to talk about my mom. She’d been friends with Mrs. Monroe before she’d died. Graduating wouldn’t bring her back, but Mrs. Monroe was right. She would have wanted me to graduate.

“How are you handling her death these days?” she prodded.

I clenched my jaw. “I have everything under control.”

Her voice was gentle when she spoke. “It’s okay to let yourself grieve her loss.” She paused, and I heard the clock ticking again. She was waiting for me to speak, but I stayed silent. “I know it’s been several years, but have you considered that her death might still be affecting you?”

I gripped the edge of her desk. “It’s not affecting me. I told you I’m fine. It happened a long time ago.”

“Well, I’m here for you if you ever want to stop by and talk.”

I pushed my chair back from the desk, and it scraped against the floor. I stood up. “What do I need to do to graduate?”

Mrs. Monroe stood up too. “I’ll speak with Mr. Brownley to see what we can do about getting your drama grade up. But I think you should try reaching out to him as well.”

“I’ll talk to him.” I pushed out of her office and headed toward my locker. The bell rang, and the halls filled with Sweet Mountain High students.

When kids at school saw me, they tended to avert their eyes. I wasn’t sure if they did it on purpose or if it was unintentional, but I was used to it by now. I didn’t care about impressing anyone at school. I knew my gruff exterior was off-putting to some of my peers, but I wasn’t going to change who I was to gain their approval. I had more important things to worry about. Like graduating and making sure my dad didn’t drink himself into a coma. Most of the kids at school had no idea what it was like to live my life.

When I wasn’t at school, I worked long hours at my uncle’s auto repair shop, or I was up late, trying to keep my dad from getting too drunk. My teachers gave me detention for sleeping through class, but they didn’t know why I was so tired. I wasn’t up playing video games like most of the kids at school. And I didn’t have time for homework with my heavy work schedule. Someone had to keep the electricity on.

I was used to being sized up as the troublemaker, but I wouldn’t stand for anyone pushing me around. Or pushing around other kids at school. I usually ended up getting blamed for the fights I got in, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t magically convince the administration and student body of Sweet Mountain High that I was without fault. So I took the undeserved detentions and the misinformed assumptions and focused on what was important. Surviving.

I had drama class next—no time like the present to figure out how I was going to pull my grade up. I turned the corner and headed down the hall to where my locker was and then heard a familiar giggle bubbling up. I glanced over to see my ex-girlfriend, Jackilyn Martin, standing nose to nose with Kellen Jones.

What was she doing with him? Kellan wasn’t exactly known for being a nice person. But then again, Jackilyn wasn’t the nicest person either. I would know. One of the reasons I was okay with our breakup was because I saw how cruelly she treated others.

I wasn’t exactly the kind of guy a girl would want to bring home to her parents. She’d only dated me because she knew it would make her parents mad. She got a rush out of disobeying them. It was a big game to her. When you had everything you could ever want in life handed to you on a silver platter, you tended to get bored. That was Jackilyn. Looking back on it now, I couldn’t figure out why I’d ever wanted to date her. I guess I felt like I deserved a girl like that.

Kellen could have her.

She had her back against the lockers, and Kellen was leaning in like he was about to kiss her. The problem was, she was blocking my locker, and I needed to get my books out.

I cleared my throat, and Jackilyn turned to look at me.

“What’s the matter with you?” Jackilyn narrowed her eyes at me. “Jealous?”

“You’re standing in front of my locker.”

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