Knowing You

Chapter 8 - The Educational Hazard That is Jesse Palmer

Mia's POV

Thankfully, the rest of the week passes without incident.

Well, that's not exactly true. There were almost multiple incidents, courtesy of my boyfriend.

All week, Hunter's been practically dead-set on getting himself tossed into detention with me, and you'd be surprised at the sheer number of rule-breaking schemes he can come up with in such a small amount of time.

Seriously, with the devious way his mind works, it's a wonder that he's managed to stay out of trouble for this long.

After his third attempt to pull the fire alarm while I wasn't looking, I finally put my foot down and made him promise he wouldn't try anything else. Of course, he only agreed once I threatened to tell his friends about the time he fell asleep holding my stuffed teddy bear, but hey.

A victory's a victory.

I know Hunter just wants to look out for me, but right now, I need him to focus on looking out for himself. I mean, during that meeting the other day, Mr. Jameson practically told me he's looking for a reason to get rid of him.

Hunter's got a target on his back, and if we want to make it through the school year, he's going to have to be on his best behavior from here on out.

New territory for a former bad boy like him, I know, but at least he has a notorious rule-following girlfriend to show him the ropes.

Speaking of, my good girl reputation took quite the hit this past week.

When my parents got the call saying that I'd gotten in trouble for fighting, they were sure the school must've had me confused with someone else. After all, I've rarely had any disciplinary problems before, and going from occasionally getting caught talking in class to throwing down in the school bathroom is quite the leap.

Needless to say, they were not happy.

When I got home that day, they practically jumped me at the front door with questions about what happened. The subsequent interrogation went on for at least an hour, during which they shot enough stern looks and pointed questions my way to make a trained CIA agent sweat.

After a long lecture and lot of explaining myself, they actually weren't too upset anymore by the end of our talk. My mom especially understood that sometimes, when jealousy and boys are involved, some girls just don't give you any other choice but to get physical.

I actually think she was kind of proud of me for standing up for myself. She even told me about the time she got in a fight with a girl over her boyfriend in high school.

My dad on the other hand was a little less understanding.

I could tell he wasn't angry with me, at least not anymore, but he wasn't very happy about Hunter being the reason for the fight. Before they finally excused to my room, he told me that I should make sure Hunter's not causing me any extra trouble.

Or he will.

Needless to say, the whole thing shook me up quite a bit. The last thing I need right now is for my parents to think I'm not making rational decisions where Hunter's concerned. Nothing good can come of them getting more involved in my personal life right now, especially considering the educational hazard that is Jesse Palmer.

I haven't seen too much of him since that first day in the hall, but I know he's around. Every now and then, we pass each other on the way to class. He never speaks to me, at least, not when I'm not with Hunter. Instead, he just looks over and smiles.

If you weren't paying attention, you might think he was just being polite, but if you look closer, it's easy to see that the smile he gives is less like a friendly gesture and more like a predator baring its teeth.