Drew chuckled and said, “No, sir, the last time I checked, I am still very much male, and Volleyball is definitely not my sport. I’m just here a little early. I have to drive my girlfriend home when the practice is over.”
“Girlfriend, huh? Which one of these poor girls got tangled up with the likes of a heartbreaking devil like you?”
Mr. Masson wore a broad smile, and it was clear he was giving Drew a hard time, but when Drew said my name every ounce of humor that had lit Mr. Masson’s face fell as he looked between Drew and I. Something very close to a look of disgust raced across his features. It happened so fast that I’d be surprised if anyone else noticed it. Then a look of anger quickly replaced it. He just stood there looking rigid and tense. I thought he was going to say something, but no—he just stood there until the tension finally left his shoulders, and they slumped slightly. The vein that had popped out of his forehead slowly receded, and the redness that had colored the tips of his ears began to fade. If I was reading him right, he’d gotten really mad for a moment. Next to me, Drew sat still as stone. He’d also picked up on Mr. Masson’s sudden change in mood. The science teacher didn’t have to say a word for everyone in the gym to know he had a problem with Drew and I being together. The displeasure rolling off him was palpable, and I had a pretty good idea as to why. A lot of the older generations still had issues with interracial couples.
Mr. Masson rolled his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Well, I don’t think I have to tell you the school policy on PDA, do I, Mr. Graves. You make sure you keep your hands and lips to yourself if you’re going to sit up there with that girl. We wouldn’t want a repeat of the offense you had freshman year in the girl’s bathroom—now would we?”
There was a series of giggles that rippled through my group of teammates, and when I looked over at Drew, his face was beet red, and he looked none too happy. He was embarrassed and mad at the same time. I knew I should just let that sleeping dog lie, but my curiosity got the best of me.
“What happened in the girl’s bathroom?”
Red turned to crimson, and through clenched teeth, Drew said, “I’ll tell you about it later.”
He didn’t even spare me a glance. Instead, he stared straight ahead, unable to meet my gaze. I slowly turned my attention back to Mr. Masson and was surprised to see a poorly concealed smirk gracing his lips. If I wasn’t mistaken, he found Drew’s apparent humiliation amusing. I felt an emotional spike of amusement from Echo as I looked toward Mr. Masson. I pushed it down and ignored it. The last thing I wanted to do was deal with was Echo’s gloating at Drew’s humiliation. It was no secret that Drew was on Echo’s shit list. Mr. Masson didn’t look mad anymore. He seemed rather pleased with himself, which struck me as odd. This was Drew’s favorite teacher, so why would he lash out at a student who adored him the way he’d just lashed out at Drew? I already knew the answer, we were dealing with a bigot.
“Ok, ladies, let’s wrap this up. I need three laps around the gym. After you finish, you are free to go. See you all at the same time, and same place tomorrow. Go!” He walked three steps and then turned around and looked toward me. “Garrows, Johnson, step into my office if you please.”
By the time we left the gym, I was steaming. Clarissa’s broken arm, along with my broken wrist and hand were not good enough reasons to sit practice out. We were assigned to walk six laps around the gym every day and to do some weight exercises with our legs.
“Broken arms and hands shouldn’t stop you from conditioning and staying in shape,” Mr. Masson had droned on.
I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t want to break my other hand by slapping him with it. Somewhere deep down, I could feel the pitch of Echo’s emotions, and she was the happiest I’d felt her in a while. I could only assume she was getting a kick out of me and Drew getting chewed out by the same teacher in one day. I was thankful I couldn’t hear her unless she forced it, which was rare, or I tried because I didn’t want to deal with her snide remarks.
In my car on the way to Porter’s Field, Drew was abnormally quiet again, but this time I knew it was because he didn’t want to talk about the bathroom issue Mr. Masson mentioned. The silence stretched, and I could see the muscle in Drew’s jaw working as he drove. He was still pretty agitated over the whole thing.
“Eden, please stop looking at me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like you’re completely disgusted with me, but don’t want to say anything.”
I laughed, I couldn’t help it. What he was suggesting was absurd. How the hell could I be disgusted with him when I had no idea what he’d done in the first place? The only thing I knew is that whatever it was, had happened in the girl’s bathroom, and it was probably of a physical nature.
“Woah back up,” I said defensively. “You can’t be reading whatever you are reading from me and conclude that I’m disgusted because I’m not. I don’t know enough to feel anything but curiosity. If I were disgusted, I’d look more like this.”
I screwed up my face, and Drew glanced at me. His grin spread, and he started laughing. My
