Loving His Broken Luna

Chapter 41

Returning back to her predetermined schedule, prior to Jason’s intervention seemed surreal, she thought. Shuffling from class to class like a normal kid, helped her feel invisible again, which was exactly what she needed.

Renee recounted what she had in her locker while she sauntered through the hallways.

The good thing about storming out the night before was keeping a scrap of her dignity.

The bad thing? Well, she left her bag at home.

Renee sighed.

The thing held nothing specific aside from textbooks she’d probably have to pay for replacements to. And it wasn’t like she had too many other subjects that directly expected her to bring them to class, but the gut wrenching urge to swallow her pride and retrieve her item was like a sucker punch to the gut.

Renee cut across the hallway traffic to make it to her locker with Jason in tow; a familiar scene filled with fear flirted around in her mind. Jason’s form remained further away from her now. He didn’t boil over with anger or promise to end her for running off.

He just.. stayed back.

Weird…

Renee forced her attention back to her issue at hand. She grabbed her notebooks, a handful of pens and a highlighter from a cup in the top shelf, then slammed her locker. A quick spin if the lock finished off her final moment there, then she slipped back into traffic.

She took an alternate route, expecting to throw Jason off but he was behind her like a permanent shadow. Renee repeated her reasons and needs at breakneck speed.

She couldn’t be found. She couldn’t see Bruce. And above all, she couldn’t be made to look after the brute.

To her surprise, Jason did not lose his mind. His entity followed in a non-threatening way.

… Why did she ever wait to do this?

A sliver of a thought crashed into her once more. She didn’t have Kris then.

It’s harsh but true: Jason didn’t actually care about her. He was just watching his azz.

Renee dashed the tears that welled up in her eyes as she descended down the stairwell.

She needed time. Time away from him. Time to sort through her feelings. Time for her studies, and time just to be.

***

“Am I doing better?” Jason asked carefully as he took his seat behind her.

Renee still thumbed through her notes, making sure everything was still accounted for.

“Uh, y-yeah…”

“Where is your stuff?” he asked as if he didn’t know.

Renee ignored his tone. There was too much to do.

“What? Now you can’t answer me?”

“It’s gone,” she answered.

“It couldn’t have just left,” he countered as if backpacks were somehow alive.

“Jason,” she groaned with warning. “It’s just gone.”

“Oh, Ms. Tucee,” Mr. Nelwin, her advanced calculus teacher, spoke.

Renee frowned, then looked up. His tone seemed off.

“So glad you’ll be joining us today,” he nodded, unlike himself.

Had she been missing his class for a while? Renee glanced beside her at all of the students snickering. Her inner self nodded shyly.

It hurts not to be considered correct.

Not that she thought of herself as a goodie-two-shoes or anything, but it was hard not to follow the rules.

“Sorry, sir,” she muttered in the back of her throat.

“What was that?” Mr. Nelwin asked, clearly bewildered.

Renee stumbled over her inner monologue, as it degraded her.

“Sorry, Sir,” she belted out, gaining only more laughter. “It won’t happen again.”

Mr. Nelwin nodded, then turned his attention to starting class.

Jason seemed to be full of surprises too, Renee thought as he remained quiet in the desk behind her.

“Today we’re getting into application,” Mr. Nelwin began.

The pop of his dry erase marker’s lid was telling; it was something the man was ecstatic about.

Renee stared at the whiteboard in front of her, trying to reset her thoughts.

… If only they could be quiet.

… If only they could be blank.

… Surrender to her…

… If only…

“Can anyone tell me what I mean?” Mr. Nelwin asked, as he turned back to face the class, face flush with excitement. “Renee?”

Renee stared hard at him, then back at the board.

“We’ll be computing the surface area of complex objects to determine frictional forces…” she murmured.

Her teacher watched her like a hawk, determined to get a student on his side it seemed.

The logic was right there in front of all of their faces, she thought. How wasn’t anyone else getting this?

“In other words,” she started, “Our application will require us to build a machine to test the power of that vehicle.”

“RIGHT!” the man visibly exploded, dripping in enthusiasm.

The rest of her class dropped their shoulders. Several students complained loudly, while the others couldn’t make heads or tails about what to do.

“Uh,” one of the jocks Renee remembered from the gym sounded off. “Does it matter what we make?

“Good question,” Mr. Nelwin began. “Truthfully, all of the work we’ve done in class has been by the books. Since the application is supposed to be based on what you can see bringing yourself change, I want an honest definition of that.”

Renee’s eyes darted around the room again as students puzzled on about what they were going to do.

“This will take up the remainder of the school year. Your pitches are due in two weeks. I want reasons as to why you’re doing what you’re doing and why it matters to you.”

“I know what I want to do,” Renee said, shocking her class.

She really should get used to that, she thought.

“Really?” Mr. Nelwin asked carefully.

“Yes.”

“Yeah right,” the jock spouted. “What are you going to do?

“That part isn’t your business until the blueprint is completed and a patent is made,” she replied carefully.

…Gods, she hasn’t felt so alive.

… Or able to speak up for herself, in well, forever.

“Yeah that’s nerd speak for I don’t know but I'm the teacher's pet.”

“Lay off Kevin,” Jason mumbled as if he’d murder him.

It felt weird for Jason to try to protect her feelings. Wrong even…

“Don’t you mean lay with? Like what you’re doing?” he shot back.

… Fvck…

If Jason killed Kevin, would that be on her?

Jason stared down Kevin until Mr. Nelvin reclaimed the room.

“That’s enough children,” a slant he liked to use. “Ms. Tucee is correct. Your projects will be kept secret from each other…”

“How? We’re all in the same class,” Kevin challenged.

“If you’d let me finish, Mr. Rustin,” it was a warning. “Ms. Tucee knows more about patenting her work than any of us.”

The class then all turned over to face her.

“I like to protect what’s mine,” she said honestly.

… From the likes of my parents.

… From Bruce and Karri.

… And from people that are trying to hurt me.

Which now included Kevin Rustin. His attention was clearly becoming jealous by the moment, and she couldn’t handle another firestarter in her life.

Kevin was out.

“Can you at least tell us how it would help you?” Mr. Nelwin asked.

Renee considered his question.

“I have no privacy. Always under a watchful eye,” she half said because of Jason, but mostly because of her parents. “I want out; to go where I please without having to answer to anyone. This project will help me do that.”

“Ah, for freedom,” Mr. Nelwin considered. “Ever curious. I can’t wait to see what you come up with!”