When Trouble Meets Trouble

Chapter 3

The doors stopped closing for a moment from the movement between them before starting to close again. I saw a light from a phone in the distance and Jeff, the human train, was barreling towards us at full speed, an ounce of blood trickling from his nose.

“HERE’S JEFFREY!” Normally, I would’ve laughed at the fact that an i***t like Shaw would have made a comment like that but at that moment, I couldn’t. The only thing I was capable of was pressing a button and praying for the best.

“HOLY SALTINES!” I screeched and the doors finally closed. I let out a breath of relief as the elevator started moving. I leaned against the elevator door, running my hands through my hair repeatedly.

We were silent before Jonah had a look of terror etched onto his features. “What if he’s at the top?” he propsed.

“What if he knows that we think that he’s going to be at the top, so he stays at the bottom while we think he’s going to be at the top, so we come back down to the bottom and he’s already there?” I asked and he looked visibly pained by my realization. He was probably thinking of the b****y mess he’s going to be once Shaw gets his hands on him.

“Should we get off at the second floor?” Jonah asked me, his eyes wide. I shrugged, stammering stupidly. I haven't been in a situation like this since last year! I'm a little rusty when it comes to making up plans on the spot. “I have an idea. How about we skip? We just go to an abandoned warehouse and make out?” he asked. I wasn’t sure whether he was serious or not. He didn’t c***k a smile.

“You’re such an i***t! I’m no star student but I know better than to just ditch!” I told him and he threw his hands up.

“So we can make out after school?” he asked

“I can punch you in the throat right now," I threatened.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to do! It’s my first day and I’m already hated by 3 people!” he sighed.

“4,” I piped.

“Shut up,” he retorted.

The doors opened at the third floor and I peeked my head out. I was surprised to see that Jeff wasn’t there. Maybe I was right.

I exited the elevator the moment the bell rang. I hiked my bag over my shoulder and began walking to class.

“I left my books outside of the cafeteria!” Jonah let out a frustrated groan.

“Not my problem,” I told him as I walked to class, letting out a sigh of relief when I realized that neither Jonah nor Shaw had this class with me. But Francis did.

“Where’d you go during lunch?” he snorted the moment I sat in my seat, which also happened to be in the secluded part of the room. What can I say? I'm a sucker for desolated areas. The room was near empty, like Francis's head.

“Your face,” I retorted, grabbing my text book out of my bag. Francis glared at me before flipping me the bird. I just snorted in reply, listening to the teacher talk about tardiness as students filed in.

***

Still on edge, the walk to my jeep was nerve wracking. The twist and turns of the parking lot were a maze. I was waiting for Shaw to just pop out, rip my head off of my shoulders, and use it as a football for their next game.

“Nervous?” I nearly Superman jumped to Heaven and back at the sound of a voice, no matter who it belonged to.

“Not quite,” I snapped. Jonah was leaning against a bright blue car.

I continued walking towards my jeep which was a few cars down. “I think you’re stalking me,” I told him.

“Me? Stalking you? Yeah, I’ll stalk you when Hamilton moves out of that box,” he chuckled. I turned and stared at him. Did he just-?

“Did you just refer to Maggie and the Ferocious Beast?” I asked. My eyebrows rose.

“Did you just catch me referring to Maggie and the Ferocious Beast?” he asked, his eyes darting from car to car.

“Obviously or else I wouldn’t have said anything,” I glared.

“Is that your car?” he changed the subject swiftly, pointing to a red small buggy. I looked at the car and shook my head, adding in a snicker.

“No,” I answered him. I continued walking and he followed me, trailing behind. I arrived at my Jeep and smiled at it, patting the front. I walked over and unlocked the driver’s side door.

“This is your car?” he asked.

“Nope, I just have the keys to somebody else’s car, you know?” I sarcastically replied.

“This car is expensive. I kind of expected you to have a small car, like a buggy or a smart car," he told me, eyes widened as he ran his hand on the shiny black exterior. I nodded.

“I worked two jobs for a year and a half managed to save up $3,000. I was fired from one of them and managed to make a bit more. I also dipped into my savings account. In the end, I had $6,000 and my parents paid for the rest," I explained.

“This car is around $28,000 if you get it new," he told me and I laughed.

“This car is used and was a family friend’s,” I told him and he furrowed his eyebrows as he examined it.

“It still would go for a lot since it’s in nearly perfect condition,” he responded.

“My dad’s friend sold it to him for $12,000. They worked together for a while and he knew about my car situation with my brother,” I sighed.

Jonah stared at me for a minute before going back to admiring my car. I rolled my eyes but buckled myself in and closed the door. My bag was sitting in the passenger’s seat as I shoved the keys in the ignition. The car roared to life and I smiled at the familiar sound.

As I backed out of the lot, Jonah walked forward. He was standing in front of the car, about 10 feet away, and he was staring at me. I moved forward a foot and he fell backwards from surprise, hitting the pavement with his bottom. I snorted, pointing to him while I laughed loudly with a grin on my face.

His face was red and he glared at me while I drove out of the parking lot laughing. He’s such an i***t.