Page 23 of The Big Easy & Other Lies
“Staring comes with being the new guy,” Livvie said, surveying all the looks darting his way.
He picked up his sandwich and put it down again. “This is weird. I can’t eat with all those people watching me.”
Bran grinned and took another bite of his po-boy. “I can.”
A sympathetic twitch for Rhett pulsed beneath my eye even as unease licked at me for becoming collateral damage in his social dissection. “Ignore them, maybe?” I suggested.
“Will they quit staring?”
“No. But you might care less if you pretend they’re not there,” I said. It was my tried-and-sometimes-true approach to Delphine.
He nodded and managed another bite of his sandwich. “I think this po-boy and an ice cold beer would be good enough for me to sit and let people snap pictures while I ate if they wanted to.”
I stiffened. Livvie shot me a sharp glance, and Bran waited for me to say something about the beer comment, but I kept quiet, taking a bite instead.
Lily Couvillion flitted over. “Hey, Rhett,” she said, flashing a smile like they were old friends.
“Hi. Uh, Pansy, right?”
Her smile dimmed and Livvie snickered.
“No, I’m Lily.”
“Right,” he said, but didn’t encourage her with further conversation. It would take more than that to brush her off this time, though.
“So I heard you’re Angelique’s cousin,” she said. “Angelique’s great.”
“Yes, great.” He smiled politely.
“Is she showing you the ropes? Because I know she always has a ton of after-school stuff going on, so if you need a backup guide, I can totally help you.”
In truth, it was fair for her to assume that even though he was sitting at our table, I wouldn’t be up to the task of showing him around. If I had any reputation at all, besides the one that finally faded after Angelique spread a few rumors after the Cash drama, it was for staying way outside of the current that carried most of LaSalle along. I stuck to my classes and Mrs. Broussard’s room and that was about it. Her assumption must have bothered Rhett, though, because he stretched his arm to lie on the booth behind me. “Cam offered already, but I’ll be sure to remember that if she gets too busy for me.”
Lily’s skeptical look suggested doubt that I would ever have enough going on to be “busy,” but she shot Livvie a quick look and didn’t say anything aloud. She wasn’t dumb enough to call Livvie’s wrath down on herself for dissing me.
Lily waved and headed back to her center table to report to her friends. Even though I appreciated Rhett’s defense of me, it made me even more uncomfortable, like the microscope had increased magnification by a thousand. I thought I would be okay with it, but I hated the feeling of all those eyes on me. Stripping away invisibility meant sacrificing security. My stomach roiled, and I pushed my hamburger to the side. “I should probably get going,” I said.
Surprised, he withdrew his arm. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. I forgot I need to review my notes before my next class. They’re in my locker.”
“I’m not ready to go.” This from Livvie who knew what was up, but in her role as my life coach had apparently decided that I needed to stay put. Thus, the denial of a getaway car.
“That’s okay,” I said. “I’ll walk. I need to work off the burger.” I pulled a five dollar bill out and laid it on the table. “See you after school. Excuse me,” I said to Rhett.
He stared at me for a minute then slid out of the booth, scooping up his empty sandwich and fry basket. “I can drive you,” he said. “I mean, if that’s okay.”
It would fuel Lily’s rumor-mongering, but I nodded and headed to the exit, eager to escape examination. When we stepped outside, I took a second to adjust to the slap of humidity.
“I’m over here,” he said, and pointed me toward his shiny black Nissan SUV. It looked brand new and expensive, but at least it wasn’t a BMW, status symbol of choice for LaSalle trust fund babies.
I slid in, the interior even muggier than outside until the AC blasted through the vents. He turned off the stereo, killing the jazz that filled the car. It left a whole lot of silence behind. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said. “Did you have Bickham yet? Because if so, my panic over my notes probably makes sense.”
“I had him third period. I get it.” He was quiet for a minute. “So the staring thing back there was weird.”
I didn’t want to get into it. “Yeah.”
