A Believable Performance Pt. 02 by heyvey..,

West couldn’t stop thinking about Jess.

He laid awake at night thinking about the things she said, the sounds she made, the way she felt, the way she tasted and the way she looked at him. He was basically floating the entire weekend.

His parents came home to find him asleep in his room. It was out of character for him to retire before nine o’clock but they assumed he’d had a long day. Which, of course, was very true.

Monday rolled around and West was back at school going through the motions. Diego walked next to him as they changed classes.

“You wanna tell me what happened on Friday?” he asked.

West chuckled. “Things happened.”

Diego threw his arm around his shoulders and drew him in. “Things?”

He smiled. “Yeah. Things.”

“Come on, man. I need details. Next time you need me to cover you, I might say no.”

“Okay, relax. It was just some action. Nothing serious.”

Diego took a long look at him, like a proud father. West shook his head and pushed him away.

“Ah, look at you. Making someone’s cheeks sing!” he said with a boom.

Students passing by turned their heads. Mr Jones peeked his head out of his classroom ahead.

“Mendoza!” he yelled.

Diego winced and ducked his head. West shook his head and nudged him into Miss Bennett’s classroom. The rest of the class filed in and took their seats.

Miss Bennett wore jeans, leather boots and a turtleneck sweater. West shifted in his seat, eager to make eye contact and flash her a sly smirk. He knew why she covered her neck.

She didn’t look his way at all. She greeted everyone and dived into the lesson.

The air was different. She blazed through the work and the class was quiet. She didn’t crack a joke or make any witty comments. West stared at her long and hard, hoping she’d at least flick her eyes over him. When she did, she glanced over him like he was another face. Something was definitely wrong. He figured he’d check on her when the bell rang.

“Before we carry on, I need to know who’s coming to see me this afternoon,” she said. “I only have six slots but I’ll be available throughout the week.”

More than six hands shot up and West cursed under his breath. All of them would eat away at the time he had with her. Diego raised his hand too and leaned toward West. “I think we should show her our piece, see what she thinks.”

West nodded but he did a bad job hiding his frustration. Diego leaned in closer to see his face.

“You okay, man?”

“Fucking fantastic.”

“Weston!”

The chatter died down and all eyes fell on him. That must’ve come out a little louder than he thought. Shit. Miss Bennett paused and scowled at him.

“Watch your mouth,” she said.

There was nothing playful about her tone. It stung.

“Sorry,” he said quietly and looked away.

She carried on recording names and time slots for the week. Diego put the two of them down for the last slot of the afternoon.

West wasn’t present for the rest of the period. The bell rang. Diego had to tap his arm to remind him to close his books and get up. The class shuffled out and West walked straight toward Miss Bennett. Diego grumbled and followed him.

“Miss Bennett,” he said.

She sat down at her desk with a sigh and looked up at him with a touch of softness in her eyes.

“Yes?”

“I…wanted to apologize again for swearing.”

She nodded and glanced at Diego hanging around behind him. Then she turned to her laptop. “You’ll be late for your next class.”

West snapped his head around to look at Diego. “I’ll see you at English.”

He gestured to the door. “Then let’s go.”

“I’ll see you at English,” he said with more emphasis.

Diego gave him a puzzled look but he backed away and left. West turned to Miss Bennett and took a step closer. He blocked her off from anyone walking by her door and opened his hand to her. She glanced up at him and smiled meagerly. She laid her hand in his and he rubbed his thumb over her fingers.

“Is everything okay?”

“No,” she whispered.

West’s heart skipped a beat. “Talk to me.”

She pulled her hand away and tucked a strand of hair out her face. “I can’t. Not right now. I’ve got a lot of work to do and you need to go to class.”

“Okay. Diego booked us for the last slot today. We could talk then.”

She nodded and sighed. “I hope so.”

“See you then, love.”

She cracked a wide smile, as much as she tried to hide it. She covered her face when she blushed. West was happy he could cheer her up. He straightened his tie and flashed her a smile before he made his way out.

“West.”

He stopped at the door and turned around. She hesitated. Then she mouthed, “I love you.”

He smiled and bumped into the doorframe on his way out. He caught a glimpse of her laughing.

The following periods were a blur. Though he was warm inside after chatting to Miss Bennett, he had no clue what could’ve been bothering her. THat left him uneasy. He tried to focus in his classes to take his mind off things.

During lunch, he found Diego sitting at their old spot. It was under the shade of a big oak tree with roots thick enough to sit on. He greeted him with a fist bump and they opened up their lunches.

“You’ve been acting weird today. You wanna tell me what’s up?” Diego asked, sipping from his juicebox.

West munched on a sandwich. “Trouble in paradise, I think.”

“Oh. Is it the girl from Friday?”

“Yeah. Looks like there might be a problem but I don’t know what it is.”

“Okay. Who is it?”

“I can’t say.”

Diego leaned in. “Is she a minor?”

“No! What’s wrong with you?”

“Then you can tell me. I won’t call the cops.”

They both laughed.

“But seriously, I can’t say who it is. We’re still figuring things out and it’s better if we keep things quiet.”

Diego chuckled. “Here I was thinking it was a hit-and-run type of thing. This seems a lot deeper.”

“Yeah,” West said. “I didn’t expect it to turn out the way it did because now there’s feelings on both sides.”

“Is she the one?”

“Are you being serious?”

“Yeah. I want that for you.”

West didn’t expect his sincerity and found himself half-blushing.

“I appreciate that, brother. I’ll get back to you on that one. Still too early to tell,” he said.

Diego slapped his arm. “Yeah, you will. Are you okay with showing Miss Bennett the scene today?”

Their performance was a scene out of a comedy play that West found and Diego thought it was hilarious. They’d gone over it enough times to learn their lines. All they needed was to get the finer points down to make it solid.

“Yeah. What do you think of her?”

“Miss Bennett? I mean, she does get pissy when she’s upset but she’s okay. Like, she’s cool. I know you’re in love with her so I won’t even ask.”

West laughed slightly harder than he expected. “I wouldn’t call it love. She’s good at what she does and I appreciate that.”

Diego shook his head at him. “You know what? Call it whatever you want. I see right through you. You’ve got a type, obviously. I prefer a woman with more…” He made a gesture like he was lifting a dumbbell with both hands and he showed the strain on his face.

“I get it, thanks.”

Diego laughed and slapped his arm. They ate and joked around until lunch was over. West put his head down and soldiered through the rest of his periods. When the bell rang for the last time, he and Diego hung around Miss Bennett’s classroom. She was busy inside with a group of juniors flooding her with questions. Some of the seniors in their class joined them by the door and they chatted while they waited.