FULL NOVELXO Class Act: Chapter 36
I jerked awake. Ms. Clara towered over me, a frown marring her forehead. My face burned. Shit, I’d fallen asleep in class.
“I’m sorry I fell asleep.” I scooped my books from my desk and shoved them into my bag.
“Emery, is everything okay at home?” Ms. Clara asked. “I’m not used to you sleeping in class.”
How could I tell her I was so anxious about running into Mandy that I slept poorly?
“Everything is fine. Just went to bed late last night because I was watching a movie.” I gave her a sheepish smile. “I promise it won’t happen again.”
She frowned and didn’t look as if she believed me. “You see that you don’t. It’s your last year, and you need to focus on your grades so you’ll graduate.”
“Yes, Ms. Clara. Thank you.”
She was one of the genuine teachers who gave a damn about their students. I hiked my bag onto my shoulder and walked out of the classroom.
Right into Priest.
“Sorry.” I jumped back and tried to dodge him. Since our last fight and suspension, he’d avoided me, and I preferred it that way. I tried to move past him, but he grabbed my arm. Huh, had he always had that shiny gold bracelet around his wrist? I would never have thought him to be the type to wear that kind of jewelry.
“Hey, can I talk to you?”
I glanced over my shoulder, even though he was holding my hand. “Me?”
“Yes, you. Who else?” He scowled at me.
“Why?”
“Not here.” He pulled on my arm, and unless I wanted to have my shoulder dislocated, I had no choice but to follow him. We walked along the corridor, him peering into every classroom.
“Priest, I—”
“This one’s empty.” He pushed the door open and stepped inside.
“Can you let me go now?”
He released my hand and wiped his down his jeans. I shoved mine into my pocket and stalked to the window. What was he up to?
“Where are you going?” he asked. “I’m just trying to talk to you.”
“The last time we had a confrontation, you wanted to smack me. I’m good over here. What’d you want? Talk fast, and don’t waste my time.”
“Are you always so blunt?”
“Yeah. So?”
His face turned red, and he dropped his eyes. “I like it.”
My mouth fell open. “What?”
“I won’t say it again. You tell anyone, and I’ll punch you in the face.”
“Is that how you tell someone you like them?” I scoffed. “You’re not eight. Excuse me if I don’t believe you.”
“You’re infuriating, and it’s confusing. You’re not like other guys.”
“What other guys?”
“The other guys I fool around with. They’re always willing and keep their mouths shut. I can’t decide with you.”
“Is that why you’ve picked on me since day one? Because I ignore you?”
“I don’t pick on you.”
I raised my eyebrows.
“Maybe I did, but that was then. Before.”
“Before what?”
He scrubbed at his face. “Since I told my parents I like guys.”
“Oh.” That was big. So fucking big I reined in my anger for all the times we’d fought and he behaved like an asshat. He wasn’t the first guy to shove me around because they were attracted to me and didn’t like it. Therefore, it had to be my fault. “How’d they take it?”
“Good, actually.” He smiled, more of a halfhearted lift of his ips, but at least it wasn’t his usual scowl. “I told them everything—about you. They were shocked but said I needed to apologize and that if you agreed, you could have dinner with us.”
“Whoa, stop right there.” I gripped the strap of my bag. I didn’t need a lovesick Priest on top of everything else. “First, even if I liked you like that, it would be way too soon to meet your folks. Remember that when you meet the right guy for you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m already with someone.”
He fell silent, but his face turned red, and his eyes hardened. Would he return to his hateful self now?
“Are you turning me down?”
“I’m flattered and all, and it’s sweet you can man up about the shit you used to do to me, but that won’t change how I feel. I’m with someone already.”
“Who? Someone better than me?”
Was this guy for real? Who socialized him? A bear? “Doesn’t matter who. Just respect that and find someone else. Okay?”
He stalked forward, fisted the front of my shirt, and yanked me toward him. “If you ever tell anyone about this, I swear I’ll smack you, Emery.”
“Let go, Priest!”
He grabbed my head and slammed his mouth on mine. What the hell? I stood still until he pushed his tongue into my mouth. I struggled against him, but he still clenched my shirt, making it difficult to break free.
Maybe if I don’t respond at all, he’ll get the hint.
I made my body go lax, neither fighting nor kissing him. He held me so tightly to him his erection poked my thigh.
“What’s going on here?”
Priest sprang away from me, but his bracelet snagged my shirt, and with him trying to get away, a loud rip rented the air. Shit. A huge tear exposed my torso and the blush pink lace bra underneath. I bundled the material and hugged it to my chest, covering myself up.
“It was an accident,” Priest said.
His tongue in my mouth definitely hadn’t been, though.
The teacher glared at us. “You two, to the principal’s office.”
I groaned. “It’s a misunderstanding. We weren’t doing anything.”
“I don’t want to hear it. I’m tired of you seniors sneaking off into my classroom and treating it like a cheap motel. Get moving now.”
The teacher motioned us to walk out the door, and Priest and I followed him like two scared sheep trailing behind a big bad wolf. As we made our way to the principal’s office, the whispers and snickers grew louder and louder. My phone vibrated in my pocket. That damn group chat must be blowing up with all the gossip.
I almost felt bad for Priest. Almost. Everyone knew I was gay, but it seemed he was now out of the closet. How could I feel bad for him when he’d forced a kiss on me? If he hadn’t done that, I would still have been the weird one, and he would still have been in the closet.
Suspended for a week.
The principal’s words echoed in my head as I drove home. No amount of explanation on my part that I hadn’t invited Priest’s kiss saved me from being punished for something I didn’t do. According to the principal, I’d followed Priest to the classroom of my free will, which meant I had the intention to engage in sexual activity with Priest. Had the teacher not come in, we would have carried out the act.
After seeing that nothing I said would get me out of trouble, I’d stopped wasting my breath, especially since Priest refused to acknowledge he was the one who’d kissed me. Of course, he wouldn’t agree. He would be even in bigger trouble had he confessed to forcing himself on me.
As if he was the injured party, he’d snapped at me to stay the hell away from him for the rest of the school year, then stalked off. All the messages had indeed been about Priest and me. They’d distorted the truth so much, the most outrageous being that I was caught having sex with both the teacher and Priest. My calls to Abe had gone straight to voice mail.
On the way home, I stopped and bought a tub of Häagen-Dazs coffee-flavor ice cream. I needed comfort food. What was I supposed to do with an entire week free from school? Work more hours?
At home, I sent off an email to the restaurant to let them know I had the week free so I could work during the day. I preferred the night shifts because I got more tips, but at least I would be home in the evenings.
After an hour of stuffing myself with ice cream, I called Abe again, but he didn’t answer. Ugh. That man. He probably had placed his phone somewhere and forgot where he put it. I swore he lost more items than I could keep track of. Had he heard about what had happened? He wouldn’t believe all the rumors, would he?
Messages from the group chat came pouring in, and I opened the app to mute all notifications. Oh. My. God. My heart threatened to jump out of my chest. I scrolled up all the way to the last photos posted. Photos of me from my camboy website.
Where the hell did they get these?
They were debating whether the person behind the mask was really me, with a majority concluding that the likeness was too similar for it not to be me. Then the name-calling started.
Slut.
Bitch.
Whore.
Of course I shouldn’t read the messages. I knew that. Nothing good could come from it. They always grossly exaggerated the truth for laughs and popularity points.
It was my old high school all over again.
I bet he was the one who seduced Priest.
I agree. Look at him, passing himself off as a girl with those skirts he wore. No wonder Priest fell for it.
Has anyone else fucked him yet? I bet he’s good at giving head.
The comments all got a bunch of laughing emojis. Someone taunted that no one would admit it, but they were sure I had to have slept around. They poked at the way I dressed. Several pictures of me in my cheerleading outfit had been doctored so I was nude. Someone had even changed my genitals. They said they would fuck me if that’s how I really was.
Bile rose in my throat. I vaulted off the couch to the bathroom, where I threw up all the ice cream. I hung over the toilet bowl until my stomach was empty.
With a shaky hand, I flushed, then scrambled to my feet and brushed my teeth. I trudged back to the living room. My phone vibrated on the coffee table, and the screen lit up each time someone sent a message.
When would they stop?
A couple of hours later, Abe’s car pulled into the driveway. The messages hadn’t stopped, but they’d slowed down.
“Emery?” Abe called.
Abe was home early. I exhaled to relieve the tightness in my chest. What if he didn’t believe me about Priest?
“I’m in here.”
His footsteps echoed in the hall, and the door opened. “Are you okay?” he asked.
I wasn’t, but I nodded. “I’m fine, but they suspended me for a week.”
Abe swore and sat beside me on the couch. “What happened?”
“Didn’t you hear the news? It’s all over the school.”
“That you were caught having sex with Priest?”
“Yeah, that.”
“I don’t believe it.”
I inhaled sharply. “You don’t?”
“Of course not, Emmy. I want to hear from you what happened.”
God, what a relief. I scrambled into Abe’s lap and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Oh, Abe, I didn’t know if you’d believe what everyone’s saying.”
He stroked my back. “I know you, and that didn’t sound like you at all.”
“It’s all that idiot’s fault. He wanted to talk. He seemed genuine and harmless, so I went with him. Before I knew it, he was kissing me. Then the teacher walked in and wouldn’t give me a chance to explain.”
“Fuck. He kissed you? When will he leave you alone? I think it’s high time I have a talk with him.”
I jerked my head back. “You can’t. It’s not your place.”
“But I have to do something. You were wrongfully suspended. I’m sure I can convince the principal to reverse it.”
I took his face between my hands and pressed my lips to his. “It’s enough that you want to stand up for me, but we both know why you can’t do any of that. You can’t interfere in anything at school.”
“I hate this for you. This is your second suspension because of him, Emery.”
“Let’s just say I think he’ll definitely be staying away from me now.”
My phone vibrated on the coffee table.
“Aren’t you going to get that?” Abe asked.
“No, it’s not important.”
“What is it?”
“Kids from school.”
He frowned. “Are they talking about what happened?”
I plucked at Abe’s shirt. “Among other things.”
“What else is there?”
“Someone’s been sharing pictures from when I did the camboy stint.”
“How did they find those?” Abe settled me on the couch and grabbed my phone. I didn’t stop him as he scrolled through the messages. His face tightened. “I don’t like this, Emmy.”
“There’s nothing I can do about it.” I pulled my legs up to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. “I didn’t think it would get out. My mask should have been enough.”
“Once you know who you’re looking at, it becomes quite clear it’s you.” He got to his feet and paced. “What are we going to do about it? We can’t let this get out to the staff.”
“I’m not sure there’s anything I can do.” Was he having second thoughts about me? Maybe he was concerned people would think him stupid for leaving his highly successful wife for a guy who performed nude in front of a camera.
“I understand if you want to change your mind,” I whispered.
Abe stopped his pacing. “Change my mind about what?”
“Us.”
“Why would I change my mind about us?”
“Because of the nude pics and everyone knowing about them. You can do so much better than me.”
“You misunderstand.” He dropped to his knees in front of the couch. “I already know what I need to know about you. I’m worried that the pictures will make their way to the principal and you’ll get expelled.”
I gasped. I hadn’t even thought about that. “Can they do that? I made those videos on my time, and they have nothing to do with the school. They can’t expel me for that. Besides, I’m wearing a mask in all of them. Even if they suspect it’s me, no one can prove it.”
“True.” Abe nodded slowly. “That makes me feel a little better. I’m still worried about the whole situation, though.” He sat back on the couch and pulled me to his side. “You didn’t read all those messages, did you?”
“At the beginning, yes.”
“I don’t want you to read anymore. In fact, you should leave the group. You don’t need that sort of negativity and cyberbullying right now.”
“Okay. I think that’s for the best.” I took his hand and slipped my fingers through his. “Abe, thank you.”
He ruffled my hair and kissed the top of my head. “For what?”
“For believing me that nothing happened. I was so worried about it.”
“Silly goose.” He brushed a kiss on my temple. “Of course, nothing happened. Do you think if I had any doubt about you or us, I would have gone this far with you? A relationship is built on love and trust, and I trust you. I only hope that you’ll trust me in kind.”