“We watched the movie.” Arden held out her phone; with a flick of the finger, the image on screen sprang to life. Figures in ball gowns and filigreed uniforms advanced and retreated, spinning in circles. I spotted Anna and Vronsky right away. She was all in black and he was staring wolfishly at her.
Another tap of the finger and the scene froze. “You were so right. Starts off super-hot, turns into a major downer.” She glanced both ways to be sure no one was listening. “Just like certain guysat this school.”
I smiled faintly, part of me still on tenterhooks. Was that all she’d wanted to say? As she slipped her phone back into a slim vermillion purse, I regretted the dowdiness of my backpack, which until that moment had seemed de rigueur for a high schooler.
“Anyway, we wanted to know what you’re doing for lunch.”
“Lunch?” I parroted, as though I’d never heard the word.
“We were thinking somewhere downtown.” Arden leaned toward me, lowering her voice. “Since we can’t speak freely here.”
“Sure,” I said, feigning nonchalance. One advantage of growing up with three older siblings was that I’d had lots of practice pretending to know what people were talking about.
We ended up at a pocket park between the yarn shop and a Himalayan restaurant. Since Terry and I had packed our lunches, Arden and Lydia grabbed pita wraps to go. Sitting on facing benches in the dappled shade, the humid air lightly perfumed with the scents of cooking oil and spices, I resisted the urge to pinch myself in case the whole thing was a mirage. I’d fully expected to spend this part of the day huddled between shelves in the school library, utterly alone.
“So,” Arden began, dabbing at the corner of her mouth with a paper napkin. “We’ve been thinking. It’s a new year. The perfect time to make some changes.”
I waited for the axe to fall.Actually, Mary, we’ve decided you’re an idiot, who knows nothing.What were the odds of two lunchtime rejections in a row? I wasn’t sure why they’d felt it necessary to invite me here to sever a connection that was tenuous at best, but at least they’d had the courtesy not to dump me in front of the entire school.
“This is a pivotal moment,” Arden continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “Do we want to lead totally superficial lives? No way. We have to stop accepting everything at face value, like we did with Alex Ritter. ‘Oh, he’s the most crushed-on guy at this school since Joe Lefort graduated, let’s just fall down and worship him.’ Or like, ‘Let’s keep eating lunch at this generic popular table because everyone wants to sit there, even though it’s super crowded.’”
“And loud,” put in Terry.
“Extremely,” Arden agreed. “It’s time to start living more intentionally, making conscious choices so we can manifest our own future—” She broke off at Lydia’s forceful throat-clearing.
“The thing you need to know about Arden is that she reads a lot of those ‘hey loser, fix your life’ books,” Lydia informed me, flicking one of her long blond braids over her shoulder. “How to revolutionize your existence in five minutes. Step one, buy this book. Step two, check out my line of yoga mats and water bottles. That kind of thing.”
“Excuse me,” said a clearly affronted Arden. “Some of us didn’t plan our entire career at the age of seven. We’re still searching.”
Lydia gestured at me with her can of sparkling water. “I’m just explaining to Mary what she’s getting into.”
I wasn’t sure what my face was doing, but my shoulders might as well have been carved from a block of stone.
“It’s nothing bad,” Arden hastened to assure me. She took a deep breath before releasing a rush of words: “I hope you won’t be offended, but I have a feeling you might be our good luck charm?”
“No,” I replied, after mastering my surprise. “That’s not offensive.” I could think ofmuchworse things to be called.
“Oh, good.” Arden shifted forward on the bench, clearly relieved to have that behind us. “Because I was thinking about yesterday, and how close we came to disaster. I mean, I was ready to push Terry right into you-know-who’s arms. The only thing that saved us was you.”
Heat rushed into my cheeks. I had no idea how to respond. Fortunately, Arden wasn’t finished.
“What kind of person does something like that?” she asked. “Stepping up to help people.”
I shrugged, hoping the answer wasn’ta busybody.
“The kind of person you want to have in your corner. Aqualityperson.” Arden lifted her brows in a significant manner. “If you get what I’m saying.”
I opened my mouth and then closed it again. I did not, in fact, get it.
“Am I coming on too strong?” Arden glanced from my face to Lydia’s. “I don’t want to smother you, Mary, so tell me if this is too much too soon. I like things to be super clear, so I’m just putting it all out there.”
“She wants you to be ourfwend,” Lydia baby-talked.
“Sorry, did I not say that?” Arden shook her head, the sun bringing out glints of magenta in her hair. “It’s just, you have the kind of energy we want in our lives. I like to be around people I can learn from, who are on an upward journey. Trying to figure out what it all means.”
“Getting a little woo-woo,” Lydia murmured.
“Okay.” Arden pressed her palms together. “Bottom line. I think we’d be good together. The four of us.” She looked hopefully in my direction.
