“‘You kiss by th’ book,’” I murmured, closing out the scene. Someone clapped.
William’s gray eyes darted around, then he smiled sheepishly at me.
The teachers were talking, but I wasn’t listening anymore. I was in my little bubble, where everything was William and his soft lips.
“What happened to you?” I quietly asked him again. I needed an answer.
William lowered his head to avoid answering. “I gotta go to class, June.”
We’d just had our second, incredible kiss. Why did he want to leave?
I started thinking that maybe Blaze was right. William was hiding something. After theater class, I grabbed my books from my locker and noticed Ari, Amelia, and Poppy whispering excitedly.
I didn’t know how to act. Was I still friends with them? Was I ever really friends with them?
“June! Are you coming with us?” Ari yelled as soon as I passed them. I saw her long ponytail cascading over her thin shoulders.
“Where?”
“We want to go out,” said Poppy.
Amelia put her index finger to her lips, motioning for me to stay quiet.
“You want to leave? Now? Why?”
“What kind of question is that? Is there ever not a valid reason to skip school?” Ari teased me, amused.
I didn’t want to be a square, but I’d seen them smoking pot and drinking alcohol at the party, and now they wanted to cut class?
“All right, we’re going,” Amelia said authoritatively, motioning for her friends to follow her like loyal puppies.
Is this what it meant to make friends? Compromising like this to not be alone?
“Hold on, I’m coming,” I blurted, picking up my pace.
>> <<
Instead of spending the last two hours doing math, I was now sitting in Poppy’s living room. We were watching clips ofThe Office, and the fact that Poppy knew all of Kelly Kapoor’s lines by heart made me smile.
I had so many questions in my head between one laugh and the next. I wanted to ask Amelia where she’d gone during the party, but I didn’t have the guts to ask her. She seemed pretty reserved about her love life. She unexpectedly started talking to me when Poppy was serving the tea.
“We need you, June.”
“For what?” I asked, wary.
I desperately wanted to trust them and vice versa, but I didn’t know what price I had to pay for that.
Amelia adjusted her uniform skirt on her knees, crossed her legs, and stared at me attentively.
“It’s easy. We need to ask James for something.” I would’ve been fine if they got trashed at parties and cut class every once in a while, but I had my limits.
“What do I do?” I tensed.
“You’re the only one whose number he doesn’t have. We have to text him to ask him for something.”
Ari immediately noticed my expression, so she came closer and laid it on thick, batting her long eyelashes.
“June, we’re just asking you for a favor. And it’s the first time we’re doing it. You can’t say no.” Her voice was so angelic that it seemed fake.
