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I turned back around. His eyes were sincere and warm, a look I was not used to seeing on him. Then again, I had never actually looked directly into them.
“I’m sorry about your dad. I am glad you’re okay, though.”
I forced my best polite smile, one that I had rehearsed. “Thanks, Chase.”
Shelly’s eyes were wide with curiosity when I reached her back at the table. “What was that all about?"
I shrugged. “Nothing. He picked up the soda I dropped.”
“Talking to Chase Brooks is never nothing. What did he say to you?”
I folded my pizza slice in half, and shoved a giant bite into my mouth. I smiled innocently as I chewed.
She shot me an annoyed look. “You will finish that pizza, and you will tell me what he said.”
Chase Brooks had been the topic of conversation in town since his return several weeks ago. I did not mind, as it took the attention off of my tragic headlines. Shelly and I had known Chase since kindergarten. He grew up to be the quintessential popular kid who was good at everything. In high school, he started his own band with aspirations to become famous. After graduation, he left for California, and everyone thought he would make it big in the music industry. Two years later, he was back here in humdrum Staten Island, and working at his father’s auto body shop. Nobody knew what happened in California, but it was clear that he did not end up rich and famous.
I took another bite of my pizza while I scanned the cafeteria. Chase was sitting at a table surrounded by his usual group of friends. From his messy-on-purpose blonde hair, to his thousand watt smile, he effortlessly looked the part of rock star heartthrob. Girls had always treated him as such, and he had always eaten it up. I knew early on that I wanted nothing to do with a guy like that – no matter how washboard his abs might be.
“He seems different.” Shelly was looking in the same direction as I was.
“You haven’t seen him since high school. Of course he looks different.” I stuck my soda bottle in between my knees and tried to twist the cap off.
“Not physically. I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
“It’s his eyes. They look sad.”
“I wonder what happened to him.” She shook her head. “Yet, the same girls are still trying to get with him.”
“I just don’t understand how girls like that are considered attractive.”
“Their tits are pushed up into their throats. That’s how.”
“They leave nothing to the imagination. They’re cows, giving all the metaphorical milk away for free. Are they that desperate for sex? There’s so much more to life than two bodies converging for a physical release.”
“I think a physical release with Chase is all those girls are looking for.”
“Well then, they shouldn’t act so surprised when he doesn’t give them anything more after that.” I grunted, still struggling with the bottle cap.
“I don’t know why you insist on doing everything the hard way.”
“I’ve almost got it.”
“Tell me what he said to you before.”
“I thanked him for picking up my soda. He said he was sorry to hear about what happened. We walked away. I told you – nothing major.”
A smile began to spread across Shelly’s face.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t start. That means nothing.”
“That’s not why I’m smiling,” she said in a singsong voice.
Chase was standing beside my chair. He reached down and took the soda bottle out from between my knees. In one swift twist, he tossed the cap onto the table and handed the bottle back to me. He then pulled up a chair and sat.
“I was opening it.”
“She means ‘thank you’,” Shelly quickly interjected.
