guy
going to Stanford."
"Oh, I'd
still go, but I wouldn't need to. Besides, you could have gone, too, if you
wanted."
"OCU works
well enough for me, and I'll probably get some sort of scholarship there. Plus,
I can stay home with Mom." He didn't want to leave her alone, and Orange
County University was less than ten minutes from their house. Kareem knew this,
so there were no impending momma's boy jokes or anything.
A half-dozen or so
zombies wandered onto the screen, snapping their attention back to the game.
"Let's take out this little group and then heal up," Kareem said.
"Should be a big battle soon."
Wyatt took out
three, while Kareem bagged four. They both grabbed med-packs that dropped and
made sure they were healed up and locked and loaded. As they were getting ready
to go, Kareem said, "But, seriously, Wyatt, Allyssa likes you. Like,
like-likes you. Ask her out."
"I
know." And he did. She really was perfect for him. And if he was going out
with her, it would rid him of his obsession with Mandy, right? That was getting
far beyond dumb now anyway. She was as happy as could be with Alex. A ton happier
than she could ever be with him. Ask out Allyssa and move on with life. It was
the best thing for him to do.
"Ready?"
Kareem asked, his J.F.K. inching forward. "On three."
"Got
it."
"One. Two.
Three."
CHAPTER EIGHT
MANDY
Thursdays in
Sports Conditioning meant sixth period in the air conditioned weight room, so
even though it was still scorching hot out, Mandy didn't get nearly as sweaty
as she did on Tuesday. That meant no shower was necessary, and she could get to
the library pretty close to the end of school, so Wyatt and Kareem wouldn't
need to wait as long for her today. Neither would Allyssa Shaw, she supposed.
She and Allyssa had never so much as spoken a word to each other; they'd simply
never crossed paths. She knew Allyssa was smart, in fact took most of the same
classes as Wyatt and Kareem, but she'd never had one with her before this year.
Much like with Wyatt.
As she passed the
senior quad, her thoughts flashed to Alex. As far as she could remember, neither
of them had so much as spoken a word to the other today. They held hands at
break, like always, and he hugged her close a couple of times, which she
absolutely loved, but they'd not said anything. Not hello, goodbye, or anything
in between. As sad as it was to say, and she wouldn't have even noticed two days
ago, it was probably the most pleasant day with him since he came back from
Michigan. She wasn't sure if this was good news or not.
She tested him a
bit at lunch, but he didn't take the bait. Instead of a couple of bite-sized
chocolate bars, she brought in a bag of a half-dozen Oreos. While Alex sat
close to her, occasionally putting his arm around her shoulder, he never so
much as looked at her during lunch. That was okay, right? A step in the right
direction? They'd never had any sort of problem before, so she wasn't sure. She'd
ask Luci later, see what she thought.
Wyatt, Kareem, and
Allyssa claimed the same table from Tuesday. They were settling in, so, as she
figured, they hadn't beaten her here by much. They hadn't even pulled out their
homework yet.
Before she made it
a few steps into the library, Wyatt waved and broke out in a huge grin. As she
waved back, she saw a scowl on Allyssa's face. It lasted only a split second,
and it was quickly replaced by a smile, but it was enough to tell Mandy why Allyssa
had wanted to join the group: she liked Wyatt and didn't want Mandy to get in
her way. She must know that she had no worries, though, right? Or did she not
know about Alex? She supposed it was a bit egotistical to think everyone at
school knew all about her and her relationship.
"Miss
Incognito," Kareem said. "How goes it?"
"No
complaints," she said. "As long as none of us blink." That
earned a laugh from everyone. They'd watched the Doctor Who episode, Blink, in
Comic Book Pop Culture, where dangerous aliens looked like
going to Stanford."
"Oh, I'd
still go, but I wouldn't need to. Besides, you could have gone, too, if you
wanted."
"OCU works
well enough for me, and I'll probably get some sort of scholarship there. Plus,
I can stay home with Mom." He didn't want to leave her alone, and Orange
County University was less than ten minutes from their house. Kareem knew this,
so there were no impending momma's boy jokes or anything.
A half-dozen or so
zombies wandered onto the screen, snapping their attention back to the game.
"Let's take out this little group and then heal up," Kareem said.
"Should be a big battle soon."
Wyatt took out
three, while Kareem bagged four. They both grabbed med-packs that dropped and
made sure they were healed up and locked and loaded. As they were getting ready
to go, Kareem said, "But, seriously, Wyatt, Allyssa likes you. Like,
like-likes you. Ask her out."
"I
know." And he did. She really was perfect for him. And if he was going out
with her, it would rid him of his obsession with Mandy, right? That was getting
far beyond dumb now anyway. She was as happy as could be with Alex. A ton happier
than she could ever be with him. Ask out Allyssa and move on with life. It was
the best thing for him to do.
"Ready?"
Kareem asked, his J.F.K. inching forward. "On three."
"Got
it."
"One. Two.
Three."
CHAPTER EIGHT
MANDY
Thursdays in
Sports Conditioning meant sixth period in the air conditioned weight room, so
even though it was still scorching hot out, Mandy didn't get nearly as sweaty
as she did on Tuesday. That meant no shower was necessary, and she could get to
the library pretty close to the end of school, so Wyatt and Kareem wouldn't
need to wait as long for her today. Neither would Allyssa Shaw, she supposed.
She and Allyssa had never so much as spoken a word to each other; they'd simply
never crossed paths. She knew Allyssa was smart, in fact took most of the same
classes as Wyatt and Kareem, but she'd never had one with her before this year.
Much like with Wyatt.
As she passed the
senior quad, her thoughts flashed to Alex. As far as she could remember, neither
of them had so much as spoken a word to the other today. They held hands at
break, like always, and he hugged her close a couple of times, which she
absolutely loved, but they'd not said anything. Not hello, goodbye, or anything
in between. As sad as it was to say, and she wouldn't have even noticed two days
ago, it was probably the most pleasant day with him since he came back from
Michigan. She wasn't sure if this was good news or not.
She tested him a
bit at lunch, but he didn't take the bait. Instead of a couple of bite-sized
chocolate bars, she brought in a bag of a half-dozen Oreos. While Alex sat
close to her, occasionally putting his arm around her shoulder, he never so
much as looked at her during lunch. That was okay, right? A step in the right
direction? They'd never had any sort of problem before, so she wasn't sure. She'd
ask Luci later, see what she thought.
Wyatt, Kareem, and
Allyssa claimed the same table from Tuesday. They were settling in, so, as she
figured, they hadn't beaten her here by much. They hadn't even pulled out their
homework yet.
Before she made it
a few steps into the library, Wyatt waved and broke out in a huge grin. As she
waved back, she saw a scowl on Allyssa's face. It lasted only a split second,
and it was quickly replaced by a smile, but it was enough to tell Mandy why Allyssa
had wanted to join the group: she liked Wyatt and didn't want Mandy to get in
her way. She must know that she had no worries, though, right? Or did she not
know about Alex? She supposed it was a bit egotistical to think everyone at
school knew all about her and her relationship.
"Miss
Incognito," Kareem said. "How goes it?"
"No
complaints," she said. "As long as none of us blink." That
earned a laugh from everyone. They'd watched the Doctor Who episode, Blink, in
Comic Book Pop Culture, where dangerous aliens looked like
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