Chapter 186

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period and the start of our lunch break. The teacher wrapped up the class as room started to buzz with chatter that turned into full blown hollers and yells in a matter of seconds.
It had been a few days since my first mission. Things had been quiet and I made sure to avoid Jax Layman in the halls these past few days. I didn't want to run into him unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Bry!"
I raised my head.
The boys stood by the door, looking at me, waiting for me to step out of the classroom with them.
Right, I completely forgot about the boys. My mind had been occupied with the Mafia lately that my school life had basically been kicked to the curb. I was grateful that I didn't have to worry about the loan sharks breathing down our necks anymore but I have yet to determine the gravity of these missions the Mafia is giving me. Was these missions serious enough to land me a prison sentence if we get caught?
My friends were looking at me anticipatingly, which was expected. We always grabbed lunch together. I guess our habit did reinforce the clique stereotypes but I don't think any of us did it consciously. It just happened to turn out that way.
"Aren't you coming?" They asked when I didn't make a move to clear up my desk and pack up my things to get moving. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Nowadays, I could be looking at something and not really look at it at the same time. My mind was always somewhere else.
"Uh, go without me." I told them curtly.
I received a mixture of worried and questioning looks but decided to ignore them. I simply nodded when they waved at me.
"We'll be at our usual spot, then." Fritz told me, waving with one hand while the other hand was holding onto Max's shoulder. The boys filed out of the room in a single line like a train of kindergarteners.
I watched the boys file out of the room. The conversation we had had briefly taken my mind off of the thought that had been bugging me since I woke up that morning.
My second mission was taking place tonight and I had this familiar churning feeling in my stomach. Despite having little to no appetite at the moment, it was still lunch time, and so, I fell in step with the rest of the crowd. The halls were crowded like any other day and the current of students flowed towards the cafeteria.
There was already a long line of students waiting for their turn to get their lunch. The hall was filled with chatter, shrill laughter and squeals of teenagers. Rows of tables were occupied by different groups of students. I joined the line of students, taking a food tray as the line crept forward.
As I walked up to the counter, I gave Mrs. Keys a smile and randomly pointed at the food display. I knew that everything I ate would taste the same at this point. I didn't have it in me to enjoy the taste of the food, I just needed something filling to keep me going for the rest of the day.
Mrs. Keys grabbed my food tray and started filling it up with the food that I had chosen earlier. I didn't miss the stare that she regarded me with.
"Why is it that you look worse and worse each day, boy?" The old lady asked me as she scooped some food to place onto my tray.
I gave her a faint smile. "Do I really?" I asked her as she dumped the food onto my tray.
She nodded. "You look paler than you do yesterday. Eat more."
I took the tray from her, "I will, thank you."
Once I paid for the food, I looked around the cafeteria hall once again to find a place to sit.
The boys and I rarely ate in the cafeteria. We have this spot near the football field where we normally have our lunch at. It used to make me proud when I thought about how our lives basically revolved around football. We basically breathed football.
The thought brought a tinge of sadness with it. It made me realize that I didn't even have the luxury to think that way anymore. My life didn't revolve around football anymore.
I scanned the hall once again for an empty seat and saw someone getting up with their things and leaving a table vacant. I quickly power walked my way towards the empty table before anyone could grab it.
I nodded at the people sitting beside my table when they greeted me. We weren't in the same class but I recognized some of them from the student council meetings.
I picked up the spoon and started eating my food. I would be lying if I claimed to have an appetite but I don't think I really had a choice. The second mission was tonight and I'll need whatever energy I had to get through it.
I tried to not think about what the mission will be as I chewed my food and played with what was on my plate.
Out of nowhere, someone sat on the seat opposite of me, catching me off guard. I raised my head to see who the newcomer was but immediately regretted it.
Jax smile slyly at me. "Hey, Johnson."
I tried to put on a unphased façade at his presence.
Inside, I was repulsed. Not at him, but at myself.
Every time I saw Jax, I was reminded of my decisions and my current situation. No matter what excuse I make for myself, I knew that if the police was to barge into the school and arrest us this second, I would still be branded as being affiliated to the Mafia.
"What do you want, Layman?" I picked at my vegetables, stabbing them with my fork.
Jax chuckled, "You're going at those vegetables as if they were me."
I was glad that he was aware of my hostile feelings towards him but I couldn't be bothered to make a comeback retort on what he said. I simply remained silent until he decided to tell me what he came to say.
"You're no fun," Jax sighed, placing his feet on the seat next to him.
"Couldn't you be friendlier to an ally? I mean, we're basically on the same boat, now." Jax was basically poking the bear right now.
I raised my eyes to give him a warning glare.
"If you have nothing to say, please do fuck off." I growled under my breath.
Jax had amusement written all over his face as he raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa, slow boy. I just wanted to compliment you on a job well done. Good job on not fucking up the mission."
What he said got on my nerves more than he already has. I knew he was purposely mocking me to ruffle my feathers. Despite being aware of it, I still had a hard time controlling my temper.
I breathed out through my nose as I continued to stuff my face with food to prevent biting his head off.
Jax knocked on the table to get my attention. I begrudgingly raised my head to look at him.
"Tonight's mission is nothing like the last so make sure you get your head straight and don't fuck up." He emphasized, looking at me with raised eyebrows and a warning look in his eyes.
We kept the stare down going until Jax finally broke it off with a low chuckle.
He looked at something over my shoulder before looking at me once again with amusement, all traces of his warning gone.
"I'll catch you later, Johnson."
As Jax got up from his seat and walked away, someone else settled on the seat beside me.
I turned to see who it was.
"What was that about?" Maddy's eyes regarded me with apprehension and worry. How brow creased and her eyes searched mine for answers.
I forced my lips to form a smile to soothe her worries.
"Nothing, he was just messing with me. Don't worry about it." I raised my hand and patted her hair down softly.
I kept my eyes on the top of Maddy's head to avoid her eyes but caught someone else's instead.
Dom watched me closely from a few tables away.
The look in his eyes told me that he saw my exchange with Jax but considering the distance between our tables, it was impossible that he overheard our conversation.
Maddy looked like she was about to ask me about it some more but I turned back to my food before she could.
Fortunately, Maddy dropped the topic once I dropped the smile. I didn't want to feel so cold and distant towards my girlfriend but at this point, there wasn't much that I could do to keep her at a safe distance.
We ate our lunch in silence aside from the times that Maddy would ask me questions about school and practice. She was careful not to graze any topic that might involve Jax. Deep down, I did feel bad for Maddy. It felt like she was tiptoeing on thin ice around me and I knew that she shouldn't have to but at the moment, all I could think about was tonight's mission.
Jax said that it was going to be different than the first mission.
What kind of difference was he referring to?
Was it going be dangerous?
Would he be in this mission too?
Does that mean more people are going to be involved in tonight's mission?
The thought of carrying out a Mafia's mission with a whole bunch of other mafia members made my skin crawl and the hairs behind my neck stand up.
I decided to suppress the questions and thoughts popping up in my head.
I'll find out what he meant tonight.
Right now, I just need to focus on school, on the life that I've been living before I dove into the Mafia-infested world.
"Bry, are you listening?" Maddy waved her hand in front of my face. Worried eyes met mine as I turned to look at her.
I gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, sorry, just zoned out a bit there. What were you saying?"
Just as I finished my sentence, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch break.
I cleared up my tray and stood up, offering Maddy a hand. She passed me her tray and I dropped it off at the chute.
"Are you doing anything tonight?" She asked me as we walked out the cafeteria doors and into the hallway.
"Um, yeah. I'm meeting someone tonight." I scratched the back of my head.
Maddy turned and raised her head to look at me. "Yeah? Who are you gonna meet?"
My head whirred to find a believable answer that won't give me away to that question.
"Just someone. You don't know him."
Before she could ask me anything else, I decided to change the topic and redirect the spotlight to her instead. "What class do you have next? Do you want me to walk you there?"
Maddy looked at the time on her phone and cursed. "I'm running late. I have a presentation to do. I'll catch you tomorrow, Johnson." She smiled at me and blew me an air kiss before bolting down the halls to her next class.
I sighed in relief as she turned around the corner and disappeared out of sight. That was way too close.
I stopped by my locker to grab my things for next period and rested my head on the cool hard surface of the locker door.
I hate lying to the people around me. It was part of the reason why I avoided doing anything that would require me to lie.
I've always been an honest and upright kid my whole life and I knew better than anyone that this Mafia life didn't suit me.
'Do you even have a choice right now, Johnson?' My conscience reminded me.
Right, I'm already neck-deep in this mess. There's no way I could back out now, could I?
I took my things out of the locker and took a deep breath before closing my locker door shut and walking to my next class.
Let's just get today over and done with. Tomorrow's gonna be a new day.
I had no idea how much I underestimated that day to be.