“I can’t go out there,” Sammy hissed.
“Why not?”
“Because I know that girl.”
Lia looked out at the bakery. A teenage girl had just walked in with a woman. Maybe a mother and daughter, but they didn’t look much alike and were maybe a little too close in age.
“And why can’t you clean up the tables while a girl you know is here?”
“Because it’s embarrassing!”
“You know what else is embarrassing?”
Sammy glared at her. “You’re going to saystealing money and getting caught.”
“Bingo, kid.” But Lia was a softy, as previously established. She gave Sammy a little nudge forward. “Go take their order.”
Sammy blinked at her. “You’re going to let me use the cash register?”
“Go take their order. Before I change my mind. Or they do about coming here and you cost me paying customers.”
Sammy practically skipped out to the counter, though some of that enthusiasm faded when the other teenage girl looked at her.
Lia watched, ready to jump in if need be. Maybe she should have let Sammy hide. Maybe this was some sort of mean girl situation.
“I can take your order,” Sammy said, sounding a little shy.
“Hey, Sammy,” the girl greeted with a friendly smile. She looked around the room. “You work here?”
“Yeah.”
“That is so cool.” She shot a look at the woman with her. “My dad said if I want a job, I have to work forhim.” She rolled her eyes.
“Yeah, playing with dogs is a real hardship,” the woman muttered. “Can we get two frozen mochas and two chocolate chip muffins?”
Sammy dutifully punched the order into the tablet and then offered a total. The woman paid with card, so that was easy enough for Sammy to figure out, and Lia got started on the coffees while Sammy packaged up two muffins.
“Hey, did you understand the math homework?” the girl asked Sammy.
Lia glanced over her shoulder to see Sammy shaking her head, not quite meeting the girl’s steady eye contact.
“Do you know Sarabeth Thompson?” the girl persisted.
Sammy nodded, still being uncharacteristically mute.
“We’re going to meet up before school tomorrow— Sarabeth’s great at math, so she was going to help me. Then we’re both going to try to figure out what the heck gerunds are. Grammar makes me want todie.”
Sammy said nothing. Lia kind of wanted to go over there and poke her into saying something. Clearly the other teen was being nice, friendly.
Luckily, the visitor just kept talking. “We’re going to meet in Coach Swift’s room, if you want to come by. Maybe we can all help each other. Who do you have for English?”
“Uh, Mrs. Brandt. I’m in…honors.”
“Oh my God.” The girl leaned over the counter with hopeful enthusiasm. “Doyouunderstand gerunds?”
Sammy shrugged. “Kind of, I guess.”
“Even better. Sarabeth will help us with math, and you can help us with English. Are you in bio?”
