Jaded

[38] The Three Musketeers

"Myra, you told me your Botany teacher's a 'regular dude,'" I mumble, shifting sideways slightly to get a better view through the greenhouse's smudged classroom windows.

From what I can see, the man's got thin curly hair the color of old pennies and a neon purple sweater with green tassels on the underside of his sleeves. And the greatest sin of all- socks with sandals. I shudder, glancing at the monstrosities on his feet.

I really hope this plan of mine is worth it. The lunch bell rang just a few minutes ago, which means third period has already started- which means I'm skipping English class. In hindsight, skipping class in order to boost my chances of establishing a club that'll help me with college seems a bit counterintuitive.

But my beetles are worth it. Although I still feel a slight bit of guilt for encouraging Myra and Vik to skip with me.

Myra nudges me to the side and sticks her head in front of the window, straining to find her teacher. When she spots him near the back of the classroom, she smiles. "Isn't he a regular dude? Look, he drinks water," she says, pointing to the 3 pastel-blue metal bottles cluttering his desk.

Vik, who's leaning against the wall opposite to us in the hallway, groans. "Mr. Park is a complete hippie."

"Hell yeah he is," I grumble, pursing my lips. A hippie is exactly what I'm seeing in front of me. Only a hippy would wear socks with sandals and still be able to smile all toothy like that. I know this with absolute certainty because Mama went through that phase when I was in middle school; all that tie-dye and neon drove Dad and me insane.

Myra whips around, her long braids smacking my arm. She places her hands on her hips and frowns, her round mocha eyes flitting between Vik and me. "Yeah, he's a hippie. A regular dude."

I clear my throat, patting her shoulder. "Sure, he's a regular bro. Now can we go and speak to your regular bro teacher before his break is up?"

If Mr. Park allows us to advertise our club to his botany students, and if those students are anything like Myra, then I can count on at least a couple more signatures. This whole thing could potentially be a huge help.

She nods and says, "I'll ask him about the club. You guys just smile- and don't touch any of the plants."

We begin trudging behind her when she halts abruptly right in front of the classroom door, her hand lingering over the handle. The stop is so sudden I collide with her back, my nose crumpling into the soft material of her scarf.

My face reaches her back? Holy crap, I had no idea Myra was this tall! I lean forward just a bit, trying to get an accurate measure. Yup, my face is level with her shoulders. How did I not notice this before? She's almost a full foot taller than me! She's even got a few inches on Vanessa.

Myra turns to face us so I immediately take the opportunity to compare her height to Vik's. As expected, she's only an inch or 2 shorter than him. Wow, this girl must be 5'11. Amazing. That's model material. God, I wonder how long her legs are.

Is it weird if I check?

Yes, it is. Stop it.

Focus, Jade.

She begins to speak, but furrows her eyebrows and glances at me. "Is everything okay?"

Oops, I got caught staring. "Yeah, everything's dandy. What about you? Why'd we stop?"

"Because, I really need to stress that nothing can be touched in there," she pauses for a moment and zeroes in on Vik, who's hovering just behind me. "I mean it. Mr. Park already hates you after last time."