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I crossed my arms. “I won’t.”
“You should!” She looked at me with wide eyes, as if I were throwing a million dollar lottery ticket away. “And then you can report back to me next week. You know that you’re my only source of entertainment. I can’t live without some gossip. You have to do my off-roading for me, Trina. You have to!”
“No, thank you. I’ve done enough off-roading for the year,” I said, picking my magazine back up to flip through the pages.
I knew her tricks. She’d lay on the guilt until I gave in, just like the spin-the-bottle game that got us into this whole mess to begin with.
Charley pursed her lips and crossed her arms in the perfect example of a grumpy toddler. I held in my laughter, knowing that it would only fuel the flames. Besides, today was a happy day. She’d just finished her second-to-last dose of chemo. Pretty soon, she wouldn’t need me anymore and she really could do her own off-roading.
“You’re all good to go, sweetheart.” Charley’s nurse smiled down at her and patted her arm. “Time to call it a day. Your mom’s here to take you home.”
“And just in time.” I stood from my chair and stretched out my stiff legs. If I got out of here fast enough, Charley wouldn’t have time to try and guilt me into anything else I’d regret. “I’m starving and I’ve got a mountain of homework to get done before Monday. See you next time, Charley. I’ll bring the sparkling grape juice to celebrate. Say hi to your family from me.” I pulled her into a hug and headed toward the door.
“Hey you, don’t forget to forget the plan,” Charley called behind me.
I shook my head and smiled, refusing to look back at her as I exited the chemo ward. That girl was a troublemaker, in all the best sort of ways. Once she actually made it to Rock Valley High, they’d better watch out. There was no stopping Charley from hopping straight to the top of the high school pecking order.
As I made my way into the lobby of the hospital, someone familiar caught my eye, causing my pulse to quicken. It was Mason, heading toward a side hallway. He wore a hardened expression, his gaze glued to the floor in front of him. This was officially the third time I’d run into him at the hospital. If it wasn’t for his mom walking next to him in her blue nursing scrubs, I would’ve accused him of stalking me. They were probably on their way to get some food, just like me.
My feet froze and suddenly a thought occurred to me. Call it destiny or call it fate, but if there was one way to get back on track, it was to get on with the next step of Project Happiness. Step three in my notebook was addressing Mason’s hatred for all things social. Polly was a social girl. She was a cheerleader, for goodness’ sake. It was in her DNA. The one way to prove to Polly that Mason wanted her back was to put him out there.
And Charley had just given me the perfect opportunity.
“Mason! Wait!”
I ran after him and called his name again, but he didn’t hear me. Instead, he and his mom went through a doorway to the right. Without thinking, I hurried after them. I was so excited to be back on the plan that I couldn’t slow myself down. Not even when a nurse yelled at me to stop running. There was no time. It wasn’t until I turned into the doorway and landed smack dab into something tall and solid did everything come to a screeching halt.
“What the—?” Mason spun and looked down at me as I lay dizzy on the floor. The impact with his back had knocked the skittles right out of me. “Trina, what are you doing here?”
“Just finished another session with Charley,” I said, rubbing my throbbing head. A guilty smile pulled at my lips. “I yelled at you in the lobby, but I guess you d
idn’t hear me. Didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“You didn’t.”
He offered a hand and pulled me off the ground. For a second, we stood nearly eye to eye, my hand in his. Electricity coursed up my arm and down my back. Emotions whirled in his eyes as his jaw muscles worked. What had I come here to do? Oh yeah, get back on plan. I released his hand and took a step back, letting out a nervous laugh.
“I actually ran after you to invite you to a party tonight.”
He grimaced and wiped a hand over the back of his head. “A party?”
“Yeah, Savannah’s annual event. Her parents go to Mexico or something and she gets the run of the house.”
Mason stared at me hard as the blood began to pool in my cheeks. I cut my gaze away and watched the floor. For all this talk with Charley about not going off-roading, my heart sure was pulling me in a dangerous direction. It was begging to be set loose. To feel Mason’s touch again. I couldn’t let that happen.
“Let me get this straight,” he said, drawing my attention back to him. He crossed his arms over his puffed up chest and narrowed his eyes at me. “You don’t talk to me all week, won’t hardly look at me, and suddenly now you’re inviting me to a party?”
I winced. I’d been hoping that Mason hadn’t noticed the change between us. That he would be oblivious like most teen boys, but I guess that had been naive of me. I should’ve known better. Mason wasn’t that kind of guy.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling sweetly at him. Catch a fly with honey, that’s what my dad would always say. “You never know, it might actually be fun.”
His eyebrows arched and he stared at me for a full ten seconds as if I were a puzzle to be solved. I withered under the attention, my heart beating faster until it felt like a herd of thundering horses. If Mason said no, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. I might have to give up this whole dream of summer art camp.
“Trina?” Mason’s mom appeared at his elbow, her eyes wide with shock. She blinked a few times, then broke out into a smile that stretched clear across her face. “It’s so good of you to come and support Mason for his scan today. We really appreciate it.”
“Mom...” Mason’s hardened expression had dissolved into horror. His dark eyes darted between his mom and me, his mouth opening and shutting. “Don’t.”
Confusion filled my head. What scan was she talking about? I glanced around to see that we were in a small waiting room, with about a dozen arm chairs and a receptionist sitting behind a counter. This wasn’t the cafeteria. Mason wasn’t taking his mom to lunch.
