Boseman High School Shenanigans: Episode 1

"Of course!" Lily chimes, chirpy as anything.

"Why?" she says, suddenly changing her tone! "You… you don’t want to go with me?" she says. She stops walking then, and crosses her arms. She starts to stomp her feet.

"You can just say so!" she pouts. And then she breaks the act of the slightly unstable girlfriend and laughs.

"You have someone you’d rather go with?"

Lily didn’t know what answer she hoped for…

Then she laughs awkwardly.

"Dreams shattered! Yep, that’s me!"

Oh man, where the hell is he already? Watching the kids filing out with that school is over energy she searched for Steve's car. Patience was never her strong suit and she started pacing as she became more and more annoyed at her undependable brother.

No doubt he's chatting some girl up leaving me looking like a lump.

She was still subconscious about being the new girl and waiting around alone made her squirm.

"Is that ....?" Emily whispers to herself as she thinks she sees the delectable Mr Edge which totally makes her annoyance with Steve disappear. Squinting and craning her head in his direction she realizes it is him and walks over, her curiosity peaked.

"Hi Mr. Edge. How are you? I ... we missed you this morning for the test. Were you ... do you mind if I ask what you are doing with the flowers? Is everything ok?" Her words tumbled out and she realized she was flustered and now she felt foolish. "I love pansies. Need some help?"

Freddie looks over and sees Ms. Maidstone.

He holds up a finger to his sisters at the car. His relationship with them is strained, a household full of dark corners no one shines a light into. He knows that he's got to be something more to them, but he had no idea on how to do that. Every ride he thinks of ways to break the thickening ice, but they end up mostly driving in silence.

"Ms. Maidstone, hello. How was your day?" Lame! Think of something chill to say. He moves over to her and concentrates on looking her in the eyes. "My lats seem to be loosening a bit. Those exercises you suggested might be doing the trick." The accident had left him with several odd muscle knots that he is trying to undo with physio, and she's helped him a lot.

"Or maybe I'll just tell him that this really cute older boy invited you to hang out at some secluded river with his other girlfriend," Zach grins, bumping Rose with his elbow before speeding up his steps to get to the car waiting for them.
Rose doesn't have time to complain before they're in earshot of their father and both climb into the car, Zach taking the front passenger seat, relegating Rose to the backseat.

"How was your test?" Mr. Tidwell asks as he navigates off the overpopulated school parking lot.

"Easy," Zach says. "I got into some trouble with Emily for saying so. She apparently had some trouble. But I'm pretty sure I should have a near-perfect grade."

"I so hope your smug ass failed it," Rose comments, earning the siblings an eyeroll from their father.

The drive to their small house near the edge of town passes mostly in silence, with Zach almost able to feel the glares Rose is shooting into the back of his head. He has no intention of telling on her, but he enjoys the fact that she doesn't know that for certain. They get out of the car and both teens head into their respective rooms. With an exhausted breath, Zach takes off his hoodie as well as the T-shirt underneath, then he peels out of his binder before quickly throwing his T-shirt back on. Luckily, he doesn't have a mirror in his room, so he doesn't have to look at himself. But as much as he loves his binder, it gets painful after a full day at school. And even though his home isn't nearly as hot as the school, getting out of the hoodie is a bit of a relief as well. He can't wait for winter when it will be a lot more appropriate.
Now feeling even more insecure about his appearance than the baseline at school, Zach gets up from his bed again and stretches. It's just his family here and as much as he'd love to be a perfect boy around them as well - it would probably help with the occasional she still slipping out about him - he can't do that at home, 24/7.

He then heads out of his room and towards Rose', knocking on her door. "Panicking about what to wear to Stacey's?" he teases through the door, pretty certain that she is fretting about her wardrobe right now. "I'm pretty sure she liked your tanktop well enough during lunch."

"It was weird," Zach agrees. He walks next to his sister to look into her closet with her. "I'm not really sure what to think about that conversation, or his weird maybe-half-invitation to the river." He puts an arm around his sister's shoulders - something he's been doing less often since she started getting more annoyed at any big sibling behavior he displays towards her. "Emily is nice. I'm sure you two will get along. And Freddie... Well, he is a jock, but at least he's not a total asshole. I think. So have fun today. Just... don't be disappointed if it doesn't go the way you want. I really can't tell what Freddie's intentions were during lunch."

As she asks about gym class, he lets out a heavy breath. "It's been going okay so far," he says. "I'm scared to death every single time I enter that stupid changing room but nothing bad has happened yet. Except the smell of course," he adds with a grin. " Nobody at school knows yet." He lets go of her and leans towards her closet, looking over the clothes inside. "Now, let's pick you an outfit." He reaches inside and pulls out a top that, while still sleeveless, reveals a lot less skin than what she was wearing at school. "Maybe something that won't make him wonder what you charge for an hour."

Freddie tries to be breezy about these things. Honestly, he has a hard time thinking around the inordinately hot teacher. His ears buzz, and it is mostly the pain and the work of the physiotherapy that she has guided him through that made her presence tolerable. At least once, she had to have seen he had a boner, but never said anything about it.

"My sisters are coping. I wish I knew what to say to them. There is a such a wall between us, all that pain and confusion. Belinda is I don't even know what's going on with her. If she was day drinking I'd at least have a handle on her."

He thinks about the counseling and inwardly shudders. He has too much guilt feelings from the accident to even know where to start dealing with that. And what would the girls say? Would it all come out? "I'll talk to Debby and Sarah, and let them know there is help."

Emily's face instantly flushed into a deep red color at the unexpected compliment from Mr. Edge. Her thoughts turned to sap and she resisted the urge to drop her jaw in astonishment.

Was he really talking about her?

Now she knew what was meant by a deer being caught in the headlights. Big time. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. Were their breaths mingling? Did she just feel a tug of desire?

Finally emerging from her stupor she replied, "Um ... I ... think so?" But she couldn't look at him and instead stared hard at a flower.