“We’re going to have a talk in the dean’s office, yeah?” Officer Mooney leans his head to the right, toward the exit, and I nod once.
I think it’s our PE teacher I hear on a bullhorn telling everyone to break it up and get to class as I stand and follow behind the officer and Jake toward a set of offices I’ve only ever been in to receive academic awards. My chest is catching up to what I’ve done, and my arms and legs vibrate with nervous energy.
“I don’t suppose now is a good time to tell you that you’ve always kinda reminded me of Mike Ditka, is it?” Humor is always my automatic defense mechanism.
Both Officer Mooney and Jake look back at me as we move down the hallway, but it’s the officer’s expression I zero in on. His furry brows are pulled in tight and his eyes are definitely unamused slits. He chews his gum once. One single chew that moves his mustache up and down like a wave. Then he turns forward and picks up the pace.
“You know, the old Bears coach?” I continue.
Jake’s eyes widen.
“He knows who Ditka is, dude. Just, shh!” My friend catches up to the officer but I drag my feet so they have to wait for me when they reach the main office doors. I’m in no hurry for this next part. My mom is going to shit a brick.
Getting suspended for two days feels like a bargain. I was the last person Principal Lobeski expected to see waiting in her office when the dean sent me to await my sentencing. She actually said those words to me, in fact.
“Christ, Jonah. You’re the last person I expected to see waiting in my office.”
I let my shoulders bunch up a little less after that. Things got better when my mom came, too, and by the end the two of them were essentially ready to present me with a certificate of honor for defending Eleanor.
I guess my version of how the fight went wasn’t quite accurate. In my head, I was dominating, but judging by the massive black eye I’m sporting, it seems Stoner Face Douchebag was able to land more than a few good punches of his own.
I was sent home for today, and I’ll spend tomorrow here too. I’m ahead on my homework so really, it’s a high school student’s dream. Only, I’m not able to sit on campus and wait for Eleanor now, to see how she did at cheer practice. And I won’t be able to see her at the assembly tomorrow either, which is really the only thing I have enjoyed about assemblies for the last four years.
The Bronco, on the other hand, is coming together. Grandpa let Dale know about my sentencing so he plans to spend his day off tomorrow helping me piece together some last details with the electrical. There’s a chance that this son-of-a-bitch might actually make it to a gas station soon.
I’ve spent most of the day in the Bronco’s driver’s seat with my dad’s notebook. Jake keeps saying I should change out the seats because the fabric is pretty worn and faded, but I don’t know. There’s something about the idea that my dad sat in this exact same seat I am now. I flip down the visor to check out the mirror on the back. That might need updating. Even rubbing it with the sleeve of my sweatshirt doesn’t do much to clear the reflection.
I lean forward and breathe on the glass to fog it up and give it one more attempt, but it’s no use so I flip the visor back up. My eyes scan the window lackadaisically, and I don’t realize I’m looking at Eleanor for the first few seconds. I jump in my seat when it dawns on me and I fumble my way out of the truck, hitting my head on the roof on my way out.
Hand rubbing the new knot on my head, I squint one eye closed as I slide my feet closer to her waiting arms.
“Hey, how’d it go?” I ask. She already has her hands on my face, inspecting my injuries.
We texted a few times today after I got sent home. She feels guilty about my suspension, but I don’t want her to. Anyone who makes fun of her pain has a whole lot more coming.
“Oh, you know,” she sighs out, tilting my head slightly as if to get a better view of the nice purple tone on my cheekbone. Her eyes shift a hair, meeting my gaze, and she breaks into a huge smile.
“You did it? You got your spot back?” My hands automatically move to her face.
She nods, her elation undeniable.
“I knew it! I knew you could do this,” I say, pulling her mouth to mine and kissing her through both of our smiles.
I wrap her up in my arms and rock us side-to-side as she shivers. She’s still wearing her uniform and her arms are covered in tiny bumps from the chill. I lift up on my toes as she tucks her chin and I kiss the top of her head.
“I gotta change. Wanna come over for a bit? Or are you, like, grounded or something?” She arches a brow as she pulls back, our hands linked by a couple of fingers.
“I’m eighteen so I don’t think I can technically be grounded,” I say, scrunching my face.
“Good point,” she
