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“Don’t forget you were the one that spearheaded the charge on our ‘ol pal Skunk Girl, remember?”
Yeah, I remember, I wanted to say,but it was wrong,and I’ve regretted it ever since. Instead of saying that, I dragged a hand down my face and backed further away.
I was retreating.
Maybe JT was right. I really was a pussy.
“Whatever, man. Do what you want, but I’m gonna head out,” I said.
“Wait, you’re bailing now?” JT laughed. “What’s going on Elliot, you got a thing for this chick or something?”
Gabby’s head whipped to JT at the accusation, eyes rounding as she watched our exchange, and I cursed JT. She’d be all over me about the possibility come Monday.
“Just knock it off.”
“No, seriously. You got a thing for P-U?” he asked.
I speared him with a glare.
Gabby crossed the lot, closer to me, as her gaze raked up and down. “You’ve seriously been such a loser lately. If you wanna leave, go.” She nodded toward my car, then she slid her arm into JT’s with a pointed look that said I could be replaced.
Only problem was, I didn’t care.
So I shook my head and spun on my feet.
PENELOPE
Two hours later, stuffed full of sweetbread and ice cream, Scarlett and I left the diner, thankful our evening had been surprisingly uneventful since our earlier confrontation.
After we paid our check, we discussed what movie we wanted to stream, settling on binging a new series instead. As we approached my car, I took it in with fresh eyes. Now when I looked at it—taking in all its glaring imperfections—the only thing I felt was dread. Every day I drove to school would be another day I’d get made fun of. I hated that my father’s kind gesture was ruined by the likes of JT.
I sighed, and when I opened the driver’s side door and a dark object sprung out at me. I jumped back with an ear-piercing shriek and crashed against the car behind me. A putrid fog filled the air around. It misted my face, went into my mouth, and stung my eyes. Blinded by it, my hands shielded my face as I heard the sound of Scarlett’s gasp, and my mind raced.
Was it a bomb? Some sort of gas leak?
When it stopped just as quickly as it started, I blinked my vision clear in time to see the offending object—a blur of black and white as it zipped past. Most notable was the fluffy black tail with the white stripe.
I gasped for air and tried to gain my bearings as Scarlett reached down and helped me up. Her face pulled into a grimace while her nose scrunched. A few cars down, JT, Mikey, and the entire Royal clan, fell into a fit of laughter.
My pulse pounded in my ears as I brushed myself off, taking in the stench around me, and I realized what just happened.
I got skunked.
I scrubbed furiously at the upholstery of my car. Foam, an inch thick, gathered on the seats, my hands, and my arms. Tears stung my eyes as I replaced the brush for the wet vac and began sucking it all up for the millionth time.
When I finished, I bent forward and took a whiff. “It won’t come out!” I wailed.
Scarlett stood behind me, helplessly playing with her hands, the front of her jean shorts damp from her own attempt at cleaning the upholstery.
“Are you sure it’s not just you that smells?”
I flashed her a dark look and she raised her hands in defense. “Sorry. But you know what I mean. You got sprayed too. Maybe you just can’t tell the difference?”
I flopped down onto the wet seat and sank my face into my hands, defeated. “No.” I moaned. “It’s both of us. We reek. The car reeks. Everything reeks. They’ll have a blast with this on Monday.”
I could still hear their cacophonous laughter and the voices chanting “pee-yew,” like they were a group of toddlers asking for an encore performance.
“I’d like to say you’re wrong, but . . .” Scarlett trailed off, biting her lip.
