Page 19 of Unexpected Prejudice

He didn’t say anything. Instead, he locked eyes with me and gave me a big smile that made my heart miss a beat.

My shift flew by with Shay-Lee’s perfect face on my mind. It was the first time I could breathe in relief in the past six months.

Jordan

“My man, Keller!” Don called and surprised me by grabbing my shoulders from behind and giving me a short shake before letting go and wrapping one arm around me. “How was the weekend?”

“Hey guys,” I said, exchanging handshakes with Lin, who came to my other side before turning to answer Don.

How was my weekend? The thugs threatening my life didn’t kill me because I paid them off. I guessed that had made it a pretty good weekend, but I couldn’t tell them that, so I said, “It was nice. How was yours?”

“Nice? What kind of a lame answer is that?” Don said, yawning. “You should’ve come to Santa Barbara with us. If you had, your weekend wouldn’t have been nice but fucking epic, bro. Right, Lin?”

“The amount of booze, drugs, and pussy was un-fucking real. You should’ve seen it, Keller. Next time, we won’t let you get away with not joining us.” Lin grinned.

I wasn’t a fan of that kind of talk, but I was sort of used to it. Being around the twins forced me to, considering how pretty much all they ever talked about was sex, booze, pussy, and football.

“We were so wiped out, bro,” Don continued as we climbed the steps leading to the second floor, where our homeroom class was. “Especially Shay-Lee. He and Chloe were so stoned they literally fucked in the middle of the party.”

“What?” I asked way too loudly and then tried to control the flush that crept to my face. I hadn’t meant to react that way. I wasn’t sure why that even surprised me that Shay-Lee hooked up with his girlfriend. I was more annoyed than surprised, to be honest, not that I had any right to be. All that Shay-Lee had done was be a good friend, and here I was, spending the weekend getting my hopes up while he literally fucked his girlfriend in front of half the school at some Santa Barbara party.

“Yeah, they were pretty hot. But what’s new? That jerk is always getting the hottest chicks.”

Lin smirked. “Cause he doesn’t have an ugly face like yours.”

“Like you’re one to talk, dumbass.” Don let go of me and shoved his brother.

Should I tell them they had the exact same face? Nah, it was a waste of breath, so I didn’t bother.

“I’m going to the restroom before class, so see you guys there.”

“Whatever, bro,” Don and Lin said together and continued to walk as I stopped in front of the bathroom door.

This morning, I’d been excited to go to school and see Shay-Lee again. I didn’t know why, but he’d given me a different vibe last week, which made me believe that perhaps I had a chance with him. After what the twins said, I couldn’t have been more wrong, which sucked.

The bathroom was empty—thank God for that—and I made my way toward the sink. Turning on the tap, I filled my palms with cold water and washed my face.

“Get it together,” I said while looking at my reflection. For two years, I’d been keeping my feelings on low steam. Now wasn’t the time to let them burn.

“Yo! Jordy!” someone called as soon as I stepped back to the hallway.

I turned to find Jess and Levi walking toward me. Jess looked like a bomb of colors, with his bright orange overalls and pink hair, while Levi looked like his shadow, dressed in all black. They were an odd pair, yet I found them fascinating to watch.

“Strawberry lemonade soda?” Jess asked, offering me the bottle he was holding.

“Eh, no, thank you.”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged and took a sip.

“What class do you have now?” I asked, surprising myself since I rarely initiated conversations.

“English,” Levi answered, meeting my gaze. I finally got a good look at his eyes. The last time we met, it was hard for me to tell their color because we’d been standing under the shade of a tree. Now, I could see the clearness of their stormy-gray hue.

“With Miss Jones?” She was one of the only nice teachers around here. I had her class last year.

“Yeah,” Levi said.

“She’s really good. Her classes are interesting, and she picks good books.” Thanks to her, I’d read one of my all-time favorites, Moby Dick.