Dare was at my side on our way to math class. It was clear he wanted to tell me something. I’d blocked him from texting me, so his only choices were either writing it down or actually talking to me. As we found our desks, I remembered I wanted to finish up the classroom training for flying. I got my phone out and sent a text to Caryn to get it set up. Dare’s eyes got big, and I looked up to see Ms. Lowden standing next to me. I glanced over at Dare and gave him the stink eye. The little shit might have warned me.
“Morning,” I said and gave my teacher my best innocent look.
“What did I say about phones in my class?”
“That we had to turn them off for quizzes and tests,” I ventured.
“Nice, try again.”
“That I’m on the verge of getting detention again.”
“Turn it off,” she ordered.
As she made her way to the front of the room, I used my Jedi mind powers to tell Dare that he was dead to me. The expression on his face told me I had finally figured out how to do it. I would have to try it on my mom when I got home. Maybe I could finally get the motorcycle I knew I had to have.
◊◊◊
At lunch, I was in line, waiting my turn for whatever the mystery meat was today, when Jill Lacier touched my arm.
“I need to talk to you. Can you join me so we can talk alone?”
“Yeah, sure. Let me get my lunch, and I’ll be over,” I said and then turned to the lunch lady. “I’m guessing Spam.”
“Close. Spam is too expensive, but it is ham loaf,” she shared and then leaned forward. “I would get the sack lunch. It’s pastrami on rye.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I grabbed two of them and soon found Jill at a table, all alone. I glanced around and saw Phil watching us with a strange expression. Apparently, his girlfriend hadn’t told him that she and I were having a talk. I almost walked over to my old table when Brook gave me a half-lidded look that didn’t bode well. I figured I’d better talk to Jill and then go make nice.
“April told me that if I ever got the chance, I should date you.”
Mr. Happy almost wrenched control of the body from the big brain. He reasoned that Brook and I were ‘on a break,’ so it would be okay. While I formulated my response, Zoe sat down.
“She would just use you and go back to your brother once she was done,” Zoe said to offer her opinion.
“I was here first. Take a hike,” Jill said to Zoe.
“You poor innocent thing. Do you know what a shit-storm you would cause if you went out with him? Scurry back to your boyfriend before he figures out what a little cheater you are.”
Jill must have realized the giant hole in her plan because she did exactly that. I would have to talk to her later to make sure we had our stories straight. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt Phil. In the long run, it might be better to let him know that his girlfriend wasn’t as faithful as he thought.
“Thanks,” I said to Zoe once Jill had left.
“Word on the street is that Brook kicked you to the curb.”
“Where did you hear that?” I asked.
“Halle.”
Oh, shit! Peggy had called her. I glanced up, and Destiny was headed our way.
“Oh, crud,” I said under my breath and held up my hand before Destiny could sit down. “I’ll pick you up Saturday night at six-thirty.”
I saw Brook stand up, which brought an inner smile. She did still care. Destiny was smart enough to realize that she should make a strategic retreat after getting what she wanted.
“Brook was nuts to offer you up as a prize,” Zoe said, shaking her head. Then she changed the subject. “Show me the pictures of your kids.”
It turned out that talking to Zoe was precisely what I needed. She had always been able to put me at ease, and some inner calm started to seep into me. I spent the rest of lunch telling her about my discovery over the weekend. I was in such a good mood that I even let her have half of my second sandwich. Zoe was a good person, and I was glad that she was still a friend.
◊◊◊
The rest of the day went well. In Photography, we worked on campaign posters for Duke. Ms. Saunders had been happy with me using his campaign as my class project and let the work continue, but now with the rest of the class involved. The other students weren’t the most creative bunch in terms of copy, but they could make everything look good. After class, it was finally time to meet with the training staff.
I found Coaches Hope, Mason, and Rector talking to Mr. Hasting and Doc Grog. Becky and Jill came in when I arrived. Jeff Delahey and his camera crew slipped in. It was clear that Doc Grog wasn’t happy to see them.
“Looks like everyone’s here,” I said and then addressed the elephant in the room. “I’m fine with Jeff and his crew filming this. If we need to take this offline, we can kick him out.”
“We might not want to have them in here for this. I would never have allowed this when I was in the NFL. I don’t want to mess up your scholarships or give information to opponents. The last thing we need is them targeting you,” Coach Mason suggested.
