“She was getting a tour of the building from Graham Senior,” Abby said.
Lindsey glanced at her mom and raised an eyebrow. “She was getting something, but I don’t think it was a tour.”
“Eww,” Abby said.
Tinker lost the fight and doubled over, laughing.
Lindsey held up her fist as Sue passed her. Sue fist-bumped her and got into the back row of the van. Lindsey grinned and got in the passenger side.
Tinker was still chuckling when he opened the driver’s door for her. “Text me when you get home so I know you got there okay. Don’t give your mom too much grief.”
“I’m not talking about it.”
She backed out of the parking spot and waved at Tinker through the windshield.
“Well. That was fun,” her mom said from the back. “We should do that more often.”
Thankfully, they had stopped at a red light, because Abby started laughing so hard her eyes watered.
Showcase
Tinker stood inside the entrance of the gymnasium and watched what could only be described as controlled chaos. He didn’t know if James had built it or they had rented it, but a raised T-shaped platform bisected the back half of the space. Students were walking from one end to the other, striking a pose, turning, and going back the way they came.
One kid did a full three-sixty, posed, and took a selfie, causing the other students to stop and wait. The kid behind him said something the first kid didn’t appreciate, and it looked like they were going to get physical before they both stopped, looked in the same direction, and glared at each other before walking back down the runway. He expected one of them to shove the other, but they made it to the end before going their separate ways. If he hadn’t seen the argument, he would’ve thought it was choreographed. Maybe it was—what did he know?
Abby stood at the end of the catwalk, watching the two walk away. He saw her shoulders rise with a deep inhalation, like she was breathing in patience instead of air.
He hadn’t had a chance to see her since the barbecue. They’d texted and spoken on the phone a couple of times, but she’d been tied up with the showcase, and he’d worked a couple of jobs for Leonidas in addition to finalizing the plan for the birthday party.
It’d been torture.
Her friend Lindsey power walked up to her, said something, then jogged back the way she came.
He was impressed. He’d never given much thought to what teachers did outside the classroom. He’d assumed they went home and graded papers.
“Isn’t stalking a crime?”
Tinker glanced at Olivia and smiled. “I’m watching, not stalking.”
“What’s the difference?” she asked.
“They don’t give stalkers cool visitor’s passes.” He tapped the badge clipped to his shirt.
She rolled her eyes. “Why are you here?”
“Moral support. Why are you here? Helping out?”
She shook her head. “I got here too late to do anything for the showcase. I said I’d help backstage for the theater part, but there was never anything for me to do.”
The way she said it and shrugged made him think there was more to it. “If theater kids are anything like they were when I was in high school, I wouldn’t take it personally. They’re more cliquey than any other social group.”
“They had theater when you were in school?”
She didn’t have to sound so surprised. “Yup. We even had color TV and cable.”
If eye-rolling was an Olympic sport, she’d be medaling.
“I’m not saying you’re old. I’m just surprised. This is the first school I’ve been to with an actual theater. The school in Kentucky didn’t even have a stage in the cafeteria.”
