Chapter 37

"So, this extra credit will get me back up to a 90%?"

"It very well should."

The chemistry teacher handed Jennie a stack of papers with complicated conversion formulas slathered on their surface. It was after school, and the classroom had been cleared out except for the two of them. Jennie felt a throbbing headache start to emerge at the back of her cranium, so she just wanted to get this over with and head home.

"Listen, Jennie, I'm really making an exception for you this time," the teacher said in a lower voice, keep this a secret from the other students."

"I really appreciate it, Ms. Edwards," Jennie replied obediently.

"I was really shocked when I saw how you did on the midterm," Ms. Edwards continued, much to Jennie's dismay. "Is everything going alright with you at home?"

Jennie swallowed. She really didn't want to have this conversation. "Yes, everything's fine. I guess all the pressure just caught up to me."

Ms. Edward's gaze lingered on Jennie, as if she was hoping the honour student would give up a little more.

But Jennie wasn't about to confide in a teacher about her relationship issues or any of her issues for that matter.

"Alright. But if you need anything, let me know."

"Thank you, Ms. Edwards."

Jennie headed out the door, tucking the extra credit packet into her bag. Once she was in the hallway, she let out a heavy sigh. Along with all the homework, now she had to do a bunch of more schoolwork just to get a decent grade.

It was becoming very difficult to stay sane during everything that was going on. Her slipped grades, the lack of progress in dealing with Will, and of course Lisa. Even after a week, her former girlfriend was still ever-present in her mind. She doubted herself every day, wondering if she made the right choice in breaking up. If she was still going to have trouble focusing on school, then what was the point of it all?

No, Jennie. There are more important things in life than a high school relationship. Especially right now.

She would tell herself that every day, but it never sounded very convincing. Honestly, it felt like being with Lisa was the only thing that took her away from all of the stress and pressure. Perhaps she really did jump the gun and let herself ruin a relationship over the shock of a subpar grade.

Well, I guess it's too late now.

With how standoffish Lisa was being now, Jennie wondered if the blonde would even want her back.

Maybe she didn't like her at all anymore...

Bzzz!

The sensation of her phone vibrating in her bag caused Jennie to tense up. These days, every time her phone went off, she wondered if it was Kai contacting her again. Even though she never read his messages, they put her on edge every time they came up. There was still radio silence from him ever since they took out that restraining order, but Jennie was just dreading the day where he said he was going to get revenge on her for doing that.

Shakily, Jennie took out her phone and looked at the screen. However, the name that came up wasn't an anonymous number or strange username - it was Lisa's.

A split second of relief was quickly replaced by a different kind of terror than the one Will elicited.

With an unconscious frown, Jennie unlocked her phone to read the message.

Lisa: Can I talk to you after school today?

The question brought about a flurry of emotions, the main ones being hope and fear. Part of her wanted to ignore the text or decline, but most of her wanted nothing more than to see Lisa once again. It felt like it had been forever since they actually talked alone, even though they'd only been broken up for a week. Jennie didn't waste any time typing out her answer.

Jennie: Where?

Her phone buzzed with a reply not even a minute after her message was sent.

Lisa: I'm out in the parking lot by my car.

Jennie didn't have time to hesitate or think about this, because before she knew it, her feet were carrying her down the hallway towards the back doors of the school. She rushed through and speed-walked across the field towards the parking lot.

Once the lot was in view, partially empty since it was after school, Jennie's eyes immediately caught on the tall, blonde figure leaning against her sedan. The sight sent a shockwave of fear throughout Jennie the fear of not knowing what was to come.

She approached Lisa who looked over at her but kept a straight, controlled expression. Usually so open about her feelings, it was unsettling to be unable to know what the transfer student was thinking

"Hi..." Jennie said awkwardly, her voice uncharacteristically meek.

"Hey," Lisa replied, just as clumsily.

They both looked down at the pavement for a second, unsure of what to say.

Jennie couldn't remember ever feeling so awkward around Lisa - not even when they were "enemies"

Did breaking up with someone always make being around them feel so...off?

Suddenly, Jennie started to wonder if this was a good idea after all, but before she could think too hard, Lisa's voice broke the silence.

"There's not really a good place to talk where we'll be alone," Lisa stated after clearing her throat.

"So I thought we could just go to my house again." She still was avoiding looking Jennie in the eye, but she at least came off as more uncomfortable than angry or upset.

"Uh...yeah," Jennie said, "I guess that's our best option."

After another unbearable second of silence passed, they both headed for their respective car doors, Lisa for the driver's and Jennie for the passenger's.

Once they were inside the vehicle, the air was horribly stagnant with tension. Even as Lisa started up the engine and drove out of the school parking lot, they were completely silent. Neither of them said a word as they headed down the route to Lisa's house.

When they finally pulled into the driveway and stepped out, Jennie let out a breath that she felt like she'd been holding the entire way there. Was this actually going to be, okay? Would they be able to go back to being friends even if this talk went well?

There's no use in worrying about it right now, Jennie thought as she followed Lisa up to the front door.

Jennie noticed that the house was completely barren on the outside, a stark contrast to Jennie's which was already decorated with Christmas lights. She recalled how last week her father dragged her out of her room to get out the Christmas stuff - he'd known how low her mood was this past week, so since she refused to talk, he just tried to keep her occupied. It was something Jennie really needed, and it hurt her heart to know that Lisa probably wasn't getting the same treatment from her own family.

They stepped inside, now protected from the winter chill, but Jennie hovered by the front door instead of making the move to take off her boots.

"Make yourself at home," Lisa said, not looking back at Jennie as she took of her own coat and shoes. Her voice was more flat than welcoming.

Jennie wordlessly shed her winter attire and followed Lisa into the living room. They went through the song and dance of Lisa asking if she wanted anything to drink and Jennie declining because she just wanted to get down to business and end this awkward encounter.

They sat across from each other on the same sofa, and Lisa interlocked and broke apart her fingers nervously, trying to come up with the words to say.

"Listen, Jennie," Lisa said, sending a spread of warmth throughout the brunette at the mention of her name, "Everything kind of ended really quickly, and I was hoping we could just talk about it a little more."

Jennie nodded after a second. "I was thinking of the same thing."

Lisa perked up a little.

"Really?"

"Yeah...I know this is all kind of sudden."

Lisa seemed relieved to hear that and Jennie started thinking that maybe this would go better than she expected.

"Yeah, it caught me off guard," Lisa admitted. "And then we just started fighting and all of a sudden it was over "

"Well, I was, or am... really scared about losing the top spot," Jennie replied. "I didn't expect this to blow up and be so extreme for a relationship that was only a month old."

Lisa nodded until that last part when she seemed to tense up. She looked up at Jennie in the eye, her mouth forming into a frown. "Extreme? One month? You make it sound like it was nothing just because it didn't last that long."

Jennie's eyes widened. "Huh? I didn't mean it like that. I'm just not used to any of this."

After all, Jennie was no expert in the field of relationships. However, she knew as much to recognize that most shorter relationships were less painful to move on from. There was less history, after all, less time spending to get to know each other. But even so, this break up weighed so much heavier on

Jennie than she could've imagined.

However, Lisa didn't seem convinced with Jennie's explanation, and Jennie could feel the air shifting in an unpleasant direction. "I mean, you did cut it short over a C that you said you could make up for anyway.'

The vitriol in Lisa's voice caused a fire to light inside of Jennie's chest. "I knew you were going to frame it like that! My grades are important to me! I've been focusing on school since long before I met you."

"I get that, but it doesn't mean you need to immediately freak out and dump me like I'm just an inconvenience to you!" Lisa snapped back, her voice raising.

Maybe this wasn't going well after all...

But Jennie found herself getting too riled up to de- escalate the situation. How could Lisa be saying this all like it was so simple? As if Jennie didn't have several things on her plate that would've impacted her decision to break up with Lisa...not just a bad grade on a midterm.

"I can't believe you!" she fired back. "All you can think about is yourself while I'm dealing with so much shit! Maybe your lack of maturity is what makes it impossible for me to work out some sort of alternative besides breaking up!"

"How can you say that?" Lisa demanded. "I've done nothing but support you through everything that's going on! But you're always 'what do I need to decide, what do I need to work out', as if this relationship doesn't involve two people!"

"Well, maybe if you didn't act like my grades are a stupid thing to worry about!"

"Come on Jennie, it's a fucking C! I feel like you're just hiding behind that as an excuse!"

"Oh, grow up, Lisa! Not everything I decide has to involve you!"

"Not even our own relationship? I mean, shit, I know just one month doesn't mean anything to you, but I am still the other half of it!"

They were almost yelling at the top of their lungs now, standing up from the couch, fists balled in frustration. Jennie felt tears begin to prick at her eyes.

How was this going so badly? Were they really just not good for each other? Was there no way out of this?

Perhaps there was a solution underneath all of this tension, but Jennie was never going to get to it if Lisa was just going to act like this.

"This is stupid," Jennie said, tears finally starting to emerge from her eyes. "I don't know why you even wanted to talk about this."

And with that, she stormed over to the door, quickly throwing on her coat and boots. She was anticipating Lisa to stop her or call out to her, but she never did, so with a heart heavy with a flurry of emotions, Jennie stepped outside into the cold and didn't look back.

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That is it for today!

So, what do you guys think about the story?

Who do you relate to the most? Jennie or Lisa? Or perhaps any of the side characters?