even a moment.
It was enough to make Tatiana want to scream.
Everyone around her was blessed with everything they wanted, and here she was, stuck with a mom who was away half the time Lord knew where, a totally insane roommate, and a time-share boyfriend .
God bless America .
Handful of Ho Hos
TATIANA COULDNâT TAKE IT ANYMORE. She slammed her book shut, hearing the imaginary cries of the suddenly squished numbers and letters whoâd just been having such a good time, and stood up.
The student lounge was empty except for a couple knotted together on one of the two seen-better-days couches along the wall, making out as if theyâd just discovered these new things called lips and tongues . Tatiana hadnât even noticed them before.
Great. One more happy couple to add to my list .
She strode out of the lounge, out into the hallway, not even sure where she was headed. If Ed wanted to ignore her, then he could ignore her. But she wasnât going to make it easy for him. If he came face-to-face with the girl heâd kissed, wouldnât he have to say something? Wasnât there a law? And if not, was there a committee somewhere working to put it into the books?
Tatiana was determined to force some kind of confrontation. She knew she was being a little overly hyper, but then again, Ed had been a little overly friendly and was now a little overly avoiding her.
All right. So where was he? She knew he had AP history this period, but she wasnât sure what floor it was on. Anyway, she couldnât just go waltzing into his classroom and stand at the blackboard and announce that he was the kissing bandit. She had to be cool, run into him like it was an accident.
First floor. Wasnât AP history on the first floor? Taught by Mr. Verrinder. Yes! She raced down the stairs two at a time, hoping she wouldnât run into a hall monitor in her effort to make it down before the end of the period. Unless Ed was sent to the office at the same time, that would completely derail her plan.
The bell shrieked just as she arrived at the corner she had decided on, near the vending machines, and as the doors to all the classrooms slammed open in unison and began leaking high school kids, she straightened her sweater, tried to smooth her hair, and attempted to be convincing in her sudden interest in the choice between Bit-O-Honey and jujubes.
She spotted him out of the corner of her eye immediately. He was hard to miss, of course. His hitching gait as his crutches helped him along set him apart from the rest of the crowd. So did his adorably rumpled hair and his unconsciously cute way of wearing his shirt untucked. But he didnât seem to see her.
Tatiana gave the vending machine a thump with her fist, then kicked it. This was a silly scene to be making, but what was the English expression? Desperate times call for desperate measurements, or something like that.
âGive me my Ho Hos, you stupid machine,â she said in a voice loud enough to make a few heads turn.
There. He looked up. And he was too close to get away with ignoring her.
She turned to face him as if she were just looking around for help. âOh, Ed!â she cried out, with all the mock surprise of Bart Simpson finding out he was in trouble with Principal Skinner again. âI didnât expect to see you down here. Can you help me figure out this stupid machine?â
Edâs face betrayed no emotionânot surprise, not guilt, and not joy at seeing her.
Tatiana felt embarrassed and somehow naked, but it was too late to run away now.
Ed came over to the vending machine and studied it for a moment. âIt says you didnât put money in,â he pointed out. âIt says zero cents up there.â
Ugh. Sure enough, the bright red LED display said zero point zero zero.
âOh, but I did put the money in,â she complained. âThat is why this machine is so stupid. I put the money in, but it didnât register
It was enough to make Tatiana want to scream.
Everyone around her was blessed with everything they wanted, and here she was, stuck with a mom who was away half the time Lord knew where, a totally insane roommate, and a time-share boyfriend .
God bless America .
Handful of Ho Hos
TATIANA COULDNâT TAKE IT ANYMORE. She slammed her book shut, hearing the imaginary cries of the suddenly squished numbers and letters whoâd just been having such a good time, and stood up.
The student lounge was empty except for a couple knotted together on one of the two seen-better-days couches along the wall, making out as if theyâd just discovered these new things called lips and tongues . Tatiana hadnât even noticed them before.
Great. One more happy couple to add to my list .
She strode out of the lounge, out into the hallway, not even sure where she was headed. If Ed wanted to ignore her, then he could ignore her. But she wasnât going to make it easy for him. If he came face-to-face with the girl heâd kissed, wouldnât he have to say something? Wasnât there a law? And if not, was there a committee somewhere working to put it into the books?
Tatiana was determined to force some kind of confrontation. She knew she was being a little overly hyper, but then again, Ed had been a little overly friendly and was now a little overly avoiding her.
All right. So where was he? She knew he had AP history this period, but she wasnât sure what floor it was on. Anyway, she couldnât just go waltzing into his classroom and stand at the blackboard and announce that he was the kissing bandit. She had to be cool, run into him like it was an accident.
First floor. Wasnât AP history on the first floor? Taught by Mr. Verrinder. Yes! She raced down the stairs two at a time, hoping she wouldnât run into a hall monitor in her effort to make it down before the end of the period. Unless Ed was sent to the office at the same time, that would completely derail her plan.
The bell shrieked just as she arrived at the corner she had decided on, near the vending machines, and as the doors to all the classrooms slammed open in unison and began leaking high school kids, she straightened her sweater, tried to smooth her hair, and attempted to be convincing in her sudden interest in the choice between Bit-O-Honey and jujubes.
She spotted him out of the corner of her eye immediately. He was hard to miss, of course. His hitching gait as his crutches helped him along set him apart from the rest of the crowd. So did his adorably rumpled hair and his unconsciously cute way of wearing his shirt untucked. But he didnât seem to see her.
Tatiana gave the vending machine a thump with her fist, then kicked it. This was a silly scene to be making, but what was the English expression? Desperate times call for desperate measurements, or something like that.
âGive me my Ho Hos, you stupid machine,â she said in a voice loud enough to make a few heads turn.
There. He looked up. And he was too close to get away with ignoring her.
She turned to face him as if she were just looking around for help. âOh, Ed!â she cried out, with all the mock surprise of Bart Simpson finding out he was in trouble with Principal Skinner again. âI didnât expect to see you down here. Can you help me figure out this stupid machine?â
Edâs face betrayed no emotionânot surprise, not guilt, and not joy at seeing her.
Tatiana felt embarrassed and somehow naked, but it was too late to run away now.
Ed came over to the vending machine and studied it for a moment. âIt says you didnât put money in,â he pointed out. âIt says zero cents up there.â
Ugh. Sure enough, the bright red LED display said zero point zero zero.
âOh, but I did put the money in,â she complained. âThat is why this machine is so stupid. I put the money in, but it didnât register
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