Cheated Read Free Page B

He’s dating Nicole, and he loses her for a couple of seconds with Roxanne? What’s wrong with him? Oh, right, his dad was like that, too. But Cell Phone Girl never spoke to me, and I never tried to know her. We sat just feet apart, but with miles between us.
    By the time the bell rang for first period, I’d asked myself that same question: what
was
wrong with me? I knew that home was where the heart was broken. Always hovering over my life was how ex-Dad betrayed my mom, then I betrayed him. But two wrongs didn’t make anything right. The base of this triangle of lies was ex-Dad’s refusal to confess or repent. His brick wall of silence, of refusing to admit responsibility, stuck like a bone in my throat. Mom used to talk about it more, especially when she was in therapy afterthe divorce. She always said that until ex-Dad accepted responsibility, then none of us would be fully healed. I didn’t much care about ex-Dad’s healing, I cared more about hearing his apology or explanation.
    As I trudged slowly from homeroom out into the hallway, I thought not about school but about home. Thinking about Mom and ex-Dad made me walk slower, like a pile of bricks was on my back. Your family isn’t just your family: it is your history, your future, and your burden.
    Do you think about being famous?
    Everybody I know does. Most won’t come right out and talk about it, but it’s always there underneath the surface. That’s why I used to do those mock interviews with Brody. It made him feel like a star. But not just Brody; anybody who ever picked up a football, baseball, or basketball thinks one day they’re going to end up on ESPN, on the cover of
Sports Illustrated,
or at the least in the local newspaper, the
Flint Journal.
Anybody who’s ever sung a note, or played in the band, or acted, must think about cutting a CD, making a music video, or starring in a movie. I never did any of those things—I’m not a jock or some band geek—but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have dreams of being famous. Now I would dread seeing my name in the paper. I wouldn’t be famous, but infamous. But I don’t have to worry about reading the paper myself because they don’t let you do that at the Genesee County Juvenile Detention Center
.

First Period
    I hated whoever made up my school schedule, putting Project Physics first hour. Project Physics was one of the many code words at Creek for “no-college kids.” I knew that Whitney and her group were two doors down in real physics, while Nicole and a select few took honors physics. Their futures burned bright, while I toiled away in darkness.
    The worst part of first period was my second glimpse of Roxanne. She sat on the other side of the room, so short that I could barely see her on the stool. She wore black mascara, dark brown lipstick, and two big silver hoop earrings. Her tight black Snoop Dogg T-shirt showed off her stomach, and her eyes showered me in shame. I paid little attention to Mr. Gates as he rambled on about the project before us, because I couldn’t get my mind off the past or my eyes off Roxanne. I laughed when Mr. Gates reminded us not to put our hands in the fire when we used the Bunsen burners. I glared at Roxanne and knew it was a “been there, done that” moment.
    It was at a pool party at Rex Wallace’s house over Labor Day. The partygoers were mainly football players, and they’d all signed Words of Honor, a pledge not to drink or do drugs. They were mostly older kids, but since Brody made varsity as a tenth-grader, he was invited. And where Brody went, I followed. Aaron was busy with his mom and step-dad, while Nicole and her family were camping in Canada.She’d only be gone a few days but I missed her badly, and for once couldn’t wait for school to start so I could see her every day. Brody kept pushing me for details about Nicole as we walked over to the party, but I