I did as she said, grabbing a thriller, and then took a seat next to Karla. I glanced at the book in her hand and arched an eyebrow. “Is that a romance novel?” I questioned. “I didn’t take you as a romance girl.”
“It’s not a romance. It’s a love story. Two very different things. A romance has a happy ending; a love story does not. Anyway, be quiet, read, and eat your lunch.”
I opened my book and dove into my slice of pizza from the cafeteria. After the lunch period ended, all three of us closed our books. I stood in front of my desk and waited to walk out with Karla.
“A friend, huh?” I asked.
She grimaced. “Don’t make a big deal out of it, Ash.”
But it was a big deal to me.
My chest felt tight.
The backs of my eyes stung.
A friend.
I hadn’t had one of those since my brother died.
11Karla
I made Ash my mom’s special tea for the next few days. By day three, he was fully back to normal. I didn’t know why, but it made me feel good to help him in that way. It felt good to call him a friend, too. After a few days of lunch together, Ash asked me for my phone number so we could exchange our thoughts on books. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d given someone my phone number, but I gave it to him. A part of me was surprised that he still wanted to be friends with me due to my ugly attitude and ugly face.
Ash was far too handsome to be seen with me, but he never seemed embarrassed. Sometimes it felt as if Brian was always looking over his shoulder when he talked to me. Ash didn’t do that. He held eye contact with me, taking in every word I spoke. Sometimes my whole body warmed up from the way he looked at me.
I’d never had a boy look at me the way Ash did, even before my accident. He looked at me as if I was the most important person in the world.
“Who’s that boy staring at you?” Ellie whispered as I climbed into the car after school. I turned to see what she was talking about, and I saw Ash. He was doing it again—looking at me. Flutters raced through me. He had a sheepish smile on his face as he waved goodbye. I nervously waved back quickly, then hurried into the car and slammed the door.
“No one,” I muttered to Ellie as she climbed into the driver’s seat.
“It doesn’t look like he’s no one. He looks like he really likes—”
“Ellie,” I cut in.
“Yes?”
“Please don’t be so Ellie today.”
She smiled at me, still beingso Ellie. “And what does that mean?”
“You know. Don’t be so... bubbly. He’s just a friend, that’s all.”
Her eyes widened as if she were going to burst into tears. “A friend? Want me to give him a ride home? We can give him a ride—”
“Ellie!” I groaned and slammed my hand to my forehead. “Stop!”
She tossed her hands up in surrender. “OK, OK. I’ll play it cool. Cool as a cucumber. You can consider me the chilled side of your pillow. You can—”
“Ellie.”
Her brows lowered. “Too much?”
I nodded. “Always too much.”
“Noted.”
We picked up Lorelai from school and headed home to continue on with the system that seemed to be becoming our new normal. Lorelai and Ellie laughed together. Grandma Claire stopped by every now and then for dinner when she wasn’t busy, but Dad was hardly around. He missed dinner. He always missed dinner, but Lorelai always set up a spot for him and for Mom at the dinner table. I hated that she set a table setting for Mom, because it was a standing reminder that she’dnever eat dinner with us again. But it seemed to help Lorelai. She talked about Mom andtoMom as if she was still alive.
