Page 4 of Under the Influence

“Just throw the ball,” I warn, taking my stance.

I let the first pitch go by, watching the ball intently to know what I’m working with. She stares me down before tossing the next one, much faster than the first. I swing and miss as she chuckles.

She played me.

“What was what?” I growl.

“What’s wrong, Nashy poo?” She coos, “All I’ve heard is how Jovie’s boyfriend is a baseball prodigy destined for the pros. Or is that also a lie? Like your pathetic relationship.”

I slam my bat down on the plate, and she slings a curveball in, my bat missing the ball by a mile.

“Better luck next time,” she shrugs, taking the bat from me to hang on the rack. “I prefer video footage of you dumping her, but I’ll take whatever I can get.”

I’m not even mad. Cori tosses the glove on the ground, and I position my hands on both sides of her cheeks. Her blue eyes mirror mine, and I kiss her anyway.

I might have struck out, but I won the bet.

CHAPTER

TWO

CARSON

JUNIOR YEAR

I sneak into my first period late through a cracked window that Mr. Stone leaves open for me.

We have an understanding.

He turns in attendance, and I don’t tell anyone I saw him kissing Mrs. Pierce in his car outside the school. Mrs. Pierce has a husband on the school board, so his job and livelihood depend on my silence.

I know it’s terrible to blackmail people, but is it wrong if you wouldn’t tell anyway because you would never want to be the one to break up a family? Technically, it isn’t blackmailing. I’ve never asked him to do anything, but him being aware of my knowledge of the affair has him doing just about anything he thinks will keep me quiet.

I call it information of convenience.

One of the many advantages of being Carson Garcia-Graham.

“Hey, Carson,” Jovie leans over her desk, chomping her gum.

“Hi,” I acknowledge but don’t entertain a conversation, knowing that I’m constantly being watched and a single conversation with Jovie would cause people to talk. By the time it gets to Avery, my girlfriend, it would be twisted entirely into something else.

Mr. Stone’s lectures are monotone and boring, and I find myself nodding in and out of consciousness. Nash and I stayed up streaming for my channel all night, causing dad to yell at us a couple times before finally turning the internet off. Thank God for hotspots. Guess he forgot about that.

The bell rings, and everyone files out of the classroom. I push my book down in my bag and pull my phone from my pocket, checking my messages.

Avery

Where were you this morning?

Shit.

She hates it when I’m not here to walk her in, so I can already tell that today will be off to a rough start.

I saunter out the door into the hallway, where it’s like the sea of people separates for me. Everyone says hi, acknowledges me, and no one gets in my way.

I’ve never had a single day where I was invisible. Where I could walk through the hall like a normal kid. It’s hard sometimes.

I know exactly what you are thinking.