⌜ chapter five ⌟

"I, on the other hand, have one issue." Letty hears Harley's voice as she's walking​ through the hallway at school. "And that's you, Baboon. I don't like you." He puts his hand under Cory's chin and grabs his face. "I look at your face, and I want to hit it. Is that so wrong?" He asks Shawn.

"No, I get it." Letty says, gaining his attention. "I have the same feeling when I look at your face."

"You're lucky, Black. It's my eleven o'clock." He says when he hears two kids that are talking as they walk by.

"You know, I almost wish he did kill me this time." Cory says as Harley walks away, and Letty shakes her head.

"How do you get away with talking to him like that?" Shawn asks as he looks at Letty. "Nobody else does."

"You know what they say about bullies?" The brunette asks, and he shakes his head. She nods as she looks between the two boys. "Yeah, you know, on second thought, that's actually probably a good thing. Somehow I think it'd backfire for the two of you. Just do us all a favor, will you, and stay away from Harley."

Letty's in the cafeteria at lunch, and she sits down at one of the tables. She pulls out some work and opens her math textbook to take notes and work on the assignment that they were given.

Shawn walks over then and sits down across from her. "Babe, you know, you're supposed to do homework at home, not at school. That's why it's called homework." He says, and she looks up at him.

"Where do I go after school?" The brunette asks.

"The store."

"And after that?"

"Eric's." He says.

"And after that?"

"The coffee shop."

"And when my shift ends?" She asks.

"You and Miller come to my place for dinner."

"Then?"

"You go home." He says, and she nods.

"Yeah, where I then go to bed."

"Uh-huh." He pauses for a second, thinking it over. "So how do you do it?"

"I do my homework now." She tells him, and he nods slowly.

"But doesn't it get exhausting?"

She nods. "Yeah, but I have to do it."

"That doesn't seem fair." He says. "Why doesn't your dad just get a job? Why do you and Miller make all the money for you guys?"

"My dad has a job."

"No, he doesn't." Shawn argues. "My mom said that she always sees him at your trailer with those annoying friends of his and they always have beers and are doing stupid stuff. I heard her telling​ my dad about it the other day."

"So he's between jobs right now."

"She said that it's always been like that, that he hasn't had a job since you were nine." He says, and she sighs.

"Some of us have working parents, and some of us work." She says. "That's how life is. Now go find Cory so that I can finish my homework, babe."

» » » « « «

"Hey, Matthews?" Letty walks into the boys' bedroom, and Eric looks over at her. "We going out or what?" She asks, and he nods.

"Yeah, hang on. Cory was just about done grossing me out." He tells her, and her eyebrows furrow as he looks at the younger boy.

"What'd he do this time?"

"Ask him why he swallowed his mouthwash...or why my deodorant is in his pants." The oldest of the Matthews kids says, and she shakes her head.

"No, thanks. Hard pass."

"I'm cool." Cory declares.

"Since when?" His brother questions.

"Since Melissa Harrington invited me to her party." He tells him as Letty walks over to the two boys, looking down at Cory.

"Who's Melissa Harington?"

"Only the coolest girl in seventh grade."

"And you got invited?"

"I did." The younger boy nods, a wide smile on his face.

"So, that makes you cool too now, right?" Eric asks, playing along.

"I believe it does."

"Well, how 'bout that? I mean, you live with somebody and you think they're gonna stay a curly-haired little runt the rest of their lives. Then you turn around and one day they're cool." He keeps screwing with his brother, and Letty chuckles as she sits on the foot of Eric's bed.

"Well, if I'm so cool, I'm sure you wouldn't mind me using some of your very cool cologne." Cory says as he puts some on his hands and then rubs his face.

"Hey! Stay away from my Rampaging Stallion!" Eric yells, and his brother throws the red bottle up into the air. "Wha- What are you doing?!"

Letty chuckles as she looks up at Eric, and he shakes his head. "It's just cologne, Eric." She says, and he looks at her.

"Don't try to lie to me. I know you like it." He points at her before setting the bottle back on his desk.

"I didn't say it doesn't smell good. I just don't think it's worth yelling at Cory over." She tells him.

"Yeah, whatever." He mutters as he turns back to her. "Are you hungry? Where do you wanna go?"

"No sense in bucking tradition now." The brunette says as she gets to his feet, but then Eric steps in front of her, trapping her between him and the end of his bed. "What are you doing?"

"You think I smell good?" He asks, a smile tugging at his lips, and she smirks as she shakes her head at him.

"Come on." Letty pushes lightly on his chest. "Let's go get something to eat."

The pair get to Chubbie's, and Shawn spots his sister pretty quickly. "Hey, Scarlett. What are you doing here?" He asks, and she looks over at him.

"My boss at the coffee shop switched my schedule around a little bit." She tells him, and he nods. "Have fun." She says as she looks at all the people that are surrounding him at his table, and he smiles as he tells her that he'll talk to her later.

Shawn's English teacher yells something about homework and then he tells Shawn that his friend's there. He then sees Letty, and she sighs when she notices that he seems to want to say something to her.

"You find us somewhere to sit. I'll get us something to drink." The brunette tells Eric, and he nods before she walks away from him.

"I'm surprised you're not at work tonight." Mr. Turner says when the teenager nears the counter at the front of the restaurant.

"I have the night off."

"And you finished all your homework, huh?"

"You heard me and Shawn in the cafeteria today." She says, and he nods.

"Why didn't you go home to get some sleep?" He asks​.

"I didn't want to go home."

"Avoiding your dad and his friends?"

"No." She shakes her head. "It's Friday night, and I'm fifteen. I wanted to go out with one of my friends. That is acceptable, isn't it?"

He nods. "I should say so."

"So what's the problem?"

"You're fifteen, working two jobs, going to high school, and you have a dad that doesn't carry any weight." He says. "I'm curious as to how Shawn's just learning how bad you have it at home, and why none of your friends' parents have done anything about it. Or any teachers."

"Because nobody knows, and they don't ​need to know. Look, I appreciate the concern, but it's none of your business." She tells him. "I can take care of myself just fine, like I always have."

"Uh-huh. And where'd you get that black eye?" He asks, looking at the faint bruise on the left side of her face.

"A fight in the trailer park."

"And how long do you think people are going to believe that lie?" He questions.

"I don't know what you're talkin' about. I'm not lying. I get into a lot of fights over there all the time. Ask Shawn, he's seen a few of them."

"I can't help you if you don't let me, kid."

"I don't want your help, and I don't need it either." The brunette starts to walk away from him, and he places his hand on her shoulder, making her stop.

"When you decide that you do need some help, the door to my classroom is always open." He tells her, and then she walks up to order drinks for her and Eric.