Page 46 of Lovesick
I don’t care. You’re the only person I should be going on a date with.
Mr. Hockey doesn’t like to share, does he?
Fuck no.
I rise to my feet to join Irelyn, sliding out of my seat to take my rightful spot by the blackboard. This time, courage outstrips my lingering pessimism, and I regain control over the committee with my iron-tight grip and my I-can-do-it pose.
“Everyone in favor of an auction, raise your hands.”
The majority of the class backs my best friend’s brilliant idea. To no surprise, Crew doesn’t jump on the bandwagon. He sits there, pouting like a child and giving me the nastiest stink eye. I guess Irelyn gets free season tickets to every Minnesota Mustang game. It’s not like I didn’t already have a nepotism in.
With a squeal, I pick up the chalk, scrawling on the board in big, bold letters:AUCTION. Beneath it, I begin adding bullet points for other sub ideas that can generate money.
Do I like the idea of Crew entertaining another woman on a potential date? Not particularly, no. Do I like seeing him get all possessive and territorial? A sick part of me says maybe. Even if I were to hijack this fundraiser—which I’d never do—an auction seems like the most lucrative and exciting route. Seeing as this school is rabid for hockey, who wouldn’t want to spend their well-earned money on forty minutes with MU’s local celebrities? If I’m able to pull this off, I could rewrite history.
I spend the rest of our class period breaking down roles and expectations, and although I wasn’t actively against the auction, I still keep Crew’s note tucked away in the pocket of my jeans—an exoneration of our sin, but a reminder of his sempiternal admiration for me.
14
LOVE AND OTHER SIM CARDS
Monday, October 13th, 6:23 p.m.
CREW
Hello, Clarice.
MERIT
Jesus. I forgot you had my number.
CREW
You mean you don’t have me saved as Big, Buff Bad Boy?
MERIT
Yeah, not the ‘B’ word I’d use.
CREW
I love this little thing we do—you insult me, I pretend tohate it. It’s so us.
MERIT
You do know this number was given to you for emergencies only, right?
CREW
This is an emergency. I’m suffering from a Merit-deficit.
MERIT
We literally saw each other today.
CREW
Yeah, a whole three hours ago.
