Back at the Start (02)

Being in the "kitchen" feels like a nice escape, and I'm kind of hoping we get to make a snack we can eat right away. I didn't get to finish my lunch, and my stomach is starting to grumble. I head over to Soph when I see her, certain she's heard about all of my drama today already.

"Unbelievable, right?" I greet her, rolling my eyes like it's all stupid and hasn't impacted me beyond annoyance.

"Yoooo! Jay, what the hell is dis?" Soph says as she looks at your sweatshirt. She shrugs and pulls you into a hug. "We gonna rumble with those gringos on the football team now."

"Yeah, had to borrow it," I mumble about the sweatshirt as I hug her back. "I didn't expect them to go in on those guys at lunch. It was brutal. You should see the pic Axel sent me." I shake my head. "Watch the football guys get a slap on the wrist over it too. Wouldn't want to lose them before the next big game, right?" I scoff.

"It isn't hers, you can't wear that," Soph answers sharply, and JS jumps back like her hand had been slapped. "She..." Soph pauses, realizing her words were too harsh. "It wouldn't look good on you anyway. It barely looks good on Jay."

As you scan the rest of the class while Soph and JS talk with you, you notice that Axel is absent, of course. Elena looks distraught as she talks with Bijou. Skylar is checking out Taylor's butt as she talks with Will, and Riley's sitting calmly at his table. Chloe is on Will's other side, also talking with him as he tells some crude joke.

JS loving the sweatshirt just reminds me how young she really is. I mean, not that loving it makes you young. Emma loves it, obviously. It's just...I don't know...something a kid would really dig. I give Soph a little surprised look when she cuts JS off so abruptly though. I don't want to get between a mother-daughter issue here, but dang. Then she goes on to say it barely looks good on me, which sort of makes it sound like Soph thinks I'm prettier than JS or something, even if she didn't mean it. I almost grimace, but try to keep my face neutral.

I suppose I could go talk Axel up to Elena, but...no, he missed out. Too bad, so sad. I turn back to JS, ignoring Will across the way with his stupid jokes and perfect teeth.

"I don't think anybody broke an arm," I answer her. Gods, I hope nobody broke an arm. "But maybe a nose or a finger or something. It was pretty brutal." I give her a stern look. "Promise me you'll stay away from anything like that, okay? You see something about to go down, you get far away."

I frown at JS's insistence, even if she might just be joking. "Just because someone is hurt," I say quietly, leaning closer to her and slipping an arm around her shoulders to give her a little squeeze, "doesn't mean you have to help them. Sometimes people can just hurt and heal on their own. You can intervene in...special circumstances."

My frown deepens at JS's response and I glance at Soph, worried. If JS feels like she has to heal every broken nose or papercut she comes across, she IS going to be thirty before we know it. But before I can argue more, there's Taylor. There's liar, liar pants on fire Taylor.

I clear my throat and turn to her. "I don't have any bruises," I tell her calmly. "Just spaghetti sauce on my dress and friends who are willing to lend me their clothes for the afternoon."

My jaw tightens a bit at how completely fake Taylor is. Is everything she does a lie?

She offers to help with whatever and I'm about to tell her that I'm totally fine, actually, when I realize...she offered. Loud and proud. In front of everyone.

"Oh, that's so nice. I'm okay. I just..." I pause, as if just realizing something. "Well, actually, since you offered...I'm so distraught, I'm not sure I'm going to be able to focus on our AP Stats homework very well tonight. You wouldn't mind doing my worksheet for me, right?"

"I'll help you with it, Jay," Soph cuts in. "Thanks, Taylor, but we're good." When Taylor heads back to her table, Soph whispers, "She'd blow it off and sink you. Also, AP stats is a breeze, Jay."

"I don't know about a breeze," I mutter. I shake my head glancing at Taylor across the room then back at Soph. "She's so annoying. So fake, all the time." I exhale a short breath like I'm letting it go. "Since when do you like AP stats so much?"

"First," Soph says quietly for just you and JS and her. "Any homework she does for you would be wrong. She's not only a liar, she's an idiota liar. And second... classes like that are our doorway to college, chica. When are you going to be home tonight so we can knock it out?"

I try not to grimace out loud when Soph brings up college again, like my going is a foregone conclusion.

"I'm hanging out with Kastor after school, so...if that goes well, hopefully not until late," I answer her. I lower my voice a little further when I add, "Don't worry about it though. I have Galinthias around to help with homework now. I really just wanted Taylor to have to suffer for offering fake help. It's cool." I give Soph a smile as I pull back from my whisper.