textbook. The only one in there was Western Civ. Only four days into the school year and already my backpack was as messy and unorganized as my life.
“Nine A.M.?” Lonnie said out of nowhere, making me jump. The Western Civ book slid from my hands and smacked onto the floor, right next to Lonnie’s acoustic guitar case emblazoned with the words Property of Manhattan Preparatory . He was in a band called Dyslexia, but they spelled their band name backwards—Aixelsyd—which always confused random patrons at the coffee shop where they used to play on Friday nights.
They didn’t play anymore.
He didn’t bother to help me pick up the books. I felt equally relieved and disappointed.
“It’s already ten thirty. Remember, you had gym at nine?” I straightened and pressed the back of my palm to his forehead. “You feeling okay?”
“I’m not asking the time.” The corners of Lonnie’s lips quirked upward.
And then it hit me. “Oh! You weren’t supposed to figure that out.” I avoided his eyes.
Lonnie stroked his chin with his fingertips. “Interesting. Very interesting.”
Chatter ratcheted up to maximum capacity as the other students tried to squeeze in their conversations during the last minute before the bell rang. A few people at the front of the classroom craned their necks to look at me. One guy raised his eyebrows at me a few times in succession and I knew he was probably imagining the kissing scene. Imagining that I might be interested in reenacting it with him. This wasn’t exactly the spotlight I wanted. The infamous girl who screwed up her sister’s life and now exploited it for all to see.
“Thoughts?” I asked.
Lonnie ran a hand through his shaggy bangs. “Well, I hadn’t really thought about it until now.”
“And?” I watched him out of the corner of my eye, unsure what I wanted his answer to be. But then I reminded myself what I needed it to be.
“I have a lot to think about.”
After class, I picked up my backpack while Lonnie grabbed his guitar. “I’ll meet you at lunch. I have to drop this off in the music room first.” He patted the guitar case.
“Pfft, do it after. It will make an excellent companion in the cafeteria. All the girls will be swooning, trust me.”
“Fine, woman.” He followed me into the hallway.
I sidestepped around a few slow walkers idling in the middle of the hallway. Didn’t they know it was illegal to walk slowly in NYC? What were they, tourists?
When we rounded the corner toward the cafeteria, we turned directly into Ali and Denise’s path. Of course. I immediately stopped in my tracks, torn between fleeing and facing them head on. Ali made the decision for me as she stomped right up to us. Denise hung back, swaying in the middle of the hallway as if she couldn’t make up her mind which direction to go. Finally, she squared her shoulders and matched Ali’s gait stride for stride until they blocked our path like a guard rail.
Lonnie popped his collar. “Ladies, stop following me around. Seriously. It’s getting ridiculous.”
Denise’s face twitched. I took a tiny step away from him, closer to her.
“Damn. Guess the rumors aren’t true.” Ali waited a moment for my response. Around us, students stopped their slow amble to class, swiveling their heads in our direction.
My pulse pounded rock band hard in my veins. I glued my lips shut and stared at my opponents. I wouldn’t give Ali the satisfaction of an answer. The sneer on her face wavered. As much as she was name number one on my shit list, I let her down this summer, too. She had a right to hate me.
She tsked. “When you didn’t show yesterday, people wondered if you transferred,” she clarified, despite my lack of response.
“Translation.” Lonnie turned to me. “She missed you soooooo much yesterday.”
Ali pressed a single finger to his chest and shoved him aside, slipping into the gap between us and effectively shutting him out of the conversation with her back
“Nine A.M.?” Lonnie said out of nowhere, making me jump. The Western Civ book slid from my hands and smacked onto the floor, right next to Lonnie’s acoustic guitar case emblazoned with the words Property of Manhattan Preparatory . He was in a band called Dyslexia, but they spelled their band name backwards—Aixelsyd—which always confused random patrons at the coffee shop where they used to play on Friday nights.
They didn’t play anymore.
He didn’t bother to help me pick up the books. I felt equally relieved and disappointed.
“It’s already ten thirty. Remember, you had gym at nine?” I straightened and pressed the back of my palm to his forehead. “You feeling okay?”
“I’m not asking the time.” The corners of Lonnie’s lips quirked upward.
And then it hit me. “Oh! You weren’t supposed to figure that out.” I avoided his eyes.
Lonnie stroked his chin with his fingertips. “Interesting. Very interesting.”
Chatter ratcheted up to maximum capacity as the other students tried to squeeze in their conversations during the last minute before the bell rang. A few people at the front of the classroom craned their necks to look at me. One guy raised his eyebrows at me a few times in succession and I knew he was probably imagining the kissing scene. Imagining that I might be interested in reenacting it with him. This wasn’t exactly the spotlight I wanted. The infamous girl who screwed up her sister’s life and now exploited it for all to see.
“Thoughts?” I asked.
Lonnie ran a hand through his shaggy bangs. “Well, I hadn’t really thought about it until now.”
“And?” I watched him out of the corner of my eye, unsure what I wanted his answer to be. But then I reminded myself what I needed it to be.
“I have a lot to think about.”
After class, I picked up my backpack while Lonnie grabbed his guitar. “I’ll meet you at lunch. I have to drop this off in the music room first.” He patted the guitar case.
“Pfft, do it after. It will make an excellent companion in the cafeteria. All the girls will be swooning, trust me.”
“Fine, woman.” He followed me into the hallway.
I sidestepped around a few slow walkers idling in the middle of the hallway. Didn’t they know it was illegal to walk slowly in NYC? What were they, tourists?
When we rounded the corner toward the cafeteria, we turned directly into Ali and Denise’s path. Of course. I immediately stopped in my tracks, torn between fleeing and facing them head on. Ali made the decision for me as she stomped right up to us. Denise hung back, swaying in the middle of the hallway as if she couldn’t make up her mind which direction to go. Finally, she squared her shoulders and matched Ali’s gait stride for stride until they blocked our path like a guard rail.
Lonnie popped his collar. “Ladies, stop following me around. Seriously. It’s getting ridiculous.”
Denise’s face twitched. I took a tiny step away from him, closer to her.
“Damn. Guess the rumors aren’t true.” Ali waited a moment for my response. Around us, students stopped their slow amble to class, swiveling their heads in our direction.
My pulse pounded rock band hard in my veins. I glued my lips shut and stared at my opponents. I wouldn’t give Ali the satisfaction of an answer. The sneer on her face wavered. As much as she was name number one on my shit list, I let her down this summer, too. She had a right to hate me.
She tsked. “When you didn’t show yesterday, people wondered if you transferred,” she clarified, despite my lack of response.
“Translation.” Lonnie turned to me. “She missed you soooooo much yesterday.”
Ali pressed a single finger to his chest and shoved him aside, slipping into the gap between us and effectively shutting him out of the conversation with her back
Similar Books
