Page 46 of Pick Me Up On Tuesdays

My brain went into full shutdown mode, my social anxiety hitting me like a brick to the face. I felt my palms go clammy. My mouth opened—then closed—then opened again, like some kind of malfunctioning goldfish.

Think, Clark. Say something normal.Be normal.

"...Yeah," I finally croaked.

Ethan narrowed his eyes. "You sure? You looked like you just saw a ghost."

Technically, I looked like a ghost, but now was not the time.

"I'm fine," I mumbled quickly, avoiding eye contact.

Ethan didn’t look convinced. "Huh." He tilted his head. "You always wake up that dramatically, or was that a one-time performance?"

I let out the most awkward, wheezy chuckle known to mankind. "Ha. Ha. Ha. Yeah. Uh. Happens all the time. No big deal."

Ethan just stared at me.

I shrank into my seat. Please stop looking at me. Please stop looking at me.

Joy, who had apparently been awake this whole time, peeked over from her seat. "Clark, are you—" She paused, taking in my expression. "Oh my God. You're malfunctioning."

"I am not malfunctioning," I said, voice cracking in betrayal.

She turned to Ethan. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing," Ethan said, raising his hands innocently and somehow melodramatically. "He woke up, panicked, and then started acting really weird."

"Clark is always acting weird."

“Extra weird,” Ethan added.

Shun finally looked up from her phone. "Maybe he had a nightmare."

"I did not have a nightmare," I lied, shifting uncomfortably.

Joy smirked. "Right. And I'm a professional ballerina."

"Look," I muttered, rubbing my face. "Can we just—not talk about it?"

"Whatever you say, Ghost Boy," Ethan said, smirking before turning back to the jocks.

I sighed, sinking deeper into my seat.

Great. Now I had a nickname.

A while later, the bus rumbled to a stop, and I peered out the window, expecting—honestly, I don’t know—just a regular park with some trees, maybe a few birds.

I hadn't meticulously researched this place, but its website had lots of five stars rankings and hundreds of recommendations for nature retreats.

Instead, an elf stood at the entrance, arms crossed, his long ears twitching as he surveyed our bus with an expression that screamed, ugh, tourists.

"Whoa," Shun muttered. "Did we just unlock a side quest?"

Max, ever the jock, squinted at the elf. "Dude, is that guy wearing a cape?"

Joy sighed. "Max, it’s called a cloak. Ever heard of fashion?"

"Yeah," Ethan snickered, "it’s what people wear when they don’t live in gym clothes."

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