Dacen
Ihaven’t slept well the past few nights. Ever since my conversation with Matt in speech class the other day, I’ve felt unsettled. Restless. More anxious than normal, even after talking with Mom and Dad about it, and even though Ryne’s speaking to me again. Last night I caved and had to ask Mom for one of my anxiety pills to calm down so I could finally get some sleep. I’m still tired but not as bad.
Evie walks up the front steps of the school this morning with a smile on her face that perks me up a bit. Trisley and Noah walk up behind her and wave on their way past.
Before they enter the school, Trisley calls out over her shoulder, “Dacen, we’ll see you at lunch for the first homecoming committee meeting, right?”
She smiles at my thumbs up and they enter the building. I turn back to Evie. “You know, it’s not too late for you to join the committee too.”
“I totally would, but I’m already on the committee for the talent show.”
“Right! Right. Okay. Well don’t worry, I’ll spill all the details with you.”
Evie loops her arm through mine after we enter the front lobby. “My hero.” She bats her eyelashes playfully.
She always cheers me up. The thing with Ryne still lingers heavily in the back of my mind though. I need to do something about it if I ever want to have a normal night of sleep again. Also because it’s just the right thing to do.
* * *
When lunch rolls around,I grab food and head outside to meet Lucy, Noah, Trisley, and whoever else is part of this committee. Everyone’s stretched under the shade of a large tree. Dani sits beside Trisley and I inwardly groan. I know she’s good friends with Noah and Trisley, but I don’t like the way she’s treated Evie, and the other day she made a snide comment to me about my planner, which I did not at all appreciate.
“Oh good, there’s Dacen! We’re ready to start.” Lucy stands before the group holding a clipboard. Matt’s on his back in the grass a few feet away, tossing a football up in the air and catching it, over and over. Every time Lucy tries to begin, it makes a loud thump as it hits his hands. She looks over at him. “Sweetie. Do you think you could either stop or do that somewhere else?”
Matt sits up and then stands quickly. “Absolutely.”
He blows her a kiss and grabs his backpack. He’s either extremely whipped or extremely clever. I have a feeling it’s the latter based on our conversation when he recruited me. He winks at me as he passes and I bite back a smile. Definitely the latter. Lucy clears her throat.
“Okay, back to business. Mr. King and Mrs. Carter will oversee the committee. They’ll be joining the next meeting when we start reviewing ideas more concretely and discussing budget and things like that.” For the next forty or so minutes we discuss plans for the next meeting, figure out which sub-committee we’re each on, and start brainstorming ideas for the theme. Lucy checks her watch and brings us all back together again when there’s a little over ten minutes left of lunch period. “That’s good for today, I think. Thanks so much, y’all! I’m super excited to be working with each of you. We’re gonna have such an amazing spirit week and dance, I can already tell.”
Everyone slowly grabs their things and trickles back inside. Noah, Trisley, Dani, and I linger behind. They continue to talk about themes while I let my attention wander across the little courtyard area over to the brick retaining wall on the other side. I spot Ryne immediately, as tends to happen when he’s anywhere near. Even from here, his scowl is visible. Noah comes over and sits down next to me on the grass. I don’t realize he’s talking until he snaps in front of my face a few times.
“Earth to Dacen.”
“Oh, sorry, ha. I’m a little distracted today.” I nod my head over toward Ryne. “Would it kill him to smile once in a while?”
Noah follows the direction of my nod and then turns back to me. “I mean, it might. It could be a total shock to his system, cause some sort of fatal error, and result in the blue screen of death.”
I burst out laughing. “Wow, what a nerd.”
Trisley makes her way over and settles beside Noah. A few seconds later Dani carefully sits down beside them, taking care not to mess up her pristine outfit. I love fashion as much as the next person, but I also believe clothing should be comfortable. The way she sits there, perched just so with her knees bent and her legs off to the side, looks extremely uncomfortable. Presenting yourself well is great, but if you have to sit there looking like you’ve got a stick up your ass because you can barely move, you might want to rethink your fashion choices.
“Who’s a nerd?” Trisley inquires with a raised eyebrow.
“Your boy here,” I respond, still laughing a little.
Noah smirks at me. “If I’m a nerd, you’re a nerd on steroids.”
“That’s putting it lightly,” Dani snaps snidely with a plastic smile on her face. I hold back my glare, but barely.
Trisley elbows her in the side. “Shush.” When Ryne hops off the brick wall and starts to walk away with his friends, I bite my lip and then stand up decisively. “We still have time left before next period. Where ya going?”
“I need to go do something. I’ll catch up with you all later.” I throw my messenger bag over my body and jog after Ryne.
Right before he enters the cafeteria behind the rest of the horsemen, I catch up to him. “Hey, Ryne. Hold up.”
He pivots on his boot heel. “What do you want?”
My fingers fiddle with the strap of my bag. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
