Hey!
So, I’m not too ecstatic about this chapter. Sorry, it’s mostly a ‘filler’, but I couldn’t just move right on to the next thing. I already think I’m going very fast in this story. What do you think?
Anyways, let me know how you like it!
-jennaxxx
ps. the song? it's skinny love by bon iver. got nothing to do with the chapter, but i just love it<#
Chapter Five: Tuesdays
“I hate Tuesdays.”
“I know you do, Hon,” Clara smiled apologetically.
“No. You don’t understand. I hate Tuesdays. Bad things always happen on Tuesdays.”
“Suck it up Anna,” Riley groaned. “We’re all here. None of us want to be, but we’re all here.”
“Dang,” she widened her eyes at him. “What’s wrong with you?”
Riley sighed and took a sip of his water. “I’m sorry,” he mumbled, running his hands frantically through his hair. “She keeps bitching at me about the dumbest things.”
“Language!” Anna hissed. “We’re in a school!”
“There aren’t any kids around,” he grimaced. “And it’s the only suitable word for it!”
“What’d she do now?” Tyler groaned.
“Yesterday,” Riley began, an irritated look inhabiting his face as he remembered. “She made me sleep on the couch. In my house. Because I didn’t empty the damn dishwasher.”
“Dump her,” Tyler frowned. “Dump her hard.”
“Excuse me!” Anna interjected. “I know there aren’t any kids around, but I still don’t condone the language. It doesn’t seem right,” she shuddered. “Like cursing in a church.”
“Or sex in a church,” Clara grinned.
“See!” Anna pointed accusingly at her. “That’s what I mean!”
“Well, for one,” Tyler laughed. “None of us care, as awful as that is.”
“Two,” Riley joined him. “This place is hardly a church.”
“And three,” Clara said finally. “You’ve never had sex in a church, Anna. You don’t know what you’re missing,” she sighed dreamily.
“I’m going to not take that literally because four,” Anna told them. “The metaphorical meaning is so much deeper.”
“Back to the matter at hand,” Tyler changed the subject, just as swiftly as Anna had. “Yeager, you’re letting this girl walk all over you. And I’d get it if she were the type of girl who’d be worth being whipped for,” he said without thinking. “Sorry,” he winced, remembering that Riley actually liked Catharine sometimes. “But she’s really not worth it. Or so it seems, anyways.”
“As dumb as Tyler is,” Anna said, taking the opportunity to insult him. “He’s got a point. Riley, half the women here would leave their lives behind for you,” she said sincerely. “What the hell are you doing with Catharine?”
“Oh,” Tyler scoffed. “So Miss I-don’t-curse-because-children-are-pure-creatures is breaking her own rule now! Riles, this has got to be a sign!”
“Shut up and eat your celery,” Anna scowled.
“Riley,” Clara addressed. She was, after all, the professional of the group, even if she didn’t act like it sometimes. Clara was, after all, licensed to do these types of things – to give advice. “Just do it. Sever the arm. It’s going to be so much more relieving.”
It killed each and every one of them to see Riley like this. He was normally such a happy person, yet Catharine managed to suck the life out of him, like the leech the compared her to. The man had to sleep on his own couch, in his own home, because of the woman! For goodness sakes! If that isn’t enough, what was?
“Tonight,” he sighed sadly. As much as he hated her sometimes, he knew that Catharine wasn’t all bad, making it more painful than it should’ve been to decide this. “I’ll break it off tonight.” He confirmed. “But where’ll she go.”
“Doesn’t matter!” Tyler laughed. “Let her figure it out.”
Riley nodded.
“So,” Anna drawled, trying to relieve the hopeless air around them. “I really hate Tuesdays. Anyone going to ask me why?”
___
“What are you doing?”
“Being a teacher sucks sometimes, you know,” Anna replied avoiding the question.
“You’re a teacher?”
“Where’s James?” she dodged the second query, and looked around the room. Other than her crouching on the floor, looking desperately through the bottom shelf of the hall closet, and Hunter staring down at her, the room was empty.
“He went to the grocery store,” Hunter eyed her suspiciously. What’d gotten her all tied up in a knot?
“The grocery store?!” She groaned. “I was just there on Saturday!” She glared at him, reminded of that awful trip. “You would know.”
“What’re you doing?” he repeated, smiling smugly at her now.
“I’m making out with a fish.”
“You’re very funny,” he said sarcastically, not a hint of amusement, or any emotion for that matter, in his voice.
“His lips are so moist and luscious!” She moaned, scorning him. With pursed lips, he asked the question one last time. “I’m looking for bath salts! Get out of my business!” She grumbled.
“Bath salts?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “People use them in baths. They’re a bit like showers, but more relaxing. You have showered before haven’t you?”
He glared at her. But then he realized something that made him wide-eyed with hysteria. “Wait…why do you need James?”
“Because he knows where they are, you moron!” She insulted him blindly, standing on her tiptoes now, to get a good look at the top shelf. Where were those dang salts?!
He thought on it for a second, and made the connections. It seemed so questionable. There was no way…or was there? James was a weird guy though...
Just for assurance, he asked her the question. “Does James take baths?”
Anna froze.
“He does, doesn’t he?” She could hear the amusement in his voice. He chuckled mercilessly.
“Don’t make fun of him!” She begged.
Hunter looked at her disbelievingly. “You can’t possibly expect me to just shrug it off.”
“But you have to,” she pleaded. “Please?”
The look on her face almost had him giving in…
Almost.
“No way,” he laughed. “I can’t wait to see James’ expression when I ask to borrow some,” Anna gave him a surprised look. “Jokingly, of course,” he explained. “Ooh, does he like the bubbles?”
Anna groaned. “You’re insufferable!”
“Thanks, Pumpkin,” he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a cold beer.
Anna squirmed at the word. “Don’t ever call me that. Again.”
“Pumpkin?” He asked, taking a sip from his bottle. “Why not?”
“Because pet names are dumb! Why would I ever want to be grouped with the likes of a pumpkin? Are you calling me fat?!” She exclaimed. “And you shouldn’t even have a pet name for me. You shouldn’t even call me Anna!”
He grinned. “So what do I call you then?”
“My full name,” she huffed. “Annabelle. Or better yet, Ms. Jennings! Hmm…Ms. Jennings…I like the sound of that.”
Hunter stared dubiously at the girl before him. Ever since that Saturday, when he saw her dancing carelessly in that store isle, he’d been fascinated by her. She was so vivacious and rude, yet caring and kind-hearted. Not to mention, she looked breath taking.
He loved pushing her buttons. The ways she reacted were just too entertaining! So, he thought, he would call her ‘Pumpkin,’ from now on – just to annoy her. Yet an even better thought crossed his clever brain.
He walked past her and paused only to whisper down her neck. “Whatever you want, Ms. Jennings.”
Tuesdays. Bad things always happen on Tuesdays.
Anna’s head snapped up as a shiver ran down her spine. She looked accusingly at Hunter, who just smugly grinned back. He turned away and walked right into his room, as if nothing happened.
Anna’s blood boiled.
How dare he?! The nerve of him! Who does he think he is?
Just as she was about to march into his room and kick him where the sun don’t shine, the door swung open. “Honey, I’m home!”
“Bath salts,” she required irritably. “Where are they?”
Caught off guard, James’ happy expression dropped. “What’s wrong Anna-?”
She cut him off. “Bath salts! Now!” She demanded. He dropped the grocery bags and hustled to his room to grab the lavender bath accessory. He tossed it to her, and Anna grabbed a towel before stomping into her bathroom, and furiously shutting the door behind her.
Only after the warm water had worked out the knots in her back and she could smell the lavender on her, did Anna forget her situation. About school and Hunter and everything.
Deciding that it wouldn’t be long until she unattractively shriveled like a prune, she got up, and wrapped the towel around her body tautly. For a moment, she panicked that she didn’t bring her clothes with her. She was too blinded by rage to think properly. But then, she settled on holding her head high, and acting as if it was no big deal.
And then she ran out to grab a shirt, a bra, and some panties, and back to her bathroom. Anna didn’t even brave it long enough to grab pants.
What did it matter anyways? It was only James, and with any luck, Hunter wouldn’t come out of his room for the rest of the day.
“What are you doing?!” James yelled the second he saw her. “Put some clothes on, Anna!”
“I have clothes on!” She growled, pulling on a pair of sweatpants in the living room.
“Listen,” James said, his voice strained, “I didn’t care before because you’re like a little sister to me, Anna, and I don’t harbor any feelings like that for you.”
“EW!” She screeched. “STOP TALKING!”
“But there’s another guy in this house! You can’t just waltz around half naked!” He finished irritated.
“Well I’m not. I’m clothed. And he didn’t even see a wink of it,” she grumbled. “So don’t get all anal over it.”
James sighed angrily and used it as an excuse to put away the excessive grocery shopping he had done. Anna didn’t understand why he was so upset. It wasn’t like she was sixteen again; she was a grown woman. She could do whatever the hell she wanted, when she wanted.
“Are you going to explain to me why you were so angry?” James called from the kitchen.
“One of my students,” Anna began. “Randy Houser,” she said ruefully. “Do you know what he did?”
“No, Annie,” James said before she could continue on. “That’s why I’m asking you.”
“It was a rhetorical question, dipshit,” she said briskly. “He decided it would be funny to mess around in the supplies closet, and ended up making the biggest mess since the Civil-fucking-War. Now, I’ve got to find funds somewhere to buy a whole new set of clay-glazes! Do you know how much those cost!?”
“No, Anna,” James said in the same, bored manner, as before. “I don’t.”
“Stop that!” She hissed. “They’re twenty bucks, each. On sale, at that! And I’ve got so many to replace!” She whined. The bath had done wonders, but just thinking about it now got her muscles tense. “We just started our clay projects, James! I don’t know what I’m going to do. The Arts Department definitely doesn’t have that kind of money.”
James, having heard her panicky-ness, stopped putting away groceries to sit next to her on the couch, and take her hand in his. “Anna,” he said, soothingly squeezing her hand. So many times they had been there, with the roles reversed. Now it was James’ turn to be the parent. “It’ll be okay. You’ll fix it somehow, you always do.”
“I know,” she sighed. “It’s because I’m amazing,” she cracked a grin.
“Damn right,” he laughed and got up. “Are you going to help me with this?” He called, back in the kitchen.
“James!” She groaned. “I just went grocery shopping!”
“We were low on beer,” he shrugged. That was acceptable; their place always had to be stocked with beer. Always. “And a lot of other things, for that matter. There are three hungry mouths to feed now,” he added casually.
Anna decided it better to not tell James about what Hunter had just done, mostly because, if she thought on it too much, she would just get angry, herself. “He’s an inconvenience,” she told him. “You should get rid of him.”
“Ha-ha,” James said sarcastically.
“I’m not joking,” she laughed.
“Whatever,” he grumbled. “Hey,” he said, remembering something. “Do you want to be my date to Jordan and Haley’s rehearsal dinner?”
“No.”
“Please Annie?”
“James, isn’t it enough that I’m going to the wedding?” She whined. None of his family liked her, except for James’ siblings.
“Come on, Anna,” he pleaded. “They don’t hate you.”
“No way. In hell.”
“Do you think Kristen will go with me?” He asked. “She’s good company?”
“Ask her,” Anna said, trying not to get too giddy. She’d been trying to set the two up for ages now, but they were both two blind to notice. They would’ve been so great together, too! Anna was sure of it. “I’m sure she’ll say yes.”
“Okay,” he nodded. “I think I’ll go insane if I don’t have someone to talk to.”
“Are you making dinner?”
“What do you want?” Whenever you asked the question, it was always the same answer.
“Orange chicken,” he answered along with her.
“Fine,” he shrugged, knowing her.