with “smart.”
They laugh, though. “Loving that pun,” Adam tells me, and the silent guy, Marcus, nods appreciatively. Even if I was going to voice my thoughts to Kyle, the bell rings, meaning the ten-minute break between classes is over.
Tiffany links her arm through mine. “Biology next, right?”
“Um, yeah. Right,” I say. To the others I add, “Bye.”
“I’ll see y’all at lunch!” Tiffany calls as we all start to head separate ways.
We’re halfway down the hallway when she sighs and says, “So.
Bryce
. What’s the deal with you guys?”
“I’m sorry—
what?
”
“You know …” She laughs, and bumps my shoulder. “You guys talked at the party, and he walked you to homeroom this morning … And what was it he just called you then?”
I think for a second. “Mainstream?”
“Yeah, that. So what’s the deal? Do you
like
him?”
“What? Oh, no! No, we’re—we’re just friends. I mean …”
I trail off when Tiffany laughs again. She says, “All right, well, I’ll ask you this: do you think he’s cute? C’mon, be honest with me now.”
“Well … yeah. I mean, of course he’s cute.”
“He’s the star soccer player for the school, you know,” she informs me. “He’s on the football team too, but soccer’s the big thing here.”
“Oh, okay. Well, that’s cool.”
But in my head I think,
Duh. Like I didn’t already guess he was Mr. Big-Shot Jock?
“He’s totally going to end up with a soccer scholarship too.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm, everyone says so.” She pauses. “And I think he’s pretty interested in you.”
We walk into a room I assume is our Biology classroom, and it looks like nearly everyone’s already there, but the teacher hasn’t started yet. Tiffany guides me toward a lab bench with a couple of empty spaces, and I sit down next to a girl who’s doodling in her notebook. Out of the corner of my eye I see her glance up at us, then shuffle over to make a little more room.
I laugh in response to Tiffany. “Yeah, right. I barely know the guy. He’s not interested in me.”
Tiffany smiles like she’s holding on to a secret that only she knows. “Whatever you say, Madison, whatever you say.”
I give a careless kind of laugh. Meanwhile, my mind races, trying to process everything. Because a) Tiffany, one of the most popular girls in school, seems to be my friend. And she introduced me to her friends, which should mean that b) I may actually be part of the elite clique, and that’s something I’d never even have considered before. I just wanted to make friends here, and not be miserable and lonely. Being one of the popular crowd wasn’t part of my plan.
And then there is the small matter that c) Bryce, who from the sound of things is Mr. Popular and quite possibly considered the cutest guy in school, could be interested in me. At least, according to Tiffany. And that seems totally crazy to me. He’s out of my league.
I’d like him to be interested, of course.
But I don’t think he is.
And frankly, I’d rather not get my hopes up.
For the next forty minutes Tiffany tells me everything and anything about all her friends. She, Summer and Melissa have been best friends since third grade.
Marcus, who I met earlier, is the “strong, silent type.” And totally loved up with Summer—they’ve been dating for fifteen months now. “It’s so totally adorable,” Tiffany gushes. The last of the guys they usually hang out with is Richard. “But everyone calls him Ricky.”
The teacher shoots us a glare before carrying on explaining the PowerPoint presentation about natural selection we’re supposed to be taking notes on. Mine are disjointed and I know I’ve missed some stuff as I listen to what Tiffany’s telling me.
I’d wanted to try and focus on my schoolwork here, but right now I don’t really care that I’m not paying attention. I’m flattered Tiffany wants to be friends with me—it seems like an easy pathway right
They laugh, though. “Loving that pun,” Adam tells me, and the silent guy, Marcus, nods appreciatively. Even if I was going to voice my thoughts to Kyle, the bell rings, meaning the ten-minute break between classes is over.
Tiffany links her arm through mine. “Biology next, right?”
“Um, yeah. Right,” I say. To the others I add, “Bye.”
“I’ll see y’all at lunch!” Tiffany calls as we all start to head separate ways.
We’re halfway down the hallway when she sighs and says, “So.
Bryce
. What’s the deal with you guys?”
“I’m sorry—
what?
”
“You know …” She laughs, and bumps my shoulder. “You guys talked at the party, and he walked you to homeroom this morning … And what was it he just called you then?”
I think for a second. “Mainstream?”
“Yeah, that. So what’s the deal? Do you
like
him?”
“What? Oh, no! No, we’re—we’re just friends. I mean …”
I trail off when Tiffany laughs again. She says, “All right, well, I’ll ask you this: do you think he’s cute? C’mon, be honest with me now.”
“Well … yeah. I mean, of course he’s cute.”
“He’s the star soccer player for the school, you know,” she informs me. “He’s on the football team too, but soccer’s the big thing here.”
“Oh, okay. Well, that’s cool.”
But in my head I think,
Duh. Like I didn’t already guess he was Mr. Big-Shot Jock?
“He’s totally going to end up with a soccer scholarship too.”
“Really?”
“Mm-hmm, everyone says so.” She pauses. “And I think he’s pretty interested in you.”
We walk into a room I assume is our Biology classroom, and it looks like nearly everyone’s already there, but the teacher hasn’t started yet. Tiffany guides me toward a lab bench with a couple of empty spaces, and I sit down next to a girl who’s doodling in her notebook. Out of the corner of my eye I see her glance up at us, then shuffle over to make a little more room.
I laugh in response to Tiffany. “Yeah, right. I barely know the guy. He’s not interested in me.”
Tiffany smiles like she’s holding on to a secret that only she knows. “Whatever you say, Madison, whatever you say.”
I give a careless kind of laugh. Meanwhile, my mind races, trying to process everything. Because a) Tiffany, one of the most popular girls in school, seems to be my friend. And she introduced me to her friends, which should mean that b) I may actually be part of the elite clique, and that’s something I’d never even have considered before. I just wanted to make friends here, and not be miserable and lonely. Being one of the popular crowd wasn’t part of my plan.
And then there is the small matter that c) Bryce, who from the sound of things is Mr. Popular and quite possibly considered the cutest guy in school, could be interested in me. At least, according to Tiffany. And that seems totally crazy to me. He’s out of my league.
I’d like him to be interested, of course.
But I don’t think he is.
And frankly, I’d rather not get my hopes up.
For the next forty minutes Tiffany tells me everything and anything about all her friends. She, Summer and Melissa have been best friends since third grade.
Marcus, who I met earlier, is the “strong, silent type.” And totally loved up with Summer—they’ve been dating for fifteen months now. “It’s so totally adorable,” Tiffany gushes. The last of the guys they usually hang out with is Richard. “But everyone calls him Ricky.”
The teacher shoots us a glare before carrying on explaining the PowerPoint presentation about natural selection we’re supposed to be taking notes on. Mine are disjointed and I know I’ve missed some stuff as I listen to what Tiffany’s telling me.
I’d wanted to try and focus on my schoolwork here, but right now I don’t really care that I’m not paying attention. I’m flattered Tiffany wants to be friends with me—it seems like an easy pathway right
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