“But didn’t anyone ask what happened?” I argue. “Why wasn’t I called in?”
“I did ask that. And apparently, the reason doesn’t matter. What happened to you—sorry, whatallegedlyhappened to you—is separate from what I did. I was told if I saw something happening to you, I should have called one of the teachers. Not inflicted my own justice.” He says the last sentence in an over-the-top posh accent.
“Allegedly?Did I give myself that black eye?” I demand.
“Mérieux said you should have reported it.”
Another pin-drop silence falls, but this one is like the ground shaking before an explosion.
“Reported it,” I say hollowly. “Right. Like the times I reported it before, and he didn’t do anything.”
“That’s the one,” Jamie says with disgust.
I close my eyes, resting my head against the wall.
“It’ll be okay,” he says gently.
“It’s not okaynow,” I whisper. “You’re suspended. What did your parents do?”
I hear him shifting. “They’re shocked. Got their attorneys involved in case Mason and Adrian sue. Surprisingly, they’re not.”
My eyes fly open. “They don’t want my story to get out.”
I can hear the smile in his voice. “Yeah.” Then before I can mull this over, he says, “I think my parents suspect you and I are dating.” I feel like I’ve been thrown into the deep end of the ocean.
“What?” is all that I’m able to croak out.
“They believe me,” he says, and I think he’s trying his best not to laugh. I’m not sure how he can be so casual about the whole thing when with every second passing by, I feel like a string being pulled tighter and tighter. “About… uh…”
“Helping me,” I add helpfully, still in a stunned daze.
“Yes,” he says, and I hear the bashfulness in his voice. “They wish I didn’t have to do what I did, but they get it. And then immediately assumed you and I are together.”
“What—what did you tell them? Do they know I’m Muslim?” Why do I sound distressed?
“They’re not bigots,” he says with a laugh. “I told them we’re friends.”
My muscles loosen, and I relax my back.Friendsfeels like a good, safe word. Something easily said and understood. I would protect him like he protected me. But friendship barely touches on what I feel toward him. What I think he feels toward me. It’s not just love. Not the romantic kind anyway, but more as if he sees my soul, and I see his, and it’s comfortable being myself. It’s not forced. It’s compatible silences and knowing there’s no part of me I’d hide from him. Maybe that’s what friendship is. My only other experience was with Alexis, and look how that turned out.
But I’ve caught myself thinking of the color of his eyes, the rich honey brown that is so sweet, the curve of his smile, and the way the sun catches the gold in his hair and makes the black look like the ocean at midnight.
So maybe it’s not friendship. Maybe it is love. I just don’t know how this would work. We’re both going our separate ways. Even if I stay in New York, he’s going to Wisconsin. So whatever I’m feeling, these heartstrings being tugged, it doesn’t matter because it won’t end up anywhere.
“That’s good,” I say, and there’s a small pause between us.
He doesn’t elaborate, doesn’t ask me if it truly is friendship, but the silence doesn’t feel awkward.
“What are you going to do now?” I ask.
“Well,” he says with a yawn. “Probably take a nap that will turn into a hibernation. I deserve it after this whole year. But on a biggerscale, classes are already finished, and all that’s left is the exams. So the attorneys are going to try to arrange for me to take them.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
“But there’s the whole high school diploma thing. Not sure how that will work out. Might not,” he says, and my spirits plummet.
“I should have known Alexis was… like that,” I say bitterly. “It’s pretty amazing how much I was willing to ignore and pretend didn’t happen because I knew her for so long. Because shewassometimes nice. She really was a good friend. At one point in my life. She made me cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. She always called me at midnight on my birthday, and we’d talk until morning under the blanket so our parents wouldn’t hear us. She fixed my locker the first time it got destroyed.”
“She what?” Jamie says, voice quiet with shock.
