“No, I agreed to it,” I whine.
We stare at each other for a beat. And then the laughing starts again.
“Oh my god, why?” she howls. I can see her picturing me in running gear. I’d laugh myself if I wasn’t so horrified. I’d also like the answer to her question. I still can’t come up with a good enough reason that I somehow agreed to Sloane’s plan. A plan which is wholly unnecessary. A plan which I still can’t figure out why Sloane is so committed to carrying out.
“I don’t know. Seriously, P, Sloane tricked me! Plus, I’m now giving her art lessons, which come to think of it, is way less taxing than my side of the deal.”
“Hey, are we going to the diner?” Bella calls. She’s got wet hair and smells a lot fresher than the rest of us.
We wait for Pia to get herself under control. She tells me the conversation isn’t over, which means the mocking isn’t over, before addressing Bella’s question.
“Can we meet in like an hour?” Pia asks. “I need to shower.” She shoots a not-so-subtle wink at Todd.
“Your mum and dad are away then?” I laugh. As soon as Pia’s parents travel, she and Todd go at it like bunnies. Her parents can be a little overbearing, but Pia plays the game well. When they’re in town, she’s the model daughter. Not so much when they’re in a different city, which is frequently.
“Two whole weeks.” Pia grins. Todd goes red.
“Do we need to stop at the pharmacy?”
It’s a sincere question. I take my friend’s safe sex lives seriously. Neither of them wants to be parents, and I’m too young to be an aunt. Best to check in and stock up on condoms. God knows Pia will forget in her horndog haze. Todd is usually reliable.
Todd clears his throat. “I have enough condoms to last until college, don’t worry.”
“And I’m securely on the pill,” Pia chimes in. She’s not so reliable with that either.
I clap Todd on the back. “Good man. Right then, I’ll see you all later. Bella, want to drop me off at home so I don’t have to endure this pair?”
Bella laughs and drags me away.
4
Sloane
Becca lounges on my bed with a family-size bag of Doritos, watching me as I plan out the Couch to 5k for Eden. I’m more determined than ever now to help, even though, as she firmly stated, she didn’t ask for it.
My motivations are purely selfish. I can recognize that, and I’m okay with it. Either Eden and I will bond and something will come of our time together, or I’ll just help a classmate get a little healthier. I’m really hoping the first scenario pans out.
“This is a very convoluted way of getting to know her, Sloane. You could just ask her out, save everyone some time.”
Becca is right, of course, but like I said before, Eden is different. I want to get to know her before asking her out. I get the feeling she doesn’t know how attractive and interesting she is. Plus, I kind of like it when she gets all flustered and blurts things out.
“Convoluted, but right, Becs.”
She licks the nacho dust off her fingers. “It’s just, I don’t see how making her do the one thing she clearly fucking hates is going to get her to fall madly in love with you and make sweet virginal love to you before college.”
Becca gets a throw pillow to the face. “It’s not about that. Sure, I’d love it if we were to go on a date. I think I’ve pined long enough, but there’s more to it than that.”
It’s not my place to tell Becca about Eden’s asthma and what happened in the UK. If she wanted people to know she’d have said something, probably three years ago when Porter started his campaign of irritation.
“Trust me, Becca, I know what I’m doing.”
I hope.
Now I need to come up with a plan that suits Eden and my schedule. I may have overreached slightly. Not only do I have a ton of homework, but I have practice with the cheer squad nearly every day. It doesn’t leave much time for the 5k training, but I’m determined to fit it in. We could go for walks before school, or even on the weekends.
Oh shit, I’m also going to have to fit in art classes too. Looks like I’ll be getting less sleep this year, but that’s fine. If it means Eden and I get to spend more alone time together, it’s a fair trade-off.
“So when is your first date?”
