My eyes find Wallis’s. It’s not his fault someone left him, too. So I nod and with one last glance at the both of us, Nonnie leaves.
The tension in my chest eases, although I can’t explain why. I feel like I should be angry at Peach and my dad for acting like everything is fine, but I’m not. I just feel sad. And more alone than I did before.
Wallis watches me from the rug as I spend the next few hours reading chapters for history and getting on and off the internet to see what my friends are up to. I google a step-by-step breakdown of my algebra homework before giving up and brushing my teeth.
As I’m walking back to my room, I spot something propped up against my door.
Confused, I bend down to pick it up. It’s a CD case.Queen’s Greatest Hits.
I’ve had to listen to this every morning for the past week. Nonnie is basically giving me the power to trash this, but I know I won’t.
Even though I’ve memorized all the songs, I slide it into my laptop’s CD drive. I play the album softly as I climb into bed. I want to be the strong person Nonnie seems to see in me, but the truth is I’m not sure that’s who I am.
FOURTEEN
COACH VELASQUEZ HOSTS AN EARLYmorning Wavettes meeting on Tuesday, and as I’m leaving the dance room, I spot Breck studying pages of his chemistry book outside of the gym.
“Riveting stuff?”
He looks up, then grins. “Ah. Yeah. Not so much.”
“Hey, so, what’s with you wanting to join the decathlon?” I fold my arms. “And you better not tell me it’s to mess with Lin.”
“Why would I want to do that? I like Lin.”
He sounds genuine, but I wait for more.
“Okay, fine.” Breck groans into his hands before looking back at me. “I want to prove I can be good at something other than basketball because… I’m not sure I want to play in college.”
This wasn’t the answer I was expecting. “You don’t?”
“Nah. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll do it if I get a sick scholarship—money is important. But, you know, my brainispretty dope.” He taps the side of his head, smiling. “And I think competing with the decathlon team could be fun.”
I study him, somewhat surprised. Breck likes partying and basketball as much as Jay, but Jay never took his grades super seriously. He was fine being average. And from what Lin told me about Breck’s GPA, he works hard. Really hard.
“I’ll talk to her.”
He closes his textbook. “You will?”
“Just don’t let her down,” I warn. “You already have basketball, but this team is important to her.”
“I won’t,” Breck says, and I can tell he’s being earnest. “I swear.”
I glance at the clock. The bell is a few minutes away from ringing. “I’ll see you at lunch.”
Breck waves, and I turn down the hall and head to my locker. I need my English textbook for first period, although I wish I could skip it and consume my stress about my chemistry test in the form of glazed donuts.
“Did it work?” A voice says from behind me.
I turn around. Alex is standing there, the sleeves of his black undershirt pushed up to his elbows. The gray T-shirt he wears over it has an upside-down stegosaurus printed on it. I’m not sure what it means, but knowing Alex I can only guess it’s a film logo.
“Did what work?”
He smiles. “The excuse. From yesterday?”
“Oh.” I move out of the way so he can access his locker. “Yeah, it did, actually. Thanks.”
Alex opens his mouth to say something, then closes it. I follow his gaze down the hall. Lin sprints toward us, stopping when she sees me.
