This was the first time I had seen him in the cafeteria since the Paul Delawder incident. I quickly looked at my friends. Rachel had her mouth hanging open and Daniel was frowning. Neither of them spoke. Sheesh. Rude, much?
I pulled out the chair beside me. “Have a seat.” Clay sat down and put his tray on the table. He looked at me. Just like every other time our eyes had met, I felt my face flush. I swallowed and then turned to Rachel and Daniel. “Rachel, Daniel, this is Clay. Clay, these are my friends Rachel Bradfield and Daniel Lowe.” Clay gave them a shy smile. “Hey.”
Neither of my friends said anything. They seemed to be a bit taken aback by Clay’s appearance at our table. How humiliating! “Say hi, you two. Or he’ll think you never learned to talk.” I rolled my eyes and Clay smiled tightly. I could tell he was uncomfortable.
Rachel blinked rapidly, the way she did when she was caught doing something embarrassing. “Sorry, Clay. Nice to meet you.” She gave him an overly bright smile. I frowned at her and silently communicated to her to stop trying so hard.
Daniel looked at Clay almost as if he were examining him. “Hey,” he replied back.
Okay, well, it looked as if Daniel would be a hard sell. He was so territorial sometimes. Clay cleared his throat and started eating his lunch. The vibe around our table became really tense.
“So, how’s your day so far?” I asked Clay, trying to cut through the thickening silence.
Clay shrugged, not looking at me. “Just another day,” he said before returning to his lunch.
Wow, this was getting bad, and fast. If he didn’t want to talk, why the hell did he sit down? Of course it didn’t help that Daniel was watching him while he ate. I shot daggers at my best friends, urging them with my eyes to snap out of it.
Rachel sat up straighter and opened her eyes dramatically at me. “Sorry,” she mouthed. I pointedly looked at Clay, who was shoveling Salisbury steak into his mouth. “So, Clay. Did you finish that assignment for creative writing? I’m having a hell of a time writing my short story. I think I got a whole paragraph before I gave up,” Rachel said, laughing in that really fake way of hers. At least she was trying.
Clay shrugged again. Was that his only reply? He was being really rude. Not at all like the Clay I had come to know over the past two weeks. I felt a knot in my stomach from his attitude. He was so rigid in his seat, as if he wanted to be anywhere but at our table. I just didn’t get what he was trying to do. I mean,hewas the one who had approachedus.But now he looked as if he couldn’t be finished with his food fast enough.
Was it me? Had I done something wrong? Should I have been more vocal to my friends when they were being so weird toward him? Why was I obsessing over what I did? ButdidIdo something?
Then, after a few minutes of complete silence, Clay stood up. I looked up at him in surprise. What the heck was going on?
He finally looked down at me and I saw his face soften a bit. “Thanks for letting me sit with you. I’ll see you later.” He gave me a half smile and then turned and left.
“What the fuck was that?” Daniel asked after Clay was gone. I was still watching him make his way through the cafeteria, his shoulders slumped and his head down. I had no idea how to answer Daniel’s question. Because I didn’t know whatthatwas.
“Maybe he’s just shy,” Rachel volunteered.
Daniel snorted. “Or a wack job. He has that whole school-shooter thing going on, you know?” Okay, that made me lose it.
“You don’t even know him, Daniel! So stop being so goddamn judgmental! Maybe he was acting strange because you were being an ass! Did you ever think about that?” My voice was loud and I had to struggle to calm myself down.
Daniel looked at me like I had grown a second head. I never yelled at him. Ever. “What is your problem, Mags?” he asked me.
“Ugh!” I gathered up my trash. “My problem is that Clay is my friend. And you are my friend. So you need to start learning to get along with him. And maybe next time engage in a little conversation. Show people you have the social skills of more than a fucking first grader!”
“Maggie! Chill out!” Rachel urged, trying to smooth over a situation that had started to escalate. I just shook my head and got up to leave. Forgetting that I was really sore, I groaned as I moved too quickly.
Rachel was on her feet and moved to stop me from leaving. “We’re sorry, okay? We didn’t mean to make him feel uncomfortable. The whole thing just threw us, all right?” She was using the placating tone she usually reserved for Daniel.
What was my problem? Why was I so upset with them? It wasn’t like me to fly off the handle like that. I needed to get myself in check.
Sighing, I gave Rachel a quick hug. “I know. Thanks. But I better go catch up with Clay, make sure he’s cool.” I gave my friends a smile and took off out of the cafeteria.
Looking down the hallway, I saw Clay at the other end. “Clay!” I called out, moving quickly toward him. He didn’t turn around. Did he not hear me, or was he ignoring me?
I caught up with him and grabbed his arm to stop him from walking. I felt his muscles tense under my hand. I moved so that I was standing in front of him. His jaw was clenched and he wouldn’t look at me. “Why did you leave so quickly?” I asked him. He shrugged (I was starting to really hate it when he did that).
“Didn’t really want to hang out with people who didn’t want to hang out with me,” he said coldly as he stepped around me to move down the hallway.
“Hold on a sec, Clay. You’re being ridiculous.” I let out an incredulous laugh. Okay, so maybe my friends were less than welcoming at first. But I thought his reaction to the whole thing was a bit over the top.
The look Clay leveled at me froze my blood. Clearly, he didn’t think he was being ridiculous. Without saying another word, he left me standing alone in the hallway. This time, I didn’t go after him. There was only so much rejection a gal could take.
I stomped back to my locker, throwing the door open so that it bounced off the locker next to mine. “Seeing as you’re in a seriously shitty mood, I’m assuming Lover Boy was still an ass when you chased him down like a lovesick puppy?” Daniel snarked, leaning on the locker beside mine.
