“Tell April hi for me,” Zee chirped, and then she hung up.
I climbed into April’s car, and at that moment, all I wanted was to be at home.
“Where to?” April asked.
“The school. I need to pick up my car.”
April nodded and flipped on her stereo. I listened to the music for a few minutes and nodded my approval.
“Not bad,” I said. It wasn’t exactly good music, but compared to the crap the rest of the girls listened to, it wasn’t horrible.
God, how could I even think about music right now? What was wrong with me that I could do what I’d just done and know what I knew and just sit here, in April’s car, like this was normal? Maybe, after a while, you get so used toliving a double life (or in my case, given the whole popularity thing, maybe a triple one) that it just comes naturally to shut off one part of the brain and boot up another.
“That’s the thing about me,” April said lightly, unaware of the serious turn my thoughts had taken. “I’m really not that bad. I’m not a bad person. I’m a good cheerleader, and even if I’m not as good at the secret-agent thing yet, I’m picking it up.”
Apparently, the story about my bombed mission hadn’t circulated yet, because April thought I was good at this.
“I know you think it’s kind of weird that I just ditched Hayley once I made varsity,” April said. “And I know that you and I were never friends before all of this.”
Understatement.
“But the thing is, Hayley and I weren’t really friends, either. I didn’t ditch her. I transcended her, and the only thing she misses is having someone to boss around.”
“She has someone to boss around,” I said. “Kiki …” I searched for Kiki’s last name, reminding myself that she was the PTA president’s daughter.
“McCall,” April provided. The light turned green, and April accelerated.
After that, I expected the conversation to go somewhere. April certainly seemed on the verge of spilling her Poor Little Rich Girl heart, but she didn’t. Instead, she just said, “I don’t mind not having friends, but I like having you guys. Does that make sense?”
Oddly enough, it did. Especially now.
Ten minutes later, when April pulled up to the school,I realized that I didn’t find her company totally abhorrent, which was probably a good thing. Barring any deadly explosions, the two of us were going to be around each other pretty much constantly for the next three years. Eventually, I was going to have to see her as someone other than Hayley’s former sidekick.
“Thanks for the ride.” Things weren’t exactly getting less awkward as time went on, but at least they weren’t getting any worse.
“Anytime,” April replied. “Have to get in plenty of practice before I turn sixteen.”
Her sense of logic was a beautiful thing.
“Hey, April,” I called as I got out of the car. “Do me a favor?”
“Depends on the favor.”
At least she was honest.
“You know that whole homecoming princess thing?” I asked.
She nodded.
“Please win it.”
She grinned. “Done.”
I walked toward my car and was surprised to see Noah sitting on the hood.
“Wasn’t someone supposed to give you a ride home?” I asked. Noah ignored the question.
“Which one was that?”
