Heather

Although I'm bright and chipper in the morning (how can I not be on a field trip day!), I'm dreading the ride to school with my dad. I wait in the kitchen for him, packing two peanut butter sandwiches and bags of chips.

When he enters the kitchen, I notice that he is way too overdressed. He's wearing a suit as if he was going to court.

"Dad, you're not wearing that, are you?" I ask, giving him a disapproving look.

"What? I wanted to look nice."

"A plain button up shirt will look nice. Maybe your white linen one. October is still warm after all."

Dad looks down at his outfit and sighs, realizing that I'm right. "I don't even know where that shirt is."

I rush into the laundry room where it is hanging up. He ironed it a week ago, so there still aren't any wrinkles in it. I hand it over and he heads back to his room to put it on.

"And grab a pair of khaki pants and your brown belt!" I call after him.

When he emerges from his room again, he's ignored me and put on a pair of blue seersucker pants and a cream belt. His white linen button-up is tucked into his pants.

I remark, "Wow, you look good, Dad. You look young and hip enough to hang out with me and my friends." He smiles at me and makes a lame finger gun gesture. "And then you prove that you can't handle it."

Ignoring me, he opens the refrigerator and pulls out three cans of Pepsi. He passes them to me to put in his lunch box. Then, he fills his mega to-go mug of coffee. I pour myself a to-go cup of sweet tea. Then, I hesitate, but pour one for Kayne, too.

We pile into the car with our lunches. Dad starts the engine and drives us to school, taking long sips from his coffee cup at each stoplight.

I ask the question I've been thinking about a lot, "What made you want to chaperone? I had to hear about it from my teacher yesterday. You didn't even ask me."

"I know you've been down recently. I haven't been around like a dad should, so I thought this could be a step in the right direction."

"Oh. That's the only reason? Because I understand that you have to work. I've been keeping myself busy with new friends," I say.

"I'm sure. That's evident from how late you come in on weekends and some weekday nights." Uh-oh. I feel a lecture coming on. "I'm glad you've made friends, but I want to make sure you aren't taking your sights off of USC."

His concern is warranted and thoughtful until I hear what he says next. "I'm a judge. I've heard of the kinds of drugs circulating here and I see the types of people who stand before me. There's the no-good drug dealers and then the college-prospects with possession charges who got caught up with the wrong people.

"If I have anything to say about it, you're not going to end up with the wrong people. I haven't placed a curfew on you like I did in Pasadena, because this is Idaho. I thought you would be better. But I'll warn you right now—staying out late is a gateway drug to other bad decisions."

I don't respond to my father. This is exactly why I don't want him at school functions.

He starts reminiscing about the good 'ole days, "You know, when I was growing up in Chicago, I got involved with some of those bad people. I almost lost my scholarship to John Marshall Law School. Ditching those friends and turning them in to the authorities was the best decision I could have made for myself."

"You snitched? You don't seem like you want to help the ones probably struggling the most."

"Heather, you make a lot of assumptions about me. I'll tell you right now, you don't know anything."

I'm taken aback by his sharp words. Then, I decide to press a nerve. "You're right. I don't know anything. So, let's talk about Mom. I don't know what happened to her, but I do know she abandoned us."

"Heather—" My dad's voice has softened. "You're too young to understand everything. Relationships are complicated. She didn't leave because of you."

"Instead of fighting for her in California, you decided to take a job at the courts in Idaho. At least I know you can't run away from your problems. That's exactly what you did." I spit at him.

He's silent for a moment. I know I sledgehammered his nerves. He straightens up in his seat, regaining his composure, before telling me, "She wasn't coming back to me. Not in the way we once were. It was the right decision for our family to move away and let her go."

Refusing to say anything more to just have Dad make up an excuse for not fighting for Mom, I keep my mouth shut the rest of the drive.

When we arrive at the school, Dad takes his time getting out of the car, fixated on his cell phone, probably because he doesn't want to think about Mom anymore. I impatiently stand with my arms crossed. Finally, he grabs his lunch bag and we walk towards the group of seniors preparing to board the school bus.

I see Kayne striding over from the parking lot. I get lost in looking at him approaching, shooting a smile at me. His leather jacket is draped over his shoulder. My dad's voice brings me out of the trance.

"Heather—" without looking up from his cell phone, he says, "why don't you sit with me on the bus."

"Dad, I want to sit with my friends," I reply. Especially if you can't bring your nose out of your phone to ask me to my face.

"I was hoping we could talk," he says gruffly, clearly upset with my answer.

"We talked in the car. We can talk again when we get home." My tone is snippy. "Look, Dad, I didn't ask for you to come on this field trip. You volunteered without even asking me. Go make a friend your own age." I say afraid of how harsh it may have come off, but walking away nonetheless to greet Kayne.

I don't want to hurt my dad's feelings, but HELLO, I clearly want to sit by Kayne on the bus ride. I don't look behind me, but my father's gaze is boring into my back.

Well, it seems like he finally looked up from his phone.

"Hey. How was the ride here?" Kayne asks, offering his hand to fist bump me. I return the gesture and sigh.

"Blah. Just as I would have expected it." I follow Kayne onto the bus. He takes the window seat in a row towards the back. I plop down beside him, tucking my lunchbox underneath the seat.

"What is your dad even doing?" Kayne says, motioning out the window.

My dad is scanning the windows in the bus looking for me. Kayne waves his hand, drawing my dad's attention. With a smile, my dad waves back at him. I huff in frustration that Dad can act so fake around everyone else like he's the World's #1 Dad.

"Probably looking for me, so thanks for blowing my cover of where I'm sitting." I say, slouching down in the seat so my dad can't see me beside Kayne.

"Did you ever talk to him about the field trip?"

"Yeah. He thinks that the depressive moods I've been in have been because he hasn't really been around."

"At the risk of upsetting you, I think it might be healthy to let go of the anger towards him. Just for today. It'll make everyone's trip better if you and your dad aren't quarreling."

I pout and huff a sigh at Kayne. He's right. I know he's right, but it's hard to just turn off the anger switch.

Sensing my thoughts, Kayne grabs my hand to symbolize that he's on my side. I squeeze his hand tightly, letting the anger transfer out. Then, I'm able to relax my hand, my shoulders, and my mind.

I rest my head on Kayne's shoulder after he offers me an earbud. He puts the other earbud in his own ear and selects a playlist. A Halsey song I love comes on and I let my head bob along to the beat.

Kayne

The whole 30 minute bus ride, Heather rests her head on my shoulder while we listen to a mix on Spotify. I can clearly see Ali at the front of the bus as she turns around to talk to Patrick and Laurie behind her. George and Fletcher are sitting across the aisle from them. They're all laughing and carrying on, but Ali keeps looking back at me and shooting daggers.

Heather is too wrapped up in her worries about her father to notice any of her friends, but I notice Fletcher looking back a couple of times with a hint of longing.

After we arrive at the mining site, the morning flies. Mr. Gottlieb, along with a local tour guide, fills our brains with local history about the mine and the surrounding towns. They take us down in the mine and cut all the lights out to demonstrate just how dark and quiet they are.

Soon, it's time for lunch and we are gathered as a class, waiting to be dismissed to eat.

Mr. Gottlieb says, "You have an hour to eat your lunch and explore. Please don't get lost. You all have phone GPS and you won't lose signal out here, so don't try to use that as an excuse."

Heather's father strides up to us. "Nice to see you again, Kayne." I nod my head at Mr. Bright.

"Where are y'all planning on eating your lunch?" He asks. I catch a hint of desperation to be included in Heather's plans, although he still tries to maintain his confident persona.

"Not at the chaperone table," she replies simply. "I'm going to hang out with my friends. Bye, Dad." Heather waves her hand lazily and walks away. I rush to keep up with her, shooting a shrug at her dad.

"So, where are we eating lunch?"

"I'm looking for Ali and the rest of the group." She says. I sigh internally.

"Let's go off by ourselves," I suggest. She nods and we head up one of the marked trails ascending the mountain. We stop at the cliffside, sitting down and setting up our lunches in between us.

"Alice packed you some potato salad," I tell her, handing her the Tupperware full of it. She nods in thanks, unable to talk from the bite of sandwich in her mouth.

Ali, George, Fletcher, Patrick, and Laurie come up the trail and see us eating our lunch. "This is a cool spot," Laurie says. I secretly hope that they don't ask to sit with us. I just need some quiet time with Heather. I don't want the drama that comes with Ali and this group, especially since Fletcher won't even look at Heather or me.

"We are going to go hiking after lunch if y'all wanted to join us."

Before Heather can reply, Fletcher speaks up. "I think we can find the spot by the creek that we found last time," he suggests, heading further up the trail. George and Patrick follow him while Ali and Laurie stay to talk with Heather.

Getting the hint from Fletcher, Heather declines Ali's offer. Ali and Laurie shrug and walk the path the guys just disappeared on.

"Fletcher seemed eager to leave us," Heather says softly.

"Yeah," I reply, not knowing what else to say.

Distracting herself from her friends, she says, "There was a song I wanted to share with you." She picks up her phone and scrolls through the app. "I was going to wait until the bus ride home, but some music would be a nice backdrop now."

The soft tones of melody play from Heather's phone. It's a romantic song with a catchy beat. I put down my sandwich and stand up, offering my hand to her. She gladly takes my hand and I pull her to stand.

Remembering our agreement to take it slow, I don't move my hands lower than her waist while we sway. Just having her in my arms for the moment is enough that I don't need to escalate it further.

Her head rests on my shoulder and I can feel her exhaustion from the drama as she sinks into me. I maintain a firm grip on her, keeping her upright and even with me.

"I feel so safe with you, Kayne. Even though we are eerily close to the edge of the cliff." Heather laughs, shifting her body closer to mine still.

I keep my eyes on our proximity to the cliff's edge. We sway in a circle from a safe distance.

I place a light kiss to her lips, not bothering to look around for any onlookers, before pressing my head against hers, getting lost in the feeling of her against me.

~*~

After lunch, the class gathers again. We follow Mr. Gottlieb and the tour guide to the mining museum and corresponding gem mine. There are rows of water flumes for gem finding. Each person gets a bucket full of dirt, rocks, and the occasional gemstone. The objective is to sift through to find rare gems to take home.

Heather's father and another chaperone follow closely behind. They are laughing at what one another says which makes Heather smile. Most likely because her dad isn't trying to cling to her like before.

We have free time to explore the museum and go to the gem mine before we have to load back onto the bus. Heather and I scan through the museum, not fully reading the information cards, but I'm sure we will learn enough about the area come Monday during presentations.

I pull out my wallet to pay for a $30 bucket for Heather and I to share. The cashier takes the money and places a two gallon bucket on the counter. A hand comes in contact firmly with my shoulder. Then, a yellow hat is placed on my head. I look behind me at Heather's dad who is grinning ear-to-ear like he's saved the day.

"These two hats are on me," he says to the cashier. "If you two are going to go mining, you've got to wear the safety gear." He says, patting my back cheerfully.

I look at Heather who is wearing the yellow miner's hat with grace. She pulls off the hat, still looking as beautiful as ever. A dirty thought crosses my mind that I would like to see her wearing only that hat. I push the thought away, reminding myself Take. It. Slow.

"Thank you, Mr. Bright. That was very nice of you." I say, smiling at him. Heather has a slight chuckle on her face as she makes eye contact with her father and thanks him.

"You're both very welcome. Now go have some fun!" He says with the same unmoving grin. His attitude has taken a complete 180-degree turn. He's so chipper that it almost reminds me of a creepy clown if I didn't know better that he was just trying to impress Heather.

I grab the bucket and carry it to the water flume. I dip some of the bucket into the water and then Heather and I work to sift the dirt out, searching for unique colors. We don't find anything of interest, so I pour more of the dirt mixture into the sifter.

This time, we come across a large, aquamarine gem shaped like a rectangular prism. Heather exclaims, excited for the find. We put the gem aside and keep rooting through.

I pour the last ⅓ of the bucket into the sifter and we find a round purple gem marked with an X and then a smooth, translucent oval red stone. The only way I know to describe the red gem's shape is chunk. It has no easily identifiable shape.

"Wow! That must be some type of ruby." Heather says. We collect our stones and carry the bucket to the drop off. We head back into the gift shop where there is a gemologist who helps the tourists identify the different types of stones.

He pulls out his magnifying glass to examine each stone. The first one is an aquamarine. The second is a star garnet. The third one is a fire opal.

"This shape of fire opal is great, because you can cut it down into any shape to make jewelry."

"That is so awesome." Heather exclaims. The gemologist offers her the magnifying glass and brings her attention to the colors displayed within the stone. Under the desk lamp, it's easy to see flecks of yellow and orange running through the stone.

"I love this one so much," Heather says before handing it to me.

"Why are you giving it to me?" I question her before thanking the man and leading her away to the exit.

"Because it's yours. I'll keep the other two."

"Heather, if it's your favorite, you should keep it," I insist.

"No, I want you to have it, Kayne. That way, both of my favorites will be together."

I smile at her. I want to kiss her, but I'm more aware of how many people could see us, including Heather's father.

We stroll towards the bus, getting on with a wave to the driver who is standing outside of it. When we take our seats, Heather immediately grabs my headphones from my backpack and fits it into her ear. She offers the other to me. I hand her my phone to pick the music.

Scrolling through my playlists, she says, "This was a really fun day, Kayne."

"Yeah, I felt like I could be a real teenager for a second. Nothing else was clouding up my mind." I say, still trying to remain subtle about the investigation.

Heather leans in to kiss me since there is no one else on the bus yet. It's a short and sweet kiss, but I'm confident that it can hold me over until we're back at my place in private.

"Can we listen to Taylor Swift?"

"Don't push your luck." I say, rolling my eyes at her girly pick. "I'm letting you pick the music and that's enough." She concedes, playing another female artist who doesn't annoy me as much.

As we listen to Katy Perry's top hits, students and chaperones return to the bus. At first, it's a slow trickle of kids, but eventually the rate picks up as we approach the departure time.

Mr. Bright climbs onto the bus and strolls down the aisle to us. "So Heather, how did gem mining go?"

"It went great! We found three different stones. I'll show you them later though. I've already tucked them into my backpack." She lies. I know she's got them in the pocket of her jeans.

"That's great. Maybe you and Kayne could show me at dinner tonight." He suggests with the same strange, chipper voice.

Heather, squirming in her seat, says, "Another time, Dad. Kayne is taking me to his house to have dinner with Alice. I probably won't be home until late, so don't wait up."

For a moment, I catch his expression falter. "Alright. I'll hold you to that." He winks at me. Then, he turns and resumes his seat at the front with the other chaperones.

Soon, the bus driver boards the bus along with Mr. Gottlieb. Heather places her head on my shoulder again as the bus shifts to drive. Not long after, I feel her breathing slow as she naps.

This time, I'm not looking at Fletcher or anyone else, but just relishing in the thought that I've landed the most beautiful and fun girlfriend.