“I’ll see you later.” I snatched my books back from him. “I’ve got to catch Angie before school starts. Bye.”
“Bye.” I could tell my reaction to his morning greeting confused him. Before I could take off, he touched my shoulder. “Hey, everything’s OK, right?”
“Of course.” I shifted my right shoulder up and smiled. “It’s just this project Angie and I are working on in Physics.”
He nodded and seemed to look more at ease. “Sure. OK, see you in history class.”
“That you will.”
With that, I took off and accosted Angie at her locker a few feet away. “Come on, we have a Physics project to talk about.”
“Wwh…” was the sound she made as I slammed her locker door for her. I took her arm, and we navigated through the throng of our fellow students.
“All right, Andi. Our project isn’t due for two more weeks. What are you doing? I mean, I saw you two together, if you’re wondering. So, you and Luke are a couple now, or something, huh? Have you maybe neglected to tell me something?”
“Don’t start.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who initiated this, Miss Rosy Cheeks.”
“What are you talking about now?”
She pointed at my cheek. “Really bright.” She grinned. “I applaud Luke for being a guy not afraid to show a little PDA, that is ‘public display of affection’ in a tasteful manner.”
I covered my right cheek. “I know what PDA means. And, well, I just wish he’d act a little more inhibited. I may have to shrink to the size of an atom and disappear.”
“Just don’t split because that could be catastrophic.”
I glared at her attempted humor. “Very funny. Are we so desperate that we have to fall back on physics humor now?”
“OK, fine, but even if you become the tiniest woman in the world, you’d still actually be here and have to face the music. So spill. You and Luke, what gives?”
“Not now.”
“Hey, you’re the one who pulled me into this conversation.”
“Not a conversation. An escape.”
“Oh, gee, thanks. I’m so excited to be your means of avoiding the cute, popular guy.”
“It’s not like that. I just didn’t know what to say and…uuh! I don’t even know anymore. This is all happening so fast, and Amy told me to just take baby steps and I think I’m ready for the funny farm.”
“Yep, welcome. It’s great here.”
She so wasn’t helping this situation.
14
Even though it had happened hours ago, I continued taking quick, shallow breaths in the hopes of avoiding hyperventilation due to my interaction with Luke in the middle of the hallway.
At the moment, I was supposed to be listening to Mr. Leman go on about the Boston Tea Party in history class.
But seriously, what was he thinking? Luke, that is. I’m thinking it’s way overrated. He may not have inhibitions, but I’m thwarted with them. Me—the one who’s Change-o-phobic. Remember?
I’ve had many visions of being greeted at school by my boyfriend, and this was not one of them. Not that Luke is my boyfriend. Of course, no way could I convince anyone else on that point. Yes, the news of our interaction had circulated around campus, and I was completely mortified. If I could have gotten a ride home, I would have totally ditched. If things got any more uncomfortable, I just might have to go it alone. Then I could try out that mono story with my mom. I’m sure I have the ability to convince a doctor I had a serious illness.
I’d been Luke-free since the “flower giving event” until this period. I sneaked into class and took a seat beside Chuck, the guy who wears sandals with his socks even in October, and Julie, who had probably been the catalyst for causing today’s woe.
Luke arrived two seconds before the bell rang. He flashed me a smile along with the sight of two gleaming tickets. Homecoming tickets! Right in front of the entire class. This couldn’t be happening!
I haven’t done anything to deserve this. I’ve paid my dues and never tried to hop into another social scale. I study as much as I can and make decent grades. I’m courteous to teachers and students alike. I’m active in my church and even play the keyboard in the teen praise band. Why was I being punished?
With class ending, I tried to think of a way to avoid Luke again. What would I do if I had to walk down the hall with him? I didn’t want to think about it. The thought made me nauseous.
Thankfully, Luke had to stay behind to talk with Mr. Leman about the end of the quarter project. Bless Mr. Leman! Now, if I could just make it through to lunch, I might be OK. Although, I may have to succumb to eating lunch in the girls’ restroom if only to avoid Luke for a little while longer.
~*~
In the cafeteria, I approached my usual table while carrying a tray with my lunch. I’d only grabbed a gelatin desert, an apple, and a bottled water. I really had no appetite, but I needed something to keep me busy while hoping Luke had no grand ideas about topping this morning. So far, so good. No sign of Luke.
After taking a seat beside Alisha, I covered my head with my hands and sighed.
Alisha bumped her elbow into my arm. “Hey, Andi, bad day?” A bit of laughter slipped into her tone. Not even tender-hearted Alisha had a considerate comment for me this afternoon. Did they all think this was funny?
I raised my bleary eyes to her face. “Please, Alisha. Not you, too. This is seriously a nightmare. It’s like I’ve walked into somebody else’s life. Or a horror film. Things like this do not happen to me. I enjoyed being invisible so much more.”
“Andrea, you aren’t invisible.”
“To most of the student body I am…or was. Now I’m world famous.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.” She chuckled and bit into her sandwich.
I opened my water bottle and took a long drink of the cool beverage. Then I set it down and pressed my moist lips together. It did strangely make me feel better even if I continued to tremble like I was going through detox, jitters and all.
“What would you do in my position, Lis?” I knew it was a stupid question. I mean, Alisha would think so. She had guys falling for her every day, and yet she didn’t find it to be the end of the world as my neurotic self found it to be. Then again, I am not Alisha!
She situated herself over to the side so she could talk to me privately. “I’d do nothing. The more attention you give to this sensational gossip, the more attention it will get and the longer the wagging lips will continue.” She took another dainty bite of her sandwich, and then turned back to me as though she’d just remembered something. “And I’d have a talk with Luke. If you don’t want him to be so…open in his admiration for you,”—(here she smiled at me)—“he needs to know your feelings on the subject. Communication is always best in any relationship.”
Relationship? What was she going on about? “Luke and I are not in a relationship. He just asked me to homecoming. It’s not like we’re going out or anything.”
“Does he know that? I mean, he did seem like there was more going on between you this morning. The flower, the carrying of your books, and everything. That is kind of a sign of a deeper attachment.”
Amy and Angie joined us at the table as I continued to digest Alisha’s pearls of wisdom. She was the dating guru of the group. Besides stepping often into the dating pool, she also read all the lifestyle magazines with articles like “Relationship Secrets” and “The Secret Cheating Code.” There’s always a secret involved, I guess. I sure needed the secret to get me out of this mess.
“Hey, Boy Charmer.”
Yes, this is how Angie decided to address me. Images of me bashing her over the head with my lunch tray flashed through my mind. Probably over-the-top, I know, yet still, there it was. My withering stare didn’t seem to affect her the way I wished; so, I followed Alisha’s advice and said nothing. Instead, I opened up my gelatin cup.
“Ignore her, Andrea,” said Amy.
What did she think I was doing
? I mean, did I do it wrong? Had it not been apparent that I’d endeavored to ignore Angie at the moment?
“Now,” Amy continued with that determined gleam in her dark eyes. “I know it’s just homecoming and not prom, but we have to plan. Do you know what you’re wearing? If not, I have some great ideas.”
Amy probably continued to ramble on and on about homecoming, but at that moment I completely lost focus…well, not entirely. It’s just that my focus changed directions.
Luke entered the caf and headed for his usual table with the jocks. Well, that was a good sign—things going about as normal. Still, the sight of him made my stomach lurch. Good thing I’d gone light on lunch today.
After taking a seat, Luke caught my eye and smiled.
I had to return the smile, and I did as best I could, hoping no one else in the room happened to notice the silent communication going on between us. Then I returned to my meager lunch and zoned out completely from the never-ending babbling going on at my table. I love my friends (I do), but why is it that none of them seem to get me…at least lately?
With my gelatin and apple eaten and my water just about empty, I figured I’d better make my exit before Luke got it into his head to escort me to my locker.
Too little, too late.
“Hey.” Luke straddled the bench next to me. He ran a hand through his bangs, and he looked way too good-looking for words.
“Uh, hi,” I managed to get out. I took the last swig of water in my bottle, and then glanced around the table.
Amy just smiled as pleased as punch. (What does that even mean? I don’t know, but my mother says it.) Angie looked like she was about to say something totally embarrassing to Luke. Alisha rolled her head as if working a kink out in her neck except that she pointed at the side door to the caf like I should be going over there.
OK, I got it! This was her way of hinting I should take Luke to the side and communicate to him all my totally empty fears and insecurities. Like I could do that!
I rotated my view to Luke again and the expression in his eyes told me I better add to the conversation soon or he’d probably do something that would humiliate me so much that I’d have to be homeschooled. My Mom’s home all day and totally educated. We could do it. Besides, my friend Laurel from church is homeschooled and she gets to do all these super cool activities and projects which look way fun. So, it wouldn’t be so bad to be homeschooled now that I think about it. Maybe I should go home now and suggest it to Mom. That sounded better than sitting here in front of everyone with Luke mere inches from me.
Luke set a container down on the table in front of me. “For you.”
“Me? What is it?”
“Chocolate cake.”
I didn’t know what he meant by chocolate cake. Was that code for something? I’m so lost when it comes to the dating world. Not that we were dating. I leaned closer to whisper to him. “I think we need to talk.”
“Sure. OK.” He grinned like this was just an everyday occurrence.
Did he not know what I was going to say? Had he somehow avoided all the notoriety he’d brought to my previously invisible existence?
We took the exit, which moved to the walkway leading to the football field.
Students loitered here and there, but it was pretty empty under a tree a couple yards away.
I guided him there and turned around attempting to mount as much courage and determination as I could. I blew out a breath. “Luke…”
“Yeah?”
Why did he have to grin at me like that? As if in a puff of smoke, my resolve disappeared. I breathed in a deeper breath this time. No, my resolve had not disappeared, but it had definitely faltered. “I thought we should talk,” I said in a serious grown-up tone, sounding just like my father.
“OK, so let’s talk.”
“About today…”
“Yes?”
“I just think that given the circumstances we really shouldn’t…hold on…did you say chocolate cake? Did you bring me actual chocolate cake?”
“Uh, yeah.” He leaned his hand onto the tree trunk, and the way his leather jacket swung open, he looked just like a model from a magazine.
“How did you know I liked chocolate cake?”
“Well, you’re sixteen and breathing. So, I took a chance. Plus, by the way you filled your coffee with the stuff, I thought you just might like it in cake form.”
“Where did you get it? I mean…”
“I, uh, I made it. Last night.” He looked rather proud of himself at the disclosure.
“You made it? You made me chocolate cake?”
“Yeah, I made you chocolate cake. Is there something wrong with that? You eat cake, right?”
“Yes.”
“I mean, you don’t have an allergy or anything, do you?”
“No.”
“So, let’s go back and share some before the bell rings.”
I let him walk me back to the caf. I mean, seriously, what else could I do? He made me cake. No boy had ever made me cake before. In fact, in the history of my memory, I couldn’t remember anyone telling me about a boy making them cake. This had to be phenomenal or something. My boyfriend made me cake.
Wait! Luke is not my boyfriend. What was I thinking? Cake. My brain cells were all taken up in thinking about cake and not about the embarrassing things I needed to communicate to Luke. Well, I supposed it could wait until later. I mean, he made me cake, and I really wanted to eat some because I was freaking starving. What was I thinking with my lunch choices today?
15
Somehow I made it through the rest of lunch and Geometry. Since we have assigned seating in that class, I didn’t have to worry about where to sit or if anyone who had absolutely no life was watching us. I did, however, have to endure the evil eye of Stephanie Ruiz as Luke and I arrived at class together. The last thing I needed was the wrath of a socialite in a miniskirt. Some cheerleaders can be scary. It must be all that enthusiasm they drum up for sporting events. When it overflows into their personal life, they occasionally get a bit zealous in their agendas.
The rest of the day should go smoothly enough. I just had to get through Junior AP English and Spanish II. Then somehow evade Luke as I escaped home.
I neared the entrance to English class, but stopped when I heard Stephanie’s voice around the corner. And her topic under discussion? Well, that would be…me!
In no uncertain terms, I didn’t want to give her the opportunity to zing me with her ever-present niceties. She was unpleasant at best when she was in a good mood. After hearing about Luke and me, I could only imagine what she had planned. Something painful, I’m sure. And that didn’t mean physical pain, but probably something more lasting like social degradation that would haunt me for the rest of my life.
“She’s like the queen of the geeks,” Stephanie was saying. “I mean, have you seen her hair? There’s no way she even conditions.”
My heart plummeted to my stomach. It is one thing to describe yourself in those terms, but to hear it from one of the popular crowd is a real depressant.
“Yeah,” Julie agreed, “but I hear she plays the piano really well.”
“Exactly, a total loser. Who listens to that Mozart and Beet-oven stuff, anyway?”
“I think it’s Beethoven,” Julie corrected her. Who knew Julie was actually the brains of the operation?
“Whatever. Either way it’s lame.”
“Well, what are you going to do if Luke takes her to homecoming? I mean, what about what Katie said at practice on Monday? Do you have a back-up plan?”
Oh, great! My stomach clenched, and I really didn’t want to regurgitate the chocolate cake I just ate.
Katie Mulligan, cheer captain and senior goddess. What did she have to do with any of this?
“I’m not worried,” said Stephanie. And truly she didn’t sound worried. “I’ll take care of it. Luke might have a distinctive change of heart by Friday.” Their shoes echoed on the vinyl flooring as they walked into c
lass.
My heart echoed just as loudly in my cavernous chest. Friday. What did she plan to do by Friday? My fleeing mechanism was about to click into overdrive, but I controlled the fear and took a deep breath. It wasn’t like she planned to club me with a meat cleaver or anything. Right? No, it would be something much worse and longer lasting. I mean, when you die—you go to your great reward or otherwise, as the case may be. The evil cheerleader can never hurt you again. But when it’s high school embarrassment, the scars stay with you for life.
Friday! That’s right. Luke had agreed to help her out with homecoming decorations. That’s when she’d swoop in and convince him of what a loser I am and how she’s the catch of the junior class.
A sickening sensation moved along my esophagus. I could just imagine the disgusting kissing and groping exercise Stephanie hoped might take place after the banquet with Luke. She might have done that with Dion, but Luke wasn’t like that, was he?
I know this is a Christian school and we all say we’ve made a promise to wait on things of that nature, but I don’t think a lot of these kids really mean it. I’ve heard what they say when the teachers aren’t around. The thought of Stephanie making her move on Luke was enough to make me nauseous.
Maybe a flesh-eating disease would take over Steph’s body between now and Friday. It could happen. OK, probably not. And that was not a Christ-like thought, anyway. Totally unlike me. But I needed something to tip the scales in my favor. I mean, come on, who would you choose—a girl fully endowed in all the right places and popular, too, or me—one not so popular and to whom the endowment fairies continued to ignore. It doesn’t take a mathematician to figure it out.
What had made Stephanie become the person she was, anyway? She could do so much good with her beauty and influence. Instead, she used it for malevolent means. My mom’s theory of insecurity just didn’t hold water, if you asked me.
Andrea and the 5-Day Challenge Page 13