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that proclaims someone's undying love for him.
He spies me looking at the paper and quickly crams it into his pocket. "Wanna sit
down?"
Me alone with three guys. I try not to think about it and drop to the ground. Maybe I'm
jumping to a conclusion about the note. It could be his shopping list or a treasure map.
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As if on cue, we all pull out our lunches and the guys start blabbing about
school--about how they never thought they'd leave Ridgeland.
"Me, too," I say. "I feel like I've been here for a hundred years."
Gavin laughs. "Well, we know some of the teachers have."
The guys try to figure out who the oldest teacher in the school is. I mostly listen as they
playfully argue back and forth. It's a comfortable feeling sitting with them--I don't feel
any pressure to talk. Gavin's friends are just as laid-back as he is.
I see Audrey heading toward the oak and I wave and yell, "Over here!" After the third
yell, she finally spots me and strolls toward us.
She has a big smile on her face and I know it's for me. Me and Gavin.
Audrey introduces herself, then takes the spot next to me. She joins us in synchronized
sandwich eating. Nobody talks for a few minutes while we all chew.
Finally Audrey breaks the silence. "So what do you guys have planned for the big night?"
Everyone stares at her, including me. This is so not good. If my heart was beating fast
before, it's in overdrive now. Breathe in, breathe out. I will not turn bright red and burst
into flames.
She puts her peanut-butter-and-fig creation down. "The prom."
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"I'm going with my girlfriend, Anna, from Deerwood," Ted says.
Wow, he has a girlfriend. Maybe Gavin would like one, too. At prom crunchtime, peer
pressure is a good thing. I eye him, but he doesn't see me. He's busy wrapping the cord
of his iPod around his finger.
"Not the dancing type. I'll probably work." Justin flattens his Sprite can.
Poor thing. Actually, who am I kidding? I'd be in the same situation if I wasn't being set
up for total humiliation by Dynamite Derek.
"You should enter that SLAM radio contest and win Sweet T," Ted says.
I immediately jerk my head up from my lunch. He should what?
"Who's Sweetie?" Justin asks.
"Sweet T is a DJ. If you win, you get to go to her prom with her." Ted winks at Jason.
All the blood in my body has risen to my face. I feel like I have the words Sweet T
branded on my forehead, like there is no way out of this moment.
"Where does she go to school?" Jason asks.
"Nobody knows," Ted says in a zombielike voice.
I elbow Audrey to change the subject.
"So Gavin, what about you?" Audrey points to him.
Not exactly the save I was looking for, but it'll have to do.
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"I've got Speed Bump tickets for that night," he mumbles.
Audrey raises her eyebrows. "And you couldn't get out of it? Not even for prom?"
I elbow her again in the ribs. Enough is enough. This is torture. And what if someone
asks me if I'm going? I'll have to lie to the whole group. But there's no way I can break
my cover now. Not five days before the prom.
Gavin squirms. "It's complicated, but I'm going with my brother."
I feel the need to rescue him and, quite frankly, myself. "So, who's psyched for summer?"
Everyone nods. Ted says, "Summer rocks," and Gavin just smiles.
I wonder what he means by "complicated." How complicated can it be? Unless it's his
last chance to see his brother before he moves to Finland or enters the Witness
Protection Program? Or maybe he just said that for me. To let me down easy.
I peer over at Gavin's pocket, hoping the crumpled piece of paper will miraculously fall
out, but it doesn't.
Audrey's cell beeps. "Time for class."
Justin grabs his bag. "Catch you guys later. Can't be late for Henderson again or I'm
screwed."
"Ready for more presentations?" Gavin asks me.
"As long as we don't have to go up again," I say.
Ted and Audrey leave, while Gavin waits for me to gather my stuff.
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We weave through the lunch crowd. I keep pace with him so we're side by side. My arm
brushes his by mistake. Then I do it again. I don't know if he notices, but it makes me
happy.
When we get to class, we find out that Stacy's group is presenting first. Since plain old
revenge is out, channeling evil spirits might work. If only I knew how to summon the
phantoms. It's probably one of those things that takes a lot of time and concentration,
neither of which I have in the two minutes until class starts.
I can muster up my evil stare for her. I purse my lips together and narrow my eyes but
can't keep a straight face. How pathetic. I can't even look mean if I tried. I think it's
something you're born with--you either have the mean gene or not.
Stacy waltzes in just after the bell rings. She's carrying a bright pink poster board that
reads Welcome to the Best Show in Town and lists all the names in her group. I'm sure
Frank and Tim are thrilled.
"Maybe she'll choke," Gavin whispers to me. "We can only hope," I whisper back.
I should've known Stacy would pick a romance writer. She's Danielle Steel, Tim is Arnold
Schwarzenegger, and Frank is The Rock. Is this some kind of joke? Because I could make
a few jokes about this not being a remedial reading class. What was Ms. Peters thinking
when she okayed this group? She probably just let them do it so they could pass,
otherwise she'd end up with them again for summer school.
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No surprise that Stacy is dressed like a slut in a short black miniskirt and a tight white
tee. She shuffles toward the front of the class in her two-inch black heels. If her dad is so
strict, you think he would've vetoed her outfits long ago. I've never seen her first thing in
the morning, so I'm not sure if she's one of those people that wears one set of clothing
out of the house and then has another hoochie outfit stashed in her backpack for
school.
Okay, I could be wrong, but I think Danielle Steel is ancient by now and doesn't dress
like the characters in her books. Frank and Tim are both wearing sleeveless shirts and
gym shorts. They get a couple of ooohs from their friends and flex their muscles. This
only causes more ooohs and a few chuckles.
Ms. Peters flicks the lights for them to begin, and Stacy announces everyone and says
that Arnold and The Rock will be starting off with a few exercises from their books.
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