Page 71 of Woke Up Like This
“Yeah. Don’t creep outside the locker room again. I’d wait until you’re feeling more chill. Like, maybe after school.”
Her eyes light up and she squares her shoulders, her confidence locked and loaded. “True. He kinda deserves the silent treatment for the afternoon anyway. It’ll keep him on his toes.” She pats my hand across the table. “You always know what to say. I’d be lost without you, honestly.”
“Same. Who else would work so tirelessly to find me a prom date?” I tease, trying to distract myself from telling her about my ladder fall. It probably isn’t the right time. Though let’s be real, it’ll never be an appropriate time to share that one.
Kassie’s smile turns serious. “For real, though. You’re always there when I need it. I’ve been shit. Nori and Renner did all the decorating last night.”
Her statement catches me off guard. “I thought Renner was busy?” It was the anniversary of his sister’s death, after all.
She shrugs. “With you down for the count, we needed an extra hand. He volunteered.”
I nod. Nori told me this morning that Kassie didn’t lift a finger. Not that they needed her help.
“I want to be a better friend,” she continues, gathering her hair over one shoulder. “How can I improve?”
I don’t know why, but my first instinct is to crack a joke. “Well, you can stop airbrushing yourself in group pictures. Leaving the rest of us with yellow smiles and oily foreheads is messed up.”
She snorts. “Noted. It is a toxic habit of mine. But what else can I do?”
“It’s fine, Kass. You can make it up at the Senior Sleepover tonight. There’s lots of setup to do.”
“Yes. Totally. It’s gonna be a girls’ night like old times. I’ll even bring the mini Reese’s Cups and Funyuns,” she adds, wiggling her brows up and down suggestively.
I cringe at the thought of her stinking up my sleeping bag with the smell of onion crisps. “You can leave the Funyuns at home.”
“Shut up. They’re God’s gift to humankind.” She rolls her eyes and pulls her phone from her back pocket. “Anyway, I made a new list of prom date contenders during stats class. Thoughts?”
I smile and nod as she presents her case for each guy on the list. This is the Kassie I became best friends with years ago. And even though things have been a little rocky lately, I’ll be damned if I let us drift apart.
TWENTY-NINE
When I get home, Mom is rooting through our kitchen drawer of takeout menus, nails encrusted with soil from gardening yesterday.
“Want to order from Smith’s tonight? I’m craving their mac and cheese.”
I’m bombarded with images of Adult Renner standing in the doorway of our house, two steaming bowls in hand, and my heart aches. I shake myself. I need to get a grip. Stat.
“Um, I don’t know about mac and cheese. What about Chinese? From Kozy Korner. You like their wontons,” I say, flinging my still-ripped schoolbag on the bench.
She shrugs. “Okay. Sure. Hey, how is your noggin feeling today?”
“Hard as usual,” I say, pretending to knock my skull.
“Sounds about right.”
“I did think about what you said yesterday morning,” I say, collapsing onto the couch, legs dangling over the armrest. The mention of food reminds me of how Renner took me to the drive-thru after I told him about Dad.
“What did I say yesterday?” she asks, half-distracted as she riffles through the drawer.
My heart twinges at the thought of Dad. He was gone. Leaving Alexandra and two technically-unborn-sisters behind. “About calling Dad.”
Truth be told, I’m still mad at Dad and the way he’s handled things. But now I understand how it feels to no longer have the chance to speak with him, even if I wanted to. So turning down the opportunity now, especially since he extended an olive branch, doesn’t sit right.
Her brows rise with surprise. “Oh, really? Okay. Great. He’ll be happy to hear from you.”
“I’ll call him. Maybe when I get home from the sleepover.”
“Oh right. The Senior Sleepover is tonight!” She does an embarrassing shimmy. “I remember my Senior Sleepover. Georgia and I made a pact to lose our virginities—”
