“Hello Mrs.…” Lucas greeted Emma as soon as he turned off the ignition.
“It is Emma for you, Mr. Chlamydia. Don’t ever take my daughter with you, or you will have me to deal with,” she said, turning to look at the shaken Abby, “And you, to the house right now before I smack your face!”
"You have two minutes to explain to me, why the hell were you not in school, and why you showed up in a boy's car on a school day?" Emma furiously asked. She was pacing around the room, breaking her knuckles more often.
"Mom…I am sorry…I didn't mean to skip school today Mom, it was just one time, and I promise, it will never happen again."
"That is not an excuse, Abby. I have time and again told you school is more important than anything else you do in this world, but what did you do? You shoved my advice down your throat and thought it was okay to disobey me? I don't like ranging, but you have disappointed me today, Abby. Are you now rolling with boys in their cars? What else are you doing behind my back, huh?" She was pissed and Abby moved back in fear.
She had never seen her mother so angry before, and her appearance frightened her.
"I am sorry, Mom. It won't happen again, I promise." She said,
"It won't because it is never happening again. I will cut those legs and have you grounded your whole life. Don't mess with me, Abby."
"I am sorry, Mom."
"That won't help Abby. You are grounded. Give me your phone, and you have no access to it or any of the electronics in this house for one week." She ordered, and Abby exhaled sharply. Reached for her bag and retrieved her phone. She looked at it for a few seconds before her Mom snatched it.
"Mom, isn't that too tough? How am I going to survive school and classes without my phone?"
"You should have thought about that before you skipped school and decided to go with that cockamamy idea. You fell for that boy's trap, and you fell for it. I hope he helps you to catch up with your classes and keeps you in the loop." She said and walked to her room.
Abby had no otherwise than to agree to her Mom's rules because she had f****d up her chance of coming clean to her Mom.
She walked to her room, changed quickly, and then went downstairs to wash the dishes. She made dinner and cleaned the house afterward. By the time she went to bed, she was tired, so she slept immediately.
The following morning, she was woken up by her Mom, gawking at her like a predator."
"Mom, why are you staring at me like that? You almost made me jump out of my skin." She asked as she hurriedly got out of bed.
"You sleep like you have made it in life, you are late for school and that is your problem. I left you money for lunch and a cab. I hope I will find you here when I come back from work, and you. Well, hurry up because you have less than half an hour to go to school. Good luck young lady," Emma said with a chuckle, and left the room.
A few minutes later, Abby heard the engine rev and knew her Mom was not kidding about not taking her to school.
She quickly showered and changed into something comfy for the day, then hurriedly went downstairs. Her Mom was generous enough to leave her something before she went to work.
"You have one minute to explain to me why you missed school and haven't been replying to my text," Jake said as soon as she was seated in her seat.
"I replied to you yesterday, and the reason I haven't replied is because I was grounded for skipping school." She responded unbothered, taking out her books in the process.
"Wow, so you didn't listen to any word I told you? That boy is bad news and you know it too, but you are blinded by the joy and attention you get when you are with him. What makes you think he has changed? And before you answer that, what were you guys doing when you skipped school?"
"Hmm…I know you will freak out when you hear this from me but he took me to his cabin, a beach house to be precise, and we had a few drinks." She said with a smile plastered on her face.
"Hmm…since when did you drink? Wait, did you guys have s*x?" Jake asked rather loudly and everyone turned to look at him, gawking at him like he had just grown horns, "Sorry guys, private conversation." He apologized and turned his attention back to Abby.
"No, we just had wine, and being my first time, I guess too bad I blacked out and slept all through. I woke up at around three with several missed calls from my Mom and, of course, you, but we didn't have s*x. Lucas doesn't even like me that way, and I don't even think of him that way, he is my friend, nothing more." She replied adamantly.
"Yeah, that sounds like a good explanation. Just don't drink and black out when you are in the company of a man. Men are naturally prey, and they prey on anything with a skirt. Lucas is a playboy, a bully who can't even keep a relationship for a week. Just stay away from him, or rather be careful, because it seems like you have fallen hard for him and nothing I say will change your mind."
"No, it is not like I am doing this because I like him or anything. I just figured out that if I stay close to him, I will not be bullied around anymore."
"And have you ever thought about his intentions towards you? One day he is bullying you and the next day he wants to be friends with you, don't you consider it a bit fishy?" Jake asked, and Abby exhaled sharply. She knew her friend was right, but she didn't want to come to terms with reality, just not yet.
"I know you are right, but why don't I enjoy a semester without being bullied or made fun of? I don't care about his intentions because I have nothing of interest that he might be after, so, I will enjoy it while this lasts. And, it is a win-win situation for both of us because he is not bullying you." She argued excitedly, and Jake sighed.
"Yeah, you might be right, but I just want you to be careful around him, he seems shady and I don't like the way he is suddenly interested in being friends with you."
"Yeah, I know and I am careful. Thank you for looking out for me. It's too bad I've been grounded for a week now. I am not allowed to go anywhere or use my phone because my Mom has it, I am now reaping the fruits of my labor," Abby said, tiredly, but before Jake could respond, Lucas walked up to them.
He smiled the moment he saw Abby, " Hey Abby, I am sorry about yesterday, I hope your Mom didn't scold you, did she?"
"No, I was grounded and I have no phone for one week, so thank you for the house tour and your idea of skipping school, so, thank you so much." She said and Lucas nodded severely, pulled an empty seat next to him, and sat on it, his face directly on her face. She was shy at first and had to look away.
"I am sorry about that and I knew that was going to happen, so I brought you this. It might not be much but I was hoping it could help you as you awaited your phone." He said, handing her a new phone, more expensive than her phone.
"What? No, I can't take this, it is too expensive." She said, returning it, and Lucas shook his head.
"Come on, this is nothing to me, just take it and go. Oh, I pre-saved my number, you can call me any time. Oh, hey Jake, how are you doing?"
"Good Lucas," Jake responded, uninterested.
"Keep her safe man, because if you don't, I will hunt you down and you know how that goes." He said cheekily, kissed Abby on her cheeks, then walked away. The other students, especially the girls, were looking at Abby with disinterest, some jealousy written all over their faces.
"The looks say otherwise, so are you taking the phone or what? It might be a spy app or something. Just don't open the camera." Jake said a few seconds later.
"I won't use it, I know he is just trying to be nice and all that. But my Mom would kill me if she knew I took a gift from a guy who had me skip school and get drunk, which she doesn't know yet. I had to hide in my room, and show up at school to show Lucas that I hadn't taken his gift for granted."
"Good, I see you have some brain left, and I was hoping you'd talk to your Mom because my Mom wants you to come over for dinner at my house. She likes you."
"Well, if my Mom says yes, I will agree to it, but if she doesn't, I will have to disappoint your Mom, again."
"That is why I am going to ask her myself."
"You what?"
"Yes, my Mom and her rules. She thinks it would be best if I stepped in for the family, and since today is Thursday and I am free today, I could drop you off as I wait to ask your Mom for permission."
"You know how to drive!"
"Yes, and today I came with my car, so we are going to use my car," Jake responded excitedly.
"Abigail Daniella, to the principal's office please." The secretary announced and everyone gasped, looking at a terrified Abby.
"I am in a lot of trouble." She muttered, then followed the secretary outside.