Page 19 of The Kissing Booth
‘I didn’t get anybody in trouble, did I? I mean, nobody got badly hurt or anything...’ I spoke warily as I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder.
The vice principal handed me my late pass. ‘No, you just confirmed their stories, that’s all. Don’t worry about it, all right? And stay out of trouble.’
I nodded uneasily. ‘Okay...’
‘Just get off to class now.’
That was a cue to get my butt out of there, so I didn’t hesitate a second longer.
Chapter 5
LUNCH TRAYS CLATTEREDdown all around me, and I looked up to find a swarm of girls, both juniors and seniors, clustering.
‘So,’ Jaime said chirpily, sitting down opposite me with a huge grin. ‘Tell us everything!’
‘About what?’ I frowned in confusion, setting my fork down on the side of my plate of salad.
‘About Flynn of course!’ Olivia squealed, leaning in to hear better. ‘We want to know everything. Are you guys, like, together or something?’
I scoffed. ‘God, no.’
‘But you call himNoah,’ one of the other girls said, and I looked over to see Tamara, who’d dropped her voice to whisper his name, like she was scared he’d hear her. ‘You don’t call him Flynn.’
I shrugged. ‘I’ve always done that, though. He was always there when I was growing up. He even told me I was like his little sister this morning. He’s just a good guy.’
‘A good guy who always gets in fights?’ Georgia raised a skeptical eyebrow. ‘Puh-lease. He’s protective of you – he always has been.’
My eyes narrowed and I felt my forehead crease again. ‘What do you mean, he’salwaysbeen protective of me?’
The girls all looked at each other. Then, finally, Faith said, ‘You mean you didn’t know?’
‘Obviously not,’ I exclaimed, getting more and more frustrated by the second. ‘What don’t I know?’
‘Flynn’s always told guys to back off of you,’ Olivia told me confidentially. ‘Told them if they ever did anything to hurt you, they’d be sorry.’
I blinked a couple of times, staring at her, and then burst out laughing. ‘You’re joking, right?’
The girls looked at each other again, and I sobered up.
‘Oh, come on,’ I said. ‘Look, he’s just acting like the protective big brother, all right? That’s all it is.’
They looked at each other doubtfully again.
Jaime finally said, ‘Well, if you’re totally sure...’
‘A hundred and ten percent. Ask Lee if you don’t believe me.’
‘Speaking of, where is your other half?’ Tamara asked.
‘He’s in woodwork,’ I said. ‘He wanted to get a head start on our banner. I, on the other hand, wanted some lunch.’
‘Fair enough,’ Candice said. ‘Hey, did you get Flynn to do the booth?’
‘He won’t. I tried. Believe me, I tried.’
They all sighed. ‘I wish he would. I’d pay good money for that booth,’ Georgia said, making us all laugh.
‘Did he say why he won’t?’ Karen asked.
