“I never said that,” I protest.
“Yes, you did.”
“When?”
“In my head a few seconds ago.”
I can’t stop the laugh that escapes. “That doesn’t count, JD, and you know it.”
“Yes, it does.”
“Oh, is this your first fight as a couple?” Dustin pipes in. “Because make-up sex is the best.”
Instead of laughing, I start choking, and Prescott claps me hard on the back until tears leak from my eyes.
“We arenota couple,” I respond sternly.
“But you are coming to the game, right?” Dustin asks this time.
“I work on Fridays,” I tell him.
Prescott, not to be left out, says, “Can’t you call in sick or ask to switch shifts or something?”
Why is it so damn important all of sudden that I come to the football game? I don’t even like football.
“Sorry. Can’t.”
“Get that extra credit project done?” Mary Beth sneers as we near Mr. Wilkins’s classroom.
“Crap. There was an extra credit project we had to do?” Prescott asks her.
“Just me,” JD easily fibs once again. “Aurora was helping me with it.”
Mary Beth switches from staring those pointy daggers at me to flinging red hot pokers. “There’s a party after the game on Friday at my house. Spread the word.”
“Hell, yeah,” Dustin cheers. “Rory’s coming.”
I will pull out all of my hair if one more person makes a decision for me without asking.
“That’s a big hell no.”
“You aren’t invited anyway,” Mary Beth snaps.
“Stop being a bitch, MB,” Prescott tells her, and she literally growls at him.
Mr. Wilkins ends our conversation when he tells us to get inside and take our seats. For the rest of class, my brain tries to understand how my life has turned into a roller coaster ride over the past several days, and whether or not I want to stay on it or get the hell off.
Chapter 9
“You know JD is just using you, right?”
It’s too early in the morning for this petty jealousy shit. My day started off well. My sister didn’t come home last night, so she wasn’t around this morning to bitch at me or try to demand money off me to buy drugs or alcohol. The sun shone brightly, and the weather was pleasant, so I took the long way to school, enjoying the crisp air and the thrill of riding Cam’s bike. Even my dream of JD last night was good.Really good. And now Mary Beth has to go and ruin my cheerful, upbeat mood.
I turn off the water at the sink and look at Mary Beth’s reflection in the girl’s restroom mirror. She’s in full cheerleader garb including glitter in her hair and on her face and skin, and she’s holding two blue and yellow pom poms tightly in her hands.
“Excuse me?” But I don’t give her a chance to answer because as soon as she starts speaking, I run my hands under the dryer, using the loud noise to drown out her grating voice.
When it turns off and she opens her mouth to try and say something again, I immediately put my hands back under the dryer. I will continue to do this as long as she’s standing there. When Mary Beth finally gets my not-so-subtle hint, I don’t miss the “bitch” she throws my way as she stomps out of the bathroom.
