Page 139 of Something Rad
“No, you’re right,” I nod. “We’re done.”
I mean…weare.
This was what we always planned for. We were going to run with this little scheme until Homecoming. Until the people at this school took me more seriously. Until Cooper won president. Now that all of those things are done, we have no reason to continue. I just…forgot. Just had a momentary mental lapse. But she’s right.
Cooper clears her throat, bringing my focus back to her face. She pushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear, not meeting my eyes. “So, I guess we’re broken up then.”
“I guess we are.” I rub the back of my neck, a veil of awkward tension settling between us.
“You know,” Cooper speaks up, “a month felt like it would be so long. But, in the end, it kind of feels like it flew by.”
“It does, doesn’t it?” I agree with her.
“And, surprisingly, I don’t even think it was the worst month of my life,” she adds.
“Awe, c’mon, baby, you’re too kind to me.”
Cooper chuckles, shaking her head. “You don’t need to call me that anymore.”
“Cooper?I think it’s a little late for that–”
“No,” she says. “I mean…baby.”
“Oh,” I mutter. I hadn’t even realized I’d said it. “Sorry. Habit.”
“I get it,” she breathes, meeting my eyes. We look at each other for a few seconds, neither of us saying anything out loud, but a million things passing between our locked gazes.
“Well,” I break the silence, holding my soda up to her, “here’s to a successful campaign, Cooper.” She clinks her soda can against mine with a small smile. “The student body president one and…well…you know.” I shoot her a wink.
She purses her lips, taking a sip of her Coke. “I still can’t believe I won. I can’t believe I’m really the yearbook editor. This…this really means so much to me.”
“I know, Cooper,” I say, wrapping my arm around her to squeeze her to my side. The action is automatic, and she doesn’t even fight me on it, leaning into my shoulder and letting out a sigh. I rest my chin on top of her head, but the moment I catch a whiff of her fresh floral scent and my eyes start to flutter shut, I pull back, putting some distance between us. I dust off my sleeves, trying to look natural as I gather myself, putting the same distance between us mentally as I have physically. “So, are you going to go home and write about this in your diary?”
Cooper scoffs, rolling her eyes. “I’ve told you a million times, it’s not a diary.”
“Yeah, well, you may have told me a trillion times what itisn’t, but you’ve never told me whatis. So what’s a guy supposed to think? You know we have dirty minds.”
She crosses her arms, giving me an annoyed look before turning back towards where the movie screen is playing in the distance. I move to stand beside her, crossing my arms as well.
I try to watch the movie for a few seconds, watching as Jennifer Grey’s character lays eyes on Patrick Swayze’s for the first time. The quiet innocent little girl with big dreams of making a difference and seeing the world, completely enamored with the smooth-talking bad boy that her family would never approve of and can’t do a damn thing for her.
My throat bobs as I glance over at Cooper. She appears on the surface to be completely enthralled in the movie, but I can tell that she’s holding something back, that she’s trying really hard not to look over at me as well. I bump my shoulder against hers, but she pretends not to notice. “Tell me, Cooper,” I say. “What’s in the journal?”
Her eyes slowly drop from the movie screen before she turns her head to look at me. Her lips press into a flat line as she seems to be fighting some sort of internal battle. I don’t break her eye contact as she works through whatever she needs to in her head. After what feels like forever, her shoulders relax. “Ideas,” she says.
“Ideas?”
She nods slowly, her voice low when she speaks again. “Inspiration. Writing snippets. Story concepts. Anything that provokes thought or stokes my passion. Anything small that I think could help me to create something so much bigger. Anything I come across in my daily simple life that makes it feel extraordinary. Anything that makes me feel something that I might like to use some day to make other people feel something as well.”
My lips part as I stare back at her. “So only your deepest hopes, dreams, and desires?”
Cooper’s brows pull together, her face looking so serious for a full three seconds before she breaks, barking out a laugh and shaking her head. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“I ever make it into your rolodex of future smash hit movie ideas?” I ask her.
Cooper swipes her tongue against her bottom lip as she looks up at me. She takes a breath, looking like she’s about to say something, then suddenly turns her head away, taking a long sip of her soda.
I’ll take that as a yes.I let out a chuckle. “Well, where are you gonna get all your inspiration now without me, Cooper?”
