Scheme

Laurie passed me the note silently as Mr. Wan drolled on about the importance of understanding lowest common denominators. Carefully, I unfolded it and set it on top of my notebook so it would blend in with the pitiful little I had written. Want in on the plans for Joey? it said. I ground my teeth involuntarily at the name. Joey Parsons. The biggest creep I ever hoped to meet. Now there was a lowest common denominator.

He'd asked me out on a date a few weeks before. All the girls thought he was cute. Tall, athletic frame, blonde hair and blue eyes. He wasn't the lead on any teams, but he was certainly in that crowd. I'd said yes and then floated all the way home, calling everyone one of my friends to tell them what happened. We were all super excited for the date.

He picked me up at my house in his shiny black Camino. His dad gave it to him for his 16th birthday and then bought himself some new hobby car. Joey had helped rebuild the car and talked about details that I didn't care to understand. I was simply enthralled to be with him. We pulled up in front of The Burger Joint. Hamburgers, french fries, and a shared chocolate shake later, he paid the bill and we left for the drive-in.

He smiled at me a lot on the way to the drive-in. We were going to watch Twilight. I'd seen it when it came out in theaters, but didn't care because it meant sitting with Joey in his awesome car. He paid for our tickets and some sodas. We climbed into the backseat. When the sun set, the air grew chilly. He gave me a blanket and pulled me over close to him, wrapping his arm around me. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach at just being this close to him. It was going to be a perfect night.

After a few minutes, he slipped his hand over my shoulder and rested it over my breast. His other hand slid up my thigh. I was uncomfortable with this and quietly removed them. He persisted. I grew angry and impatient. I told him to stop and pushed him away and started to slide across the seat and out of the car. The butterflies in my stomach flew chaotically, trying to escape the situation. Joey wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his lap. "Where are you going?" he said. His tone was dark and dangerous.

"Let go of me," I said through gritted teeth as I struggled to pull free.

"What? You think you can just have me pay for everything and then leave without giving me anything in return?" His grip tightened around my waist.

I pulled my elbow back hard, catching him square in the chest. He let go, surprised at the force and sudden loss of breath. I scrambled out of the car. I would have fallen through the door had he not caught my wrist. I turned toward him so the majority of my body could continue to move away. "Yeah. That's exactly what I think," I said.

I pulled my arm away, but not before he slapped me. I fell backward from the force, hitting my head of the low end of the speaker pole. I could feel something wet dripping behind my ear and I could taste the tell tale sign of iron from blood in my mouth. I jumped up and ran to the concession stand where the girl's bathroom was located. I cried as quietly as I could inside the stall, dabbing away the blood on the too thin toilet paper.

Later, I found my purse hanging on the speaker pole. He'd used my lipstick to write his thought of me on my purse. He'd taken the time to destroy everything he could. The mirror was shattered, pictures torn, my cell phone sat in a mostly full cup of soda, my lipstick was smashed into the dirt.

The class bell rang and Mr. Wan told us to do the problems on the following two pages. I folded up the note and packed it in my backpack with my math books, etc. Laurie was waiting for me by the door. "I'm in. What's the scheme?" I said as we left the room.

*** One Minute Writer ***