Page 17 of Fall Fake-Out

“Perfect!” She nods to the Ednas. “I’d better get these two up to their seats. They hate missing kickoff.”

As one of the Ednas walks past, she leans in as if she has a secret just for me. “There’s a new dentist coming to town.”

“Great. I’m sure my mom will be happy since she works at the dentist's office.”

“No, not for your mom.” She winks at me. “For you. Don’t worry, Edna and I will take care of it.” She winks again. And again.

“Thanks, but I’m not interested in dating right now.”

“We’ll see about that.” Edna waves as she moves along.

Ugh.

I’m afraid Mr. Rogers did not teach me how to deal with the people in my neighborhood.

I just hate feeling like everyone is in my business. It’s the biggest drawback to living in a place as small as Autumn Ridge. There’s no anonymity.

As the game clock ticks on, I try not to have FOMO every time the crowd cheers during the first half, and I’m grateful when Mrs. Baker, the foods teacher, relieves me of my post right before halftime.

A light breeze picks up as I walk over to the fence that separates the crowd from the track and field. Landrie and Jaxon are somewhere up in the stands, saving me a seat, but I linger, watching the end of the cheerleaders’ and the marching band’s halftime show. I’ve already spent my first week home, being the third wheel in their relationship.

My eyes catch Wade off to the side on the track. He’s pushing one of the students in a wheelchair back and forth to the beat of the band. It’s probably the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. I keep saying that Wade is the exact same flirt that I knew almost a decade ago, but this moment proves there’s more to him than the unserious boy from high school. When the halftime show ends, Wade bends down to talk to the teen, and the smile on his face is everything. I find myself smiling too with a full heart.

A few minutes later, Wade spots me staring. He says something to the boy before jogging toward me. “How was your shift selling tickets?”

“Lucrative. I pocketed two hundred dollars from the cash box.”

“You know what the punishment is for that, don’t you?”

“Prison time?”

There’s a roguish curve to his grin. “A trip to the principal’s office. Just you and me alone.”

“Then I’ll give it all back.”

Wade laughs, turning his attention to the students running off the field, giving me the perfect chance to study him again. He’s in black joggers with a fitted maroon shirt. It should be a crime to make school spirit shirts that tight and sexy, but I have a feeling Wade could make anything look good.

“Does it take you back to high school?” he asks.

I glance around. “Too much.”

“We had some good times back then, didn’t we?”

My mind jumps to hundreds of little moments with Wade and my friends. Moments that feel like forever ago but also like they happened just yesterday.

“Yeah, we did have some good times.” I smile. “Like when we thought we could dye Leeland’s Pond green for St. Patrick’s Day.”

“Or when you spray-painted white dots on Farmer Joe’s horse, and he thought it was sick.”

“I was legendary back then. It’s just a shame I peaked in high school.”

“You did not.” He bumps me with his hip.

“No, seriously, I did. Where did all the losers go? Because now that I’m an adult, everyone is successful and has their life together. Where are all the kids from high school I thought I was better than?”

“We all grew up and are on the same level now, just doing the best we can.”

“That or I’m the loser now.”