“Oh, do you see E there? He said his family is old Southern money too.” I pull the microscope over to me, switching petri dishes to take my turn counting eye colors.
“No, E has avoided that fate. His grandparents, however…” he says, looking like he tasted something bad.
“Not a fan?” I call out numbers to Alex as I count flies.
He leans over so that no one can hear us. “Politically, they are wonderful people from a distinguished family whom I am honoured to be acquainted with. Personally, they are manipulative, rude, and far too entitled for my taste.”
“Well, then,” I say. “I can’t imagine the life you lead, Alex. Games like that were never my forte.”
“That is a positive quality, Summer,” he commends. “I dislike the games even though I have had to learn to navigate them.”
“I’m sorry you’ve had to learn, Alex,” I tell him sincerely. Frankly, it sounds terrible.
Alex shrugs. “I was born into it. I rarely think about it except at gatherings, which are a few hours at a time.”
Deciding to change the subject to something more pleasant, I ask if he and Bay are attempting any new dives. Alex informs me they are working on a new one this week. His eyes brighten as he discusses something he obviously enjoys. The new dive should increase their scores and is harder than the rest of their team is attempting. “That’s amazing, Alex. I wish you and Bay luck,” I smile. We finish examining the fruit flies and put everything away.
AP English goes by quickly. My group decides to meet on Tuesday next week, after the basketball playoffs, to work on our project.
Nick, surprisingly, shows up at our table in AP Seminar and sits down with his laptop. “Hello Nick. How are you?” I smile. He looks over at me, then back to his laptop. “I didn’t realize you were in AP Seminar too.” I get no response. “Did you transfer into this class, or have you been working elsewhere?” I say sweetly, batting my eyelashes at him.
Alex raises an eyebrow at me, and I smile back. “Did you need help with something today? Is that why you joined us?” Still nothing, but Alex is smiling now. “I’d be happy to help you.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Nick mutters, looking up at me.
“Hello Nick,” I smile.
He rolls his eyes, but I wait patiently with my chin in my palm, staring at him. Finally, he mutters, “Hi Shortie.”
“There now. Was that so hard? It didn’t kill you or anything,” I reply. Alex chuckles as I get back to my history reading.
All three of us go to lunch together. Nick doesn’t say anything else, but that’s okay. I cracked his shell a bit.
We’re the first ones to arrive today, so Alex checks the forecast. The radar is clear, so we decide to take a seat outside. As I’m grabbing lunch from my backpack, Bay joins us.
Waving hello, I notice Cara and friends taking the table next to us. I move over so I have them in my line of vision, not wanting any unexpected issues again. I catch Nick’s eye as I’m sliding over, and he gives me a nod.
Taking a bite of pasta, I look around and notice Seb and E heading our way. Cara gets up and walks towards them, grabbing Seb’s hand, trying to pull him over to her table. He’s shaking his head no and pulls his hand out of hers. She tries again, but E steps between them, saying something I can’t hear. They move around Cara and come to our table. “Are you good?” I ask the guys as they sit on either side of me.
“That was weird. She’s never tried shit like that before. We’ve never sat with her,” Seb replies, obviously irritated at Cara.
“She’s jealous,” I shrug.
Seb looks confused. “Of what?”
“Me sitting with you guys. She’s probably assuming we’re dating instead of just friends.”
Alex is nodding, but Seb still looks perplexed. “I’ve dated before, but I always sit here. I don’t get it.”
“We have never had a girl sitting with us, except for Reesa, I believe. Summer is new and is sitting with us. That is unexpected, and she does not like the implication,” Alex states.
“That,” I agree, pointing to Alex with my fork.
“Implication that what? I’m unavailable?” Seb shudders. “No, thank you. She hurt Sunshine.”
Nick is waiting at my locker for gym class when I grab my gym bag today. “Hi Nick,” I say, opening my locker. I stop and raise my eyebrow when he doesn’t respond.
“Shortie,” his gravely voice eventually responds.
