Page 12 of All I Ask
“Yup! See you later.”
I rush off and enter the cafeteria before the bell rings. I head over to the teacher who is stuck chaperoning the group and he points out the table where my peer student is.
Derek Hartz? Really? It has to be the one kid who seems to think I’m the biggest bitch?
“Hey,” I say as I sit.
“Oh, come on.You?”
“I’m not any happier about this than you are,” I assure him.
Derek is…odd. When we were younger, it was fine, but he never changed. He still wears out-of-style clothes and never talks to anyone.
“I just need help with a few math problems.”
“Okay. Show me where you’re stuck.”
We go over them, and I show him a few tricks I’ve learned when it comes to equations. The next twenty minutes fly by as he starts to master the steps a little more.
We chat a little about his father and the wild horses that he found wounded on the island. I can’t imagine seeing them hurt. They always seem so mystical to me whenever we do see them.
“They’re cool,” he says. “I like the fact that they’re wild, but the more people who come around, the less the horses will be willing to show up.”
“Really? I feel like this island was built for the wild horses.”
“I agree, I’m hoping more land gets preserved to protect them.”
I nod. “Me too.” We both sit here, looking at each other and I wonder why I’ve thought he was so weird. He’s not. He’s actually pretty normal and funny. I’m having an off day if I’m thinking of Derek Hartz this way. I need to get back to the math so I can get my head on straight. “Okay, let’s try this problem.”
I laugh when he gets frustrated because it’s the same part I’ve shown him twice, but he keeps trying.
“What if you try it like this?” I spin the paper around and show him how to draw it out. “Does that help?”
“That actually does.”
I smile. “Good. I’m glad. It’s really easy once you get the right order. Is there anything else I can help with?”
“You know, when you’re not around the two super-bitches, you’re not all that bad.”
“What?”
Derek shrugs. “Bitch one and Bitch two. You know, the ones who seem to think they’re perfection walking.”
“Lori and Kelly aren’t bad.”
His brow raises. “They’re beyond bad, and you know it.”
Okay, maybe I do.“Still, they’re my friends.”
“Lucky you.” He chuckles.
“Next you’re going to insult my boyfriend, huh?”
Derek laughs, his head falling back, and I can’t help but think how free he looks. I don’t laugh like that. I can’t let it fly and not worry that someone might see me. I don’t ever feel comfortable enough around people to not have to keep some sort of control because people are always waiting to see me fall.
Other girls want it more than anything. To see the queen bee fall from grace.
The guys want it to either date me or take something away from Keith.
