Locked Hearts

The rattling of the air-conditioning vent above my head drowned out Mr. Wilson’s slow, monotone English lecture about Shakespeare’s Macbeth. I was sitting at my desk in the corner of the classroom. While Mr. Wilson was droning on and on about Macbeth, my eyes were glued to the clock on the wall. The door swung open at nine o’clock on the dot, and Ethan Lawson walked into class. He was twenty-five minutes late, and class was about to end in fifteen minutes. “You are late again, Mr. Lawson,” Mr. Wilson said. “What is your excuse this time?” Ethan shrugged nonchalantly, his handsome face etched with boredom. “Just woke up late, I guess.” Mr. Wilson did not look impressed. “I expect you in detention after school, Mr. Lawson.” “Sure thing.” Murmurs followed him as he made his way to the desk next to mine. It’s not surprising that they are talking about him because he's Ethan Lawson, after all. The heartthrob of Park High. And the co-captain of the football team. He draped his golden-blue varsity jacket at the back of his chair and then took a seat. He didn't even take out his notebook; he just sat there, leaned back in his chair, folded his arms behind his head, and crossed his ankle over his knee. I didn't know how to react to seeing him sitting next to me. I’ve never had a problem with Ethan sitting next to me, but the summer vacation changed things. He turned his head to the side and saw me looking at him. He c****d his eyebrow at me. I shook my head and faced the front of the class. I tried to block out the fact that Ethan was sitting next to me, but I couldn't. I couldn't even focus on the lesson. I saw Mr. Wilson’s mouth move, but nothing he said made sense. It was like he was speaking some alien language and spewing nonsense. Even the notes in my notebook made no sense. I ended up blocking everything and stared at the clock. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned to see Ethan staring at me. “We need to talk,” he mouthed. I shook my head and said, “No.” “It’s about—” I knew what he wanted to talk about, but I was not ready for that conversation yet. I don’t think I’ll ever be. “No.” “Brown—” “No,” I said firmly. For the rest of the class, I sat and watched the clock. I didn’t realize that I was tapping my pen on the wooden desk until— “Ms. Brown, do you want to add something to the lesson?” I jerked my head up, moving my eyes away from the clock. “Uh, no, sir,” I replied to Mr. Wilson. “Focus,” he said, fixing his black-rimmed glasses. He shot me a pointed look before turning his attention to the class and resuming the lesson. I thumped my pen against my lips and stared at the clock again. My fingers twitched, wanting to tap on the desk—a habit I couldn’t shake off. When the lunch bell chimed, I jumped to my feet, scooped up my books, and shoved them into my backpack. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and hurried out the door, effectively avoiding Ethan. I headed toward the cafeteria. I spotted Ruby already seated at our usual table in the far corner of the cafeteria. When she saw me, she waved excitedly, practically jumping up and down her seat. I waved and smiled back. I got in line, ordered, and paid for my lunch. I walked across the cafeteria to our table, my tray in hand. Ruby Smith looked radiant. She was rocking a new hairstyle: purple box braids. Mauritius did her good. I, on the other hand, gained some weight over the summer (I had weighed myself). It couldn’t be helped. I spent most of my days wasting away in front of the TV, watching re-runs of Supernatural and stuffing my face with food—not the healthy kind. The second I sat down, I said, “Your boyfriend was late for class again.” “He’s not my boyfriend,” she said with a shrug, biting into her apple. I rolled my eyes. I’m not surprised. Not at all. “We broke up this morning.” “I’m not even gonna comment,” I said. “You two will be back together before this week ends, if not today.” She sighed. “I hate that you’re right. But enough about Ethan, let’s talk about you. So what is it?” I texted Ruby and Kevin this morning, telling them I had big news to share with them. Well, they weren’t exactly big news, but I wanted to tell them regardless. “Wait, where’s Kevin?” I asked. Ruby rolled her eyes and said, “He’s with Matt.” Of course, he is. Those two have been inseparable ever since they started dating six months ago. It’s almost like they’re joined at the hip. I barely spent time with Kevin during summer; he was always with Matt. I guess they’re still in their honeymoon phase. “So spill," Ruby said, impatient. I wasted no time saying, “Well, Ian asked me to go to a party with him tomorrow night.” I smiled from ear to ear. “What?” she exclaimed. A few heads turned our way. She lowered her voice and asked, “Are you guys, like, back together now?” Ian and I had broken up a few months ago. We just… grew apart. But I will admit that I did miss him. And so, when he talked to me this morning, I was giddy with happiness. I shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Maybe?” “But you don’t like parties.” “It’s Ian. Of course, I’m gonna go to a party.” Ruby rested her arms on the table, leaning forward. “Okay, I like me some juicy news, so spill, and you dare leave anything out.” “Well, he—” I didn’t finish what I was going to say because Ruby looked behind me, alarmed. I swiveled my head around to look at what had caused her reaction. It was Mia. Of course, it was her. Ugh. Mia f*****g Black made it her life’s mission to make my life shitty, all because she thought I stole Ian from her. Mia probably spent her days and nights coming up with ways to ruin people’s lives. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case. “You.” She pointed her stupid finger at me, strutting towards our table, clad in her blue and white cheerleading uniform. Behind her, her entourage followed. “Yeah?” I said, suppressing the urge to roll my eyes at her. “You better back off,” she demanded. I was confused. “Huh?” “Ian is mine, and you better back off,” she said. Seriously? This again? When will she get a life? “Look—” “Ian is my boyfriend,” she said, hands on her hips. I almost laughed. “Are you being serious right now?” She crossed her arms. “Yeah, Ian and I are dating.” Is she really serious? No way. “Oh, he didn’t tell you?” She smirked. “We’re back together now.” She had to be lying, right? Ian would have told me. He wouldn’t have asked to hang out with me if he and Mia were back together, would he? I decided to avoid her. She just wanted to get under my skin. “Come on, Ruby, let’s go,” I said as I gathered my things. I tried to push past Mia and her entourage, but one of them shoved me backward. My hip banged against the edge of the table, and I winced. “Seriously, Mia, this is ridiculous,” Ruby said. “Don’t you have something better to do?” “I wasn’t talking to you, witch,” Mia spat. “Witch? Really original,” Ruby said sarcastically. “Let’s just go,” I said. Mia's entourage blocked the way. “Get out of my way, or else...” “What are you gonna do?” Mia asked, giving me a challenging look. “Can you tell me what your problem is?” I said loudly. That got students staring in our direction. Great. That was the last thing I needed. “My problem is you,” she said, poking my forehead with her long-ass finger. I smacked her hand away from my face. “I don't understand what Ian sees in you. You're just a dumb loser.” “Who knows, maybe dumb losers are his type,” I retorted angrily. “I'm warning you, Brown. Back off!” This petty squabble was going to make me lose my mind. In order to preserve my sanity, I forcibly shouldered her and her entourage out of my way and walked to the cafeteria door. “Coward!” Mia shouted. I halted. I turned to look at her. “What did you just say to me?” I asked as I walked dangerously close to her, ready to pounce on her. I stared at her, daring her to repeat what she’d said. Ruby held me back. “Let's just leave. She ain't worth it.” I was about to leave with Ruby, but what Mia said next stopped me: “Look at you running away like the coward you are.” The tray dropped to the floor. I lunged at her, pinning her down on the floor. She pulled my hair, and I pulled hers. I slapped her, and she slapped me. “Fight, fight, fight!” was chanted. Mia punched me on my nose. s**t that hurts. I raised my fist to punch her face, but she moved aside. She was pretty good at fighting, I'll give her that. After a while of rolling around on the floor, I punched her in the face so hard that I heard her nose making a cracking sound. She covered her nose with both hands, screaming. The realization of what I'd done hit hard. Holy crap, did I break her nose? There was a sudden ringing in my ears, making my head throb. The whole room started spinning. I stumbled to the cafeteria door. Trying to keep my balance, I held on tight to the knob with my hands trembling. There were drops of blood on the floor. The blood was coming from my nose. I tried avoiding their stares, but I could feel their eyes penetrating through my skin. I ran down the hallway out of the cafeteria, aiming for the main entrance. I heard someone calling my name, but I didn't look back. I bumped into something—no, someone—and fell on the floor, hard. When I looked up, I saw Principal Harrison glowering down at me. Shit. "In my office now!" he barked at me, making me wince at the noise that painfully shot through my ears, making my head throb more painfully. Principal Harrison, a middle-aged, balding man, was the principal of Park High—the devil incarnate. He had a thunderous voice that could make anyone shrink in fear. He stared at me with his dark eyes, intensely. Everybody stood and stared and snickered at my embarrassment. High school is the worst. So much for a good day. He dragged me to his office. Literally. The man grabbed me by the collar of my shirt, dragging me to his office. A shitty principal, I tell you. I knew right then that I was in deep s**t. I tried to calm my nerves, but it was extremely hard to do so, especially under his piercing gaze that made me shift uncomfortably in my seat. I knew he was going to call Amanda, and that was the last thing I needed right now. I didn't want her breathing down my neck. “Do you care to explain to me what happened in the cafeteria?” he asked. I stared down at my trembling hands, swallowing hard. I mastered the courage to look up at Principal Harrison and said, “I-It was not me, sir, who started it. It was—” He put his hand up, cutting me off before I could reason my way out of his office. If Amanda found out about this, which she would, I would never hear the end of it. Principal Harrison took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, like me being in his office was causing him a headache, before putting them back on. I don't blame him. It was the first day back at school, and he was dealing with my s**t. This wouldn't be the first time he has dealt with my s**t. He looked at me behind the rim of his glasses and said, “Ms. Brown?” He broke through my thoughts. “Detention after school and three-day suspension.” “What? But—" “I don't want to hear it.” Unbelievable. “Now, off you go,” he said, shooing me away with his hand. “And go see the nurse. You look terrible.” I sighed. “Out now!” he demanded when he saw that I wasn't moving, and seeing his face turn red, I got up without hesitation and bolted for the door. As I was about to turn the doorknob, the bell sounded for the day's last class. When I stepped out of the principal's office, I saw Ian. I groaned. Loudly. “I don't want to talk about it,” I said as I walked past him, not waiting for him to talk because I knew what he was going to ask me. “What happened?” he asked, falling into step beside me. “Like I said, I don't want to talk about it.” Ian caught hold of my arm, turning me around to face him. “Come on, Zoe.” “What?” “Talk to me,” he said. “There's nothing to talk about. I have to go see the nurse because, as you can see, I have blood on my nose because of your girlfriend, and then I have to go to class,” I said. “So, I don't have time to talk about what happened.” “Okay, okay, I'm sorry.” Ian apologized. I nodded, jerked my arm away from his hold, and turned around, walking away. “I hope we're still on for tomorrow night!” he called behind me. I looked behind my shoulder at him and said, “Sure.” Walking down the hallway to the infirmary, I felt everyone's eyes on me. I quickened my pace and hurriedly walked to see the nurse with my eyes on the floor. The nurse did not ask the specifics of how I had blood on my nose because, like the rest of the school, she probably knew by now what had happened. The nurse cleaned me up and sent me away. I finally got to my English class, and as soon as I walked in, they all turned their heads and looked in my direction. “Glad you can join us, Ms. Brown,” said Mr. Jenkins, my English teacher. In my haste to get to my seat in the back of the class, I bumped into a few desks. I dropped my backpack on the floor, plopping down on my seat. The lesson resumed, and they all turned their attention to Mr. Jenkins. “Hey, Zoe,” Ruby whispered. “What did Harrison say?” I looked at Mr. Jenkins to see if he wasn't looking in our direction. He wasn't. “I got detention . . . and suspension. Three days,” I said, and Ruby gasped. “How is Mia?” “She's going to be fine. She has been taken to the hospital, which, if you ask me, is a bit over the top.” “I didn't even hit her that hard,” I said. “She'll be alright, don't worry about it,” Ruby assured me. “Yeah, I'm sure she'll be okay,” I agreed. “By the way,”—Ruby looked at my hair—“your hair looks like you got electrocuted.” I take back what I said earlier. Ethan Lawson wasn’t at the top of my hate list anymore because Mia Black just upgraded from number two to number one. Congratulations to her. This has got to be the worst first day back at school ever.