in our class. It’s like something out of a bad movie.
They’re stupid to be making out in the library in the middle of school. They’re lucky I’m not a teacher. I standand I stare, and they just keep going at it until finally Tony pulls away. His mouth is wet. I’m totally grossed out, even though I used to think Tony’s kisses were delicious.
“Velvet!” He looks guilty.
Well, he should.
If this were a movie, I’d spin on my heel and storm out of the library with him following behind, begging me for forgiveness. The whole world has felt like a movie over the past year and a half, and not a romantic comedy, either. This is just another kind of horror flick.
“Velvet?” The girl turns. Talk about trashy. I wonder what his mother will think. “What kind of lame name is that?”
“It’s from a book about a horse,” Tony says.
The only reason he knows is because I told him the same thing when we first started going out. He’d asked the same question, without the “lame” part of it. My mother named me after the heroine of one of her favorite books,
National Velvet
, and it’s true it’s a book about a horse. But the girl who’s been making out with my boyfriend doesn’t seem to have any sort of clue.
“Velvet’s a fabric,” she says with a roll of her eyes.
“Her sister’s name is Opal,” Tony offers, like that helps.
“Shut up,” I whisper, since this is the library.
My hands are clenched at my sides. Tony’s skin is normally pretty tan, but from the sun, not spray, like his mother’s. Now he goes a little pale. He looks back and forth between the two of us. Me and whoever she is.
“Velveeta,” he says, but my look stops him.
“Do not call me that. Ever again.” It was cute when I thought I loved him, but it’s not cute now. “You suck, Tony, you know that?”
“Wow,” says the girl. “I thought you told me she dumped you?”
“Maybe he has a time machine and was just a little early.” It’s a line worthy of a movie, and I’d like to deliver it all cool and bold like a movie heroine would. It comes out sounding shakier than that. “Because I’m dumping him right now.”
“Cool,” she says. “So, like, can you get lost?”
“Velvet!” Tony says this too loudly. He’s going to get kicked out of the library. Maybe get detention.
I don’t care.
“I’m sorry!”
I stop. Twist. He looks sorry, but maybe only sorry he got caught. Not sorry he was kissing some other girl. Not sorry I broke up with him.
“I guess your mom will be happy about this.” I flick a glance at his new … whatever she is. “Although good luck with that.”
“Hey!” The other girl puts her hands on her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She moves toward me, her face a storm cloud, and I realize that she’s going to … what? Fight me? Here in the library, the middle of school? I recognize her then. She’sgot a reputation for fighting, for going with lots of boys, for dressing like a skank. Exactly the sort of girl Tony’s mom had always accused me of being and I never was.
Suddenly I’m grinning and laughing. None of this is funny, but I can’t stop. My heart is probably broken and maybe I’m losing my marbles, just a little, but I look at Tony and I look at what he’s replacing me with, and I think, better now than after a wedding ring and a couple of kids.
I’m only seventeen. There will be other boys. Tony’s not such a good guy, after all. And, though it hurts, I start to walk away for good.
She follows me. “Hey!”
Her hand snags the back of my coat, jerking me back a step. “Listen, he’s with me now! You lost out!”
My mother always told me there was no point in fighting over a boy. If he wanted to be with me instead of someone else, he would be. If you have to force someone to want you, she said, it’s not really love.
My impulse control isn’t damaged by a hole in my brain, just by being tired and stressed, and I want to haul off and
They’re stupid to be making out in the library in the middle of school. They’re lucky I’m not a teacher. I standand I stare, and they just keep going at it until finally Tony pulls away. His mouth is wet. I’m totally grossed out, even though I used to think Tony’s kisses were delicious.
“Velvet!” He looks guilty.
Well, he should.
If this were a movie, I’d spin on my heel and storm out of the library with him following behind, begging me for forgiveness. The whole world has felt like a movie over the past year and a half, and not a romantic comedy, either. This is just another kind of horror flick.
“Velvet?” The girl turns. Talk about trashy. I wonder what his mother will think. “What kind of lame name is that?”
“It’s from a book about a horse,” Tony says.
The only reason he knows is because I told him the same thing when we first started going out. He’d asked the same question, without the “lame” part of it. My mother named me after the heroine of one of her favorite books,
National Velvet
, and it’s true it’s a book about a horse. But the girl who’s been making out with my boyfriend doesn’t seem to have any sort of clue.
“Velvet’s a fabric,” she says with a roll of her eyes.
“Her sister’s name is Opal,” Tony offers, like that helps.
“Shut up,” I whisper, since this is the library.
My hands are clenched at my sides. Tony’s skin is normally pretty tan, but from the sun, not spray, like his mother’s. Now he goes a little pale. He looks back and forth between the two of us. Me and whoever she is.
“Velveeta,” he says, but my look stops him.
“Do not call me that. Ever again.” It was cute when I thought I loved him, but it’s not cute now. “You suck, Tony, you know that?”
“Wow,” says the girl. “I thought you told me she dumped you?”
“Maybe he has a time machine and was just a little early.” It’s a line worthy of a movie, and I’d like to deliver it all cool and bold like a movie heroine would. It comes out sounding shakier than that. “Because I’m dumping him right now.”
“Cool,” she says. “So, like, can you get lost?”
“Velvet!” Tony says this too loudly. He’s going to get kicked out of the library. Maybe get detention.
I don’t care.
“I’m sorry!”
I stop. Twist. He looks sorry, but maybe only sorry he got caught. Not sorry he was kissing some other girl. Not sorry I broke up with him.
“I guess your mom will be happy about this.” I flick a glance at his new … whatever she is. “Although good luck with that.”
“Hey!” The other girl puts her hands on her hips. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
She moves toward me, her face a storm cloud, and I realize that she’s going to … what? Fight me? Here in the library, the middle of school? I recognize her then. She’sgot a reputation for fighting, for going with lots of boys, for dressing like a skank. Exactly the sort of girl Tony’s mom had always accused me of being and I never was.
Suddenly I’m grinning and laughing. None of this is funny, but I can’t stop. My heart is probably broken and maybe I’m losing my marbles, just a little, but I look at Tony and I look at what he’s replacing me with, and I think, better now than after a wedding ring and a couple of kids.
I’m only seventeen. There will be other boys. Tony’s not such a good guy, after all. And, though it hurts, I start to walk away for good.
She follows me. “Hey!”
Her hand snags the back of my coat, jerking me back a step. “Listen, he’s with me now! You lost out!”
My mother always told me there was no point in fighting over a boy. If he wanted to be with me instead of someone else, he would be. If you have to force someone to want you, she said, it’s not really love.
My impulse control isn’t damaged by a hole in my brain, just by being tired and stressed, and I want to haul off and
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