Player (5 page)

     “I don’t care if they find out about each other,” Josh said moodily. “I don’t care about anything, let alone Nadine and Elena.”

He tore into his bagel, and slammed down his glass. He was miserable. He was still depressed about Rosa, and his headache was no better than it had been the night before. He seriously considered cutting school all together, but knew he would go crazy if he stayed home alone. Besides, it was the first day of wrestling practice, and Josh was hoping to be named captain. He couldn’t miss that announcement. He had worked too hard to earn his place on the team.

“I take it from your lousy attitude that things didn’t go well with Rosa?” Andrea observed.

“It was a total train wreck,” Josh admitted. He went over all the gory details after a lot of encouragement and prying.

“I wouldn’t take it too hard,” Andrea consoled. “I don’t think Rosa meant what she said. It sounds like she really likes you. She’s just too scared to admit it. You should give it another shot. I bet if you show her you’re really serious about her, she’ll react differently.”

“Do you really think so?”

“I really do.” Andrea stood from the table to pour her own glass of orange juice. “And what’s the worst that could happen? Another rejection?”

Josh shuddered at the possibility, but he pushed the pessimistic thought away. “All right, I think I will talk to her again. She left her sweater here last night. That will give me a good excuse.”

“Her sweater?” Andrea exclaimed, wide-eyed. “Did you forget to tell me something? Like when the two of you started to take off your clothes? Are you sure her panties aren’t stuffed in the couch?”

“Jeez, Andy, get your mind out of the gutter. She got wet in the rain and I gave her some of my mom’s clothes. She changed in the bathroom.”

“Sure she changed in the bathroom,” Andrea said with exaggerated sarcasm. “I believe that one! You would never allow a girl to undress in front of you. What was I thinking?”

“You always have a comment, don’t you?”

“Sure do.”

Josh chuckled as he finished up his bagel. He took one last gulp of juice before laying his plate and glass in the dishwasher. When he got back to the table, he rooted through his backpack for his prescription. He didn’t want a headache to ruin his day. Andrea glared at him as he twisted open the bottle. She was always harassing him about taking too many pills. Josh ignored her and put the bottle down on the counter while he filled a fresh glass with filtered water from the fridge. He popped the pills in his mouth and stuck his tongue out at her.

Andrea crossed her arms in annoyance. “Don’t blame me when you wind up a drooling, brainless zombie addicted to pain killers.”

Josh pretended not to hear her and tossed the bottle back in his bag. He was just about to zip it up when he noticed his cell phone was missing. He realized he must have left it sitting on the desk after he had spoken to Lily. He ran up the steps two at a time to retrieve it. When he picked it up, he saw he had several missed calls from Jasmine. All well after midnight when he had been sound asleep and hadn’t noticed the phone vibrating. He wondered what she could have wanted so late. She couldn’t have just been returning his call. If she had, one message would have been sufficient. But he didn’t have time to worry about Jasmine. When he glanced at his alarm clock he realized they only had fifteen minutes to get to school. He darted back down the stairs and found Andrea tapping her foot impatiently, already draped in her boyfriend’s red and white varsity jacket.

“Are you trying to ruin my perfect attendance record?” Andrea complained as she handed him his schoolbag.

“We’ll make it on time,” Josh assured her. “What good is having a fast car if you don’t give yourself a reason to use it?”

He pulled Rosa’s sweater off the chair before finally jogging down the driveway with Andrea fast on his heels. Josh gave the hood of the Mustang convertible an affectionate pat as he climbed into the leather interior. The sports car was cherry red with a white race stripe down the center, and it was Josh’s pride and joy. The engine purred to life when he turned the ignition, and before long the multi-colored leaves of fall were flashing by them in a blur as Josh sped down the street at twice the legal speed limit. He flipped through radio stations and barely kept his eyes on the road, making Andrea more than a little nervous. She held onto the door handle so tightly her knuckles turned white.

“So you broke up with two of your girlfriends in one day?”  Andrea chatted after they cruised along in silence for a few minutes. “Not bad.”

“Three,” Josh corrected, taking a sharp left hand turn into the school parking lot. They had reached their destination in record-breaking time. “Lily called me last night, and I took advantage of the opportunity. I would have gotten the whole thing over with, but Jazz didn’t answer her cell.”

Josh squeezed into the closest parking spot he could find, jumped from his seat, and hit the automatic lock button on his key chain. The mustang’s horn honked once as the alarm set itself, and the locks clicked into place. Tossing their school bags over their shoulders, the two teens headed toward the school. Josh was about halfway through the parking lot when he felt eyes on him, burning into his back. The stare was so intense it was impossible to ignore. Josh turned around and recognized a punk who had been kicked off the wrestling team the year before standing off to the side. He was smoking a cigarette while he sipped coffee from a takeout cup. He was glaring at Josh with an unmistakable scowl on his face.

The guy was big, burly. He was a lot bigger than Josh, though he couldn’t wrestle half as well. He had brown hair, buzzed short and hateful, narrowed eyes. He wasn’t really a friend, and Josh had to rack his brain to remember his name. Finally, it came to him. It was Bryan Grant. He was a senior, like Josh, but he was a year older because he had flunked his freshman year the first time around. During their junior year he had gotten suspended for drinking in school, and he was kicked off the wrestling team halfway through the season. To put it simply, the guy was bad news.

“What’s that jerk looking at?” Andrea asked, voicing Josh’s thoughts.

“I have no idea,” Josh answered honestly. “But if he’s looking for a fight, I’m not interested. I don’t need that kind of trouble. Let’s get inside.”

Andrea agreed and the two friends darted to their lockers and unloaded their books. They barely made it to homeroom before the final bell rang. The first two classes crawled by mercilessly for Josh. He couldn’t wait for chemistry, which was the only class he shared with Rosa. When third period finally rolled around, Josh took her sweater from his book bag and carried it into classroom with him, giving him the excuse to strike up a conversation. He found her at her desk, doodling in her notebook. Josh approached her slowly, sure that she sensed his presence and was avoiding him on purpose.

“Rosa?”

“Hi, Josh.”

Her voice was casual, but her eyes were liquid ice. Josh felt his courage evaporate. This girl hated him. He couldn’t ask her out. He couldn’t even talk to her, at least not without sounding like a babbling idiot.

“I, um, just wanted to give you back your sweater,” Josh mumbled, holding the brown top out to her.

“Thank you,” she replied flatly. “I have your mother’s clothes in my locker. I’ll give them to you after class.”

That was all that she said to him throughout the whole lab, with the exception of asking him to hand her the hydrochloric acid. She didn’t even include him much in the lab work. Normally she explained every step with amazing patience, making sure he understood every detail of what they were doing. This time, it was like he wasn’t even in the room. After class, he followed her through the packed hallway to her locker where she handed him a neatly folded bundle of clothes. Before he could thank her, she slammed her locker shut, and started to walk away. Josh finally found his voice.

“Rosa, wait a minute. Can we talk?” She turned around to face him, arms crossed over her chest, her face expressionless. Josh swallowed hard, but forced himself to continue. “Why do you hate me so much?” he asked her. “What did I do?”

She looked surprised, even a little sad. “I don’t hate you, Josh.”

“Then why are you acting this way?” he asked her. “I really like you, Rosa. And the things you said last night . . .  It hurts to think you have such a low opinion of me. I know I’ve made some mistakes, especially where girls are concerned, but I’m really not that bad. Am I?”

Rosa’s eyes softened as she studied Josh’s crestfallen face. She blushed slightly, and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry, Josh. I should never have jumped down your throat like that. You’ve always been nice to me. And you’re right, you’re not that bad.”

“I’ll only forgive you under one condition,” he told her.

She narrowed her eyes. “What’s that?”

“Come to the movies with me tomorrow night?” It looked like she was going to protest, so he rushed on. “Please, Rosa. Give me a chance. That’s all I’m asking. Let me prove myself to you.”

“I don’t know,” she said, still unconvinced.

“Do you want me to beg? Okay, I’ll beg.” Josh got down on his knees in the middle of the crowded hallway, clasped his hands together, and ignored the giggles and stares of the other students. “Please, please, Rosa,” he cried out, loudly. “Please go on a date with me! I really don’t know what I’ll do if you don’t.”

“Get up, Josh, you idiot!” Rosa hissed. Her face was bright red, but Josh knew that she was secretly a little pleased. “People are staring at us.”

“I’m not getting up until you say yes,” Josh told her firmly.

“Say yes!” Called a little sophomore girl in the ever-growing crowd of spectators.

“No! Kick him while he’s down!” shouted one of the boys.

Soon other students started chanting, rooting for him one way or the other. A large circle of people had surrounded them. Even a few of the teachers were watching with smiles of interest from their classroom doorways. It wasn’t every day that one of the most popular seniors in the school made a complete fool of himself over a girl, especially when that girl wasn’t part of the “in crowd.”

“You’re crazy!” Rosa laughed. It was such a pleasant sound. It made Josh smile even more.

“You’re absolutely right,” he agreed. “I am crazy. Crazy about you. I have been for a long time now. So please, Rosa, tell me you’ll give me a chance to prove to you that I’m not such a jerk after all.”

“Oh, all right.” She surrendered. “But only if I get to pick the movie.”

“You’ve got a deal!”

Rosa helped him to his feet, and their audience erupted into an excited round of applause as Josh leaned down to kiss her lips.

“I told you! Didn’t I tell you?” Andrea cried in triumph. She handed the lunch lady a crisp twenty. The older woman, whose gray hair was pulled back in a hair net, grunted in annoyance at having to break such a large bill. “I knew that if you asked her out again she’d say yes! She was just nervous because she knew about your bad boy reputation. She wanted to make sure you were really serious about her. And you certainly proved yourself with that little performance today. Rosa is the envy of every girl in the school!”

The news of Josh and Rosa had spread like wildfire throughout the high school. Most of the school was already buzzing about them. It was good news, and Josh was happy to share it. But when Elena found out, it might mean trouble for him, or worse, for Rosa.

Josh frowned as Andrea shoved her change into her handbag. “I just hope I don’t let her down.”

“You’re such a pessimist,” Andrea told him. “As long as you keep your libido under control, there shouldn’t be any problems.”

They weaved through the crowded cafeteria with their lunch trays in hand. Each tray consisted of a hoagie, a dish of chocolate pudding, and a soda. Josh strained his neck to find their other friends in the crowd. Andrea’s boyfriend, Jim, waved them over to his table. Their other friend, Kevin Basara, was already sitting beside him, taking a huge bite out of his sandwich.

Josh was just about to take the unoccupied seat next to Kevin, when a large guy suddenly slammed into him. It took him by surprise. Josh teetered for a minute and almost dropped his lunch tray onto the floor. An onion fell out of his hoagie and slipped onto Kevin’s short, slicked blonde hair. He brushed if off in disgust and looked no less agitated than Josh felt about the encounter.

“Hey buddy, what’s your problem?” Josh yelled, annoyed. But before he could turn around to face his attacker, the figure had already disappeared in the sea of students. Nevertheless, Josh had gotten a good enough look at him. It was impossible to miss the shaved brown hair and large, burly body.

“Wasn’t that the guy who was staring at us in the parking lot this morning?” Andrea asked.

“That was Bryan Grant,” Jim confirmed.

Jim seemed disinterested in saying more about it as he pulled Andrea down next to him at the table and kissed her cheek. Andrea nuzzled his freckled nose before settling in beside him. She kissed him back, more intimately, and ran her hand through his short hair. Jim’s hair was almost the same shade of red as Andrea’s, though much shorter and not nearly as frizzy. Still, the two looked more like brother and sister than boyfriend and girlfriend.

“I thought that was his name,” Josh said, still peeved. Who did that jerk think he was, trying to push him around like that? He tore a bite out of his hoagie, and in his mind envisioned it was Bryan Grant’s head. “I’ll straighten him out at practice.”