And then, wherever Zane ends up playing pro ball, I’ll move there and cheer for that team. We will be a power couple. I’ll be the envy of every woman and the desire of every football player.
“Ohmygod!” Traci says when I rush up to her in the cafeteria. Her dark hair is pulled into a sleek, perfect high pony, topped with a blue and silver Bears cheer bow. Kati’s hair looks the same, but she’s a strawberry blonde.
“I know, right?” I say, grabbing her hands.
Kati bounces on her heels. “Did you know he was moving here?”
I shake my head. “No, but I bet it’s because he found out I’m here.”
My friends nod eagerly.
We always bring our lunch to school so we don’t have to eat the unhealthy crap the cafeteria serves. We walk outside to the courtyard to eat. This is our spot, unless the weather is bad, and then we sit at the football table.
“Have you talked to him yet?” Kati asks.
“No. I only saw him once and he was way down the hall, so he couldn’t see me. And I wasn’t about to yell his name like some kind of desperate loser.”
“Totally,” Traci nods. “Let him find you first.”
“And then make him beg for you back,” Kati says, giving me a sultry, evil grin.
“Oh, I’ll make him beg alright.” I flip my hair over my shoulders and ignore the knot in my stomach. Deep down, I know how our breakup went. I technically did break up with him, but he’s the one who suggested it first. He called me shallow, and self-absorbed. I don’t know how I’m the shallow one when I was only trying to urge him to skip college and go straight to playing pro! That’s forhisbenefit. But he didn’t see it that way.
When I told him we were done, I only said it because he was supposed to beg for me back. Only he didn’t. He just went on with his life, so I was forced to make him realize what he lost, and I quickly started dating Jorge just to make him jealous. I’m sure he was jealous, but he didn’t act like it. Boys are good at hiding their feelings.
Of course I didn’t tell my new friends any of this. I told them that I had dumped Zane and he was super sad about it. Which is true, even if he won’t admit it.
We chat about all kinds of things during lunch, and I keep my eye out for Zane, but I never see him. When we walk back into the school to toss our trash, I see a handmade poster on the wall.
VOTE FOR ZARA
The poster is pink with glitter all over it. That’s all it says – vote for Zara. No catch phrase, no reasons why. It’s like everyone already thinks this girl is going to win no matter what so she don’t put any effort into it. On the other hand, there are several guys who are going out for homecoming king, and they have lots of posters on the wall, too. I haven’t seen any posters that rival this Zara girl for queen.
As I stare at the glittered poster, a perfect idea comes to me.
“Ladies,” I say, linking arms with my friends. “I know exactly what will make Zane beg for me back.”
“Ooh, do tell,” Kati says.
“I’m going to become homecoming queen.”
My friends are silent for a second. “Hello?” I say, looking at each of them as we walk to our next class.
“That might be tricky,” Traci says. “Zara has been set to become queen since she was a kid. Her whole family is homecoming royalty around here.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Who cares? Whoever this Zara girl is, I am better than her. We all know Zane will become king, so he needs a perfect queen by his side. Not some random girl.”
Kati grins. “Well…If anyone can do it, you can.”
Six
Zara
I should probably calloff this whole riding-to-school-together thing. It’s been an entire week of Zane driving me to school, and every day after school he asks if I want to ride with him the next day. Every day I say yes. But it should stop soon, right? We live just a mile and a half from the school and I usually walk there. If it happens to be raining, I’ll catch the bus. I don’t need a ride to school each day, but it’s hard telling him no.
But telling him yes is also bad. Zane was quickly picked up by the other football guys, so he has his own crew at
school. He eats lunch with them and I eat lunch with my friends. He has his own classes, none of which are the same as mine. He is his own person at school. The only time we see each other is when I ride with him before and after school, and occasionally when he sees me walking dogs. But it’s not like we’re friends.
