Page 18 of Kissing the Debutant
She nodded. “One girl and two boys. I don’t know what I did in my last life for the curse of two boys.”
But she loved them, Lillian could tell by her voice. “I don’t have any siblings.”
“I am sorry for that, Lillian. I grew up with four sisters myself. Can’t imagine the kind of quiet you lived with.”
Lillian picked up a fry and examined it. What would her mom say if she knew Lillian even touched the greasy food?
But it smelled so good.
Cara leaned forward. “Are you going to eat that food or wait for it to grow legs and walk away?”
A small smile came unbidden to Lillian’s lips.
“I used to say that to my oldest son when he was just a kid. He spent a good year terrified his food was alive. I should say I felt bad about it, but honestly, it was the most entertaining year of his life.” She pushed Lillian’s food closer to her. “Go ahead. I promise we don’t poison the food here.”
Throughout her entire life, it was hammered into her that grease was its own kind of poison. Dancers weren’t supposed to eat at diners or drink milkshakes.
Lillian was tired of being told what she couldn’t do. As Cara watched her expectantly, she brought the fry to her lips and slid it into her mouth. She tasted salt first and then deliciousness.
Just one.
One bite. One tiny act of rebellion.
She wasn’t ready for the revolution.
6
Jack
Jack wasn’t interested in most subjects. English: bleh. History: double bleh.
And don’t get him started on math.
But videography was actually kind of cool. It let him mix his passion for performing with his passion for creating.
Mr. Garret stood in front of the class next to the screen displaying past projects he’d shown for them to gather inspiration. He eyed the ten students—it was a small class as an elective—and stepped forward. “Okay, guys, by now you’ve all had time to consider your projects and choose the subject of your documentaries. Let’s go around and say what you’re thinking. Mia, you start.”
Jack’s best friend in the entire world, Mia Hart, straightened in her chair next to him. Her wickedly-curly brown hair danced over her shoulders as she lifted her head. She’d been dozing off, Jack could see it in her eyes.
“What, now?” she asked. “Start what?”
Jack hid a laugh behind a cough. He didn’t have many good friends because he didn’t need them, not when he had Mia. He’d known her since they were assigned to the same first grade class, and they never looked back.
She pushed thick black frames up her nose, glasses she wore for style more than sight. Nothing about her made sense. Not the huge personality in the tiny body or the rebellious flare from the bookworm. And Jack loved contradictions. It was why they fit.
Mr. Garret smiled like Mia was the most amusing student he had. The man never got mad. Sure, he was older and frazzled most of the time, but he had endless patience for his students, and what seemed to be a true fondness for the rebels.
Jack was definitely not a rebel.
He didn’t party on the weekends or sleep through his classes. He wasn’t an A student, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Instead, when he wasn’t in class, he was either working, dancing, or taking care of his family.
Mia tapped her pen on her notebook. “Well, uh, next question?”
“Delinquent,” Jack coughed behind his hand.
“Teacher’s pet,” she coughed back.
“Slacker.”
