“Not you too,” Helen moaned. “Is there a sign on my back that says ‘kick me’?”
“It’s just gossip, Helen. It can’t hurt us,” he said, wisely deciding not to tease her anymore.
“Maybe it can’t hurt you,” Helen muttered. She put a hand on her belly. Lucas saw her do it and was just about to ask what was wrong when Hector and Jason joined them.
“Your mom’s here,” Jason told Lucas, who nodded as though he was expecting her.
“What’s wrong?” Helen asked.
“Nothing. We’re meeting with the principal because my mom is going to try and talk our way back on to the football team,” Lucas explained.
“She’s playing the ‘have pity on a poor little woman raising so many gigantic boys’ card and then she’ll beg them to let us beat up kids from other schools instead of each other. All to the benefit of Nantucket High, of course,” Jason said with a grin. “It never fails. She’s like the Einstein of guilt.”
“But should you three be allowed to play football?” Helen said with a disapproving frown. “I mean, you all have an unfair advantage.”
“Keep talking, track star,” Hector replied with a little heat.
“Helen runs because she needs a scholarship for college,” Lucas said, shooting Hector a warning glance. “We play sports because it’s expected of us. It’s annoying, actually, because we have to pretend to be unbearably weak and slow.”
“And we spend as much time making sure no one gets hurt as we do playing,” added Jason with a rueful smile. “The truth is we’d much rather be beating eachotherup than pretending to beat up mortals, but that wouldn’t look normal at all.”
“Well, good luck on the whole looking-normal thing,” Helen said briskly, stepping aside to let Jason and Hector go past her.
“I’ll find you after school,” Lucas promised her as he followed his cousins. He glanced back and gave her a concerned look. Helen tried to smile for him, but her expression was so phony she wondered if Lucas could feel the lie in it.
Helen slouched into the cafeteria, hoping to duck across the room without attracting too much attention. She saw Gretchen say something to Amy Heart and then the whole table of cheerleaders started laughing mockingly at Helen. It took Helen far too long to recover, and by the time she got herself oriented, everyone in the cafeteria was staring at her. She retreated to her usual table with Matt and Claire, sure she could feel a cramp coming on.
“Would you please just stand up straight!” Claire barked at her. “There’s nothing more pathetic than watching you try to dissolve feetfirst into the frigging floor, and I swear if I catch you doing it one more time I’m going to lose it.”
It was the last straw. Helen spun around on her heel and fled the cafeteria. She tried to eat her lunch in the restroom, sitting on a sink, but the venue was so unappetizing that she gave up on her sandwich after a few bites.
She made it through her last three classes and practically ran to the girls’ locker room when the final bell rang, but Claire was already there waiting for her.
“Sorry I yelled at you earlier,” she said bashfully. She looked so cute when she was apologizing that Helen couldn’t even pick up a grudge, let alone carry one.
“Oh, forget it. I’ve been a flake, and I’d be angry, too, if I were you.” Helen threw an arm over Claire’s shoulder and led her outside after they changed.
“One thing, and then I’m going to leave you alone about it until you come to me to talk,” Claire said as they walked past the football field. Helen didn’t have the patience for any more questions.
“We’ve never even kissed, Gig,” she said, cutting Claire off.
“Really?” Claire practically shouted. Helen nodded and bumped Claire playfully with her hip.
“Really, really. I almost kissed him once, but he told me to lie down and go to sleep.”
“Noway!” Claire shouted. Helen grabbed her, clamping a hand over her mouth.
“He’s right over there,” she said, gesturing toward him with her chin. “I told you I’d tell you if anything happened. I’m not trying to keep secrets from you.”
Claire gave Helen a knowing smile.
“You’ve always kept secrets. But it’s okay. When you’re ready to tell me you will,” she said patiently. Then she tackled Helen, trying to wrestle her to the ground. Helen went along with it, pretending to be overpowered by her pint-sized pal, both of them laughing hysterically. The fun only lasted a moment.
“Get a room,” said a boy’s amused voice.
“You wish,” Claire answered back. “Wait. How’d you get over here so fast?”
Helen rolled over onto her back, blew her tangled hair out of her face, and saw Lucas and Jason standing over them.
