Read Online Promposal by Rhonda Helms - Free Book Online

stomach was still in knots over that whole debacle three days ago. Luckily, Joshua had hung out with David for a bit after the cafeteria rejection and had managed to get the poor guy to stop hiding out in the bathroom. But videos of the scene were everywhere, all over Facebook and Twitter. Almost couldn’t escape it.
    While there were a few random douchebags ripping on David for getting shot down, most of the vitriol was aimed at Karen, who seemed to have found herself suddenly infamous over her harsh public rejection. Part of me felt really bad for her, due to the extreme comments being lobbed her way online, but the other part thought she could have handled the whole issue with more care. Like, maybe not be such a bitch, and pull him aside to let him down quietly.
    Something I probably should have thought of trying, instead of my nervous agreement to go with Zach. Sigh. Hindsight really was twenty-twenty.
    â€œWell,” Michelle said, “my brother said that David’s swim teammates swore not to ask her to prom because of how she treated him. And a couple of the other jock circles joined in as well. Some kind of bro solidarity, I guess.”
    â€œWow.” Blackballed. Karen had to be upset about that, for sure. What was she going to do?
    Benjamin strolled across the front of the room, wearing a pair of perfectly faded jeans and a dark gray T-shirt. My stupid heart did that fluttery thing when our eyes locked. With as much carelessness as I could fake, I turned my attention back to my notebook. After leaving that note in his locker with my number on it, I hadn’t heard a peep from him. Not one text.
    I was a class-A idiot, obviously. I’d read too much into our in-class interaction on Monday. God, I wished I could go back in time and just not respond at all. Maybe then I wouldn’t feel so stupid.
    Yet he’d taken the time to draw a sketch of my face. And give it to me. Why do that if he was just going to ignore what I wrote? Maybe I’d slipped the note into the wrong locker, or maybe he never saw it.
    Should I ask?
    Mrs. Brandwright rushed into the classroom and plopped her stuff down on the desk. “Sorry, guys,” she said in a rush. “I had to pop by the library, and then I got distracted talking to teachers. Anyway. I have some lecture material, and then I want you to break into your project groups and start makingplans for when you’re doing your experiments. The clock is ticking!”
    For the next twenty minutes, Mrs. Brandwright went over important notes on social mores and how they evolved over the decades as generations grew up and created new generations with new ideas. It was actually interesting to hear how different things were now from when she was a young kid, such as discussions of money, sex, religion, and politics in mixed-gender company being taboo. Time flew by.
    â€œOkay, that’s enough of that.” She wiped her chalk-covered hands and laughed when puffs of white floated to the ground. The class laughed too. “Man, do I get messy. Now it’s your turn to group together and finalize your plans. As you do, please keep in mind the gender and age of your targets. As I’ve shown in the lecture, those might impact the reaction you get and are worth noting.” After giving us a few more reminders about when the project was due, plus suggestions on where we could go, she waved us into our groups.
    We made our small circle again, and I grabbed a fresh piece of paper. Benjamin’s knee brushed against my lower thigh, and I swallowed. Grabbed my pencil tighter to keep from leaning toward him.
    â€œWell, Mrs. Brandwright had some good suggestions for where to go to meet a variety of people. Like a park, the mall, or a shopping plaza. Do you guys have a preference?” I looked at Carter, who shrugged. Eh, at least he was awake.
    Benjamin rubbed his jaw without looking at me. “Mall would be fine.” He flipped his notebook