“No, Spartacus. Of course Rob.”
I blink. I’m not sure what to say. Thankfully, the bell rings before I’m forced to answer.
“Don’t sweat the quiz,” Len says, stuffing his notebook into his seemingly empty backpack. “See you tomorrow.”
I’m blowing my nose, leaving bio, when Rob grabs my elbow.
“I need to talk to you.”
Len is in front of me, and for one brief moment I see him glance at Rob’s hand on my arm. But then he’s walking off toward the math cubicles.
I’m so defeated by the quiz debacle and surprised by Rob’s presence that I let him lead me away, over to behind Cooper House. It isn’t until we’re facing each other, alone, that I pull away.
“Look,” he says a few times, and then sighs, starting over. “Here’s the thing,” he says. “I didn’t expect this to happen.”
“What?” I ask. We both knowwhat, but it feels important that he clarify.
“Her,” he says. “You know, Juliet.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I say. I don’t want him to see that I’m upset. I bite my bottom lip and will my voice steady.
“It does matter. The thing is, I didn’t expect to fall for her. But there’s just something about her. It feels right.”
I don’t say anything, because the fact that he used “fall for” instead of “meet” has sent my heart throbbing. It feels like someone’s just jabbed the sharp end of a pencil right into the center.
“It’s like fate, or destiny or something,” he continues.
“You don’t believe in fate.”
Rob inhales and looks at me. “I care about you, Rosie. You know I do. We’re friends. Best friends.” The sound of the word makes me lose it.Friends. That’s what I’ve been telling myself for years, what I’ve been trying to talk myself into for months. He was the one who told me I was beautiful, who asked me out, who kissed me. He was the one who set this thing in motion, and now that I’m here, actually wanting to be with him, he wants to take it all back.
“We are? That’s news to me.” He looks taken aback. Hurt, even. Good, let him. “As far as I’m concerned, we’re not friends anymore.”
“But—” He swings his arms around and grabs on to his elbows. “Rosie?”
“I’m serious,” I say. I’m fighting back tears now. I know I need to leave before I lose my cool. “You made your choice. Live with it.”
Then I turn and walk away. And I walk until I start running. And I run until I’m sprinting. Past Cooper House and the math cubicles and all the way down to the lower soccer field. I don’t stop until I’m at the edge of campus. And then I sit down and for what seems like the millionth time in a handful of hours, I let myself cry.
Scene Two
“So we’re going to Malibuthis weekend,” Charlie says. She has Lauren’s three-ring binder, the one she uses for SAC, and she’s flipping through it.
We’re in Olivia’s room on her bed, a gigantic box of Twizzlers between us. After I pulled myself together post-bio and told them what happened, Charlie suggested we cut sixth and seventh periods and leave early. Usually I wouldn’t be into this, given the Stanford plan, but today it seems to make sense.
Olivia, per usual, was not difficult to convince. She’s not so worried about college next year, mostly because college isn’t her thing. It’s not that Olivia is a bad student, it’s just that school isn’t really her priority. It doesn’t have to be.
Olivia is standing in front of her mirror modeling a top shegot over the weekend. It’s purple with white stripes and accentuates her boobs.
“Cute,” I say.
“Charlie?” Olivia asks. She turns sideways and sends the mirror a seductive stare.
“Mhm,” Charlie says, not looking up. “Guys, seriously, I think we need to go.”
“I’ll tell Ben,” Olivia says. She lifts her shirt up and over her head and stands there in her bra. It’s pink and brown with a bow in the middle. I’m pretty sure her underwear matches. Olivia always buys sets. It’s her thing. Like a seven, except only Charlie and I know about it. And maybe a few girls in gym class. Ben?
Charlie tosses her binder down and glares at Olivia. “I don’t think you get what’s going on here.”
