Chapter Four: Bore War

The bell finally rang releasing them from the horrible torture Mrs. Hedgehock was inflicting upon them. Jovanna slung her backpack over her shoulder and left the class without Alex. Jessie ran to catch up with her.

" Is there a problem or something? You guys are off and on friends every five minutes. " Jessie mumbled shaking her head in disgust.

" Hey Jovanna, wait up! " Alex called running towards them. Jovanna lifted her head and turned away from him.

" I'll see you later. Behave yourself. " Jessie called, turning into her science class. Jovanna envied her for being able to walk away from the situation. She turned around to see where Alex had gone and wasn't surprised to see him with Chastity, Kyle, and Amanda.

Jovanna pushed open the green double doors that led to the portables. The wind hit her face and blew loose strands of hair in her face. She made it to the portables in time to see her eighth grade crush, Kirk Caplet, walk out of Professor Binns's, Social Studies class. Kurt bumped into her and looked down, a smile creeping on his face.

" Sorry, couldn't see where I was going. " Kurt was about three heads taller than she was and had brown eyes and spiky brown hair; he also played the drums and happened to be in the same Jazz band class.

" Th-that's ok-kay. " Jovanna stuttered staring up at him. She gave him a fleeting glance as he walked towards Alex and Kyle, and walked up the portable steps. This was the best day for running into people.

The first thing she noticed was the new seating arrangement that Professor Binns set up. Jovanna sat down by the window and stared out at the blue, blue sky. She thought about how mean she was probably acting, but decided it wasn't her fault anyway. Someone came up behind her and covered her eyes.

" Guess who. " they said in a low tone, throwing off any guesses she'd had.

" Um, er, Michael Jackson? " she asked finally. Her eyes were uncovered and she turned around to face Griffin. He smiled broadly and sat next to her.

" Close enough. Except I'm not that weird and my nose ain't made of play-doh. " Griffin said in a high preppy sort of tone. Jovanna rolled her eyes and went back to staring out the window.

The door opened for the second time and the group of four walked in. They sat on the opposite side of the room and it was all Jovanna could do not to think about Alex. If he noticed her stare at him he ignored it and continued talking to Kyle about something. Probably the assembly they had after lunch for all the band players. With her short stature and incredibly skinny body, Jovanna chose the clarinet and played exceptionally well. Of course, there was nothing interesting to do at home but play the clarinet and was looking forward to playing after this class.

" Hey, did Jessie tell you why we ditched you this morning? " Griffin asked. Jovanna shook her head, wondering why he was waiting until now to tell her.

" Nu-uh and I wasn't expecting her to. But if you really want to tell me, go right ahead. " Jovanna said trying to keep her mind on the Spaniards entering New Mexico, but found it wandering to other things.

" Well, we had figured you 'lovebirds' needed to be alone. " Griffin said smiling. Jovanna turned around so fast that she felt a little dizzy.

" You did WHAT? " she whispered furiously under her breath. Griffin smiled again. Jovanna turned away, angry.

" Oh come on Jovie. You knew it the whole time. I know you better than you think I do. You like him, although I think he looks kinda girly. " Griffin muttered closing his eyes.

" But that is so not cool. You guys aren't helpful, at least not when I want you to be. " She whined. The lights dimmed, making the room seem morbid and dreary.

" Here. " DJ said thrusting a note at her. He seemed to be angry that he had to keep passing notes and not being able to read one of them. Not that he'd find them interesting, but it was something to do.

Jovanna,
What's with ditching me all day?
~ Alex

Jovanna felt the inexplicable urge to wad up the paper and cram it down someone's throat. 'Just take a deep breathe in and exhale.' She thought and took that deep breath. Griffin was writing in his notebook, she could hear the rustling of the paper.

Fish face,
I haven't been ditching you all day. So why ask? Are you in band? If so what instrument(s) do you play? I play the clarinet in Jazz and Intermediate band.
~ Amethyst PS: You need to have a codename!!

She passed the note to DJ, who rolled his eyes, but handed it to Alex. Alex unfolded the note and read it, nodding his head and shoved it in his backpack.

" Who was that from? " Griffin asked smiling broadly.

" You know damn well who it was from. Now go back to writing your story, or whatever you write in there. " Jovanna replied tartly. Griffin was not going to win this battle.

" Oh cheer up. Class is over in a few more minutes and then it's onto band. And we even have an assembly after lunch. See today wasn't a total screw up. "

" Someone's a total optimist. "

" Pessimist. You always look on the downside of things. It's a little creepy Jovanna; there's never an upside with you. " Griffin responded, the anger creeping in his voice a little.

" This isn't worth fighting over okay? Kinda stupid really. " She said, wanting to leave it at that. The bell rang right on time, signaling them to leave. Jovanna slung her backpack over her shoulders and walked out the door. Before she set her foot on the rusted walkway someone darted in front of her.

" You wanted to know what instruments I played, right? Here, let's walk to band together. Kyle doesn't seem to be as cool as I thought he was and Chastity, well, she's kind of bitchy. " He said, brushing some hair out of his face.

" Yeah, let's go. Do you wanna hang out with me at lunch? We can always hang out by the bleachers, at the football field. Jessie and Griffin always go to the football field. " Jovanna suggested, wondering if he was being truthful about Kyle and Chastity or not.

" Okay, that sounds neat. Oh and for band instruments, I play two. In Jazz band I play the guitar and for Intermediate band I play the oboe. "

" You had to have talked with Mr. Smith about that. Matt played the guitar before he left, he was an eighth grader though, so it's no big deal. "

" What's Professor Binns' real name? " Alex asked, the curiosity in his voice startled Jovanna.

" I dunno. We all just call him that. No one really remembers it. You'd have to ask people like Bunny Boy, who are in his third period class. "

" Bunny Boy? "

" It's our little nickname for Kurt. He's so annoying, but he just happens to live down my street. Two houses away actually. "

The entered the building, next to the Science room and walked a little down the hall. The band room was across from the Orchestra room. They opened the door and stepped into the large classroom.