Page 13 of The Perfect Catch

I sat in math, listening to the teacher long enough to understand the problem, and then let my mind wander as the same kids asked a million questions about possibilities for the answer. I’d figured it out in less than ten seconds before turning my attention to the practice I had later. Fall baseball wasn’t as intense as the regular season in spring and summer, but there were still some tournaments we had to travel to. At least I didn’t have one until the week after the dance. Otherwise, I’d have to tell Kate I couldn’t make it. My dad would be home again next weekend, and I hoped he’d be in a better mood.

Then again, if Noni kept getting worse…I didn’t want to think about it.

I made it to lunch, not really excited for the rest of the day.

“We should just skip fourth period,” Nate said as we walked out to our cars. “We could go to the diner or even my house. I think the pantry just got restocked.”

“Yeah, that’s the last thing we want to do,” Ben said, shaking his head.

Jake chuckled. “Nate, did you forget that the last time we did that, you got a lecture from the mayor?”

Nate rolled his eyes. “Stop calling him that. He’s my dad first. And the only reason he got mad was because someone…” he paused and stared in my direction, “ate his favorite chocolates.”

I shrugged, knowing it was the truth. “What can I say? He’s got good taste.” Not to mention I’d eaten way more than I should have of a lot of other things in the house.

There was a pause as we turned to look at one another by the cars.

I shook my head. “If I miss fourth period, Mr. McKee will know. As much as I don’t want to care what he thinks, he has the power to suspend me from baseball.” And I secretly wanted to see Kate. I was the definition of a glutton for punishment.

A collective murmur of “Go to class” came from the rest of them. We grabbed a burger at a fast-food restaurant and headed back to the school.

Now it was time to see Kate again. I breathed in deeply, trying to work up to my usual arrogance mask. That was the easiest way to get people to think I was the bad boy and to just leave me alone, unless it was for some kind of punishment. It was easier to let her think that of me, because to see the glimmer of pity she’d shown me the day she’d pulled up to our house to ask me to the dance was something I didn’t want to see ever again. At least she hadn’t looked at me that way since.

I strolled into the classroom just as the bell rang, stopping just a few feet inside as I stared around at all the long rolls of butcher paper. With paint and brushes set out on each station, it looked like we were decorating posters for something today. Maybe I should have taken the chance to ditch out.

“Let’s get started decorating the posters,” Ms. Shiels said, waving to the paper spread out on desks and the floor. “We want to get them hung all over the school before the end of the period. Pair up and get started. We need some posters to cheer on the volleyball team, a couple for the football team, and several for the dance.”

I glanced around the room, seeing that most of the students had already paired up and were dipping their brushes into the small tubs of paint. All but one student.

Kate looked up at me and smiled, waving me over. Of course, it would be her. It seemed like ever since I’d kissed her back in the spring, there was something that pulled her to me, but in the last few days, it was like the universe was pushing me to her, as if I needed to come clean about the kiss.

“Hey,” she said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “We’re in charge of one of the football signs. You ready?”

I shook my head. “I’m not sure you want me doing anything on this poster. The best I can do is stick figures, and my handwriting is horrible.” Just ask Mr. Kendall, my English teacher. He always complained about being unable to read my work.”

She chuckled and used the brush to make a long blue stroke on the paper. The movement was so graceful that I was mesmerized as she dipped the brush to get more paint and continued with another one of the letters. Her handwriting was similar to the signs I’d seen throughout the years at Rosemont, the perfect letters with the swirly font that could’ve been from a printer.

“Wow, you’re really good at this,” I said, not thinking before I spoke. What happened to the tough-guy persona I’d planned on using to distance myself from her?

She laughed again, the sound a light tinkling in the air. “Well, I’d better be. I’ve only been making these posters for years.”

“You’ve been an officer that long?”

With a nod, she said, “Yeah. My mom kind of forced me into it at first, but I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s a lot of fun once you get elected, and I feel like I get to know more of the students this way.”

I watched as she added some embellishments to the paper, and when she gestured for me to help, I took one of the brushes and pressed down, making a couple of dots here and there. That was the best I could do without ruining her hard work.

She held up the brush and took a step back, examining the paper. A small smile crossed her face.

Wow, she was pretty. I’d never really let myself look too long at the girls in school because I knew things wouldn’t work out in the end, that most would just judge me for where I lived and my family situation. But the fact that she hadn’t done that, that she still treated me the same even though she knew I lived in a trailer, made whatever feelings I’d had for her over the last few months grow even more.

“Too bad I didn’t know you last year,” I said, shaking my head. “You could have done my art assignments for me.”

Her laugh came out as more of a snort, and she covered her mouth and nose, her eyes wide with horror. “That was ladylike.” She walked over to another poster that was still blank and said, “Well, if only you were good at math and could just take that class for me.”

“What math are you in?”

“Calculus. I don’t think I was quite ready for that yet, but my, um, my mom said I needed to continue taking all the classes I could so it would prepare me for college. I’m just barely catching on to the trig stuff I had to learn from last year.” Her lips pressed together, her cheeks rosy as though she’d shared too much.

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