Read Online The Tragedy of Loving Jamie Clarke by Rebecca R. Cohen - Free Book Online Page B

this thing off! I hear clamoring down the hall, shit! I forgot that Coach Stevens sometimes takes his class outside to the field to run laps. “I can’t let anyone see me like this” I say to no one in particular.
    I know these hallways as well as I know my own house. There is a janitor’s closet next to Mrs. Honor’s classroom; if I can run fast enough I can get there without the gym class seeing me but I’ll also have to duck so no one, especially Mrs. Honor, will see me bolting by. Without further hesitation I make a run for it and leap-frog past her classroom. I duck into the janitor’s closet and slam the door behind me.
    Now I am talking to myself. “There have to be bolt cutters in here somewhere. I mean of all people wouldn’t a janitor have bolt cutters?” Shelves of tools, paper, scissors and light bulbs surround me. It’s like a who’s who of school supplies and fix-it equipment. I start sifting through a few of the shelves but it’s hard with this freaking lock banging into my neck every time I lift my arms to look through some of the higher shelves. “No bolt cutter. What am I going to do?” I can’t hide out in here all day.
    Knock, knock, knock. This is not happening. It can’t be the janitor he wouldn’t knock. Wait a minute, who knocks on a closet door unless they know someone is inside? Oh my God someone saw me come in here! The door creaks as it slides open and I duck behind the shelf closest to the back wall.
    “April?” Jamie says as he pokes his head inside the closet. “You in here?”
    What? How does he know I am in here?
    “Jamie?” I ask as I lean over a broom. I forgot how cute he is. I’ve never been one for the floppy-haired look but there’s something perfect about the way Jamie’s hair falls on his forehead that fits with the deep design of his eyes. I still don’t understand how I ended up with him. I lean further out and the lock slides down the bar scraping the metal and as it does the sound sends daggers through me. Go away, please.”
    “What’s going on, April?” Jamie asks pushing into the closet. “Why are you hiding in here?”
    “How did you know I was in here?” I ask, as if it matters.
    “I saw you duck by Mrs. Honor’s class. I figured since it’s your favorite class that something must be wrong if you’re ditching,” Jamie explains as he approaches me. I clamp my hand over the lock in a poor attempt to hide it from his view. “What the hell!” He grabs the lock as his forehead wrinkles and his lips tighten. He pulls as hard as he can at the lock but it won’t budge. “How did this happen?”
    Breaking down in the middle of a closet in front of Jamie isn’t how I pictured spending my day today. I thought I would come to school flying and excited to get to English class so I could kiss my boyfriend in front of the whole class. I imagined a million scenarios about today and not once did I imagine this . But here I am sobbing like Niagara Falls.
    “Those two freshmen boys ….they thought it would be funny,” I am having a hard time getting the words out in between sniffles and sobs. “I tried but I can’t get it off and the combination is missing.”
    Jamie is pacing back and forth between the shelves with his fists closed so tightly his knuckles are turning white. His breathing is heavy and he is mumbling something but it’s so low I can’t clearly make out what he’s saying. I can hear a few words like, “bastards,” and “kick,” and “asses.”
    “Where are they now?”
    “I don’t know, probably in class.”
    Jamie clasps his fists together like a boxer preparing for a match and grabs my forearm and hauls me out of the closet. He’s dragging me down the hallway and I don’t know how he’s being so gentle about it. He looks like he is ready to kill someone. He has me out in the open for anyone to see this lock hanging from my neck bars. Wherever we’re going I hope we get there fast.
    “Jamie where are you taking me?”