Page 10 of Part of Forever
Even though Mrs. Adams is a bit old-school, she’s my favorite teacher this year. She loves teaching, which is why she still does it. But it might also be that we have the world’s best math class.
There are Ellie and Simon, who never fail to make us laugh at least once in every class. Grace sits next to me, and Tucker sits behind us. While that’s about where my friend group ends, Grace is friends with almost everyone in the class, and they’re all friends with each other, too. We threw a surprise Christmas party with a white elephant exchange one day, only to celebrate Hanukkah the next day in class because Mrs. Adams is Jewish.
She actually cried because it made her day.
“I am not looking forward to Friday,” I groan as the final bell rings. I then slip my notebook into my backpack.
“Why?” Grace asks, pulling out a Tootsie Pop from her bag. “Want one?”
“No thanks,” I tell her. “And I’m not looking forward to Friday because we have that math quiz. Plus it’s my yearly cancer checkup.”
“At least we know about the quiz,” Grace says, looping her arm through mine. We walk side by side down the hall, Tucker trailing behind us. “And you know what to expect for the cancer checkup.”
“That’s true,” I say. Even though I never like getting poked and prodded, I always leave these yearly checks feeling so good because it’s just another year in remission. “And we have that thing on Saturday,” I say cheerfully.
We push open the doors, blinking in the sunlight as we make our way to Tucker’s truck and my old red Corolla.
“What thing on Saturday?” He asks, and for the first time in the past hour, I finally look at him.
“Your thing on Saturday,” I say, hoping my cheeks don’t go pink like they do so often when I’m embarrassed. I feel warm all over. I wasn’t planning to tell him I was going to his show this weekend. I wanted it to be a surprise.
His eyes go slightly wider. “You’re coming?”
“You’re coming?” Grace squeals at the same time, jumping up and down. I nod, my eyes not leaving his.
“But what about our deal?” he asks. His words are harsh, like an accusation, and all the air rushes from my lungs. This is why it should have been a surprise.
“Deal’s off,” I say quietly, looking down at my feet.
When Tucker first moved here, Grace constantly teased me about how much I liked people who could sing. Because I was so embarrassed, my fourteen-year-old self had made a deal with him. He wouldn’t watch me dance, and I wouldn’t hear him sing. It’sbeen three years, and we’ve both kept our end of the deal, though I’m not entirely sure why he did.
Nathan arrives at the cars a moment later. “I am so in love,” he says, tossing his backpack into the backseat of my (our) car before stepping out again to join us.
“Oh yeah?” Grace asks, disentangling herself from me to talk to Nathan. While I consider both Nathan and Grace my best friends, the two have a bond that I have never been able to understand. They act more like twins than Nathan and I do most of the time.
Nathan starts telling her about some cute thing Emmett did when Tucker steps between me and Nathan, blocking my view.
“Deal’s off?” he asks, his eyes searching mine. I know he wants me to elaborate. I know he’s searching for more. But I’m not ready to give him more.
“Deal’s off,” I say quietly. I hope I look calm, because my heart is beating erratically in my chest as he looks down at me.
Tucker sounds slightly strangled when he asks, “Why?”
I lift my shoulder as if to say it’s not a big deal, even if we both know it means something has changed. “Just changed my mind.” I hope it sounds like I don’t care much, because I’m not ready to tell him why I changed my mind. The real reason is that I’m tired of missing out on his weekly shows that so many people rave about. I’m done with my audition, so maybe there can be anus. But I’m not ready to unpack that yet.
“Why?” he asks again, but before I can answer, Shawn calls my name. We both turn to see him running toward us. He’s looking at me like he always does when he needs to use me to make Libby jealous. Usually, I don’t mind, but today I do.
“Hey babe,” he says. I wince. Tucker flinches, jerking a half step back away from me.
“Hi,” I say, wishing Tucker wasn’t standing there. Then I’d tell Shawn to lose it and text me later instead.
“Will you come to a party with me on Friday?” he asks with puppy dog eyes.
“Friday nights are our nights with Rosie,” Grace says, and I give her what I hope is a thankful smile. If he wants to go to a party, it means Libby will be there, and all around, that sounds like a terrible time.
“I know, but I really need Rosie to be there with me.” When I look at Shawn’s dark eyes again, I know that I need to be there because Libby will definitely be there. “Plus, we’re going to that thing on Saturday, so you guys can hang out then, instead.”
“Fine,” Grace says, turning back to Nathan as if that settles it.
