By lunchtime, I’d come to a decision as far as Brook and Destiny were concerned. I sent them each a text saying I wanted to eat lunch with them—alone. I skipped out of class five minutes early so I could be seated at a table before they arrived.
The table I picked was in the corner and was usually occupied by a girl who sat by herself. It surprised me a little when the girl came and sat down. She ignored me as she opened her sack lunch and pulled out a California sushi roll, wasabi, soy sauce, and a salad. I looked at my meal and then back at hers.
“Want to trade?”
“I’ve never had a school lunch. Are they as bad as they look?”
“You’re in for a treat. Today is mac and cheese,” I said to try to sell it.
“I’ve never had mac and cheese.”
“What? Then you have to trade. It would be irresponsible of me to deprive you of the wonders of boiled noodles in a sauce made from processed cheese powder.”
Her hesitance told me I might have provided too much information, so I made her a counteroffer.
“Try it first. If you don’t like it, I’ll let you off the hook for the trade.”
I was worried when she took a forkful and sniffed it before she put it into her mouth. When she smiled, I was in.
Destiny was the first to arrive and saw what I had.
“You are so sharing that,” she informed me.
I hunched over and put my arms over my new lunch. Girls had tricked me before.
“Mine,” I said with a growl in my voice.
Brook came up and appeared unhappy when she saw Destiny. Then she spotted my sushi roll.
“Remember what your mom said: you have to share,” she reminded me and then turned to Destiny. “Bitch.”
“Skank.”
I turned to the girl I’d just met.
“You might want to eat lunch somewhere else. This is about to get ugly,” I warned her.
“Are you kidding me? This is the first time anyone has eaten lunch with me. I’m not going anywhere.”
I just shrugged as Destiny and Brook ignored us and began arguing. They vented their grievances while I ate my California sushi roll. I figured they would forget about it if they were busy fighting. When I got down to the last two pieces, they both stopped and glared at me. I rolled my eyes and gave them each one. While their mouths were full, I weighed in.
“You,” I said, pointing at my girlfriend, “shot yourself in the foot when you gave me away as a date. If you’d thought about it for even a second, you would have figured out who might be motivated to go out with me. None of those girls would have made you happy. It just so happens that Destiny has a unique talent for making you crazy.
“This morning, you let her win when you reacted to a rumor she started,” I said, looking her in the eyes.
I then turned my displeasure on Destiny.
“I’ve stayed out of your little drama until you sucked me into the middle of it this morning. When I left you Saturday night, you had it under control. You chased off that frat guy without a problem. That leads me to conclude that you made up the morning-after pill rumor you started. Am I right?”
She looked away, and both Brook and I saw the truth in what happened. Destiny got a determined expression on her face and turned on me.
“She told on me.”
I blinked a couple of times to keep from laughing. Destiny sounded exactly like my niece would in a couple of years. Unfortunately, my daughter would probably follow suit.
“You need to own that. You’ve been hanging out with your cousin and getting drunk. That night wasn’t the first time because I saw the pictures of them drawing on you after you’d passed out. Either you need to straighten up until the season’s over, or I’ll go to your coach and fill her in on what you’ve been up to. I’d bet you’d be off the squad for more than just this week’s game.”
Then I turned back to Brook.
“If you’d sent the pictures to your coach because you’re cheer captain, I would understand. But you did it because you dislike Destiny. I’ve played ball with some players that I couldn’t stand, but I’ve never turned them in unless they’d harmed someone. The most recent instance of that was dealing with Mike for what he did to Mona,” I said to give her an example.
I turned again to face Destiny.
“Did you mean what you said on the date? Or were you just telling me what I wanted to hear?” I asked.
“Yes, I meant it until I got suspended.”
“As I said, get over it. You gave her the opportunity to do the wrong thing,” I said, then turned to Brook. “Can we do a reset? You two have been fighting about nothing. You are the captain, and Destiny’s never going to take that from you unless you let her. I will never be more than friends with her. You even got to kick her butt.”
That brought a smile to her face.
“I’m willing to end this if she is,” Brook said.
I looked at Destiny.
“Yeah. I want to enjoy the rest of the year and not have it dominated by fighting with your girlfriend.”
“Good. You two work out the truce while I get to know my new friend. I’m sorry, I don’t even know your name,” I said.
“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself?” she teased.
