“He told you about him, huh? God, is that kid a nightmare. I mean, he’s supersmart and all, but a person can only take so many booger jokes, you know?” She rolled her eyes. “Truthfully, though, I probably wasn’t the best choice either. It’s because of me he started going to parties and doing all that other stuff that got him in so deep with his parents. He would have been better off with just Ellis.”
“You and Ellis aren’t friends?”
“We are now,” she said. “But mostly because we have Dave in common. Ellis, you know, he’s a good kid. Plays soccer, is involved with a bunch of school stuff. I mean, he does the freaking TV announcements. Definitely a better choice for Dave than taking up with me.”
“I’m not sure about that,” I said. “You seem like a pretty good friend.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded, and she smiled.
“I try. Really, though, it’s selfish in some ways. I have this weird thing about wanting to take care of everyone, not just Dave. It makes things complicated.”
I shifted the peas. “Simple has its downsides, too.”
“Meaning what?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I move around a lot. So I hardly get to know anybody. It might be easier, but it’s kind of lonely.”
I wasn’t sure why I was being so truthful. Maybe it was the crack to the head. Riley turned, looking at me. “You think you’ll be staying here for a while?”
“No idea,” I told her.
“Huh. Really.”
She faced forward again. I said, “What?”
“It’s just,” she said, “you haven’t done that here. Not made friends.”
“I haven’t?”
She looked at the green-faced guy across from us. “Mclean,” she said. “I’m sitting here with you, in the nurse’s office, during my free period. That means we’re friends.”
“But you’re just being nice,” I said.
“Just like you were nice to me, the other night at my car,” she replied. “Plus, you took Dave to the game. You invited Deb into a social gathering which, believe me, no one haseverdone here, to my knowledge. And you haven’t smacked Heather yet, which is a much better record than most.”
“That’s notthathard,” I told her.
“Yes, it is. She’s my best friend and I love her, but she can be a total pain in the ass.” She sat back, crossing her legs again. “Face it, Mclean. You might think you don’t want any connections, but your actions say otherwise.”
“Mclean Sweet?” I looked up to see the nurse, a clipboard in hand, standing in the doorway to the examining room. “Come on back. Let’s take a look at that bump.”
I stood up, picking up my bag. “Thanks for coming with me,” I told Riley. “I appreciate it.”
“I’ll stay until you’re done,” she said.
“You don’t have to.”
She settled back in her chair, pulling out her phone from her pocket. “I know.”
I followed the nurse into the room, taking a seat on the cot as she shut the door behind us.What a weird day,I thought as she rolled a stool over, gesturing for me to remove the peas. As she leaned in to inspect the damage, I looked through the glass of the door out into the room beyond. It was blurred and thick for privacy, so you couldn’t really see details. Even so, I could make out the shape of a figure sitting there, a presence nearby, waiting. For me.
At lunch, walking out to the courtyard with my burrito and bottled water, I got the distinct feeling people were staring at me. Or maybegawkingwas a better word. I knew my nose was swollen, but the attention I was getting—and had been getting since my run-in with the locker—seemed excessive. Then again, maybe a girl who looks like she’s been in a bar fight is just big news on a slow Monday.
Riley and Heather were nowhere to be seen, so I walked over to Deb, who was sitting alone under her tree. She had an iPod on and her eyes were closed, listening.
“Hey,” I said. When she didn’t look up, I nudged her foot, and she jumped, then opened her eyes.
