about her. When she finished, she removed a couple of pills from her purse and swallowed them down with out water, as if she ’ d been taking them for years. The thought made Max sad. He started to say something, but decided it wasn ’ t the place. Besides, he ha d a more pressing issue on his mind.
“ Izzy, I have a question about the pact. ”
She about jumped out of her skin. “ Are you crazy? We can ’ t talk about that here. ” She glanced out into the hall to make sure no one overheard him. “ We agreed not to talk about it until the day of. R emember? ” Max nodded, mostly because he didn ’ t know what else to do. “ Don ’ t you dare chicken out on me, JD. This is right and you know it. ”
“ I ’ m a little fuzzy from the accident still. ”
“ You ’ re right. I ’ m sorry. Do you want help with your math homework tonight? My dad ’ s not going to be home until Friday , so you can come over if you ’ d like. ” Max watched as she picked up all the wrappers and carefully wiped down the desk, erasing their presence from the room. She carefully opened the door, and when the hall was empty they crept out of the classroom.
“ I ’ ll let you know on the math. Okay , Izzy ? ”
“ Sure. I ’ ll wait for you by my locker after school so we can walk to the bus together, ” she said, sliding her book bag up onto her shoulder. “ Safety in numbers, ” she added as she held out her left index finger.
Max wasn ’ t sure what to do, but she expected him to return the gesture. He raised his left index finger to her. She wove her around his and gave one hard shake.
“ Keep to the code. ” She looked at him. “ JD! You didn ’ t say it. ”
“ Sorry, ” Max said shaking her finger with his again.
In unison, they both said, “ Keep to the code. ” She smiled and left.
“ Great. Now if I only knew what the code was. ”
His next class held his only hope of seeing Emma today. She had math in the room next to JD ’ s human physiology class. He peered around the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.
She never showed. He walked in to class late and sat at the back. Miserable.
By the end of the day, exhaustion owned him. The abuse he ’ d endured all day wore on him. The disappointment of not getting to seeing Em only added to his depression. The heavy burden of feeling JD ’ s emotions along with his own surprised him. He planned on going straight to bed when he got home. He didn ’ t care how much homework he had.
He strode to the lockers, wanting to lighten his backpack before meeting up with Izzy. He looked around for her, but had no idea where her locker was. Being a senior also, she should be somewhere nearby, but he couldn ’ t see her anywhere. He decided to put his things away then head over to the bus loading area and wait for her there.
He removed the schedule f rom his pocket and found the locker combination Mary Sunshine , the admissions secretary, gave him. He had to redo the combination three times before it would work. He tugged on the door, but it was stuck. He took both hands and jerked hard.
An explosion of what smelled like pizza sauce splashed all over him. He removed his glasses and tried to wipe off his face. Laughter echoed in his ears, but the sauce running down his face spilled into his eyes, making it impossible to see.
“ Oh my goodness. ” A teacher, at least Max hoped it was a teacher, led him down the hall into room. She handed him a wet towel and Max wiped the sauce out of his eyes and off his face.
“ Who is responsible for this? ” Max turned to see Mary Sunshine standing in front of him.
“ I have no idea. ” Max wanted to tell her she could pick any one since they all seemed to hate JD. He finished wiping his face, digging the sauce out of his ears and hair. It was everywhere. “ Invasive stuff , pizza sauce, ” he said, rinsing the towel out in the sink. He handed it to the secretary and thanked her.
Max raced back to his
“ Izzy, I have a question about the pact. ”
She about jumped out of her skin. “ Are you crazy? We can ’ t talk about that here. ” She glanced out into the hall to make sure no one overheard him. “ We agreed not to talk about it until the day of. R emember? ” Max nodded, mostly because he didn ’ t know what else to do. “ Don ’ t you dare chicken out on me, JD. This is right and you know it. ”
“ I ’ m a little fuzzy from the accident still. ”
“ You ’ re right. I ’ m sorry. Do you want help with your math homework tonight? My dad ’ s not going to be home until Friday , so you can come over if you ’ d like. ” Max watched as she picked up all the wrappers and carefully wiped down the desk, erasing their presence from the room. She carefully opened the door, and when the hall was empty they crept out of the classroom.
“ I ’ ll let you know on the math. Okay , Izzy ? ”
“ Sure. I ’ ll wait for you by my locker after school so we can walk to the bus together, ” she said, sliding her book bag up onto her shoulder. “ Safety in numbers, ” she added as she held out her left index finger.
Max wasn ’ t sure what to do, but she expected him to return the gesture. He raised his left index finger to her. She wove her around his and gave one hard shake.
“ Keep to the code. ” She looked at him. “ JD! You didn ’ t say it. ”
“ Sorry, ” Max said shaking her finger with his again.
In unison, they both said, “ Keep to the code. ” She smiled and left.
“ Great. Now if I only knew what the code was. ”
His next class held his only hope of seeing Emma today. She had math in the room next to JD ’ s human physiology class. He peered around the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.
She never showed. He walked in to class late and sat at the back. Miserable.
By the end of the day, exhaustion owned him. The abuse he ’ d endured all day wore on him. The disappointment of not getting to seeing Em only added to his depression. The heavy burden of feeling JD ’ s emotions along with his own surprised him. He planned on going straight to bed when he got home. He didn ’ t care how much homework he had.
He strode to the lockers, wanting to lighten his backpack before meeting up with Izzy. He looked around for her, but had no idea where her locker was. Being a senior also, she should be somewhere nearby, but he couldn ’ t see her anywhere. He decided to put his things away then head over to the bus loading area and wait for her there.
He removed the schedule f rom his pocket and found the locker combination Mary Sunshine , the admissions secretary, gave him. He had to redo the combination three times before it would work. He tugged on the door, but it was stuck. He took both hands and jerked hard.
An explosion of what smelled like pizza sauce splashed all over him. He removed his glasses and tried to wipe off his face. Laughter echoed in his ears, but the sauce running down his face spilled into his eyes, making it impossible to see.
“ Oh my goodness. ” A teacher, at least Max hoped it was a teacher, led him down the hall into room. She handed him a wet towel and Max wiped the sauce out of his eyes and off his face.
“ Who is responsible for this? ” Max turned to see Mary Sunshine standing in front of him.
“ I have no idea. ” Max wanted to tell her she could pick any one since they all seemed to hate JD. He finished wiping his face, digging the sauce out of his ears and hair. It was everywhere. “ Invasive stuff , pizza sauce, ” he said, rinsing the towel out in the sink. He handed it to the secretary and thanked her.
Max raced back to his
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