“Hi, Kitty,” Bobby whispered. Except for the red bump on his forehead, his face had lost all color. He appeared to have forgotten Mason and acted like he was about to barf.
“Hi,” Kathryn said quietly, looking at the floor, smiling like a Barbie who had just discovered she was a real girl. She shuffled her feet and slouched slightly, like she was trying not to be taller than Bobby. For the second time since I had known her, Kathryn appeared speechless. Something was up, and she had not told me about it.
To my complete astonishment, Bobby turned to me, and looked straight into my eyes. He tried to speak, then stopped. He tried again, and this time succeeded with all the grace of a person in mid-vomit.
“Ummm, would you…ga…ga…ack!…go-to-the-Spring-Fling-with-me?”
“Huh?” I said. I felt my face flush. I turned to Kathryn. She stared dreamily at Bobby like I wasn’t even there.
“I mean, if you don’t want to, that’s okay.” Bobby continued to stare right at me.
“But—” I desperately needed my armor’s Shimmer mode, or someone to beam me up.
“It’s just that, well, you mentioned that the Spring Fling is coming, and you thought I was deciding who to ask, and I was, deciding I mean, so I was wondering, you know…”
Oh. Relief flooded me like a long overdue bathroom break. I reached out, took Bobby by the chin, and turned his head. “She’s over there.”
Kathryn squealed like a hamster who had run too many circles on its exercise wheel. “Oh, Bobby! Oh, Bobby! Oh, Bobby!”
“I believe you can take that as a yes,” I said.
Bobby suddenly appeared very calm. Color returned to his face and one corner of his mouth smiled slightly at Kathryn. “Cool. Umm, would it be okay to meet you there?”
“No driver’s license?” I asked.
“Can’t afford insurance.”
“I feel your pain.” Same reason I didn’t have one. Fortunately for me, Kathryn did.
The bell rang, and people popped out of nowhere like cockroaches.
“Seven-thirty?” Bobby asked.
“She’ll be there!” I took Kathryn by the hand. “Come on, we’ll be late for class.”
Kathryn squealed again as we skipped along the hall. “Bobby asked me! Bobby asked me! I’m going to the Spring Fling with Bobbyyyyyy! Rinnie, I didn’t think I would get to go at all.”
“You turned down six other guys.”
Kathryn giggled.
“You’re obsessed.”
“I am,” she sighed. “Isn’t he beautiful?”
Suddenly the crowd of students parted, and a blond head made its way toward us.
“Rinnie, wait up!”
Egon waded through the pack and stopped right in front of me. Breathing suddenly became difficult, and everything started to fog up.
“Hi,” he said, smiling.
My legs turned to noodles. “Hi.”
The late bell rang. Egon looked at the clock, then at me. “You. Me. Spring Fling. You in?”
My tongue suddenly became a mass of stupid. “Blahr,” I said.
Kathryn burst out laughing. I punched her in the arm, blushed, and smiled at Egon.
Chapter Eighteen
Attack in the Park
I walked home from school that afternoon, totally elated. Kathryn was overjoyed too, but she took the bus. Go figure. She lived closer to the school than I did. Each of us handles our bucket of bliss differently, I suppose. Strolling through the park made my life seem like a fairy tale. The flowers, the trees, the tombstones—well, maybe not the tombstones.
I was going to the Spring Fling! Everyone would talk. Tammy Angel would be outraged. Boot Milner would be jealous. And I would be oblivious to it all. I would only see Egon. I couldn’t believe it! Bobby said Egon had approached him and asked if I was going with anyone. He and Bobby knew we would be headed for language arts. It was a setup! A wonderful setup!
I imagined Egon and me sitting on the chairs lining the walls of the gym floor. Everyone else would be dancing, but we would be sitting. Sitting, staring, thinking… Then he would reach over and touch my hand. I would smile. A slow song would come on, and Egon would look into my eyes. May I have this dance? he would ask. I’d love to, I would say. Then he would lead me to the center of the dance floor, taking me in his arms. His arms would be strong, his embrace overwhelming. He wouldn’t notice my shaking, because he would be looking so deeply into my eyes. We wouldn’t talk. There would be no words to express what we felt…he would lean down, bring his lips close to mine…
“Get away!” a voice screamed. I was jerked from my fantasy like a bad act from America’s Got Talent. Directly ahead of me, Mason and Rubric had Bobby pinned against a tree. Mason leaned on a baseball bat. Rubric was empty-handed, but he swayed unsteadily, and had a dazed, angry look in his eyes. He was definitely high. This was so not good.
“Leave me alone,” Bobby snapped. Blood ran from his nose, but there was no fear in his voice.