Busted by Antony John

nervously and fiddles with her paper pad.
    â€œHey, babe,” Ryan bellows. “How much free shit’ll you be able to get us tonight?”
    Keira spins around like she’s expecting to find the manager beside her taking notes.
    â€œI don’t know, okay? It’s not easy. And now you’ve upset Janet, and she’s the manager’s wife, so I’ll have to be real careful.”
    Ryan shakes his head disgustedly. “Whatever. Don’t do us any favors or nothing. I’m just your boyfriend, that’s all. Nothing special.”
    â€œOh, Ryan, I’m sorry. I’ll take care of it, okay? Food’s on me tonight. I’ll pay out of my tips.”
    Keira takes our orders, but I can’t bear to ask for anything. Ryan notices and orders the most expensive item on the menu fo r me. Keira winces, then leaves.
    â€œThat was good, man,” applauds Zach, chinking his glass of water against Ryan’s. “Do you even like this chick, or is it just about the free food?”
    â€œSome of both, you know?”
    Zach nods and crunches an ice cube loudly between his teeth.
    â€œHey, guys,” says Paige, venturing over from the cheerleaders’ booth. “Whassup?”
    Paige Tramell is hot and she knows it. She’s tied her blond hair back in two long pigtails that scream I’m-cute-and-I’m-innocent! and she’s changed into a bright white crop top (she always dresses in white to be ironic) that shows off her belly button ring. All the guys stare unblinkingly at her tummy, but she pretends not to notice, so I figure she doesn’t mind. I look too.
    â€œHaven’t seen you here before, Kevin,” she says.
    I feel my head jerking back up to her face. “No, I … ”
    â€œHe’s one of us now,” says Brandon, wrapping a muscled arm around me. “Trust me, Kevin’s big time.”
    â€œOh yeah?” Paige’s brows knit momentarily, but then she smiles and bites her lip in a really sexy way. “I’ll have to remember that,” she says, tapping her finger against her head. “That’s the kind of thing a girl ought to know, Kevin.”
    Just to hear her say my name makes my legs go to Jell-O. I try to think of something to say, but my mouth just flaps open and shut a few times like a fish starved of oxygen. Eventually I look away. I know it’s a dorky response, but I don’t care. I want to bottle this moment and keep it for the rest of my life.
    I’ve officially entered the ranks of the cool.

9
    I ’m trying not to ogle Morgan and Taylor, but it’s difficult. They’re sitting on either side of me, forming a Kevin sandwich with their pretty faces and beautiful breasts. As they lean over our shared table in a way that reminds me how truly feminine they are, I worry that my hard-on won’t wear off before class ends. But then I realize what a wonderful problem that is to have, and offer a silent prayer of thanks to Brandon.
    While she waits for everyone to calm down—which always takes up the first ten minutes of every English class—Ms. Kowalski glares at our unlikely trio. If she were a guy I’d say she’s just jealous of me, but instead I assume this is all related to the Graduation Rituals. I never realized how much it would bug her. And I certainly never guessed she’d call my mom. I don’t think that Ms. K and I are best buddies anymore.
    For most of class Ms. K monologues on everything from Sylvia Plath to split infinitives, and the room gets progressively quieter. Eventually she runs out of steam, sits down, and rummages through her notes.
    â€œAll right,” she says with forced enthusiasm, “in honor of our baseball team’s recent success, I’d like to discuss your favorite sports movies.”
    â€œ Friday Night Lights ,” shouts Ryan, whose status as one of the pitchers for the victorious team makes him well-qualified to