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Val looks over her shoulder in her dad’s direction and sends him a little wave.
“He’ll be okay.”
“If you say so, but it kind of looks like he wants to come with us.”
“Shut up! Don’t even say that so loud, or he might hear you and do it.” She giggles.
“You going to school is a pretty big deal, huh?”
Her face falls, making me wish I had kept my big mouth shut.
“It is. I’ve been homeschooled all my life. It was easier to keep up with all my treatments that way,” she confesses forlornly, and as we both watch the yellow school bus approach, Val looks even more nervous than before.
"Hey, hey," I hush, grabbing her hand in mine. "You got this, Val. I'll be with you every step of the way, okay?" She throws me a small smile, her hazel gold eyes sparkling with gratitude, and my heart literally misses a beat.
When the bus stops right in front of us, I go in first and tilt my head for her to follow. She doesn't miss a step, and follows me inside the rowdy bus of preteens who are excited to tell everyone about their summer vacation. I see two seats in the back and walk straight to it. Val sits at my side, and grabs my hand in silence. Every once in a while, I see the other kids sneak a peek at the new girl, and I don't know why, but I squeeze her hand in mine every time a curious gaze sticks on her for a little too long.
"Is it far from here? The school I mean?"
I shake my head. "We'll be there in ten minutes."
"Okay," she mumbles.
"Are you still scared or excited?"
"A little bit of both. If I’m honest, I feel like I'm going to throw up." She smiles meekly.
"Please try not to. It took me forever to put this outfit together," I tease, pointing at my generic white t-shirt and jeans.
When she lets out an honest-to-God, true Valentina laugh, my insides turn to mush. We keep talking, and before I know it, we finally arrive at John Spicer Middle School. My smile widens when I spot Carter and Quaid already at our meeting spot. Unlike me, they don’t have to take the bus, since both of them prefer to take their bikes to school. I would too, if mine wasn't a hand-me-down to me from my sisters. If I came to school on my pink bike with butterfly stickers on the basket and pink ribbons on the handles, I'd never hear the end of it. I used to hate being the only one of us that had to take the bus, but I guess I don't anymore.
And that's all because of Val.
When we step off the bus, Quaid runs over to us, while Carter leisurely walks. Quaid leans in and kisses Val on her cheek before fist bumping me. There is a little pinch in my heart at how Val's restlessness eases with the lug nut's endearment.
Why didn't I kiss her?
"Ready to kick eighth grade ass?!" Quaid blurts out, jumping in place.
"You bet I am," Val replies, looking less troubled.
"Well then stick with us, sweetheart. You’ll know the ins and out of middle school in no time." He grabs her backpack and then puts his arm over her shoulder, ushering her towards the main entrance of our school. Carter throws me an all-knowing smirk, while we walk behind the both of them.
"Kid has game," Carter utters under his breath, nudging me on my shoulder.
"He does, doesn't he?" I retort back, pissed.
"Are you jealous?" Carter smirks mockingly.
"Why would I be jealous? She’s our friend, too."
"I think she's more than that, but you keep telling yourself whatever you need to. I know your ego is taking quite a punch."
"Shut up!" I rebuke with a permanent scowl to my face.
"Whatever you say," he taunts.
I throw him a dirty look and rush my pace to be at Val's side, leaving Carter to trail behind us. When I get to them, Quaid is talking a mile a minute about one nonsense or another. I think even Val is having a hard time keeping up with his rambling. I pull at her elbow to grab her attention away from my best friend.
