Zero. I sigh.
“Checking to see if Aces has exposed another secret?” Jamie asks, wrapping up the remains of his sandwich.
“No.”Yes.
“I hear that if the secret is about you, you don’t get the message.”
I narrow my eyes at him a little. “No shit, Sherlock. I kind of figured that out already… But are people talking about it? Like who it could be?”
Jamie shrugs. “I guess so. I don’t really pay attention.”
Usually, I know everything going on in Niveus. Usually, I’m in control. I’ve got ears in all classes, and people always tell me things. But this week there’s been radio silence. I feel like everyone knows more than I do, and for some reason, they are keeping me out of the loop. First, there was Headmaster Collins’s resignation, then there was everyone apparently knowing Jamie and Belle were a thing, and now, Aces. Not knowing who’s next,what’snext, has been making me really anxious.
“Let’s head out of Lola’s. Belle wanted to sit with us at lunch today.”
I try not to let the annoyance show on my face. “Sure.”
We exit the room, looking around to make sure no teachers see us leaving, and then we walk back into the cafeteria. Jamie heads straight over to Belle, who’s sitting at the jock table in the center with some of the girls from the lacrosse team and some guys from the football team. I follow, wrinkling my nose as I look at everyone eating what seems to be today’s special. Green pasta. I notice Scotty sitting at the end, twirling the pasta with one hand while texting with the other. I’m surprised to see him here; he usually hangs around the drama kids.
I wonder who he’s texting.
Another reason I prefer eating lunch alone with Jamie is becausethe jock table is always so loud, filled with what are meant to be grown men in blue letterman jackets flinging food at each other.
I catch up to Jamie, wanting to tell him that Belle clearly seems busy eatingvomit. But he’s too fast, moving toward her like a magnet, kissing her softly. I look away, pulling a chair out and sitting opposite them.
“How was Lola’s?” Belle asks. I take out my small tub of carrot sticks.
“Fascinating as always,” Jamie says, mouth filled with sandwich again. He’s somehow managed to unwrap it in the time between kissing Belle and sitting down.
There is silence between us, and I look up, noticing Belle staring at me with expectation.
I stick a carrot in my mouth, smiling wide as I chew. “It was great, Ialwayslove hanging out with Jamie.”
Belle rolls her eyes, and I raise an eyebrow.Did she just roll her eyes at me?
I hear a text tone and my heart jolts. Belle takes her phone out, glancing at my face.
“That was just my sister,” she says.
My heart starts beating steadily again, but I’m annoyed at myself that I let my insecurity show.
“What does she want?” I ask, a little too harshly, to cover it up.
Belle hesitates. “Just a joke about politics… when can we watch another one of those mutant films?”
“What joke?” I push.
She squints at me.
“Does it really matter?” Jamie answers for her.
I open my mouth to tell him yes and make up a reason for why it matters, but he interrupts yet again.
“X-Men?” he asks, bringing the conversation back to mutants, because that’s clearly more important.
“Yeah! I’m… really interested in them,” Belle says.
Jamie looks at me.
