Bad Juju (19 page)

“If you like what I’ve got, then maybe I could be your secret boyfriend.  Or friend with benefits.  I won’t tell anyone,” he suggested.

Leah grabbed his penis before she got dressed.  “How can I say no to this.”

They drove around Hayward for another hour, talking and laughing like two people in love.  It was time to go home.  She had Jake pull into McDonald’s and order dinner for the family.  Before he drove out of the parking lot, she looked at him with desire.  “Can you go a third time?  Before we go home?”

Jake screeched onto a side street and parked.  They both stuttered with ecstasy as the bags of burgers turned cold.

Chapter
22

Candy Fontana was
both pleased and astounded
to see Henry
Novak
and
Rio
Garcia
tolerating
each other
in geometry class.  She attributed
the peace to
her proactive attitude and ingenious seating chart
. 
Slowly, s
he
shifted into her coasting mode before summer vacation began
.

Candy couldn’t help but notice the whirlwind affair Brittany and
Rio
had been advertising.  The lovebirds
’ public display of affection
grated
on her
very last nerve
.  When Brittany passed back papers, she
found
a way to walk past
Rio
’
s
desk and run her fingers through his hair.  If
Rio
went to the dry-erase board to solve a problem, he brush
ed
up against her arm on the brief walk to the front of the room.  These subtle gestures
twisted like
a knife
inside of
Henry’s back.  He still was infatuated with Brittany, making him jealous of
Rio
.  Candy didn’t like
any
covert
fondling
going on within her
class,
but let it go, knowing when to pick her battles.

In the copy room, Candy stood in line for the copy machine and chatted with her colleagues.

“So how is the love
triangle
holding up?” smirked Helen Laughlin who taught U.S. history down the hallway of Candy’s classroom.

“Triangle…geometry class. 
Nice pun
.  So far, so good.  No blood or broken bones.  It must be their love of math that’s keeping them in line.  Seriously,
Rio
and Brittany are very sneaky.  They look for excuse
s
to touch each other.  It bothers Henry.  The poor boy
hasn’t learned how to mask his feelings yet
.  But what can I do?  If I make a big deal about
them
,
it
could instigate another fight.”

“I hear y
ou.
  Be happy that they are just touching each other.  The kids are talking
‘
bout how they screw each other all over the scho
ol.  I guess there are several
special
places they’ve found where they can be alone without having to worry about staff.  Wish we could catch ‘um in the act.  That’d be quite the phone call home to their parents,”
Helen
said.

“They’ll eventually get busted.  The more brazen, the more stupid,” added Mr. Hines.

“Rumor has it the doctor squelched
Rio
playing baseball
.
  You know he’ll blame Henry,” interjected
Helen
.

By mid-April
Candy smelled trouble, but not the kind she had originally anticipated.  Against all odds, at least the odds made in the teachers’ lounge, Brittany ended
the
fairy tale romance with
Rio
.  Her body language showed repulsion toward his very presence.  Reports of their break-up circulated through every hallway.  But something
broke
Candy
away from her short-lived complacency. 
Brittany
became
nice to
ward
Henry, and at times, even flirtatious.  Was this meant to hurt
Rio
?  What other reason could she have for her sudden interest?  A
shitstorm
was about hit.

Candy pegged
Rio
as a
boy
who
was not
easily blown off. 
Relationships
seemed to w
ork the other way around
for him
. 
His
far-ranging
emotions
were evident
to
all.  Candy heard bits and pieces of the infamous breakup in the hallway.  He would forlornly approach and Brittany would
pretend
he didn’t exist.  This treatment only added to his aggression. 
Things came to head after school when he sat on the floor
in front of
her locker and waited.  Again, she
ignored him.  Candy stopped what she was doing and watched them through her doorway.

“Brittany, I love you.  What did I do?  Why won’t you talk to me?” he cried.

She packed up her bag and slammed her locker shut. 
Rio
snapped.  “You owe me an explanation!  I’m not leaving until I get it!”  He slammed her against the row of green lockers so hard that she dropped her book bag. 

Rushing into the hallway,
Candy
wedged herself
in between them.  “What’s the matter with you?  You’re going to hurt her!  Brittany, go home.”

And there it was, the first smattering of the shit
from the
storm she had predicted. 

Rio
collapsed on the floor in a fetal position and cried.  “I’m so sorry.  I would never hurt her.  I didn’t mean to…”

“Get up, now!  We’re going to tell Principal Schaefer about this!”

Chapter 23

“So what the hell happened yesterday?” Bart asked.

“You’re here with my homework.  I’m suspended again,”
Rio
curtly answered as he lit up a joint on the deck of his parent-free house.

“I know.  You asked me to bring your homework last night.  But what were you suspended for?  How long?  When did this happen?  Details, my brother.  Talk.”

“Listen Bart, I’d appreciate if you didn’t broadcast this all over school.  I go
t
two weeks out of school and two week
s
in school for pushing Brittany against the lockers.  I barely touched her.  That bitch won’t even look at me, and I have no idea why,”
Rio
explained.

“You could have gotten kicked off the baseball team for that.  Get a hold of yourself, man.  Yeah, she was one sweet piece of ass, but don’t let her break you down,” Bart muttered while chewing on a mouthful of potato chips.

“
W
hen the doctor took off my cast, he said I couldn’t be on the team anyway. 
No thanks to Henry. 
My arm and shoulder still have to heal.  He thought I’d be ready to play football next year,”
Rio
sadly uttered.

“If you’re
gonna
keep getting suspended, you can forget about football, too.  Is Brittany seeing someone else?  Is that why you lost it?” Bart pried.

“First off, I didn’t lose it.  Ms. Fontana exaggerated the whole thing.  And as far as Brittany having another boyfriend, I have no clue.  You’re the gossip girl of Freemont.  Do some investigating.  I now know
it’s over.  Just curious who’s dick she’s sucking
,”
Rio
said after inhaling the rest of the joint.

“Oh, I’ll find out.  I’ve got my spies all over the place.  And fuck that bitch.  You’re
Rio
Garcia.  You eat pussy for breakfast.  You can have any bitch in the whole damn school.  If your folks aren’t too pissed off, can you go out later?  I believe a rebound fuck is in order, and I know just the girl,” Bart offered.  His pep talk elevated
Rio
’
s
spirits.

“Dude, you’re the best friend a guy could ask for,”
Rio
said.

***

Brittany
Bonaducci
considered herself to be the luckiest girl
at
Fremont High.  Having sex with
Rio
Garcia was quite the social opportunity, but being his girlfriend was the ultimate honor.  He was sexy, rich, talented, and the most popular boy in her class, and maybe even the school.

They consummated their love in every private nook and cranny the high school had to offer at least once a day. 
Rio
was insatiable.  Even her period would not turn him away. 

A
month into their relationship, she was on all fours while he slipped her his manhood in a doggie style fashion
.  She
screamed
out
‘I love you’.  After he
spurt,
he screamed
the same three words right
back.  She had never been so happy, often fantasizing of becoming next year’s junior prom queen with him at her side as her king.  She
could see a future
with
Rio
, possibly even marriage.  But these euphoric feelings did not last that long.  As her
love
waned, othe
r boys began to catch her eye
.  Sex and Henry Novak were the only two things she
could think about. 

Not quite ready to end their relationship,
Brittany
strung
Rio
along while
pleasuring her libido with other
boys from different social circles. 
S
he
had just turned
sixteen
, too young for a relationship
.  And before
Rio
, she had only been with four other guys
, practically making her
a virgin.

Brittany met John
Jabowski
at the public library. 
S
h
e had never seen him at school before.  H
e was a senior and likely candidate for
this year’s
valedictorian.  She struck up a conversation and asked him for a ride home.  He almost pulled off before she could invite him insi
de.  She knew her mother would be at work.  W
ast
ing
no time
, she
led him into her bedroom
and
undressed
.  She felt an exhilarating
sense of satisfaction as he stared in shock at her nakedness.  Their sex was quick and boring.  Filled with regret, she demanded
h
e leave.

Days later, Brittany set her sights on her next conquest, Dominick
D., the name that appeared on his 7-11 name tag.  He claimed to be
a
student at
junior college.  After a great deal of flirting, she convinced his co-worker to watch the register while the two of them could go back into the cooler and get to know each other better.  She guzzled a six-pack of beer without him making a move.  Finally, she unzipped his pants and let him
take her while she balanced herself against the wall
of the storage closet
.  He was much more fun than John, but not worth
getting to know better.
 

Two strangers later with
Rio
still thinking they were an item,
she
still
couldn’t shake Henry Novak off of her mind.  He had changed from an annoying little freak to a ruggedly handsome young man. 
His disability had become part of his char
is
m
a
.  And the way he looked at her made her loins moisten.  She knew he was jealous of
Rio
, and this
excited her.  She began to
imagine what Henry would be like in an intimate setting.

By mid-April,
Rio
became too repulsive to be with.  She severed all ties by telling him it was over. 
But the more she pulled away, the more desperate he became.  His suspension
was a godsend. 
She profusely thanked Ms. Fontana for rescuing her, explaining that
Rio
had grown unstable and she just wanted him to leave her alone.

A Friday in April, the day after
Rio
’
s
suspension, it was uncomfortably hot.  Brittany used the high temperature as an excuse to wear revealing clothing.  Looking almost hooker-like, she wore her tightest jean shorts with a satin
G
-string hiked above the waistband, high platform heels, and a flimsy cotton camisole without a bra.  She
wore
an oversized jean shirt
that she planned on taking off
during math, the period that she shared with Henry.  She wanted him to notice her, and if that outfit didn’t do it, nothing would.  Knowing he ate with Ms. Fontana every
day before math, she entered the room with her lunch and math book, feigning ignorance of the recent homework.