Page 103 of Rules, Roses, and Rivals
“You’re welcome. Just keeping the emotional bar where it belongs: manageable, indoors, and slightly sarcastic.”
“Add caffeinated,” I said, raising my cup in a toast.
“Obviously.”
Archie showed up halfway through lunch, plunking himself down with iced coffees for me and Rachel, much to her surprise, and a frap for Bubba. He even had a black tea with lemonade for Mathieu. The extra iced coffee had to be for Coop who strolled in. He’d disappeared after fourth, so I guessed he went with Archie or something.
“What did we miss?” he asked.
“Cupid wiped out,” Bubba deadpanned.
“A drone banner nearly decapitated one of the lunch ladies,” Rachel added.
“Someone’s goat ate a geometry assignment,” I finished.
Archie nodded, completely unfazed. “Ah. You should have let me make the bingo card.”
I almost snorted my iced coffee.
Mathieu leaned toward me and whispered, “Are we supposed to start preparing countermeasures?”
I laughed—soft, involuntary.
The truth was, for a few minutes, it actually felt like a normal high school lunch. The kind with inside jokes and snack trades and the kind of absurdity that makes you forget you’re holding your breath.
But it didn’t last.
Because every time someone looked at me—reallylooked—I could still see it.
That question behind their eyes.
Who was I going with?
Was Jake still in the picture?
Was it Archie? Coop? TheFrench one?
Had someone asked her already?
And worse—had someone been rejected?
Everyone had a theory.
I had none.
And as much as I hated to admit it… I didn’t have an answer either. And I wasn’t sure how we were ever going to get us back.
By Thursday, it felt like the school was actively auditioning forAmerica’s Next Top Proposal.
Someone installed a glitter cannon in the gym that misfired and dusted half the volleyball team like radioactive cupcakes. Another guy faked a pop quiz in English class just to slide a “Will you go with me?” note into the test packet. It wasn’t romantic. It was mostly confusing. The girl said yes anyway.
And the banner drone? It came back. This time trailing a six-foot heart and a QR code to a TikTok video of someone singing “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran in three-part harmony.
It was like watching a very sparkly apocalypse.
The weirdest part?
The roses didn’t stop.
