Chapter Twelve ★ Ditch

｡☆✼★━ Daniel ━★✼☆｡

​

Penny stood next to Jacob and hung on his shoulder like they were BFFs. Sheesh. What the heck does she want?

She placed her hand on my desk and leaned in towards me. I moved away as a Cheshire cat smile grew upon her lips. Penny asked, “So… what’s this about you and Jakey here going to the park without little ole me?”

“None of your business.” I remarked and turned my head to the side to glance up at Jake. He shrugged his shoulder and motioned for me to hurry it up.

She leaned in closer and replied, “You owe me nerd.”

“Owe you for what?” I said and bent down to pack up my bag. She grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me back up.

The look in her eyes was fierce. She kept a good hold on the back of my shirt. My wolfy side wanted to smack her into next year but I held back. Penny sneered, “I saved your butt from Mrs. Lockhart’s wrath yesterday. You owe me one date to the park.”

I yanked hard against her hold as the sound of fabric tearing echoed in my ear. Shoot. I don’t have a change of clothes here. I threw her a look and her eyes widened. She let go and took two steps back.

Jake glanced between us and stopped with me. His eyes also told me something wasn’t quite right. I went back to putting my stuff up. Break in between classes wasn’t that long and we had maybe three minutes tops to pull this off.

“My brother is right.” Penny said then added, “you are a freak.”

Pushing my glasses back I stood up and threw my bag over my shoulder. I replied, “Takes one to know one.”

As I walked past her I bumped her shoulder hard then stopped a few feet afterwards. I said back over my shoulder, “C’mon Jake. If we’re gonna do this then let’s go.”

Penny’s hand shot out and grabbed Jake’s wrist. She didn’t lift her head but kept a constant direct line of vision of the floor in her view. In a low voice she said, “And where do you think you’re going?”

Jake gave me the helpless face as Penny kept a tight hold on him. He tried to shake her off but her hand acted like it was glued onto his skin. She asked, “Both of you are up to something. Either you take me with you or I’m turning you in.”

“Why should I let someone who calls me a freak come?” I tossed my chin at her. Jake’s eyes winced as her hand tightened around his wrist.

She growled, “You owe me.”

Penny was not making any sense. Yesterday she acted like she had the hots for me and today she was a total stuck up snob that considered me a low life. Why was she so insistent that she went to the park with me?

Jake made a signal with his other hand signalling that we should do whatever she wanted. My jaw dropped open. He rarely lets people get their way. There has to be something going on. Somehow I’ve been transferred to the twilight zone.

“Let Jake go.” I replied. “And I’ll think about it.”

“No.” She snarled. Jake’s face turned pale as the corners of his mouth turned downward. He tried to lean into the pain but Penny shook him and snapped, “Stand back up worm.”

His mouth opened but no noise escaped. I stepped forward and grabbed her wrist. Her head turned up and we were eye to eye. Her lips parted as her eyes widened even more as my hand was over her mouth in a second to muffle the scream.

“Let him go.” I breathed and clamped down harder on her other wrist. Penny’s eyes shut as she shook her head. With a quick twist I rubbed her skin raw on her arm. She gasped and let go of Jake.

He jumped back as I pulled her arm behind her back and moved her out into the hallway. Jake trailed behind us. She grumbled, “This isn’t how I planned on coming along with you.”

“Who says that I’m taking you with us?” I replied and shoved her arm to make her pick up the pace. The sea of teens parted as they saw the hall monitor get ushered down the hallway.

“I’ll tell.” She spat and tried to break out of the hold. I tightened my grip. She whimpered and said. “Take me with you. I can give you and Jake passes if you let me go.”

Jake walked beside me and signed, “That would be handy.”

Hall passes would be helpful. Not to mention it won’t be long before a teacher intervenes with what I’m doing to Penny. I released her and said, “Fine. You can come.”

She whirled around then hugged me and planted a big kiss on my cheek. A few onlookers threw cat calls at us. Jake snickered into his hand. I eyed her and broke out of the hug. I asked, “What is up with you? First you like me and then you do and then you do… which is it?”

Penny walked past me to lead us down the hall and huffed, “A woman does not need a reason for why she is who she is or why she feels the way she feels.”

Jacob signed behind her back, “Translation… women are fickle… like cats.”

She stopped, turned and stared at Jacob, “Listen ya mute. Just because I can’t understand your hand signs or whatever doesn’t mean I won’t know when you’re talking smack about me. One more bad word about me and you can kiss your hall pass good-bye.”

I stepped in between Jacob and Penny and said, “Lay off of him. He’s just having fun. Besides either both of us get hall passes or you don’t go.”

“Fine.” She threw her hand up in the air and continued walking. Penny added, “Well come on. We got less than a minute before someone notices.”

Jacob and I hustled to keep up as Penny wove through the hallways and down areas that he and I never had dared to venture.

‧͙⁺˚*·༓☾ – TO BE CONTINUED… –☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙