“Okay, see you later,” I mumbled with what little enthusiasm I had left.
Will and James walked away as I put my science books in the locker.
“June!” I jumped when I heard Brian’s voice in the distance. “Come help me with something!”
I turned around to see him knee-deep in strings and leaves.
“What is all this?”
“I’m decorating for Fall Fest,” he answered, trying to untie the tangled strings.
“Wasn’t Ari gonna take care of that?”
“We were supposed to do it together.”
He seemed tense as he handled the decorations, twitching nervously.
“Where is she? I haven’t seen her in a while,” I commented.
“The school doesn’t have a ladder. Does that seem normal to you?” he answered, waving his arms around.
What was going on? Why was it such a sore subject? Brian handed me an enormous poster.
“Do you trust me?” he asked me.
“What do you mean?”
“Can you reach if I lift you up?”
I looked up to where he was pointing.
Did I really have to help him hang all these banners?
“I’ll hoist you up, you sit on my shoulders and hang this there.”
I stared at him. “I’m really heavy! You’re used to lifting Ari, who’s light as a feather. I’m—”
“You’re heavy? In what universe?” he exclaimed, leaving me speechless.
I smiled at the veiled compliment. The truth was that I was about twenty, maybe thirty pounds heavier than Ari. I didn’t know Brian well, but from what I could tell, there was a mix of sweetness and fragility under all that armor.
“I’ll help you,” I conceded.
Brian handed me a little metal hook, grabbed my hips, and lifted me until I could reach the top of the wall.
“You should try out for cheerleading,” I told him from up high.
“June, come on! Put the hook in the hole.”
I laughed.
“What’s so funny? I meant . . . put the little hook into the hole!” he corrected himself, cracking me up even more. His hands held me firmly, but at some point they started to tickle.
“You there?” I shouted from above.
“Move quickly, I’m about to lose you!”
Unaware of how ticklish I was, he pretended to lose me, making me laugh even more.
