Chapter 10
Val’s Geography teacher passed back their first quiz of the year second period—Val had earned a ninety-percent. She wanted to go over the answers she’d gotten wrong during homeroom, but Dylan and his friends seemed to take pleasure in making it as difficult as possible.
“Tisk tisk, only a ninety percent? That’s what you get for being so nosy; should’ve paid more attention to your teacher.”
“Go away, Dylan.”
Dylan took a seat on top of the desk in front of Val, facing her. “I don’t think I will. What, you don’t wanna talk now? Why not?”
“Because I’m studying,” Val fixed the black-haired boy with her most withering glare.
“It’s obviously not doing you much good. A minus—might as well be a C, right guys?” Dylan’s friends nodded.
“Right,” Val tried to return to her geography terms.
“Yup, you might as well give up on this whole student thing and go back to your job as a coat hanger.”
“Excuse me?”
Dylan grinned evilly, “Your enormous nose makes that such a perfect job for you. I just figured that’s how you got in here—you know, they bring you in as a coat hanger and you decided you wanted to be a real student.”
“Why do you have to be such a jerk Dylan?”
“I’m not a jerk. It was an honest mistake, really. Geesh, no need to take it personally. You have to admit, you do have a lot in common with a coat hanger; for one thing, no one really notices you or cares that you exist. If you disappeared tomorrow not a tear would be shed.”
“Uh huh,” Val replied dubiously, “I bet I have more friends here than you, Dylan. And I don’t have to make fun of people to make them.”
“Let’s do a quick head count then, shall we? My friends in this class,” he held up five fingers, “John, Isaac, Aaliyah—“
Aaliyah shook her head, “Don’t bring me into this.”
Dylan smiled, “Alright, no Aaliyah then. Owen and Brayden make four, and I suppose let’s count Allie too. So I have five friends just in here, and how many do you have?” He looked around the room pointedly; only Carrie sat beside Val. “It looks like you have one friend here, and I hesitate to even count her, she’s such a nonentity at this school.”
Aaliyah got up from her seat and sat next to Val, “You should count me too.” She flashed a kind smile.
Dylan looked confused, “You two are friends?”
“Oh yeah,” Aaliyah lied, “We’re besties for life.” Val nodded in agreement.
“Well then she has one friend. Good for her; even a coat hanger needs love.” Dylan’s friends sniggered, but he left Val alone and rejoined them.
“Thanks,” Val whispered to Aaliyah.
“Don’t mention it. Dylan’s a total jerk, so every once in a while I like to confound his harassment.”
Val didn’t know what to say, “Well, thanks again.”
“You’re welcome. I’m Aaliyah, by the way,” the brunette girl offered her hand.
“Valentina, but you can call me Val.”
“Nice to meet you, Val. I don’t recall seeing you in any of my classes—“ Aaliyah pulled out her schedule, and Val did the same.
Val laughed, “We have like the exact same schedule, except one hour off. Look—you have Italian, Drawing, and then Lunch, just like me. Only you have Italian fourth instead of third.”
Aaliyah giggled, “You’re right! Why aren’t we in any of the same classes? Our schedules are practically identical; it’s like someone would have had to consciously try and keep us from being in the same class to make them so similar yet never overlap. You even have the same geography teacher!”
“Yeah, we do! You get your quiz back today, just in case you were wondering.”
“Oh, that’ll be good. I was worried I may have missed some of the terms. I just don’t quite understand what the difference between a plateau and a mesa is.”
Val nodded, “That’s one of the ones I got wrong, too. I think—“ she retrieved her quiz, “—yeah, I missed way more than just that. I only got forty-five right.”
They talked about geography the rest of the period, and by the end Val was pleasantly surprised to have found a new friend in Aaliyah—as a result of Dylan’s teasing, nonetheless. She felt like she should thank him on her way out, but decided that would be too much—no need to invite more of his wrath than she already had.
Two periods later, it was time for lunch; Val sat with Jenny and the Trio. They were already deep in conversation when she arrived.
“I’m telling you, it’s Dylan at number one and then Keenan and Alex,” Jenny whispered.
“What are you guys talking about?” Val set her bag down under the bench and retrieved her lunch, a cold peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
Jenny fixed Val with a haughty look, “Trying to decide who the cutest boy in our class is. Who do you think?”
“Oh, I really like Keenan. Alex can be annoying and Dylan’s just a jerk.”
“We were talking about looks, not personality,” Sophia smirked.
“Well I mean, just based on looks—“ Valentina frowned, “I suppose I’d stay with the same order. Keenan and then Alex and Dylan last.”
“Please,” Jenny laughed once, “Keenan’s cute in a boyish way; Dylan looks like an adult. He could pass for a senior, and he has those blonde highlights,” she sighed wistfully.
“I dunno,” Val replied, “He’s just so mean that like I can’t see past it. He insults me like all the time.”
“Dylan’s not mean,” Jenny argued, “You just don’t get his humor.”
“Like you do?” Val had never seen Jenny with Dylan, and from what she knew they’d never even met each other.
“I would—“Jenny said weakly, “—if only I was lucky enough to have Homeroom with him, like you.”
“Lucky!” Val exclaimed, “Lucky? If I had a choice I’d transfer Homerooms just so I wouldn’t have to share a class with that jackal!”
“Don’t call him that!”
“I can call him whatever I want,” Val shot back, “I actually know him.”
“I know him too—kinda. And besides, at least he doesn’t insult me!”
“Well at least I have a chance of dating him!” Val shouted.
For a moment that seemed to span much longer, a tear rolled down Jenny’s cheek, “So do I.”
Val laughed, “Yeah right. Have you seen your face? You have no chance of getting Keenan, Alex, or Dylan. Noah’s more your speed.”
“How dare you!” Jenny glared at Val, “I would never date someone like Noah!”
Val could feel her anger rising; it felt good to vent her pent up feelings, and Jenny’s defense of Dylan made railing against her feel like she was railing against him, “Well then you’re gonna have a lonely time in high school, because guys like Noah are the only ones who’d give you a second look!”
Jenny slapped Val; the blow rocked Val’s head back. The adults in the cafeteria—who’d already been trying to break through the mass of onlookers that had gathered the moment Val and Jenny started shouting—succeeded. One man grabbed Val; she just stood there limply. Miss Stevens grabbed Jenny, “Principal’s office! Both of you!” She marched Jenny to the door; Val went unassisted. Her cheeks reddened as everyone watched her leave. She thought she saw Dylan; he was clapping slowly.
Val remembered next to nothing of the arduous walk to the Principal’s office; Miss Stevens kept a hand on Jenny, and checked periodically to make sure Val was still following. Val’s cheek hurt where the slap had hit her.
The Principal, Miss Young, was a tall woman; she stood head and shoulders above Miss Stevens. Jenny was ushered into the office first while Val was made to sit outside. Fifteen minutes later the door opened and Jenny rushed from the main office; Val thought she might have seen some more tears on the girl’s cheeks.
Miss Young gestured for Val to enter her office, “Come on in.” The room was brightly lit; a single picture sat ne
xt to the computer on the desk, of three people Val assumed were younger versions of Miss Young, Porter, and Keenan. She fell into the chair across from the Principal, her eyes fixed to the floor.
“Miss Curtis seems to be of the impression that you were bullying her and she was defending herself by striking you—“ Miss Young cleared her throat, “Is that true?”
Val gulped, “Yeah, I guess so. I may have said some things—but I felt horrible about them right after!”
“Well, that’s good. But it doesn’t excuse your actions. What do you think a fair punishment would be, Miss Hunter?”
Val sighed, “Expel me. It’s what I want anyway.”
“You want to be expelled?” Val looked up to see the confused expression on Miss Young’s face, “Why would you want to be expelled?”
“Cause I don’t wanna go here,” Val whispered, “I want to go to Gentry high school!”
“Ah, I see. And you think the way to accomplish that is by getting expelled from the premiere private school in Florida?”
Val shrugged.
Miss Young smiled sadly, “This is the unfortunate downside of our system. We convince the parents that they want their kids to go here, but so often fail to convince the children themselves—you are aware, no doubt, of the stellar reputation of this school? And you’ve heard all the numbers and statistics?”
Val nodded.
“And yet here we are. I take it you want to go to Gentry for some reason other than academics?”
“All my friends are there!” Val blurted.
Miss Young’s smile widened, “Of course. We adults often forget, in our age, how important friends are. But I daresay you seem to have made some new friends here, no? Why, my own son is quite enamored with you—“
Scarlet flooded Val’s cheeks, “Yeah, I have a few friends here.”
“Are your friends at Gentry are better than your friends here?” Miss Young asked.
“No, I suppose not. I just know them better. I was in school with them for years.”
“Alright, well in a couple of years that’ll be true of your friends here. And I know a lot of the reasons your parents chose this school for you can seem unimportant, but I promise that’s not true. If you can make it through all the friend troubles, you’ll see that getting a good education is valuable too.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“So do you still want me to expel you?”
“No, not really.”
“Good. Very good. What do you think your punishment ought to be, then?”
“I have no idea,” Val admitted.
Miss Young looked at a couple of papers on her desk, “Miss Curtis is going to be suspended for striking another student. Do you think you should be suspended too?”
“That would be fair.”
“Perhaps,” Miss Young picked up a pen and made a note on one of the papers, “But your crime is simply saying some regrettable things. I see students do that every day and get away unpunished. You didn’t strike anyone; in fact, you didn’t actually violate any of our rules. So how about this: you agree to apologize to Miss Curtis, in face, and I’ll let you finish your school day. Alright?”
“Alright,” Val grabbed her bag.
“This period’s already half over—“ Val looked at the clock and realized Miss Young was right; her Lunch period was over, and a significant portion of the next period had already passed, “—so I’ll tell you what: I’ll excuse you for the rest of it and you can think about what we talked about. You can go now.”
“Thanks,” Val left the Principal’s office, wondering how she should spend her free half-period. She wasn’t looking as she opened the door leading into the hall—her head collided with someone else’s and they both fell down. “Ow!” Val exclaimed.
She looked up to see Porter’s familiar lopsided grin, “You should really watch where you’re going, Val. Don’t wanna give you a concussion or anything—are you alright?”
“Yeah, I think so. My head hurts a little, but I’ll be fine. See you tomorrow.”
“Hold up,” Porter frowned at the office door, “Do you have this hour off?”
“Not usually, but your mom excused me for the rest of it—so I guess today I do.”
“That’s cool. I have it off, too. I was gonna have lunch with my mom, but—you wanna hang out?”
Val snorted, “You’d ditch lunch with your mom just because you ran into me?”
Porter shrugged, “Sure. We have lunch every day, but I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“It’s only been three days,” Val pointed out, “But I’d like someone to talk to right now.”
“Well it’s settled then. Meet you in the cafeteria in five?”
“Yeah, sure,” Val smiled. She started the short walk back; in the cafeteria, she sat down at one of the smaller tables, and pulled out her math homework to work on while she waited for Porter.
“You’re supposed to be in English Lit,” Aaliyah smiled down at Val.
“Yeah, but the Principal excused me from it.”
“Oh, wow, lucky.” Aaliyah took one of the two other seats at Val’s table, “What are you working on?”
“Algebra.”
“Ooh, less lucky. Do you want me to leave you alone so you can work on it or—?”
“No, that’s alright. I was just working on it because I didn’t have anything else to do.” Val put her homework away.
“Well that’s good then. Cause I was gonna talk to you whether or not you wanted me to,” they both laughed. “So how’d you like Mr. Andrews’ lesson?”
“Ugh, it was so boring.”
Porter walked up, “Hey Val. Sorry it took me a bit longer than expected. Who’s your friend?”
“This is Aaliyah,” Val gestured to her friend as Porter took a seat, “And Aaliyah, this is Porter.”
“I know who he is,” Aaliyah giggled, “Doesn’t everyone?” She checked her phone, “Oh my gosh, I totally forgot—I have something to do. I’ll see you around Val.” She left quickly.
“Bye. Have a good rest of your day,” Val called after her.
“That was strange,” Porter laughed, “Does she normally leave the moment someone else joins the conversation?”
“I don’t know,” Valentina admitted, “I actually just met her today. She’s really nice.”
“Oh, cool. Cool. So, you mentioned you wanted to talk to someone?”
“Yeah.”
“What about? Is it about that girl slapping you?”
“Yeah, I—hold on, how’d you know about that?”
Porter laughed, “My mom’s the principal.”
“I thought she wasn’t supposed to talk about disciplinary matters with students, like unless they were involved in them.”
“Probably, but I mean do you really care that she did? I’m already briefed on what happened, so you don’t have to recap for me. It makes it easier for you, doesn’t it?”
“’Briefed’?” Val giggled, “What are you, a soldier or something?”
“You’d better believe it.”
“Well, ok then Private, I guess you have a point. But anyway, I just don’t know why I said those things. It was like—“
“Like you were channeling Avery,” Porter cut in.
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. Nothing. Please continue.”
“That’s about it. I just don’t know why I was so mean; I mean, she looked really hurt by what I said! It’s like I’m becoming—like I’m becoming—“ Val took a moment to compose her thoughts, “—like I’m becoming like everyone else here.”
“Not everyone at Palm Lake is like that,” Porter argued, “I mean, there are at least—“ he paused a moment, counting on his fingers, “—a dozen kids going here who aren’t totally horrible.”
Val giggled again, “Probably a few more than that.”
“The exact numbers don’t matter. What matters is that you felt bad about saying what you said, and that you’re not going to do it again. Rig
ht?”
“Right.”
“Well then, nothing to concern yourself over. Think of it this way; Avery wouldn’t have felt bad, and she certainly wouldn’t have apologized. So if you apologize, you’re not as bad as her.” Porter frowned, “By the way, don’t tell her I said that.”
“Don’t worry. My lips are sealed.”
“Thanks. Val—“Porter looked like he really wanted to say something; he shook his head, “Never mind. I think next period’s starting soon.” As if to confirm his statement, the bell rang.
“See you tomorrow!”
“Yeah, maybe I’ll teach you how a real football player throws.”
“I’m not that bad!” Val insisted.
“Oh, you’re horrible. But it’s endearing, really.” Porter winked, “Now, you’d better be on your way.”
The rest of the day was tedious; Val was anxious for it to be over. Even though Student Gov was getting ready to start campaigning for offices, Val had a hard time getting excited about it; her mind was too preoccupied by other matters. When she returned home, it was to find both parents waiting for her, with disapproving looks.
“Val—“Mom began, ”Val, how could you--?”
“Your Principal called me at work and mentioned you’d bullied some poor girl,” Dad added, “And that she left the school in tears.”
Valentina felt immediately defensive, “I didn’t bully her. All I said was the truth.”
“Alright,” Dad folded his arms, “What did you say?”
“Well she was talking about how this one kid—Dylan—how he’s so great and cute and I just couldn’t take it. Cause Dylan’s a jerk! So I said that—“ Val struggled to come up with a way to phrase what she was trying to say that would seem less mean, “—I said that Dylan wasn’t as attractive as she thought he was, and that kinda led me to say that maybe if she were more attractive she’d have a better perspective on the whole thing.”
Mom gasped, “What did you say, exactly?”
“I think I said something like, kids like Noah, who’s kind of a nerd, would be the only type of guy who would ever show interest in her.”