Perfect Chemistry 1 (11 page)

"If you don't look at me, I'm gonna bleed all over the floor and

need a fuckin' transfusion. Look at me, dammit."

Her breathing is still heavy as she focuses on me. "What? If you

want to tell me my life is out of control, I'm already aware of it."

"I know you didn't mean to hurt me," I tell her. "Even if you did, I

probably deserved it." I'm hoping to lighten the mood so the girl

doesn't have a complete breakdown in the hallway. "Makin' mistakes

ain't a crime, you know. What's the use in having a reputation if you

can't ruin it every now and then?"

"Don't try and make me feel better, Alex. I hate you."

"I hate you, too. Now please move out of the way so the janitor

doesn't have to spend all day moppin' up my blood. He's a relative, you

know."

She shakes her head, not believing for an instant the head janitor

at Fairfield is a relative. Okay, so he isn't exactly a relative. But he

does have family in Atencingo, the same small town where my mom has

cousins in Mexico.

Instead of moving out of the way, my chem partner opens the door

to the nurse's office for me. I think she's functioning even if her

hands are still shaking.

"He's bleeding," she calls out to Miss Koto, the school nurse.

Miss Koto has me sit down on one of the examining tables. "What

happened here?"

I look over at Brittany. She has a worried look on her face, as if

she's concerned I might croak right here. I hope to God that's what

the Angel of Death looks like before I kick the bucket. I'd be more

than happy to go to hell if a face like Brittany's was greeting me.

"My staples opened up," I say. "No big deal."

"And how did that happen?" Miss Koto asks as she wets a white

cloth and dabs it on my arm. I hold my breath, waiting for the stinging

to recede. I'm also not about to narc on my partner, especially since

I'm trying to seduce her.

"I hit him," Brittany says, her voice hitching.

Miss Koto turns around, stunned. "You hit him?"

"By accident," I chime in, not having a clue why I suddenly want to

protect this girl who hates me and would probably rather flunk Mrs.

P.'s class than have to partner with me.

My plans with Brittany are not working. The only feeling she's

admitted to having toward me is hatred. But the thought of Lucky on

my motorcycle is more painful than the antiseptic crap Miss Koto is now

rubbing on my wound.

I've got to get Brittany alone if I'm gonna have any chance of

saving face and saving my Honda. Does her freakout session mean she

really doesn't hate me? I've never seen that girl do anything not

scripted or 100 percent intentional. She's a robot. Or so I thought.

She's always looked and acted like a princess on camera every time

I've seen her. Who knew it'd be my bloody arm that would crack her.

I look over at Brittany. She's focused on my arm and Miss Koto's

ministrations. I wish we were back in the library. I could swear back

there she was thinking about getting it on with me.

I'm sporting la tengo dura right here in front of Miss Koto just

thinking about it. Gracias a Dios the nurse walks over to the medicine

cabinet, Where's a large chem book when you need one?

"Let's hang Thursday after school. You know, to work on the

outline," I tell Brittany for two reasons. First, I need to stop thinking

about getting naked with her in front of Miss Koto. Second, I want

Brittany to myself.

"I'm busy Thursday," she says.

Probably with Burro Face. Obviously she'd rather be with that

pendejo than me.

"Friday, then," I say, testing her although I probably shouldn't.

Testing a girl like Brittany could put a serious damper on my ego.

Although I caught her at a time when she's vulnerable and still shaking

from seeing my blood. I admit I'm a manipulative asshole.

She bites her bottom lip that she thinks is glossed with the wrong

color. "I can't Friday, either." My hard-on is officially deflated. "What

about Saturday morning?" she says. "We can meet at the Fairfield

Library."

"You sure you can pencil me into your busy schedule?"

"Shut up. I'll meet you there at ten."

"It's a date," I say while Miss Koto, obviously eavesdropping,

finishes wrapping my arm with dorky gauze.

Brittany gathers her books. "It's not a date, Alex," she says over

her shoulder.

I grab my book and hurry into the hallway after her. She's walking

alone. The loudspeaker music isn't playing so class is still on.

"It might not be a date, but you still owe me a kiss. I always collect

debts." My chem partner's eyes go from dull to shining mad and full of

fire. Mmm, dangerous. I wink at her. "And don't sweat about what lip

gloss to wear on Saturday. You'll just have to reapply it after we make

out."

FIFTEEN : Brittany

One thing in life is certain--I am not making out with Alex Fuentes.

Thankfully Mrs. Peterson had us busy doing experiments all week,

giving us no time to talk except about who's going to light the Bunsen

burner. Although every time I looked at Alex's bandaged arm it

reminded me of when I whacked him.

I'm trying not to think about him while I gloss my lips for my date

with Colin. It's Friday night and we're going to dinner and a movie.

After double-checking and triple-checking myself in the mirror,

and attaching the Tiffany's bracelet he gave me for our anniversary

last year, I head to the backyard, where my sister is in our pool with

her physical therapist. My mom, wearing her pink velour cover-up, is

lounging on a chaise reading some home-design magazine.

It's pretty quiet, except for the physical therapist's voice

instructing Shelley.

Mom puts down her magazine, her face tight and stern. "Brit, don't

be out past ten thirty."

"We're seeing an eight-o'clock movie, Mom. We'll be home after

that."

"You heard what I said. No later than ten thirty. If you have to

leave the movie early to get home on time, so be it. Colin's parents

won't respect a girl without a curfew."

Our doorbell rings. "That's probably him," I say.

"You better hurry up and get it. A boy like that won't wait forever,

you know."

I rush to the front door before my mom does it for me and makes a

fool out of both of us. Colin is standing on our front stoop with a dozen

red roses in his hand.

"For you," he says, surprising me.

Wow! I'm feeling stupid for thinking about Alex so much this past

week. I hug Colin and give him a kiss, a real one on the lips.

"Let me put these in water," I say, stepping back.

I hum happily as I walk to the kitchen, smelling their sweet

fragrance. Putting water in a vase, I wonder if Alex ever brought his

girlfriend flowers. Alex probably brings his dates sharp knives as gifts,

in case she'll need one when she's out on a date with him. Being with

Colin is so . . .

Boring?

No. We're not boring. We're safe. Comfortable. Cute.

After cutting the bottoms off the roses and placing them in the

vase, I find Colin chatting with my mom on the patio, something I really

don't want him doing.

"Ready?" I say.

Colin flashes me his super white million-dollar smile. "Yep."

"Have her back by ten thirty," my mom calls out. As if a girl with a

curfew equals high morals. It's ridiculous, but I look at Shelley and

swallow my argument.

"Sure thing, Mrs. Ellis," Colin responds.

When we're in his Mercedes, I ask, "What movie are we seeing?"

"Change in plans. My dad's firm got tickets to the Cubs game. In a

suite right behind home plate. Baby, we're goin' to watch the Cubbies."

"How cool. Will we be back by ten thirty?" Because I know without

a doubt my mom will be waiting at the door for me.

"If they don't go into extra innings. Does your mom think you'll

turn into a pumpkin or something?"

I take hold of his hand. "No. It's just that, well, I don't want to

upset her."

"No offense, but your mom is strange. She's a hot MILF, but

totally off the wall."

I take my hand back. "Eww! Colin, you just called my mom a MILF!

I'm completely grossed out."

"Please, Brit." He glances in my direction. "Your mom looks more

like your twin sister than your mother. She's hot."

She works out so much, I admit her body looks more like a thirty-

year-old's than a forty-five-year-old's. But to think my boyfriend is

hot for my mom is plain yuck.

At the game, Colin leads me to his dad's corporate suite at Wrigley

Field. The box is crowded with people from a bunch of downtown law

firms. Colin's parents greet us. His mom hugs me and gives me an air-

kiss before leaving us to mingle with other people.

I watch as Colin talks with the other people in the suite. He's so at

home here; he's in his element. He shakes hands, smiles wide, and

laughs at everyone's jokes whether they're funny or not.

"Let's watch the game in the seats over there," he says, leading me

to the suite's seats after we get hot dogs and drinks from the food

bar.

"I'm hoping to get an internship at Harris, Lundstrom, and Wallace

next summer," he says quietly, "so I gotta get face time with these

guys."

When Mr. Lundstrom appears next to us, Colin goes into full-on

business mode. I watch in admiration as he talks with Mr. Lundstrom as

if they're old friends. My boyfriend definitely has a knack for

schmoozing people.

"I hear you want to follow in your father's footsteps," Mr.

Lundstrom says.

"Yes, sir," Colin responds, then they start talking about football

and stocks and whatever else Colin brings up to keep Mr. Lundstrom

talking.

Megan calls on my cell and I give her highlights of the game and we

talk while I'm waiting for Colin to finish talking to Mr. Lundstrom. She

tells me she had the best time at this dance club called Club Mystique

that will let in teens. She insists Sierra and I will love it there.

At the seventh-inning stretch, Colin and I stand and sing ‘Take Me

Out to the Ball Game.’ We're totally out of tune, but it doesn't matter

because right now it sounds as if the thousands of Cubs fans singing

are as out of tune as we are. It feels good to be with Colin like this,

having fun together. It makes me think I've been overcritical of our

relationship.

At nine forty-five, I turn to Colin and tell him we need to start

heading home even though the game isn't over.

He takes my hand in his. I think he's going to excuse himself from

his conversation with Mr. Lundstrom.

Instead, Mr. Lundstrom calls over Mr. Wallace.

As the minutes tick by, I'm getting nervous. There has been

enough tension in my house. I don't want to cause more. "Colin . . . ," I

say, squeezing his hand.

He puts his arm around me in response.

At the top of the ninth inning, when it's past ten, I say, "I'm sorry,

but Colin has to drive me home now."

Mr. Wallace and Mr. Lundstrom shake Colin's hand, then I pull him

out of the park.

"Brit, do you know how hard it is to get an internship at HL&W?"

"At this point, I don't care. Colin, I needed to be home by ten

thirty."

"So you'll be home at eleven. Tell your mom we got stuck in

traffic."

Colin doesn't know what my mom is like when she's in one of her

moods. Thankfully I've been able to avoid bringing him around the

house often and if he comes over, it's just for a few minutes or less.

He has no clue what it's like when my mom goes off on me.

We pull into my driveway not at eleven, but closer to eleven thirty.

Colin is still pumped about the possible internship at HL&W while

listening to the after-game recap on WGN radio.

"I gotta go," I tell him, leaning over for a quick kiss.

"Stay here a few minutes," he says against my lips. "We haven't

fooled around in, like, forever. I miss it."

"Me, too. But it's late." I give him a look of apology. "We'll have

more nights together."

"Hopefully sooner rather than later."

I walk into my house, prepared to be yelled at. Sure enough, my

mom is standing in the foyer with her arms crossed. "You're late."

"I know. I'm sorry."

"What do you think, that I make up arbitrary rules?"

"No."

She sighs.

"Mom, I really am sorry. We went to a Cubs game instead of a

movie, and the traffic was terrible."

"Cubs game? All the way in the city? You could have been mugged!"

"We were fine, Mom."

"You think you know it all, Brit, but you don't. For all I know you

could've been lying dead in a city alley and all along I thought you were

at a movie. Check your purse to see if any money or your ID is missing."

I open my purse and check the contents of my wallet, only to

appease her. I hold up my ID and cash. "It's all here."

"Consider yourself lucky. This time."

"I'm always careful when I go to the city, Mom. Besides, Colin was

with me."

"I don't need excuses, Brit. Did you not think it would be nice to

call and tell me about the change in plans and that you were going to be