The Boy Next Door

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

The next day at school, Tay and I were sure to spread the news of the upcoming party. Everyone was pumped and couldn’t wait.

To tell the truth, neither could I. I really needed this party to keep my mind off of Jace, and the date night with Will the next day would help as well.

When I got home from school and practice the next day, I actually had to study for a huge Social Studies test. It was a quarter of my grade, and I needed to ace it. I normally don’t study for tests, but I wanted to make sure that I did really well on this one.

My friend Grace came over since she was in my class. We were studying when my phone went off. I stood up to answer it. I clicked the answer button.

“Hello?” I spoke into the phone.

“What the hell is this?” I heard someone scream into the phone.

“Excuse me, but I have no idea what you are talking about.” I said while furrowing my eyebrows.

“This is your father young lady, and I am holding a bill for a $500 plane ticket to California!”
My father huffed into the phone.

“Oh, so now your being the responsible parent? Well, yes I did go on vacation with my boyfriend. You should not be yelling at me for spending money. You leave me here alone; what else am I supposed to do, starve? And don’t you dare tell me that we can’t afford to take trips because all you guys do is work your asses off. I know you’re not doing that for free, so don’t give me a lecture. You don’t deserve to have this conversation with me.” I screamed into the phone. I noticed that Grace was watching me. I mouthed a quick “sorry” to her, and I walked into the other room.

I heard my dad sigh.

“Fine, spend the money, but don’t be stupid about it.” He said as he hung up the phone.

I was shocked at how easily that had went. If only I had done that a long time ago. I went back into the living room and apologized to Grace. She didn’t mind. We went back to studying, and I felt that I was going to do great on the test.

Will came over later. He wanted to talk about the court case.

“I know you don’t want to see him, but if you don’t show, then he’ll get out of jail. It would be worse if you don’t do it, and you know that I will be with you the whole time.” He told me while rubbing his hand over mine.

“I’m good now. I know what I have to do; I was just a little scared. I know that you will be with me no matter what.” I said while hugging him.

“Good.” He said while rubbing my back. “I have to get back home. Vicky needs help with some stuff. You going to be ok?”

“Yeah, tell Vicky I said hi.” I gave him a kiss.

“I will.” He said while walking out the door.

The next morning, I had my huge exam. I was a little nervous, but once the test was handed out, I laughed at myself. It was going to be a piece of cake.

I finished the test first, and I read my book for the rest of class. At the end of class, the teacher called me up to his desk.

“Yes Mr. Barns?” I asked as I approached his desk.

“I just wanted to congratulate you on the test. You did absolutely perfect. I also wanted to inform you that you are at the top of all my classes. I am very proud of you.” He said as he handed me my paper. I looked down to see an A+ written across the top of the paper.

“Thank you.” I said as I walked out of the class.

I saw Will standing at my locker.

“What’s up with the smile?” he asked as he draped his arm around my shoulders. I hadn’t realized that I was smiling.

“Oh nothing, I just got a perfect on my history exam.” I said beaming.

“My girlfriend, the nerd.” He chuckled.

“Yup, but you love me anyways.” I said while smiling at him.

“Of course.” He replied and kissed me on the lips.

We walked to lunch and sat at our usual table. We were laughing at some bad jokes that Matt was telling.

“So get thi-” Matt was interrupted by a kiss from Tay.

“That’s so we don’t have to listen to anymore lame jokes.” She said with a smirk.

“But-” he stopped when he saw the stern look on Taylor’s face. “Fine no more jokes.” He mumbled.

The table erupted into cheers.

“Haha, very funny.” He said stubbornly.

“Come on babe.” Tay said as she dragged Matt from his seat.

“Get some!” Drew yelled at them.

“How mature. For your information, we have a project to work on.” Tay said as she stuck her tongue out at him. I had to admit, our table was nowhere near mature.