Page 41 of Going the Distance
Chapter 11
The rumors about me and Noah, and me and Levi, died down after a couple of days when people decided they probably weren’t true, and since everyone was busting their asses with SATs or midterms or regular homework, no new rumors came to replace the ones about me.
Noah’s birthday came and went on October third (I sent him a movie collection on iTunes and a card), and neither of us talked about the photo. He sent me my favorite takeout one night when I said I was trying to work on college applications, and he seemed to be making an effort to talk a lot more. I appreciated it, but something still felt…off.
The rumor mill might have already forgotten about Noah and Amanda, but I sure as hell hadn’t. And I absolutely hadnotbeen compulsively checking Amanda’s Twitter and Instagram (once I’d found them) for more cutesy pictures of her and my boyfriend. Absolutelynot.
It’s not like I’d spent hours tracking her down. She had the same handle on Twitter as on Instagram. And I only found her Instagram because Noah liked some of her photos.
Lee told me it was weird to keep checking her social media.
Rachel said she’d be doing the same in my shoes.
Levi just commented on the “metric shit ton” of photos she posted every day, saying she couldn’t possibly be drinking so many coffees with her friends.
I was just opening up Instagram, when Ethan Jenkins, head of student council, knocked his fist on the table, like he was a judge calling a court to order. I looked at Lee, who crossed his eyes and pulled a face at me. We hadn’t been due to have a school council meeting this week, but Ethan had made it sound like there was some kind of emergency.
“All right, everyone! Thanks for showing up. I know we’re all busy with SATs and stuff right now, but it’s time for a progress check with the Sadie Hawkins dance. Where are we on catering?”
“Oh, man, does he have to talk about food right now? We’re giving up our lunch break for this,” Lee muttered to me, his stomach growling as if to back him up. I stifled a giggle, pressing my hand to my mouth.
Even though the dance was shaping up to be pretty awesome, I didn’t feel like I shared everyone else’s excitement for it. I hadn’t picked out a dress yet, and I hadn’t asked anybody. Specifically: Noah. Things felt so delicate between us lately; I got the feeling that asking him to come home to go to the dance with me would just lead to another fight and make things even worse than they already were. I kept finding excuses not to ask him. As people gave updates on whatever they were responsible for, excited whispers filled the room.
“And we’re still not doing a theme?” Faith wanted to know, interrupting the update on decorations.
“It’s just a dance.” Ethan sighed. “It doesn’t need a theme.”
“Tyrone understood how important a theme was,” Faith muttered.
“Tyrone also blew the whole budget on dances, and that’s why we had to hold extra fund-raisers,” Ethan shot back. “Excuse me for thinking about keeping the Summer Dance a huge event.”
“Still need a theme,” Kaitlin said under her breath, pouting.
“Jeez! Fine, you guys want a theme? Here’s a theme:high school dance.Can we get back to the update on decorations now? On kind of a tight schedule here, if anyone wants to eat this lunchtime.”
“Decorations, please,” Lee cried.
When it got to the music, Lee looked at me desperately. Music had been our responsibility, but Lee hadn’t been involved at all so far. He’d been so busy with football and keeping his grades up and making time for Rachel, that I’d said I’d handle it. I was on the track team now, but it wasn’t like that took up massive amounts of my time. I wasn’t going to compete or anything—I was mostly just doing it to have on my college application, especially since I’d given up on the whole “get a job” thing.
Plus, since Lee had to keep his grades up for the football team and if he wanted to get into Brown, he was focusing a lot of his spare time on that. I knew I couldn’t hold that against him. (Though I kind of did.)
“We were thinking,” I said, “about asking around the school if anybody has a band that wants to perform at the dance. Free entertainment, you know? Remember there were a couple of bands that performed at the Spring Carnival last year? And I’m not talking about the marching band, or the guy who wouldn’t stop playing ‘We Are Family’ on his tuba.”
“That’s actually a great idea,” Ethan said. “What’s the plan?”
“Put up some posters around school, ask them to send us a video submission. That way we can show you who we pick, and we don’t have to find somewhere to sit and listen to them for, like, eight hours after school.”
“Perfect. Get on it, guys. Now, chaperones, I’ve been told we need chaperones since it’s being held in the school gym. Where are we on chaperones?” As Ethan spoke, he flipped over the handwritten list in front of him, revealing…another full-page list.
“We’re not getting out of here before the end of lunch, are we?” Lee mumbled.
I dug a hand into my backpack, passing him a packet of beef jerky under the table.
“You’re my hero.”
“Just call me Wonder Woman.”
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