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“See you there, then.”
* * *
Nathan was right. It was a nice day.
Octobers were very hit or miss, but this was a hit. It was the perfect temperature to bring along a jacket, but not need to wear it. Sunny, clear, and a barely-there breeze.
She had been concerned that on such a nice day, there might be too many people in the park for them to find a good study spot. But aside from quite a few families with picnics thrown out on wooden tabletops, there were still some open tables or benches.
Tully took one, situated halfway under a tree so they had the option of sunlight or shade, and waited for her pupil to arrive. She was more generous with her time this time.
To assume he would arrive at noon was a little expectant for him, so she told herself that they had agreed to meet at 12:10 just so it felt like he was arriving early when he was destined to show up at 12:05. Five minutes early is better than ten minutes late.
There was a nice soundtrack of families and cars driving by. She could almost imagine it was summertime if she ignored the browning leaves that she brushed off the table to make room for her books.
“Is that who I think it is?” someone said, sounding far away but close enough to hear. She didn’t exactly think it was directed at her, but she still turned her head at the nearby voice. Turns out, itwasdirected at her. A trio stood there, looking at her. They all perked when she met their eyes because by looking at them, she answered their question.
She wasexactlywho they thought she was.
It took her a moment, then she realized that she knew them too. She normally wouldn’t care to make conversation with random schoolmates, but they were already walking toward her and she couldn’t just ignore Nathan’s friends—even if she had not actually met them yet. Mostly.
“Hey!” Tommy Burnett waved, Kimmy Bond and Tricia Menetto following. Kimmy also waved, but Tricia made no move to greet her at all. “It’s Nathan’s girl.”
Tully frowned. Did they really not know her name? “Tully.”
“What?”
“My name’s Tully.”
“I thought it was Tulsa,” he looked confused.
“It is.” Tully wasn’t the one who answered. It was Tricia. “She just likes to go by Tully. Call her whatever you want.” Tully narrowed her eyes at the redhead.
Tricia had known her name for years because she had been friends with Joliet for years. In fact, Tricia was that bridge that Joliet often clung to to get to Nathan. Tricia had been part of Nathan’s ‘inner circle’ longer than they’d lived in Richmond. But Joliet wasn’t the only one who had gotten something out of being friends with Tricia—Tricia got to desperately cling to her hard-earned popularity by strategically being friends with anyone who had any standing in school. That’s why she followed Joliet and hated Tully, evidenced by her ignoring Tully’s requests to not call her by her real name, just like Joliet would do.
“Just call me Tully.”
Tricia shrugged it off and looked away, like she was bored. Tully wanted to roll her eyes, but chose to ignore Tricia in favor of Tommy and Kimmy.
Kimmy glanced between the two girls, obviously sensing something weird, but Tommy was perfectly oblivious. He chuckled lightheartedly. This was the second time Tommy Burnett had his attention on her, the first being when he caught her and Nathan alone in the alleyway outside school the unofficial first day of their charade. There was another time Tommyalmostmet her, and that was when he almost got into Nathan’s bedroom while they hid in there at the party. She was glad she was the only one who knew that, because she didn’t trust Tommy that much.
“What are you doing out here, Tully?” he made sure to emphasize her name. “You sit in the park alone a lot?”
“Actually, I’m waiting for Nathan.” That she could answer easily, thank God. It was already past their agreed meeting time, and once again she cursed him for his poor punctuality. She didn’t plan on officially meeting his friends like this. In her mind, she willed him to appear right this second. Of course, he didn’t. “He should be here soon.”
Her answer seemed to surprise them, but Tricia perked. “Nathan said he was busy today so he couldn’t hang out.”
Tully was forced to meet Tricia’s narrowed eyes. She wanted to act cool, but it was really hard when Tricia obviously thought she was catching Tully in a lie. “That’s because he’s meeting me.”
“Huh,” Tricia didn’t miss a beat. “That’s weird that he wouldn’t just say that. It’s almost like he’s too embarrassed to say anything.”
“Tricia,” Kimmy swatted Tricia’s arm, making her tawny hair bounce. Annoyance wrinkled her nose. “Shut up.”
“What? I’m just saying what we’re all thinking. It’s just weird that Nathan is dating her and none of us know anything about it. He must havesomereason to hide it,” she turned back to Tully. “When did you guys start dating anyway?”
Tully stiffened. She and Nathan hadn’t thought of coming up with a backstory, at least not yet, and now if she didn’t think of something quick, Tricia would have caught her in an actual lie. A very big one.
Tricia smirked greedily, already expecting that something was off. She was on the offensive now, doing the dirty work for Joliet who couldn’t get close enough to Nathan to do it on her own. She’d want all the details she could get. It was probably driving Joliet crazy that she barely knew anything.
