donât want to hear it. Do you promise not to say it?â
Tina nodded. I dropped my hand.
âDo you need a tissue?â Tina asked, nodding at my hand. Because, of course, my fingers were covered in lip gloss.
It was my turn to nod. Tina handed me a tissue from her bag. I wiped off my hand, purposefully not acknowledging the fact that Tina looked as if she were literally dying to tell me what she wanted to tell me.
Well, okay, maybe not literally dying. But metaphorically.
Finally Tina said, âSo. What are you going to do?â
âWhat do you mean, what am I going to do?â I asked. I couldnât help feeling this total sense of impending doomâ¦not unlike what I felt concerning J.P.âs forthcomingprom invitation. Well, I guess that wasnât as much doom as it was dread. âIâm not going to do anything.â
âBut, Miaââ Tina appeared to be choosing her words with care. âI know you and J.P. are totally and blissfully happy. But arenât you the least bit curious to see Michael? After all this time?â
Fortunately it was right then that the bell rang and we had to grab our stuff and âskeedaddle,â as Rocky is fond of saying. (I have no idea where he picked up the word âskeedaddle,â much less âskeedaddling shoes,â which are what he calls his sneakers. Oh, God, how am I going to go away to college for four whole years and miss out on all his formative developmentâ¦not to mention, his cuteness? I know Iâll be back for holidaysâthe ones I donât spend in Genoviaâbut it wonât be the same!)
So I didnât have to answer Tinaâs question.
I sort of wish now that I hadnât stopped Tina from telling me her theory. I mean, now that my heart rate has slowed down. (It was totally pounding back there in the stairwell for some reason. I have no idea why.)
I bet, whatever it was, it would have made me laugh.
Oh, well. Iâll ask her about it later.
Or not.
Actually, probably not.
Â
Friday, April 28, G&T
Okay. Theyâve descended into madness.
I guess some of them (namely Lana, Trisha, Shameeka, and Tina) didnât have that far to go, anyway.
But I think theyâve taken the word âsenioritisâ to new extremes.
So Tina and I were out in the hallway just before lunch when we ran into Lana, Trisha, and Shameeka, and Tina yelled, over the din of everyone passing by, âDid you guys hear? Michael is back! And his robotic arm is a huge success! And heâs a millionaire!â
Lana and Trisha, as one might predict, both let out shrieks that I swear could have burst the glass in all the emergency fire pulls nearby. Shameeka was more subdued, but even she got a crazed look in her eyes.
Then, when we got into the jet line to get our yogurts and salads (well, those guys. Theyâre all trying to lose five pounds before the prom. I was getting a tofurkey burger), Tina started telling them about Michaelâs donating a CardioArm to the Columbia University Medical Center, and Lana went, âOh my God, when is that, tomorrow? We are so going.â
âUh,â I said, my heart sliding up into my throat. âNo, we arenât.â
âSeriously,â Trisha said, agreeing with me. (I could have kissed her.) âIâve got a tanning appointment. Iâm totally building up a golden glow for prom next weekend. Iâm wearing white, you know.â
âWhatever,â Lana said, picking out diet sodas for all ofus. âYou can tan after.â
âBut weâve got Miaâs party Monday,â Trisha said. âThereâre going to be celebrities there. I donât want to look pasty in front of celebrities.â
âTrisha really has her priorities straight,â I pointed out. âNot looking pasty in front of celebrities comes before stalking my ex-boyfriends.â
âI donât want to stalk Michael,â Shameeka said.
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