One Trip Around the Sun (10 page)

I’m late to school on Tuesday, so I have to run to my first class. I slide into the seat next to Chelsea in our first-hour bio class.

“Ugh.” I find a piece of gum sitting on my desk.

I pick it up and move to toss it into the trash before Chelsea interrupts me, “No, no, no. That’s from your admirer.” She nods her head toward the back of the class.

I glance back to see Brady leaning on the back two legs of his chair, laughing with the girl sitting beside him. She is twisted sideways and facing toward him, trying to invade as much of his personal space as he’ll allow, and he appears not to mind at all.

His eyes find mine. I unwrap the gum, open my mouth, and pop the gum in. Slowly, I chew it as Brady’s lips turn into that cocky grin that I love.

“So, what’s the plan for this weekend? You know that you can still back out, right?” Chelsea whispers to me, pulling my attention away from Brady.

“No, Chels. I put too much work into this plan
to stop now. I need to know,” I whisper back before opening my book. “Everything’s a go for Saturday night.” I try to pay attention to Mr. Keemper.

Chelsea drops her head to her desk with a loud thud.

“Is everything okay, Miss Benson?”
Mr. Keemper asks.

She raises her head. “No, sir, but we can’t do anything about it.”

“Would you like a pass to visit the guidance counselor?” he says as he writes on the whiteboard.

“No, sir. I would just like to learn some bio. Thank you though.”

Just as Brady has done for the past week, he walks into the cafeteria with two protein shakes. He sits at his table full of jocks and cheerleaders while I sit in the chair directly behind his at a table full of normal kids. We’re not preps, jocks, burnouts, or geeks. We’re just us.

He scoots his chair back until he is almost sitting next to me. He twists the cap off my shake and hands it to me.

“Thanks. You don’t have to keep doing this, you know.”

“Do you want me to stop?” He’s just inches from me, leaning his arm on the back of his seat, as his eyes roam my face.

“I’m sure they’re expensive,” I say after taking a drink.

“We get a deal on them at the gym. It’s all good.”

“Of course.”

We’re both silent for a few minutes as we drink our shakes and watch our friends interact with each other.

Finally, Brady looks to me again. “Do you not want to be seen having lunch with me, Reese?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s it. You’re going to ruin my reputation.” I smile and take the last drink of my shake.

When I’m finished, he takes the empty bottle out of my hand and leans forward to set it on the table in front of him.

He looks back at me with a straight face. “Go out with me Saturday night. I mean, will you please go out with me on Saturday?”

I’m stunned. There is no possible way that Brady freaking Fisher just asked my lame ass out. I look at Chelsea, who has obviously been eavesdropping at least long enough to hear that last question.

Her eyes are as big as saucers, and she’s nodding her head as she mouths,
Yes
.

I look back at him, and I can’t believe what I have to do. Hating myself for what I’m about to say, I hang my head. “I can’t.”

“Oh, okay. Friday then?” He’s not fazed in the least bit, and in true Brady fashion, he doesn’t give up.

“I can’t.” I shake my head.

“Why not? Do you have a boyfriend?”

“No.”

“I don’t get it then…unless you don’t like me? But I sure haven’t gotten that impression—at least, not until now.”

“It’s complicated, Brady.”

The bell rings, and I bolt as quickly as I can. Thankfully, Brady doesn’t follow me, but Chelsea snatches me up by my arm and drags me into the girls’ restroom.

“What the hell was that bullshit, Reese?”

I duck my head, looking into the stalls. Once I confirm that we are alone, I plead my case, “I am not going to go out with him when I have so much bullshit going on right now.”

“Reese, he could be
the
guy instead of some guy you don’t know or give a fuck about.”

“Chelsea, that’s even more fucked up than doing it with someone who I don’t care if I ever see again. I’m going to be honest with you here. I like Brady—a lot.”

“No shit, Sherlock. And he likes you—a lot. The whole damn school has been talking about it. Now, they’re going to talk about you turning him down.”

“I have to figure this shit out. It’s almost over, Chels. Just hang in there with me a few more days.” As two giggling cheerleaders walk in, I lower my voice as I whisper, “Please.”

“I will always have your back, but I think you should go home and think long and hard about what the hell you’re about to do. You’re going to give it up to some guy who you barely know instead of someone who really likes you.”

“Chelsea, you’re forgetting one important thing. I don’t even know if I have anything to give up.”

I wrap my arm through hers, and we walk to our next class.

When I enter the classroom, Brady’s quiet. I hate that I have to push him away. I’m zoned out, wondering if he’ll ask me out again next week. Once my plan is complete and I have answers, I can be all his. I’m distracted when he slides a piece of gum across my desk. He doesn’t look at me, but the look of disappointment on his face is obvious. From his simple gesture though, I know that I still have a chance with him.

In my last period class, I slide into the seat next to Reese’s friend, and I don’t waste time with small talk. “So, what’s up with your girl?”

Chelsea looks at me and narrows her eyes as if she can’t stand me.

That wouldn’t be so hard to believe if I hadn’t noticed her out of the corner of my eye when she was mouthing,
Yes
, to Reese after I’d asked her out. As if that wasn’t enough to indicate that she wasn’t annoyed by me, after we left the cafeteria, I saw her with a shitty look on her face while she dragged Reese into the restroom.

I chalk her attitude problem up to the fact that she’s a girl, and I’m pretty sure attitude is a prerequisite for girls for entering high school.

She takes a deep breath and slips a piece of gum into her mouth. She chews a couple of times and then looks away from me. “I think she made herself pretty clear.”

Maybe it’s crystal clear to Chelsea. But I can promise that no guy I know can decode what
complicated
means when coming from a female.

“I don’t think so. She said that she
couldn’t
go out with me, not that she didn’t want to. She also said she didn’t have a boyfriend but that things were complicated.”

Mr. Anderson is standing in front of the class, expecting my attention. “Okay, let’s get started. Did everyone get the research done for today’s lesson?”

“Oops,” Chelsea says with the same attitude that she just gave me. She stares with an I-don’t-give-a-fuck glare.

“Actually, Mr. Anderson, Chelsea and I worked on it together. We worked late and forgot to copy it so that Chelsea would have hers to turn in.” I hold up my research paper and make an apologetic look toward Chelsea. “She did most of the research, and I wrote the paper. I wouldn’t feel right if I was the only one who got credit for it.” I slide the paper onto her desk and lean back in my chair.

Mr. Anderson is not stupid. He gives me a look of disbelief. “Brady, are you telling me that you and Chelsea spent last night writing a research paper together?” He sits back on his desk, resting on the edge of it, and crosses his hands over his chest.

I lean in toward Chelsea and whisper to her, “I scratch your back, and you scratch mine.” I stand up and walk to the front of the class. “True story. Look. I don’t doodle hearts and shit, Mr. Anderson. We were both doing our homework at the coffee shop. You always say to work smart, not hard, so we did.” I hand him the paper and turn around. I wink at Chelsea and head back to my seat.

The annoying girl who had drawn hearts on the corner of my page while I finished my homework at the gym last night just did me a favor. I’d thank her, but then she would annoy me even more than she does now.

Mr. Anderson pushes himself up off the desk and walks toward me, switching his gaze between Chelsea and me. “All right, you two, I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt on this one.” He looks at Chelsea and hands the paper to her. “Chelsea, if you want credit for this, take care of it and have it to me by the end of class.” He looks at me, narrowing his eyes. “Brady, watch your mouth in my class.”

Chelsea copies my work during class while I decide what questions to ask her about Reese. I know Chelsea isn’t going to give me much because, unlike guys, girls have that best-friend code. Girls take shit to their graves while guys love to bust each other’s balls.

As soon as the bell rings, I grab my bag off the floor and wait for Chelsea. We walk by Mr. Anderson’s desk, and we drop off our papers. Stopping just outside the classroom, I lean against the wall.

She stands in front of me and puts one hand on her hip as she cocks her head to the side. “All I’m going to tell you is that her shit is really complicated right now. It’s probably not as complicated as she thinks it is, but she’s about to do something…” Her voice trails off as she looks around the hall. I presume she’s keeping an eye out for Reese. “She likes you, Brady. I don’t know why, but she does.”

“Wow. What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No, that came out wrong. Reese doesn’t think she deserves much, so she doesn’t let herself go there with guys. If you tell her I said that, I’ll kick you in the balls the next time I see you.” She starts backing away down the hall. “I have to get going.”

I follow behind her. “Why doesn’t she think she deserves much?” I knew I wouldn’t get an answer. I just wanted to see her reaction more than anything.

“If you’re really interested in getting to know her, you’ll figure that out for yourself. Thanks for the help in class.”

I call after her one last time, “Chelsea?”

“Yeah?”

“Do your own homework tonight.” I smile at her and head down the senior hallway.

Okay, so I didn’t get much out of Chelsea, but the confirmation that Reese does like me is all I want anyway.