Too Good to Be True by Laurie Friedman Page B

asked.
    â€œSure,” I said. I would’ve rather just put toppings on like a normal pizza, but Billy seemed like he was enjoying playing it up for May and June.
    He spelled out my name in mushrooms and basil, and then he made me hold it up while he took a picture of me with his phone. He actually made it his new phone wallpaper, which kind of annoyed me. It wasn’t even a good picture of me.
    After we all ate our pizzas, Mom and Dad went outside to work in the yard and May and June went with them. Billy and I sat down on the couch to watch TV. I turned it on and sat there without saying anything. I don’t even know whatwe were watching.
    â€œYou’re really quiet,” Billy said after a few minutes.
    I knew I was being grumpy, but I couldn’t help it. Decorating pizzas with Billy seemed so childish and stupid. I felt the same way about it that I did about Brynn wanting to wear matching Halloween costumes or my dad singing an off-key love song to my mom in front of everyone we know. I feel so different when I’m around the girls on the dance team and Emily than when I’m around Billy or Brynn or my family.
    I was thinking about that when Billy poked me in the ribs. “Earth to April,” he said like he was waiting for an answer.
    I don’t know why I said what I did next, but I told Billy about thigh gaps and that I don’t have one.
    He started laughing. “I like you the way you are,” he said.
    For some reason, that annoyed me even more.

So many roads. So many detours. So many choices. So many mistakes.
    â€”Carrie Bradshaw
Still Saturday, October 12, now 10:49 P.M .
Freaking out
    How can life be just fine one minute and a disaster the next? I don’t know if anyone else’s life is like that, but mine is. I can’t believe what happened tonight. I almost don’t want to write about it.
    After dinner, I took Gilligan on a walk and I saw Matt. He wasn’t walking his dog. He was just outside. When he saw me, he started walking with me.
    â€œHow’s dance team going?” he asked. He was being really friendly, asking me about the team and what we’re doing.
    I wasn’t feeling weird around him like I usually do. I was just in a good mood. I was actually feeling kind of cute and chatty. “I think there’s agirl on the team who likes you,” I said.
    Matt smiled. “Really? Who?”
    But I wouldn’t tell him. He kept asking, but I just kept shaking my head like I wasn’t going to say anything. “C’mon, April,” he said like he really wanted to coax it out of me.
    I ran my fingers across my lips like they were zipped shut.
    Matt laughed. “Well, it just so happens that there’s a girl on the team that I like. Can you guess who it is?” he asked.
    I kind of had a feeling we were talking about the same person. “Chloe?” I said.
    Matt frowned. “Why would you think I like Chloe?” he asked.
    I wasn’t completely sure what to say at that point, but I told him what Chloe said about how he flirts with her in bio and how he made her laugh so hard she got sent to the office.
    Matt shook his head. “I don’t like Chloe,” he said.
    â€œIt seems like you do,” I said back.
    Matt looked at me in a weird way, like he thought I was challenging him. “I don’t likeChloe.” His voice was lower this time. He stopped walking, so I stopped too. We were standing next to a tree in Dr. Black’s yard. It was dark outside, but I could feel Matt looking down at me. Then he whispered in my ear, “I like you, California.”
    He stood there for what felt like a long time, his eyes looking into mine. I tried to look away, but I couldn’t. Then Matt pulled me in next to him and kissed me.
    I wasn’t expecting him to do that. Everything in my brain started to swirl together. It wasn’t just that he kissed me. It was the way he kissed me.
    Matt’s