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“I may be new to Emerson, but I’m not new to high school.” I gestured at myself. “Girls like me don’t hang out with pretty people like you and your not-girlfriend unless there’s something in it for you.”
He stepped closer, the fire in his eyes that much more apparent at this distance. “Trust me. There’s something in it for me.” His eyes roved me, just as palpable as his touch had been.
A shiver went through my stomach, and I lifted my chin, trying not to show him just how much he affected me with a single look.
“So you’ll come,” he said. It wasn’t a question.
I could only nod. There was no saying no. Not to Diego.
Twenty-Seven
Diego
On Monday morning,when I woke up and looked out my window, I saw April walking Heidi along the beach. Every so often, she’d bend down and scratch Heidi’s ears or turn her away from a distraction. I smiled as she reached into her fanny pack and gave the dog a treat.
Why it mattered to me so much that she walked by my house again... I didn’t want to admit. I watched her out the window until I couldn’t see her perfect curvy form anymore and turned back to my bedroom, changing into my uniform.
I hated this thing. It felt so tight and restrictive with its buttons and scratchy fabric. But I didn’t relish the thought of saying goodbye to my uniform either. It would mean being thrown into “real life.”
Something that was quickly approaching, as my parents liked to remind me.
I didn’t need reminders.
In fact, I had a meeting with our guidance counselor, Birdie, about that very topic this morning. And I had no idea how to tell her that going to college to study business sounded just as unappealing as a life without the beach.
Dreading the meeting, I got ready and went into school. Right over the school entrance, engraved in stone, was a Latin phrase.Ad Meliora. It meant toward better things, which Emerson Academy was supposed to be preparing us for. But me? I didn’t know what I was supposed to move toward.
With a sigh, I continued down the hallway. I said hey to Xander and Terrell. Told Kenzie that April had agreed to come. And then walked the rest of the way to Birdie’s office.
She had the door open, and I could hear her talking to her pet bird. “Ralphie boo, I know you liked the last brand, but I already told you it was discontinued. This one has all the same ingredients as the last one.”
Amused, I knocked on the door. She sounded like my mom trying to convince Mateo to eat corn tortillas instead of the flour ones he preferred.
“Come in,” she called.
I walked in, setting my bag in an open chair. “Ralphie doesn’t like his new food?”
Birdie threw her hands in the air, exasperated. “He’s so finnicky. Finch-icky?” She paused. “I feel like there’s a joke in there somewhere. But I just need to find a new mix he likes.”
My chuckle was strained. Birdie arguing with her bird? That was funny. But I had other things on my mind.
“You can shut the door,” she said.
I did and went to sit down. Before she could ask, I said, “I still have no idea what I want to do and no plans to go to college.”
She let out a breath, a small smile on her face. “You sound like your sister—except she wanted to be a rock star.”
“I bet you thoughtshewas the crazy one,” I said. Just a year ago, Des was a talented singer with a decent YouTube following. Now? She was about to start her first concert tour as the headliner.
“She always had a spark.” Birdie smiled, settling back in her chair. “Talk to me. What do you like to do?”
“I like surfing.”
“And football?” she asked.
I nodded. “Don’t tell Coach, but it’s really just something fun to pass the time.”
Her eyes twinkled as she pretended to zip her lips closed. “How are CNA classes going? Any thoughts about a medical career?”
