I sign out and pick up a sulking Jaime in the front office. I show the guys the way out to the parking lot where my car sits in one of the front spots. Vic and Mike take the backseat without complaint, leaving Jaime to hesitate for a moment before climbing in after them. Just before I’m about to duck into the driver’s seat, Tony stops me.

“Just ignore him, Christina” he says in a low voice. “I don’t know what his problem is, but I brought everyone because they wanted to meet you so there’s no excuse for this.” He pauses and looks at me for a moment, “I’m glad I’m here, though. I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” I tell him with a smile before getting in. My key chain jingles when it hits against my dashboard as I pick out the correct key to stick into the ignition. The car rumbles to life. “Where do you guys want to go?”

“I don’t care,” Tony says from beside me. “Just please don’t pick some steak house or something.”

I laugh. My brother had been a vegetarian for a few years now and there’s no way he’s turning back.

“It’s up to you, Christina,” Vic chimes in from the backseat.

I decide to take them to my favorite pizza restaurant located about ten minutes away from the school. Parking is kind of hard since it’s lunch hour and this place is generally always busy. I drive up and down the rows looking for an empty space.

“Right there!” Tony points out his window to an empty spot I was just about to pass.

“About time,” Jaime mumbles to himself before slamming the door shut and heading in. I rush to get my things and lock the car. Mike and Vic fall into place beside me and Tony walks just ahead of us. Jaime reaches the door first and doesn't wait before going inside.

“Don’t mind, shithead," Mike says once Jaime's out of earshot. He’s at least another foot taller than me and I have to crane my neck to look up at him. His pierced lips smile at me and Tony holds open the door.

The noise of the restaurant gets louder as we pass through the center of the room, following the hostess to an empty booth by a back window. She gives us five menus and takes our drink orders before hurrying off to a different table.

“So what have you been up to?” Tony asks.

“Well Lauraine asked me today if I could model her outfit for this project that they’re doing.” I think back to how she acted when my brother walked in with his band mates and laugh to myself.

“Well are you going to do it?” Vic asks. I can hear a hint of excitement in his voice.

“Was she the girl who was rude to Tony?”

I turn to Jaime, almost surprised that he’s talking to me. “She was just really excited to see you guys. She’s a huge fan an-”

“Well there’s no reason to let your students talk like that,” he sneers. “You should learn how to control your class.”

I sit looking at him, wide eyed and unsure of what I should say to him. In my mind, I’m running off a list of insults and comebacks that would be relevant, but I’m determined to not make a jackass of myself in front of the rest of my brother’s friends. First impressions stick, and Jaime’s isn't one that I’m going to forget.

“It’s not that big of a deal at all,” Tony reassures me.

The waitress comes back with our drinks on a tray and asks if we're ready to order.

Ignoring her, I'm fuming with anger. “It’s kind of funny you say that since you stepped into my classroom for five minutes tops.”

Jaime took it over the top when he insulted my teaching. That’s not something I’m going to let him get away with. Especially when it comes to Lauraine. She can be a little blunt, but she’s sweet and we’re friends.

“Alright, maybe we should get this pizza to go,” Tony interrupts us before Jaime has a chance to formulate a comeback.

The waitress nods and walks back off to the swinging kitchen doors. It’s not until then that I realize the people sitting around us staring. They immediately look away as soon as I notice.

“Five minutes was enough for me to question why they ever allowed you to teach.”

I turn my attention away from the nosy strangers and back to Jaime. My face turns red and I can feel Mike and Vic’s eyes on me. Tony sits by my side in shock, staring at us with wide-eyes like he never expected this to happen.

“I’m wondering why they let an asshole into their band,” I spit back.

A mischievous smile crosses Jaime's lips. "Oops."

He tips his full glass over. It's contents land in my lap despite my efforts to stand up and out of the way. The ice water seeps into my pants and drips down my legs to my shoes, producing goosebumps on my skin.

"Really, Jaime?" Tony says, handing me napkins to clean up the seat and myself with. "Was that really fucking necessary?"

The waitress comes back with our pizza and check. Seeing the spill, she gives me a thick stack of napkins from her apron. Everyone pulls out their wallets to split the bill while I try to dry myself off the best I can.

"Don't worry, Christina, I got it," Tony tells me when I reach for my purse.

“So you’re going to let your brother carry your weight for you?” Jaime leans towards me and asks in a condescending tone.

“Fuck you,” I tell him through clenched teeth. My voice is thick with hatred as I clutch my wallet in one hand and form my other into a tight fist by my side.

Each of the guys places a five towards the center of the table along with a dollar or two each as a tip. Mike and Vic get up from the booth quickly and head for the door without saying anything. Tony and I follow with Jaime taking up the rear a few feet behind us.

We ignore each other as we all get into the car and the tension heightens. I avoid Jaime's eyes in my mirror as I pull out and onto the street.

"My apartment's probably a mess but-"

“There’s no way in hell that I’m going back there,” Jaime says, sitting forward in the back seat. He looks to Tony for some sort of reply.

“I don’t know what to tell you. You’re with us. This is our day off and I’m going to visit my sister.”

He sits back against the seat with a huff and crosses his arms, looking out the window. I turn up the radio to fill the awkward silence that comes over the car.

“I hate this song. Turn it.”

I shoot Jaime a dirty look through the rear view mirror and leave the song on for the duration of the time it takes to get to my apartment. Everyone, eager to remove themselves from the high tension, hops out of the car as soon as they can. I gather my things, unlock the door and they follow me into my apartment.

I hang my fitted leather jacket on the back of one of the dining table chairs and place my purse and keys on the table. "I'm going to go change." Jaime's looking at me but immediately looks away when our eyes meet. I slip upstairs to my bedroom and shut the door behind me.

My brown hair is a bit wind blown and I take an extra minute or so to fix it. My black bank tee and jeans are sitting in the stack of clean clothes I haven't gotten a chance to put away yet. I slip them over my cold skin and take one last look at myself in the mirror before heading back out. When I open my bedroom door, I catch my brother's voice.

"You didn't have to pour water on her," he hisses.

"Whatever, Tony. You said not to try anything with her, so I'm not."

"Yeah well I didn't mean make her hate you either!"

I shut my door a little louder than what's necessary so I'm not caught in the middle of their conversation. They immediately stop talking when they see me coming down the stairs.

"Let's eat." I get some paper plates out and set them up on my abandoned dinning room table. Usually I eat on the couch or while I'm doing homework. Everyone takes a seat and helps themselves to a slice of pizza.

"Wanna not chew so loud?" Jaime asks me from across the table.

I ignore him and continue eating. Suddenly, something warm and greasy comes flying at me.

"Jaime!" I exclaim, picking the sticky cheese off of my t-shirt. I rip the cheese off of my slice and throw it at him, aiming for his head. I succeed when it collides with his stupid hair-do.

"You're fucking kidding me," he says. He reaches into the box and pulls out a fistful of pizza cheese. Before he gets a chance to throw it at me, I throw my entire slice at him but miss.

I run around the table and his handful hits my kitchen cabinets instead of me.

"Children.... Children, calm down!" Mike holds his hands up. When I go to reach back into the box, Tony grabs me from behind and carries me away.
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