Moving On Without You (6 page)

"Yes! Now, I am stuck with Dana's boring ass.
I don't know what I'm going to do."

"I'm sorry. I wish I could trade and have a
boring day right now."

"Please, I would kill for a little excitement
over here. I saw Max."

Tracy cringed when she heard his name. She was not
sure why everyone insisted on telling her about Max.

"God, I've been trying to forget about him,
but he just won't go away," she said.

"What are you talking about?"

"I had a dream about him a few days ago. I
just can't get him out of my head."

"If that is love, I want no parts."

"You're such an ass."

The phone beeped and she turned it over to see an
incoming call from Chloe.

"As soon as I get on the phone it starts
ringing," she said.

"Miss Popular now I see."

"Please, I'll call you back."

"Okay, bye."

She pressed the button to switch over to the
incoming call.

"Hello?" Tracy said.

"Hey! Don't get mad!"

"What?"

"I know you didn't want me to give MD your
number, but he wanted to ask you something. So I put him on three-way."

"What?"

"Hello," he said.

Tracy sat quietly on the line listening to his
voice. She could not believe Chloe had pulled this stunt. She was definitely
trying to become Tracy's enemy.

"Yes," Tracy said.

"Is this a bad time?" he asked.

Tracy could not imagine what would be a good time.
She had rejected MD so many times she had lost count. What made him think this
was a good idea?

"No," she said.

"I just wanted to ask you if you were dating
John."

"I'm not sure why that's your business."

"So you are dating him?"

Tracy pushed her fingernails into her palms and
clenched her teeth. She took a deep breath and lied back on the sofa.

"Why?"

"I'm just wondering because you two seem to
be getting pretty close. He sits with you in class and now lunch. I just want
to know."

"No. Some guys are just nice and don't mind
helping a girl who isn't their girlfriend."

"I could help you."

Tracy was just beginning to think MD was a decent
guy and now he was harassing her about someone she was not even interested in
dating.

"You're really taking stalking to a new
level."

"You got jokes?"

"I'm just saying. I didn't think I needed
permission to make a new friend."

"Well, I was just curious. So can I have your
number now?"

"No."

"Come on. We're already talking on the phone.
You're single. I'm single. What is the issue?"

"I'm not interested and just because I'm not
dating John doesn't mean I'm single."

"So you are in a relationship?"

"Goodnight!"

Tracy hung up the phone. She could not believe
they ambushed her like that and she immediately felt dumb for forgiving Chloe.
Her loyalty had fallen somewhere by the waste side. Tracy was tired of the
drama at this school. It was worse than being home. She went from one issue to
the other.

When she finished her plate, she heard her mother
in the kitchen rummaging through bowls.

"Are you going to wash the dishes?"

When Tracy walked into her
Participation in Government class she saw the walls had been covered with
Thanksgiving decorations. The homebases were competing for free prom tickets.
Tracy's homebase scoffed at the idea, considering most of them were sophomores
and had little potential for actually going to prom. This left Mrs. Jones with
a disappointed face and a bag full of unused décor. She attempted to put some
of it up on her own, but lost her motivation once she realized no one was going
to join in.

The class was mostly guys preoccupied with their
game wars. Tracy was one of the few girls that actually showed up, but she
never engaged. Seeing this homebase all decked out made her wish she had at
least tried. She considered what it might be like to actually go to prom. The
only guys she thought were attractive were the ones that looked right over her
head. Many of them had joined up with cheerleaders, dancers, and the party
girls. Max would have been the perfect date, but he wasn't around.

Once everyone got settled, Mr. Chase passed out
the grading rubric for their end of the marking period project.

"This will be half of your grade. That is why
I am telling you how I am grading it right now."

The class let out groans. Tracy read through the
sheet while her teacher went through the major grading points everyone should
focus on.

"You must work as partners and I am choosing
the pairs for you."

Tracy immediately sat up in her chair. She felt
her mouth going dry thinking about working with another person in the class.
She barely spoke to anyone. Chloe was in the class, but she knew the teacher
would never allow them to work together. She bit her lip waiting for her
teacher to finish his speech.

"I think the best way to do this is to stick
the names in a hat and I will let you choose. Someone has to write this down
for me."

Jessica jumped up and ran over to the chalkboard
trying to beat an invisible competitor to it. The rest of the class looked
around with anxious eyes waiting on their fate. It was silent in the class,
other than Mr. Chase's shaking hat rustling the papers around inside of it.

"Okay, lucky number one."

He pushed the hat out to each student in the first
row. He made it about halfway back before he stopped at MD's desk. Tracy said a
silent prayer to prevent herself from being chosen.

"Tracy," MD said to the teacher.

"Mohammed and Tracy!"

He was like a game show host shouting the names
out for Jessica to write down on the board. Tracy cringed hearing their two
names recited together. She had all of the rotten luck in the world. It was
better than being paired with someone she did not know at all or the guy who
chased coins and ate his own boogers in the front of the room. Chloe giggled to
herself.

"You two are made for each other," Chloe
said.

"What?" Tracy said.

"You keep running into each other and now
you're paired together for this project. It must be something to it."

"This whole thing is rigged."

"It's not that bad."

"You're not the one who has to work with
him."

"He's pretty smart."

Tracy put her head in her hands. The teacher made
sure everyone had a partner before moving on to the rubric. The project was
long, but Tracy knew she could do it alone. She just had to meet with MD a
couple times. They could type it up alone and present it on the last day of
class. It would be simple.

Tracy and MD had three weeks to finish the written
portion of the project. The oral presentations were scheduled for the last week
of school. She wanted to be anywhere in the world except in the library with
this guy, but they still had not chosen a topic.

"What do you want to write about?" Tracy
asked.

"I don't know. Do people even use library
books anymore?" MD said.

"Yes."

"We could find all this stuff online."

"We just need to figure out what the topic
should be to get some kind of direction."

"I don't know. What do you think we should
write about?"

Tracy pressed her toes into the floor and dropped
her head into her hands. She lifted her head to see MD's plain expression.

"Maybe we could talk about gun laws."

"No, that's no fun."

"I don't think it has to be fun. There are
plenty of examples we could use for gun laws."

"It's boring."

Tracy let out a deep breath and looked at the
bookshelves lining the walls. She was not sure if MD was going to be any help
at all. She could have started writing already if she was doing the paper
alone.

"What do you think about abortion?" she
asked.

"Nope, not falling for that one."

She rolled her eyes and rapped her nails on the
table.

"Immigration?"

"That's not bad."

"Look, you don't have to like the topic. We
just need to write it up with lots of details. No one cares what your stance is
as long as the presentation is good."

"How can I present something I don't believe
in?"

"It's politics. You just pick
something."

"Fine. Immigration laws could be
interesting."

She began searching for books on immigration laws
while he watched her. After writing down reference numbers for three books, she
went to the law section to go search for them. When she got back to the table,
she found her partner web surfing. She knew he would not be much help.

"I was thinking maybe gun laws was a good
idea."

She whipped her head around to face him, but bit
her lip to keep from screaming on the quiet floor. He laughed.

"I'm having fun watching you try to keep your
cool. It's cute," he said.

"This is what you find entertaining?"

"Everything about you is entertaining."

"Great."

Seeing him laughing made her crack a smile.

"You make me sick," she said.

"Admit it. You like having me around."

She tried to hide the smile from forming on her
face, but could not keep it concealed for long.

"I bet you really think that."

"I know I'm not the only one that's happy to
be here."

"I'm here because I don't want to fail PIG."

"And because you love me."

She opened the musty book and scanned through the
table of contents.

"I think these are fine. You take two and
I'll take two. Write up the highlights and email it to me."

She wrote her email address down for him and tore
the page. He folded the note and placed it in his pocket.

"I just want you to know that you're the
cutest partner I've ever had," he said.

Tracy picked up the books and headed to the
register to check out before the four o'clock bus left her on the wrong side of
town. She could not stop herself from smiling even after she got home. This was
the most male attention she had gotten in months and she could not help but
enjoy it.

MD was mildly charming when you got past the
annoying exterior. Something about him was kind and she thought he might be
easier to trust than her last three partners. It had been months since they had
met and he was pretty much the same every time she saw him. Tracy just was not
sure if she was too shallow to accept him in front of her friends.

Tracy was falling asleep through most of English.
When she looked down at her notebook, she could not even read the words. Toward
the end, they weren't even on the lines. She was up all night tossing and
turning. It was becoming impossible to sleep at night due to the naps she took
after school ended.

She woke up in time copy down the homework
assignment from the chalkboard. She walked with Chloe to the cafeteria, but
left her to sit with John which had become the norm. She enjoyed the mellow
atmosphere at his table. Chloe did not seem to care much. Her and John started
out talking about Chemistry but over time they were becoming friends. He seemed
to understand her and she opened up to him in ways she had never been able to
with Chloe.

"I see you partnered up with Mohammed,"
John said.

"We have this project."

"That sucks."

"I'm starting to think he isn't so bad
actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's kind of nice and pretty smart.
You wouldn't think so but he is."

"I still think you could do better."

Tracy looked up at John but could not read his
expression. She began to think he might be a little jealous of MD, but she was
not sure why he would be. He had never expressed any interest in her.

"We're not dating. It's just a project."

"I mean, you can do what you want. I'm just
wondering if you're making the right choice."

She realized her friend just wanted what was best
for her. It was ridiculous to think that he wanted her in any other way. Some
guys were only interested in friendship and it was nice to have someone in her
corner.

MD came over to get a coke out of the vending
machine. She watched him pressing the button wondering if it was an excuse to
get her attention.

"Hey!" MD said.

"Hey!" Tracy said.

"I found some stuff online that is different
from what I saw in your notes. I emailed it to you so you can check it
out."

"Thanks."

"So when are we gonna write this thing?"

"I thought I would write up my sections and
you write up yours.

"Yeah but I don't really know how you wanna
write it. Maybe we should do an outline or something together?"

"Oh okay."

"We can meet at my house. You busy after
school?"

Tracy had never been to MD's house. She was
curious about him and anxious to explore what these newfound feelings meant. It
was not clear if she liked him or not, but she thought the project was a good
excuse to figure it out.

"No, I'm not doing anything."

"Okay. I'll wait for you after school and we
can walk over. It's not far and my mom will be there."

"Sounds good. I'll meet you then."

He left the table and she tried to keep the smile
off of her face. Curiosity had gotten the best of her—that and boredom. She had
never dated anyone as chubby as MD, but she was considering what it might be
like. It was nothing permanent. This was just something to keep her hands busy
until something better came along.

When the day ended, Tracy went back to her locker
to change books and pick up her coat. She was lingering in the hopes that by
the time she made it to the curb, most of the students would be gone. This was
what she had done the last time she met MD to go to the library. No one could
catch them hanging out until she knew what it was. The last thing she wanted
was rumors circulating about a relationship that did not exist.

The whole thing was unnecessary. They both knew
they did not need to meet up alone in his home to discuss the direction of the
project. The topic had already been chosen, noted, highlighted, and typed. All
they had to do was make it into a final copy, but the two of them liked
pretending they needed to do this in person. His motives were obvious but hers
were completely cloudy.

There were still people outside when Tracy made it
out the door. MD was chatting with Chloe—making sure he did not miss her. Tracy
walked over to overhear them arguing about whether your grades should affect
your ability to attend prom.

"Hey," Tracy interrupted.

"Hey, where you been?" Chloe asked.

"I had to talk to my homebase teacher."

Nobody questioned her lie.

"So you ready?" MD asked.

Tracy was not ready for the question. She wished
he had waited until Chloe went inside for practice.

"Ready for what?" Chloe asked.

Now she was out in the open. Her friend did not
need to know every detail of her life, especially considering the fact that
they weren't all that friendly anymore.

"We have a project," he said.

"Oh yeah. I still haven't even met with my
partner," Chloe said.

"Yeah, we should go do that," Tracy
said.

She wanted to get out of there as soon as
possible. She could feel her cheeks burning and it felt like every eye was on
her. Tracy began to regret agreeing to the meet up.

"Okay, see ya'," he said.

"Bye."

Tracy waved at Chloe and followed MD down the
path.

His house sat back from the street with tall
bushes concealing everything except the cobblestone walkway leading up to the
porch. The blue paint reminded Tracy of her grandparents' home. MD showed her
to the computer desk between the living room and dining room. Tracy waited for
him to show her his changes to the notes.

"Where did you find these changes?" she
asked.

"I put all the sources on the last page.
Figured it would make it easier when we have to create the bibliography."

Tracy laughed. She could not believe he was this
smart but never showed it. He hung out with some of the dumbest guys in school,
deflected every question in class, and half the time he showed up late.

"Seems like a decent source," she said.

A car pulled into the driveway and a woman's voice
was coming from outside the house. Tracy turned to see a beautiful, slim woman
coming through the side door.

"Well hello!" the woman said.

"Hi," Tracy said.

"You must be Tracy."

Tracy looked over at MD with her mouth open.

"I asked if you could come over today,"
he said.

Tracy tried to relax, but could not take the
worried look off of her face.

"You are so pretty," his mother said.

"Thank you."

"So how is the project coming?"

"Good." he said.

"Good. Tracy, make yourself at home. I am
Diane. Let me know if you need anything. I'll be right in the kitchen."