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To think my father had the audacity to talk to Ms. Stone about me—about my future—like she had any business poking her nose into my personal life. And the fact that she approached me today? What did that even mean? Did he seriously call her the other night after I confronted him about the offer from Bucknell?
God, how often did they speak that he had to run straight to her when my own mother was probably nursing a glass of wine with a book, alone in our den, wishing she had someone to talk to?
A headache throbbed at the front of my skull. My skin felt tight and a hand fisted at the base of my spine. Any minute I would come unglued.
“Hey, Topher,” a girl called out in the hallway, her smile a strip of white through the haze of anger.
I lifted my chin, offering a head nod as I took a deep breath, nostrils flaring, breathing deep. In an effort to soften my demeanor and diffuse the lit match underneath my skin, I exhaled, flexing my hands. Forced a smile.
“What up, T?” one of the football players called out, and we slapped hands as we passed each other. “You going to my party Saturday night?”
I angled my head toward him. “You know it.”
My muscles relaxed. The headache faded as I settled into my role. Topher Elliot. Royal King. As stupid as it was, at least it gave me something to focus on, a role to play.
And then I saw her. Penelope Ewe, all long legs, and giant doe eyes. Her whole face lit up when she smiled at her best friend, Scarlett.
She wore a pair of cut-off jean shorts that hugged her curves and a red t-shirt that skimmed her waist so that as she reached into her locker for a book, it revealed a sliver of torso as she moved.
I slowed, taking my time, drinking her in.
What was it about this girl that got to me? Even after my conversation with the Julie chick last night, Penelope still intrigued me more than anyone else in a way I couldn’t explain.
She entered the combination on her locker while she talked, then lifted the handle and gave it a hip-bump to unjam it as I caught part of their conversation.
“Are you gonna text him later?” Scarlett asked.
“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about that . . .”
Penelope’s voice lowered, so I couldn’t catch the words. But I heard enough to know she was talking about a boy, which sent an unexpected wave of jealousy crashing through me.
I slowed, almost at her locker, when she wrenched the door open and the contents on the top shelf fell in an avalanche, bopping her on the head and clattering to the floor. At least two dozen sticks of deodorant and room freshener spray fell around her feet in a heap.
Her hand shot up to the spot where the items pelted her, while she stared down at them with wide eyes.
“What the—” Scarlett started, mouth agape.
A blush rose to Penelope’s face, spreading to her ears and neck.
A couple kids passed by her, remarking on the treasure trove of Speed Stick, snickering as they walked away, and I had to fight the urge to go after them and yank them by the back of their shirts and ask them who did this.
But I knew, didn’t I?
This had my friend’s names written all over it.
A stab of guilt twisted in my belly, knowing this started with me, as she bent down to retrieve a yellow sticky note. Even from where I stood, I could make out the words. P-U was emblazoned in Sharpie.
My back stiffened as a burst of laughter from across the hallway drew her attention.
JT and Mikey stood a few rows down on the opposite end of the hallway, folded at the waist, bodies quivering with laughter.
“Seriously, guys,” Scarlett shouted. “Hilarious.” Then, to Penelope: “Ignore them, P.”
Without thinking, I closed the gap between us, quickly, while JT and Mikey were still watching, and leaned beside her locker, arms crossed casually over my chest. “What’s with all the deodorant?” I grinned like an idiot, smothering my irritation.
Penelope’s head whipped around at the sound of my voice, and if the widening of her eyes was any indication, she was surprised by my presence. “Do you thinkIput these here?”
I lifted a shoulder like I hadn’t just watched the whole thing play out and didn’t know exactly what happened.
