A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle
CHAPTER ONE
"Jake!"
Jake Thomas winced at the angry tone of the voice that called out across the open area behind him. He had hoped beyond hope that Donald would not hear about the call, but it was clear that he had. He had not seen him at break between second and third periods. He thought that he was in the clear as he approached the picnic tables that were scattered around the outside of the cafeteria. With the late spring weather in full force, he and his friends, Matt Thompson and Sean Bailey, usually ate their lunches outside. As Matt said, it gave them "opportunities to survey their options", which meant they could check out most of the girls walking around. They were waiting for him on the far side of the tables.
Jake stood a little over five eleven, with an athletic body, having broad shoulders and a narrower waist. He had played several sports throughout school, as well as working out at the local health club. Despite his best efforts in the gym, he always felt he was on the skinny side, which annoyed him to no end, despite comments to the contrary from some of his female friends. The girls would tell him he was handsome, with his lean face, light brown hair and deep-set blue eyes. He would, of course, get a bit embarrassed by those comments, making him wish he could be cool and collected around the opposite sex.
He had maintained excellent grades through his four years in high school, involved himself in several after-school activities, and enjoyed math and science. After graduation, he planned to study engineering or one of the sciences. He was waiting to hear back if he was going to get into a good college, since he did not get accepted into the Air Force Academy. He had been really disappointed when he did not get in, feeling he had let down his dad, who had served in the Army, even though his father had been nothing but sympathetic and supportive.
Despite the obvious geek factor, he was a fairly popular guy, as his activities had enabled him to get to know people in most of the social circles that made up high school. As Matt had said, he seemed to have the knack to get along with everyone. Well, almost everyone. He blew out his breath and straightened his shoulders as he turned around to face Donald Drake.
"Just great..." He thought. Donald was coming up to him, face angry, fists clenched. Donald was only about an inch taller than Jake, though more heavily muscled. Jake was sure that the girls found him attractive with his close-cut sandy blond hair and brown eyes. Of course, his father being one of the richest men in town did not hurt, either.
He had a couple of friends with him, John Stone and Robert Sheldon. Jake knew both of them from freshman football and used to get along with them. That was until Jake stopped playing football after he had injured his knee while camping the summer before his sophomore year and they started to hang out with Donald.
Donald was a different story, though. They had known each other for years and had never really liked each other. They had gone to the same elementary school where Donald used to needle Jake constantly. When they played one Little League season together, Donald always seemed to have some crappy little comment ready when Jake dropped a ball or missed a swing. Even when they went to the same church for a while, Jake had to endure some sort of smack talking from Donald.
They ran in different circles here at high school, which was fine with Jake. Unfortunately, not much had changed. He still thought Donald was a prick, definitely stuck on himself and always flaunting his father's money. Donald made it a point to go out of his way to embarrass Jake, especially around girls, always throwing out digs and snide comments.
They had exchanged some angry words at a homecoming party last fall after Donald, in front of everyone, had brought up Jake's inexperience with girls. He had mocked Jake's awkwardness when he had attempted to strike up a conversation with Sabrina Bollen. Their friends had separated them before it came to blows and, since then, they had only exchanged glares.
"I heard about your little phone call." Donald said loud enough for everyone within twenty feet to hear. Heads turned to see what was happening. "Sabrina is my girlfriend now, you little prick. Stay away from her or I will kick the crap out of your sorry ass."
"Dude, I didn't know you were dating her." Jake responded, keeping his hands to his sides and trying to stay calm. "If I had, I wouldn't have asked her to Senior Prom. Chill out, it wasn't a big deal."
"I think someone trying to poach my girlfriend is a big deal. You heard me; stay away from her or you will be spending prom in the hospital." Donald replied, glaring at Jake.
"It is going to a bit hard to stay away from her since I have her in two periods." Jake replied sarcastically, feeling trapped between his desire to get out of this without fighting and not being seen as a coward with all of his classmates watching. "What do expect me to do...act as if she is not there? Man, I said I didn't know that you two were dating. Move on, it's over."
"You have a smart mouth, a*shole." Donald spat as he took a step forward, fists rising. "Let's do this."
Jake stepped back, as John and Robert moved to block off his ability to move right or left, mind racing to figure out how he was going to get out of this. Despite not wanting to look the coward, he was unsure about his ability to fight one person, let alone three opponents. He was also aware that all of the eyes around the picnic area were on him. He did not want to look like a wuss by running away, but wasn't sure if getting beat up in front of all of his classmates would be any better.
Out of the corner of his eye, Jake saw someone move up next to him. The person spoke. "You want to mess with someone three-on-one, how about giving me a try?" Jake recognized Michael Yount's voice.
Mike, as he preferred to be called, had once been a close friend of Jake's. He was a little shorter than Jake, but very muscular. Mike and Jake had played youth and freshman football together. Even then, Mike had been built and always seemed to be the strongest and toughest guy in the group.
Jake could still vividly remember the hit Mike laid on him in freshman football. They were running some full contact drills at practice when Jake was given the ball on offense and Mike was playing linebacker. Jake had come out of the backfield and slipped around the edge of the line. The quarterback saw that and threw to Jake. He caught the ball and turned upfield. He had only taken a couple of steps when he felt like he had been hit in the side by a truck. One moment he was running; the next he was on the ground, laying on his side, sucking for air. Through the sweat, dirt and grass in his eyes, he saw Mike standing over him. Mike stood there grinning until he realized that Jake was hurt. After that, Mike had appointed himself Jake's mother hen while his bruised ribs healed. If Mike thought that anyone hit Jake too hard, he let them know. For a while, the hits were half-hearted at best; the defenders had one eye on Jake and one on Mike.
Unfortunately, ever since his dad died unexpectedly the summer before their junior year, Mike had drifted away from Jake and the other guys with whom he had played football. He began to skip classes and got into a couple of fights after school. In one fight, he had knocked the guy cold with one punch. He had gone to juvenile hall for about a month for that. Once he returned, he started to spend more and more time with some of the least savory characters at school. With his obvious strength and a sudden reputation of being willing to fight at the drop of a hat, most sane people avoided making Mike an enemy. Luckily, he was still friendly with Jake.
"This doesn't involve you, Mike, so why don't you just back..." Donald started confidently, only to realize that John and Robert were slowly backing away. They had played football with Mike and knew what he could do. Mike just stood there looking at him with a slight smile on his face, slowly clenching and unclenching his fists, his muscles flexing and looking as if they were going to rip apart his short sleeved shirt. Donald swallowed nervously. "Look, I don't want any trouble with you. This is between Jake and me."
"Next time, why don't you just man up and do your own fighting?" Mike replied, voice steady and firm, smile gone. "If I catch you running up three-on-one on Jake again, then I will make this my business. Trust me; you don't want any part of that. Your daddy's money won't do you any good then." A smirk crossed his face. "I'll make sure your girlfriend is taken care of, though."
Donald flushed at the last remark, but wisely bit back a reply. He glared at Jake and said. "This isn't over." He turned and walked away, John and Robert sheepishly following. The quiet that had descended on the table area broke into a multitude of voices as it seemed that everyone began speaking up all at once.
"Thanks, Mike." Jake said as he exhaled sharply. "You know how my folks feel about me fighting, especially at school. Not only that, I can't have something like that on my record as I'm trying to get into some good schools." He hesitated for a moment. "You going to college in the fall, Mike?"
"No." Mike replied shortly, face unreadable. Then a smile reappeared. "Did you really ask out his girl?" Mike said with a soft chuckle. "Your timing with the ladies has always been lousy. Hell, if I was in his shoes, I'd probably want to kick your ass too."
The smile slowly faded, his dark eyes meeting Jake's. "Watch yourself. That rich dickhead is used to having things his way. If he tries anything, you let me know. I'll teach him a lesson he won't forget." Mike turned to head back to the gangster table. "Peace out."
Jake stared sadly after Mike for a second, regretting that their friendship had drifted apart. He heard the guys at Mike's table give him grief about ruining a perfectly good fight. Jake turned to head for his table and saw Matt and Sean weaving their way through the crowd that had gathered to watch the show.
"Man, we didn't know you were involved or we'd have been there to back you up. We figured it was a couple of jocks messing around." Sean said as he came up to Jake. "We heard it was Donald and a couple of his buddies. What's up his ass?"
Sean and Jake had been friends since grade school. He was about Jake's height with wavy dark hair and bright blue eyes. Even Jake had to admit that Sean was a good looking guy. When they went swimming or to the beach, Jake found it was hard not to feel a little jealous of Sean. He looked like a swimsuit model when he pulled off his shirt, lean and muscular. That generally would bring the girls around; unfortunately, Sean was pretty reserved and even more awkward around girls than Jake.
"I asked Sabrina to prom." Jake replied, blushing slightly, embarrassed. He had not told anyone, including Sean and Matt, about the call and Sabrina had promised not to say anything. Well, that apparently did not work out.
"Dude, seriously, you didn't know she was dating the Donster?" Matt asked, a broad smile on his face. Matt always seemed to have a smile on his face. Jake had met Matt their freshman year in math class. Matt was shorter than Jake and Sean and a bit on the chubby side. His shaggy brown hair always looked like he did not own a comb; it was always hanging down in his glasses. Matt's personality was the opposite of Sean's in that he was anything but shy. He acted as if he did not have an off switch; he always had something to say, most of the time trying to be funny. In fact, Jake could not remember if Matt had ever been quiet for more than a couple of minutes.
"You've actually got to use the Facebook account I set up for you." Matt continued. "I saw that she had changed her status and posted about it a couple of weeks ago. When you said you were going to ask someone to prom, I figured it was Tina."
Tina Rostell was one of Jake's chemistry lab partners and had a not-so-secret thing for him. They had drunkenly made out at Matt's house a couple of months ago when his folks were out of town. Matt had invited about twenty people over and, naturally, they had gotten into his dad's liquor cabinet. Several drinking games later, Jake had found himself with Tina in the spare bedroom on a dare and things just seemed to happen. If not for the intervention of the group, banging on the door and shouting suggestions, Jake was not sure where it would have stopped. Despite trying to make a joke out of it since, it was pretty obvious that Tina would like to have a second go.
The problem for Jake was that he liked Tina. She was smart and attractive, with short, dark hair and brown eyes, her petite body slender and fit from running cross-country and track. Jake really liked that she had a sunny disposition, always smiling and joking. But Jake's only real love interest for the last year was Sabrina.
"You think he is going to keep at you?" Sean asked, sounding worried, referring to Donald. "Let me give you ride home after school."
Sean always had a protective streak in him, even when they were kids. Of course, Jake thought, having trained in martial arts since he was about seven, Sean could actually protect someone. Jake had gone to a couple of Sean's classes and found out that he was a bit of a badass, fast and strong. Not many people knew that about him; it was not something that Sean talked much about.
"That may not be a bad idea." Jake replied, thinking that, given the day's events, maybe erring on the side of caution would be the prudent course. Jake's car was still in the shop with electrical problems, so his mom had been dropping him off in the morning and Jake would walk the couple of miles to his home, located just outside of town, after school. It was not so bad, as the weather was nice.
"Dudes, the lunch period is a wasting. Let get back to the table and eat." Matt said. They went over to the table where Matt and Sean had been sitting. At Matt's prompting, Jake recounted his call with Sabrina.
That brought the conversation back around to what Jake should do about Donald. Sean wanted Jake to avoid Donald and never go anywhere without him, despite the impracticality of that. Matt's suggestions, of course, were not serious and soon became more and more outrageous. Before they knew it, they were laughing about it and Jake started to feel better.
When the bell rang to signal the end of lunch, the three friends headed towards the classrooms together. Sean had English for fifth period while Jake and Matt had chemistry together. Sean walked with Jake and Matt to their classroom. "You want me to meet you at your class after sixth period?" He asked.
"No, I'll meet you at your car." Jake replied. He saw a look of doubt on Sean's face. "Don't worry. I'm sure I'll make it there before Donald can find me." Sean nodded and headed off to his class.
Jake and Matt entered the classroom and headed for their seats in the lab. Jake tried to ignore some of the speculative looks and whispers his classmates exchanged at the sight of him. Jake mentioned it quietly to Matt. Matt patted his cell phone and made a joke about the curse of modern technology. Their seats were in the back of the lab with Matt sitting at the lab table next to Jake's. As they approached, they saw that Tina was already at her and Jake's table, dressed in shorts and a loose blouse.
"Hello, Jake. Matt." Tina said sweetly in greeting as they got to the tables. She gave Jake coy smile and patted his chair next to her. Jake felt his cheeks getting a bit hot at that, but Matt laughed out loud.
"Hey, Tina." Matt said, a broad smile on his face. "Jake and I were just talking about the party. You know, I think my dad still has some vodka left over and I'm sure I can find an empty bottle. Care to come over and spin the bottle again?"
"You wish." Tina said, her face going slightly pink at the memories. She looked over at Jake with a smile and gave him a wink. "You know that Jake is the only one for me." Matt laughed again.
As Jake was sitting down, facing the classroom door, Sabrina walked into the room, her short sundress emphasizing her form and highlighting her legs. Jake paused, captivated as always by Sabrina. She was looking at her phone as she came in, a frown on her face. To Jake, even that was attractive.
She was tall, just a little shorter than Jake, and slender, with those long tan legs and just the right amount of curves. Her face, framed by her shoulder-length blond hair, was smooth and flawless, with just a hint of a tan. She had classic features, with her round eyes, slender nose and medium lips. Her eyes were a rich deep blue that Jake could just sit and stare into, losing himself. When she smiled, her white teeth catching the light, she seemed the most beautiful person ever created to Jake. As he watched her approach, he wished he could find some way to get her away from Donald.
Tina's exasperated sigh brought Jake back from his thoughts and he sat down. He glanced at Matt, who nodded at Sabina and smiled, a mischievous look in his eyes. Jake shook his head no, but he could tell that Matt was going to say something regardless.
To his surprise, Sabrina came right up to his table. She nodded at Tina in greeting and looked at Jake. "I heard about what happened at lunch. I'm so sorry about that." She reached out and put her hand on Jake's. The contact was electric; he marveled at the warmth and silkiness of her skin. "I'm going to talk with Donald about this. It won't happen again." She gave him a small smile.
"Your concern is so touching, Sabrina." Matt interjected sarcastically, smirking. "First, you break poor Jake's heart by scorning his invitation to prom and then your boyfriend almost breaks everything else. How did Donald find out anyway? A little bird?"
"You're an ass, Matt." Sabrina said sharply, frown returning while Matt chuckled at the insult.
She turned back to Jake, face serious. "I didn't tell Donald about you asking me to prom, Jake. I made the mistake of mentioning it to Shelly in passing this morning and she sent someone else a text, which was forwarded and, soon enough, Donald heard about it. I'm so sorry."
"It's ok, Sabrina. Water under the bridge." Jake replied, smiling, savoring the feel of Sabrina's hand on his and the slight hint of her perfume. "It's not a big deal. No one got hurt." She smiled back.
"Thanks, Jake. I'll talk with Donald, though." She gave his hand a quick pat and moved towards her seat. Jake, smitten and enthralled, followed her with his eyes, remembering the feel of her hand and enjoying the way she moved.
"Gee, Jake, you act as if you have never seen a girl before." Tina said, interrupting Jake's thoughts. Jake turned towards her, startled to see what looked like an angry expression on Tina's face. Before he could comment, the look passed and Tina smiled sweetly. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it is impolite to stare? Especially when there are other girls present."
"So you say!" Matt said, a big smile on his face. "Only a dead man wouldn't stare at that. You have to admit, Tina, that Sabrina does have a great body. It's not hard to see why ole Jake is so gaga for her."
Jake sighed quietly as Matt and Tina continued to banter, his eyes drifting back over to Sabrina. His thoughts wandered as he wistfully studied her. How could he get her to see that Donald was bad news and he was the better choice? What was he going to do about Donald? Why did Tina look angry?
His thoughts continued to roil in his head as the teacher came in and class began. Despite his questions, one thing he hoped for was that he would get out of today without any more drama.