~~~

Excuse the mistakes

~~~

“Bridget, I’m sorry.”

I looked up from my science worksheet, which I’d furiously been finishing before the morning meeting, and I saw Teagan closing the door of our room. She was clad in a towel, since she’d just returned from the showers, and she had a very apologetic, wide-eyed expression on her face.

All last night, while Teagan and I were in the room together, there had been this tense I-think-I –should-apologize-but-I’m-still mad vibe going on between the two of us. Eventually, we’d just gone to bed, but I think I can speak for Teagan when I say that we didn’t have the greatest feeling as we’d fallen asleep.

“Despite any reservations I have about Dustin,” Teagan continued as she walked across the room and leaned against her bed across from me, “It’s your life, and I have no right to tell you who you should and shouldn’t hang out with. That’s not my place, nor Kyla’s, and I’m sorry.”

“Thanks Teagan,” I replied with a genuine smile, “I’m sorry I got a little dramatic at lunch about the whole situation.”

“I probably would’ve done the same thing, to be honest,” Teagan said with a shrug, and we both laughed. I’m glad that we made up because fighting with possible friends wasn’t a smart thing to do when you were hours away from home.

I quickly finished balancing the chemistry equation, and then I shoved the worksheet into the folder I’d dedicated to chemistry. It was already stuffed with handouts after one day, like all my other folders and binders. Apparently, teachers didn’t think that giving the new kid a couple days to adjust was a good idea, since I’d been slammed with work immediately.

I sifted around in my dresser drawers and changed out of my pajamas into a pair of gray skinny jeans and a tank top with a print on it that looked like a purple galaxy. I pulled my hair out of the bun I’d pulled it into last night after my shower, and it swung gown my shoulders in semi-wavy tendrils.

After slipping on some gladiator sandals, I packed my backpack with my school supplies, and then I glanced over at Teagan. She had on a black and red plaid skirt with a white v-neck, and her curly dark hair was free and bouncy. I opened my mouth to ask if she was ready to go, but there was a knock at our door.

I crossed the room and yanked open the door to find Kyla standing there. “Did Teagan apologize yet?” she asked, bypassing a greeting.

“For myself,” Teagan replied, and Kyla glared at Teagan for a moment before returning her attention to me.

“Bridget, I’m really sorry about what I said yesterday,” She said, “It wasn’t my place.”

“I accept your apology,” I replied with a smile, “and I owe you an apology for being a bitch about it.”

“So you’re not mad at us anymore?” Kyla asked, and I shook my head.

“I wasn’t mad at you twenty minutes after I left the lunch room,” I stated honestly, “I mean, I was frustrated, but not angry.”

“Oh good!” Kyla exclaimed, and her lips spread into a giant grin. “Now, you bitches need to hurry up so we’re not late for the morning meeting!”

“We’re coming,” Teagan muttered as I quickly grabbed my backpack from the top of my bed. Teagan and I followed Kyla out of our room, and I shut the door and locked it behind us. We hopped down the stairs and out the front door of the Bristol. However, just as I started to walk down the path towards the Great Hall, I heard someone call my name from behind me.

Teagan, Kyla, and I all turned around to see Dustin leaning against a tree a few yards away. He smirk and gestured for me to come over to him, and I glanced over at Kyla and Teagan. They shared a concerned look but didn’t stop me as I walked over to him.

“What’s up?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“A couple of people are heading into town for some breakfast,” Dustin said, flicking the shaggy hair out of his eyes, “Do you want to come with?”

Without hesitation, I turned and waved at Kyla and Teagan, and then I pointed at Dustin and mouthed “I’ll see you guys later.” Kyla pursed her lips and looked like she wanted to say something, but Teagan quickly grabbed her arm and started to pull her towards the Great Hall.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Dustin stated with a chuckle.

As we started walking the opposite way of Teagan and Kyla, I saw two guys and a girl standing by the edge of campus. When we approached, I got a better view of the group, and I instantly recognized Maddie.

I found it funny that Kyla and Teagan were so against Dustin, and yet Maddie was hanging out with him and his friends. However, one of the guys’ arms was wrapped around her shoulders, which pretty much screamed that they were in some sort of relationship that involved making out.

“Hey Maddie,” I said slowly, and I did my best to keep the suspicion out of my voice. The couple of times I’d encountered Maddie since I got to Trinity, there was something off about her that I didn’t trust. This was just adding to it.

“Hi Bridget,” Maddie replied with a knowing smile, “I heard you and Dustin met each other.”

“Yeah,” I replied, and my cheeks reddened at the memory of my accidental bra reveal. Before Maddie could say anything else, Dustin stepped up next to me and cleared his throat.

“Hey guys, this is Bridget,” he said, nodding his head towards me. Then, Dustin pointed at each of the guys and said their names respectively. “That’s Jake and Trent.”

“Nice to meet you guys,” I said with a smile, and Jake and Trent nodded at me. Jake was the one with his arm around Maddie’s shoulder, and I almost gagged as he looked me up and down without and subtlety.

“Let’s head out,” Jake suggested, his voice surprisingly deep, “I have a test second period, and Mr. Ratched will have my ass if I miss another one.”

“Alright,” Maddie replied, and our group started to walk towards the edge of campus. Bloomstown was only five minutes away when walking, so our trek wasn’t going to take forever. I wasn’t nervous about skipping class because I could just feign being sick this morning, but I was a bit worried that our group would get caught before we left campus because we weren’t that small.

Thankfully, we got off campus without any issue, and as we headed towards Bloomstown, I fell in step next to Dustin.

“So is this what rule breakers do here?” I asked, a teasing tone to my voice, “Go to breakfast?”

Dustin grinned and shook his head slightly. “We just tend to leave campus whenever or hang out after curfew,” he stated lightly.

“Is that all you do for fun?” I asked, and Dustin shook his head.

“We do have a couple parties,” he stated, and then he smirked, “we’re having a bonfire in the woods that start behind Samson Hall on Thursday if you want to come. It starts around eight.”

“Hmm,” I replied, tipping my head to the side, “I might just have to take you up on that offer.”

“I hope you do,” Dustin said, and I winked at him.

*

“Miss West!”

I tore my eyes away from the window and snapped them forward to see Mrs. Ringer, my philosophy teacher, glaring at me. “Yes?” I asked, and Mrs. Ringer, stuck her bony hands on her hips. She walked slowly down the aisle of desks towards me, her heels clacking against the tile floor, and she came to a stop next to my desk.

If I said that I wasn’t intimidated, I would be lying.

Mrs. Ringer peered down at me through the glasses perched on the bridge of her nose, and she pursed her pinched lips. I’d had the luck of not having philosophy class yesterday, so today was my first encounter with Mrs. Ringer. I think you can tell that it wasn’t going well.

“I understand that at your old school, you were not the most obedient student,” Mrs. Ringer stated, her tone completely condescending towards me, “However, in my class, you will obey my rules and not raise questions.”

“I thought the point of philosophy class was to ask questions,” I replied, keeping my voice level and my face straight and unwavering. A murmur went through the class, but one death glare from Mrs. Ringer silenced them.

“Do not try me, Bridget,” Mrs. Ringer said through gritted teeth, “I don’t take kindly to rude students who don’t respect me.”

“And I don’t take kindly to teachers who get in my face,” I responded, my eyes narrowing as I leaned in closer to her, “So if you want me to respect you, maybe you should return the favor.”

For a moment, Mrs. Ringer and I just glared at each other. It was clear that we weren’t going to get along, but I wasn’t going to back down just because I was the student and she was the teacher. That’s not how I worked, and Mrs. Ringer needed to get that through her skull.

“Dean Hayes,” Mrs. Ringer ordered, pointing her finger at the classroom door, “Now.”

“Fine,” I replied, keeping my voice light just to piss her off more. Then, I grabbed my backpack off of the floor next to my desk, and I stood up. As I walked past Mrs. Ringer, I smirked, and I took my time leaving the classroom.

The hallways were vacant, since class had only begun fifteen minutes ago, and the sound of my shoes scuffing against the floor echoed quietly. I walked out of the building that held my philosophy class and then walked along the path towards the administration building. I wasn’t too thrilled about getting in trouble on my second day of classes, but I wasn’t going to let Mrs. Ringer think that she could walk all over me.

As I reached the bottom of the steps that lead to the administration building, the door opened and Jack walked out. Immediately, we recognized each other, and I couldn’t stop the grin that spread across my lips.

“Well hey there, Bridget,” Jack said as he hopped down the steps, “shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Maybe,” I replied, and Jack raised an eyebrow in confusion. “I may or may not have talked back to a teacher and gotten sent to see your dad,” I clarified, and Jack nodded.

“It was probably Mrs. Ringer,” he commented, and I tipped my head to the side.

“How did you know that?” I asked, and Jack shrugged.

“She hates people who question anything about her class,” he stated, “It begs the question on why she was hired to teach a philosophy class.”

“Did you have her?” I asked, and Jack nodded.

“I never personally got in trouble, but quite a few other kids did,” Jack stated, scratching the back of his neck.

“I could’ve predicted that,” I muttered, running a hand through my hair.

“Could’ve predicted what?” Jack asked, and I gestured towards the building behind Jack.

“Your dad’s the dean of the school, dude,” I said, “I wouldn’t exactly expect you to be a rule breaker or a trouble kid.”

“Bridget, I don’t break the rules because I don’t see the point,” Jack replied, “Not because I’m scared of my dad’s wrath.”

Suddenly, I felt bad for saying that to Jack because of how incredibly judgmental it sounded, and I was quick to apologize. “Sorry Jack,” I said, “That probably wasn’t the nicest thing to say to someone who’s been consistently nice to me.”

“Don’t forget I’m also the person who is helping you pass math class,” Jack added, and his light tone told me that he forgave me.

“That is true,” I replied with a chuckle, and Jack smiled.

“Speaking of passing math,” he said, referencing what he’d said about being my tutor, “When do you want to meet? I’m free around four tomorrow, and we could meet in one of the study rooms in the library.”

“Sounds great,” I said, nodding, “I’ll meet you there.”

“Good,” Jack replied firmly.

“I should probably go to your dad’s office,” I said after a moment.

“Yeah, Mrs. Ringer no doubt called and told my dad that you were coming,” Jack stated, and I sighed.

“Fantastic,” I mumbled, and I gave Jack a mock salute as I walked past him and started up the steps. “I’ll see you later, Jack.”

“Good luck with my dad, Bridget,” Jack called after me, and I couldn’t help but get a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach as I sent Jack a dismissive wave.

~~~

FAN

VOTE

SHARE

COMMENT

~~~