his
newspaper.
The chatter in the room quickly went back to as loud
as it was before the bell rang.
Since everyone else was
talking, I felt it was safe to finally ask Rachel for her schedule.
She passed it to me with a smile. “So how did your
date go last night guys?”
That depends. Did she want to know what an amazing
kisser he was? Or did she want to hear about how he took off
just before things got interesting? I chose a generic answer
and a quick segue into something completely off topic.
“Good. How was your day with Shelly?” Once she
started talking about herself, I knew she would forget all
about my date with her brother.
“Totally awesome. I’ll be working with her every
weekend and maybe a few nights a week after football season
is over. You’re going to be so impressed when we get
everything together. By the time we’re done with Rosewood,
you won’t even recognize it.”
I compared our schedules
as
she talked and
was
horrified to find that we didn’t have even one class together—
not even lunch. “Great, I’m barely going to see you guys.”
While I knew all along that it was too much to even hope for, I
fantasized that Zach and I would have every class together.
That we could just parade around the school all day, arm in
arm, making all of the girls jealous. So much for my dreams—
I should have realized they would turn out to be nightmares.
“Don’t worry, Ruby. We’ll still see each other outside
of school. I’ll be at your house every weekend. And I’m sure
you and Zach will be together every spare second of the day.
Plus, you’re fabulous —you’ll make tons of new friends!
“Rachel’s right, don’t worry so much. You’ll make
yourself sick again.” A look of concern showed on his face as
he took my hand. “Has your stomach settled down yet?”
“A little. But the day has just begun.” I was feeling
sorry for myself and I wasn’t afraid to admit it. And let’s face
it—I had plenty of reasons to be in a crappy mood. Boyfriend
issues? Check. New nightmares? Check. A sucky start to the
first day of school? Double check.
“I hate to see you like this, sweetie. Can I do anything
to cheer you up?”
I thought about what I most wanted from him and it
made me smile. “Well, maybe. But not now, and definitely
not here. Can I see you tonight?”
“Sure—but probably not for long. I’m stopping by the
shelter for a couple hours after I drop you off then heading
home for dinner. And I’ll have to find a way to squeeze some
homework in there, too.
It never fails—somebody always gives homework on the first day of school.”
My mood turned grimmer as he listed all of the things
that would keep us apart.
Adding his list to mine equaled
heaviness in my heart. All I wanted was to be with him. Why
was the universe so cruel?
“I’m not cheering you up, am I? You know when
you’re sad, I am too.”
Those words
spoken
by
anyone else would have
sounded hollow and facetious. But the look in his eyes told
the truth—he meant every word of it and it made me feel
worse.
I never wanted him to feel my pain.
So I put on a
brave smile for his sake way more than for mine.
“Let’s talk about something else.”
So we spent the rest of our time together making
plans
for the weekend.
Aside from
any
homework we
gathered during the week, neither of us had any other sort of
commitments so we decided to go see a movie together.
Going
on
a normal date like a
normal
couple
sounded
heavenly—especially since I knew the only movie theater in
town was the drive-in.
The last time we were there I was
nervous, hoping he wasn’t just taking me there to make out.
This time, that was exactly what I was hoping for.
It was still
days away, but thoughts of our date on Saturday were the
only thing I had to look forward to so I clung to them. I was
starting to feel better when the bell rang like a death knell
through the room. I was so not ready for this.
9. I’m Not Falling for It
First
newspaper.
The chatter in the room quickly went back to as loud
as it was before the bell rang.
Since everyone else was
talking, I felt it was safe to finally ask Rachel for her schedule.
She passed it to me with a smile. “So how did your
date go last night guys?”
That depends. Did she want to know what an amazing
kisser he was? Or did she want to hear about how he took off
just before things got interesting? I chose a generic answer
and a quick segue into something completely off topic.
“Good. How was your day with Shelly?” Once she
started talking about herself, I knew she would forget all
about my date with her brother.
“Totally awesome. I’ll be working with her every
weekend and maybe a few nights a week after football season
is over. You’re going to be so impressed when we get
everything together. By the time we’re done with Rosewood,
you won’t even recognize it.”
I compared our schedules
as
she talked and
was
horrified to find that we didn’t have even one class together—
not even lunch. “Great, I’m barely going to see you guys.”
While I knew all along that it was too much to even hope for, I
fantasized that Zach and I would have every class together.
That we could just parade around the school all day, arm in
arm, making all of the girls jealous. So much for my dreams—
I should have realized they would turn out to be nightmares.
“Don’t worry, Ruby. We’ll still see each other outside
of school. I’ll be at your house every weekend. And I’m sure
you and Zach will be together every spare second of the day.
Plus, you’re fabulous —you’ll make tons of new friends!
“Rachel’s right, don’t worry so much. You’ll make
yourself sick again.” A look of concern showed on his face as
he took my hand. “Has your stomach settled down yet?”
“A little. But the day has just begun.” I was feeling
sorry for myself and I wasn’t afraid to admit it. And let’s face
it—I had plenty of reasons to be in a crappy mood. Boyfriend
issues? Check. New nightmares? Check. A sucky start to the
first day of school? Double check.
“I hate to see you like this, sweetie. Can I do anything
to cheer you up?”
I thought about what I most wanted from him and it
made me smile. “Well, maybe. But not now, and definitely
not here. Can I see you tonight?”
“Sure—but probably not for long. I’m stopping by the
shelter for a couple hours after I drop you off then heading
home for dinner. And I’ll have to find a way to squeeze some
homework in there, too.
It never fails—somebody always gives homework on the first day of school.”
My mood turned grimmer as he listed all of the things
that would keep us apart.
Adding his list to mine equaled
heaviness in my heart. All I wanted was to be with him. Why
was the universe so cruel?
“I’m not cheering you up, am I? You know when
you’re sad, I am too.”
Those words
spoken
by
anyone else would have
sounded hollow and facetious. But the look in his eyes told
the truth—he meant every word of it and it made me feel
worse.
I never wanted him to feel my pain.
So I put on a
brave smile for his sake way more than for mine.
“Let’s talk about something else.”
So we spent the rest of our time together making
plans
for the weekend.
Aside from
any
homework we
gathered during the week, neither of us had any other sort of
commitments so we decided to go see a movie together.
Going
on
a normal date like a
normal
couple
sounded
heavenly—especially since I knew the only movie theater in
town was the drive-in.
The last time we were there I was
nervous, hoping he wasn’t just taking me there to make out.
This time, that was exactly what I was hoping for.
It was still
days away, but thoughts of our date on Saturday were the
only thing I had to look forward to so I clung to them. I was
starting to feel better when the bell rang like a death knell
through the room. I was so not ready for this.
9. I’m Not Falling for It
First
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