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“Have you forgotten that you have a girlfriend?” I said through my teeth, feeling warm and conspicuous and like I wanted to be anywhere but there.
“So?” he said, gri
“You are such a pig!” I blurted.
The secretary looked over at us with that expression of impatience that half the faculty wore every day.
“I’m just kidding!” Hammond replied at a half whisper, like I was being so immature. “Calm down.”
“I am calm,” I said. “But just so we’re clear, that night was a mistake, okay?”
A slight, embarrassed blush rose up onto his cheeks, and I instantly felt bad for being so blunt.
“Whatever,” he said. He slumped down on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest, looking like a petulant kindergartner. “I was just trying to be nice. I figured no one would send you flowers, and I didn’t want you to walk around school all day feeling all pathetic.”
“Well, guess what? I did get flowers. So you didn’t have to take pity on me,” I shot back.
Mrs. Porter walked out of her cubicle with another student and sent him on his way. I was out of my seat, clutching my bag and my carnations, before she could even say my name.
“And if you want to be nice to me, how about you stop acting like I don’t exist when you see me in the halls?” I said, looking back at Hammond. “I’d appreciate that a lot more than a flower.”
He shook his head in exasperation, still staring straight ahead, but I could tell by the increased blotchiness of his face that he’d heard what I’d said. Maybe, just maybe, I’d finally gotten through to one of them.
ally
I sat in history class the following afternoon trying desperately to stay awake, my eyes crossing as I retyped Mr. Lewis’s notes from the board and into my laptop. Outside, snow swirled and the wind whistled past the windowpanes. I was just about to let it all lull me to sleep when I saw my phone light up out of the corner of my eye. It was inside my bag but sticking out of the interior pocket just enough for me to see the screen. I glanced at the back of Mr. Lewis’s balding head. He hadn’t turned around in at least fifteen minutes, so enthralled was he with his own musings and getting every word of them down on the board. I snatched the phone into my lap. My heart started to pound, and suddenly I was wide awake. The text was from Jake.
Will any1 notice if I start snoring?
I glanced over my shoulder at him. He smirked and flashed his phone at me under the desk. How had he even gotten my number? I texted quickly, my fingers trembling.
IDK. How loud do u snore?
His response was immediate.
IDK. Sleep over some time and u can tell me.
I laughed out loud and slapped my hand over my mouth. Chloe turned around and shot me a reproachful look, her perfectly pink lips pursed. That was Chloe for you. Captain of the Ma
“Something fu
“No,” I squeaked.
“Good. Then let’s get back to it,” he replied.
My phone lit up again.
Busted!
I smiled and texted back.
Tnx 4 the flowers.
What flowers?
LOL V fu
I have no idea what ur talking about.
I froze. It wasn’t possible, was it? It had to have been him who sent the secret admirer flowers. He drew the shield and sword. No one else would have—
Gotcha!
I bit my tongue to keep from laughing. We texted for the rest of the class period. I found out his birthday was coming up in March. I told him that mine was in May. He confessed that his favorite snack dip was hummus. I told him mine was pineapple salsa. I asked if he really liked Hammond or was just taking pity. He said Hammond was cool when he wasn’t licking his own reflection in the mirror. That earned him another laugh and me another lip-purse from Chloe. Toward the end of the period, Jake sent another text.
Ready 4 big game 2nite?
Valley High is going down! U coming?
Will b there cheering 4 u.
I blushed so hard I thought I might pop.
Cool.
When the bell rang, I tucked my phone away and closed my laptop. My pulse raced as I wondered what to do next. Clearly Jake and I had just taken our relationship, whatever it was, to some new level. Should I go talk to him? Was he going to come talk to me? Maybe just a smile over my shoulder and—
But then Jake walked right by me and over to Chloe and Faith, without so much as a nod. My heart fell. Apparently, the text fest hadn’t changed a thing. But then why had he started it? What was the point? Was he really just that bored? Maybe he spent every class period texting someone, and he’d simply run through his entire address book.
As I lifted my bag onto my shoulder and started for the door, I loathed myself for getting so excited. Just before I got to the hallway, my phone lit up again. It was from him.
Same time tomorrow?
My heart, all of a sudden, was back from its trip to my toes. I texted back.
I’m in.
jake
The gym was packed. I’d been to a lot of Sha
“Let’s go, Sha
The girl was effing good. Even better than I’d thought. All night she’d been hustling—taking shots when they were good, passing off when she was double-teamed, stealing the ball, getting in her player’s face when she was on D. She didn’t stop. I’d never seen anyone play so fierce in my life.
It was beyond hot.
“Come on!” Hammond shouted, leaning forward. “Don’t let them hog the ball!”
“Let’s go, Hill! Let’s go, Hill!” the Idiot Twins shouted. They were shirtless behind us, their chests painted with tiger stripes, each wearing a huge burgundy frizz wig. Every time they cheered, the crowd cracked up.
The fans around us joined in the chant. “Let’s go, Hill! Let’s go, Hill!”
Time was ticking down. Only fifteen seconds left on the clock, and we were down by one.
“Come on, Sha
“Yea, go,” Faith said as she texted on her phone. She lifted a fist at shoulder level. “Whoo.”
Hammond and I rolled our eyes at them.
“Ohmigod yes!” Trevor shouted suddenly.
“Go, Ally!” Todd added.
Suddenly the entire Orchard Hill side of the bleachers was on their feet. In the two seconds Hammond and I had taken our eyes off the court, Ally had somehow stolen the ball and was now sprinting toward the basket. I jumped up. One of the Valley players chased after her, probably intent on fouling her, but Ally was too fast. She made a perfect layup. The crowd went nuts. The scoreboard clicked. We were up by one with four seconds left. The whole team surrounded Ally, hugging her and slapping her hands. She nodded but didn’t smile. The game wasn’t over yet. She was all business.
Did I mention she was beyond hot?
Valley called a time-out and everyone relaxed into their seats. The cheerleaders jogged onto the floor to start a chant.
Faith finally looked up from her phone. “What happened? Did we win?”
“Not yet,” Hammond said patiently. “They get one more shot.”
“God. This game takes forever,” she complained.
Chloe gave her a sympathetic pat on the knee.
The whistle blew.
“This is it.” I had to stand up, because everyone in front of me did. The whole crowd was on its feet as two Valley players lined up at the end of the court. With only four seconds left they raced to the key. Coaches screamed, parents wailed, cheerleaders shouted. The taller girl passed it off to the lead scorer, and Sha