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And now I had Connor’s stupid sweatpants. I didn’t want to put them on. Something about them didn’t sit right with me. If I put them on, it’d be like I was indebted to him somehow. It had me questioning his motives. Connor was not the kind of guy to help me out when his friends were watching—Exhibit A came from yesterday when he’d merely stood by while Jade laughed above me. He’d passed me my water bottle, but he may as well have pretended I didn’t exist.
Then again, did Ireallywant to walk out of here with now stained, pretty much see-through white shorts?
With a groan, I disappeared into one of the two empty stalls.
A soft knock came at the bathroom door, and it eased open a crack. “Maisie?”
“No one’s in here, Alex,” I called to him, kicking off my sticky shorts and stepping into Connor’s sweatpants. Irritation laced through my words, because though I didn’t say it, I was thinkingtwo people I barely know had to check on me first before you, huh?“You can come in.”
Despite the green light, Alex took a long time to open the door, almost as if he was afraid of what he’d find. His shadow poked underneath the stall, wavering like he shifted from foot to foot. “What happened back there?”
“What happened?” I echoed with emphasis, throwing the door open. Alex stood on the other side, cheeks a brilliant shade of pink. Whether because of him dumping soda all over me or because he was in the girl’s restroom, I had no idea. “I made an idiot of myself, that’s what. I’d be surprised if it wasn’t on Babble by the time we got home.”
“Ava doesn’t post about us,” Alex said in a voice that was only a few shades of condescending. “And she wouldn’t post aboutyou.”
“Just because she doesn’t post it doesn’t mean people aren’t already talking about it.” Jade had no doubt already snapped a pic and sent it to all her little minions. “Let’s drop it, okay? It’s whatever.”
The urge to push the issue was strong. I wanted to demand why he’d flinched away from me, acted as if I was trying to stab his thigh instead of trying to rest my hand there, but my tongue tied up into a knot at the idea of saying anything. It was embarrassing enough that it happened—to know why he’d rejected such a casual touch from his girlfriend would probably leave me a few pegs past mortified.
Alex let the conversation go without objection. “Normally I wouldn’t like the idea of you wearing another guy’s clothes,” he said, reaching out and tying the ties of the sweatpants into a tight bow. “But these areConnor Bray’ssweatpants.”
Of course that was his takeaway. I balled my pair of shorts up and heading for the door. “Aren’t I so lucky?”
“Maisie,” my English teacher, Mrs. Greer, called from the front of the class. I’d been skimming through a passage inPride and Prejudicefor our reading homework, attention fully absorbed in the text. Mrs. Greer withdrew her desk telephone from her ear, placing it back on the receiver. “You’re wanted in the office. Go ahead and take your things.”
I packed up my satchel quickly, shoving the paperback and homework sheet inside as I got to my feet.
Last night, a little after Alex had dropped me off, Ava had sent over her latest article for me to proofread. It was about the jocks showing up at Allen’s Alley, but thank God she left out the soda pop fiasco. In hindsight, I knew Alex had been right—of course she wouldn’t post anything about that. Mostly the article was about Landon and his new girlfriend, touching briefly on Reed and the girl he was with, and talking about how Connor and Jade seemed stronger than ever.
Hot news.
And of course, her readers ate it all up.
As I walked along the vacant hallways, I tried to think as to why they would want me in the office. Since they said to bring my stuff, it hinted that they might need me for more than the ten minutes left in class. Did I do something wrong? Maybe I left my headlights on, and they were calling me down for that?
In that moment, I imagined Madison going up to her mother, telling her about the argument that we had in the sketchy bowling alley bathroom. She wouldn’t have. Even Madison had to realize I was right to be angry.
The office was hopping when I pulled open the door. One teacher stood along a desk chatting with the secretary, and another stood by the printer as copies pumped out of the machine. A boy lounged in one of the chairs by the principal’s closed door, andloungingwas the right word. He had his arms folded across his chest, black long-sleeved shirt covering his skin despite the summer heat.
“Maisie?” The secretary who’d been chatting lifted her attention to me. “Are you Maisie?”
“Yeah.” I glanced around. “I was told someone wanted to see me?”
The secretary jutted her chin toward the boy. “Take a seat. Principal Oliphant will be out in a few moments for you.”
Ah, so itwassomething about Principal Oliphant. If Madison told her mom about what I said yesterday…
I left one chair between the nameless boy and me, but that didn’t stop him from glancing over. His eyes were the bluest I’d ever seen, as if he wore contacts. “Don’t worry,” he said, voice gravelly, like he’d recently woken up. “You’re not in trouble. It’s about the Most Likely To list.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Is that why you’re here?”
“Me? Course not. I’m not on the dumb list.”
His voice was so flat that he almost sounded angry. He stretched his legs out in front of him further, daring everyone to either walk over his tattered Converses or trip. “Then how do you know that’s why I’m here?”
“I recognize your name, for one. Maisie Matthews—Most Likely To: Marry A Math Book. New label. I bet you’re honored.”
I peered at him. “You don’t seem like the type to have the list memorized.”
