“Move,” she says, gesturing to the food line which has moved forward about five steps since I’ve been zoning out. I catch up with her and glance back at the courtyard.
“Your dating life is so fascinating to me,” April says.
“Shut up,” I tell her. I can’t seem to stop looking at Caleb, who is now leaning over and allowing one of the cheerleaders feed him pizza.
I roll my eyes and turn back to face April.
“Ouch,” she says, glancing at Caleb. “Are you sure you like him?”
“He made the first move on me,” I say defensively. “He asked me out. It’s not my fault I like him…it’s not like I’m hopelessly crushing on him… I mean there has to be a chance, right? He kissed me.” I say the last part as quietly as possible.
She shrugs. “I just think the two guys in your life are such total opposites that it’s kind of hilarious. I wouldn’t pick Caleb, if I were you. I’d pick him.”
She turns her gaze toward the parking lot, where a section of it has been roped off for the game booths and food vendors. The band has set up their annual face painting booth, which is something they have to fight for because every year the administration tries to shut them down since going back to class with painted faces is kind of a huge distraction.
Jonah’s not in the band, but he must have volunteered anyway because he’s wearing a white smock from the art room to protect his clothes while he sits on a stool with a pallet of paint balanced in his left hand.
Mrs. Mindy, the elementary special education teacher, is standing next to him with a few younger kids in tow. They must have walked over from the elementary across the street. A little girl with a disability is sitting in a folding chair next to him, clutching a baby doll in her hands. She looks scared, and Mrs. Mindy is talking to her.
Jonah says something that makes her smile. She points to the board of face paint designs, choosing a pink heart. When Jonah leans forward to paint her cheek, she shakes her head and starts crying.
Mrs. Mindy kneels down beside her, but the girl’s focus is on Jonah. I can’t hear what he says, but whatever it is, it makes the girl smile. She pushes out her baby doll toward him and he paints a pink heart on the doll’s cheek.
The girl is all smiles now. After contemplating it for a few seconds, she turns her cheek to Jonah. Mrs. Mindy beams as Jonah paints the heart on the girl’s cheek to match the one on her doll.
“Oh…my…God….” April breathes. She clutches my arm while we both watch the scene unfold. “Is that not the most adorable thing ever? He’s good with kids,” she says, tugging me forward as we move up in line. She puts a hand to her chest. “I want a guy like that.”
My heart aches in my chest, and if life were perfect, of course I’d choose Jonah. I shove down the pain I feel as I tear my eyes away from him and focus on the food truck instead. “He’s all yours,” I say, trying to act like I don’t care.
“No he’s not,” April says. “I would never take a guy from you. I’m just saying, I want someonelikehim.”
I shrug and look back at Caleb, trying to find something redeeming in the way he’s gloating around the courtyard like he’s the king of football. “Jonah just wants to be friends, April. I can’t keep thinking about him or talking about him, okay? It’s too painful. I need to focus on guys who do like me.”
She looks like she wants to object but I press my lips together. “I’m serious. Let’s not talk about him anymore.”
We get our pizza and choose a shady spot under some oak trees to eat lunch. We don’t say much, and I know we’re still thinking about the Jonah thing. It was insanely adorable how well he made that little girl laugh and forget about her fears. It tugs at my heartstrings. But I’ve made a rule not to talk about Jonah, and I’m going to stick with it.
“Umm,” April says when lunch is almost over.
“What?” I say, but it’s too late. Whatever she’s looking at behind me has just walked up and sat next to us.
Jonah takes a long sip from his can of Cherry Coke. “Hey. Can you believe they actually held this thing on April first?” he says, glancing at April who looks like her eyes are about to burst out of her head. Luckily, he has no idea that we were just talking about him.
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“April Fools’ Day.” He shrugs. “They scheduled Operation Lunch on a joke day, so I was afraid people wouldn’t take it seriously. Luckily, they did.”
“Wow, it’s April already?” I glance at April, who nods.
“It’s the best month of the year!” she says in this goofy way. “When I was a kid, I called itmemonth.”
“I guess I wasn’t paying attention,” I say, realizing my birthday is only two days away. I’ll be eighteen and a legal adult. Too bad I don’t feel like one. “This year is going by fast.”
There’s an awkwardness in the air that I’m positive Jonah picks up on. “Sorry for barging in,” he says, bending back on his knees. “I won’t take long. I just wanted to ask about your work hours.”
I lift an eyebrow. “At The Magpie?”
He nods. “You said you work after school every day?”
