“He did, he did,” Jon said, nodding. “Seemed decent enough.”
“Yeah, well,” Leila started, feeling a bit surprised. She had no idea he’d come to the hospital and waited around for her. Where was he when she got out? “Don’t be tricked into thinking he was some hero or something, you guys. He hasn’t texted or anything since I got home. And I was riding my bike away from him when the whole thing happened. It’s not technically his fault, but, well, you know. I was trying to get away.”
“Get away?” Lisabeth asked with a glance towards Jon, her eyes awash in concern. “Why? What was he doing? What did he do?”
Jon stood up.
“Is it shotgun time?” he asked.
“No, he—” Leila started
“I have been waiting for this moment all my life.”
“Oh my God, Liz, please get him to stop.”
“Jon, please,” Lisabeth said. “So what happened, exactly?”
“He just . . .” Leila paused. “He’s a bit tactless, is all. Asked some too-personal questions too soon, brought up,” she gestured awkwardly at everyone at the table, “you know, this stuff. And he asked if I’d ever thought about using makeup to cover up.”
Jon stood back up.
“So. It is time,” he said resolutely.
“Jon, I swear—”
“Sit down,” Lisabeth said sternly. Jon dropped back into his seat like a scolded kid as Lisabeth turned and looked at Leila, her eyes intense. “You told that boy to go fuck himself, yes?”
“Liz!” Leila exclaimed with a laugh, and then winced, placing a hand on her head. Jon chuckled.
“Oh, darling.” Lisabeth reached out and ran her hand gently over Leila’s forehead, then palmed her cheek. “How bad is it really?”
“I’ll be fine, it’ll be fine,” Leila said, pulling away from Liz’s touch. “Really, don’t worry about me. We’ll just be walking, and I promise, if I start to feel sick or woozy, I’ll come right home.”
“You call us,” Lisabeth said. “We’ll come get you. And Leila, that, um, that looks good on you.”
“Hm?” Leila looked at Jon and back to Liz. “What does?”
“The scarf.” Liz nodded at Leila. “That’s one of mine.” She smiled, her face full of warmth. Heat rushed to Leila’s cheeks, and she moved to unwrap it. “No, no. Please keep it. Wear it. What’s mine is yours, you know.”
“Okay,” Leila said, nodding softly, testing herself to see if she felt anything. The warmth of Liz’s hand against her cheek flitted across her memory, and Liz smiled at her from across the table.
_____
Leila surveyed the parking lot as Jon and Lisabeth drove away. Their electric car barely made a soft hum over the rumble of its tires over the loose rocks.
A handful of students from B.E.A.C. milled about, a few talking excitedly while others fiddled with their smartphones, snapping photos of one another or the surrounding trees. Some just stared at the screens, fingers making quick work of whatever was glowing back at them. So Leila pulled out her own phone, checking for texts from Sarika or anything from her on social media. There was just a quick text from Sarika saying she was running late, but nothing from Shawn. She wasn’t quite sure what to expect from him.
“You guys see Shawn?” Leila asked two B.E.A.C. members that had been chatting with one another: a girl with bright auburn hair and fierce green eyes, and a slightly shorter Filipino guy with really long, thick, black hair. She recognized them. They’d been in that first meeting, cheering on Shawn as he spoke. They turned to her and both shrugged.
“Haven’t seen him yet,” the guy said. “You’re that new girl, right? Leila? Always hanging out with that cute Indian chick? What’s her deal? Also, her name?”
“Mikey,” the girl said, nudging him. “Maybe get to know her first before trying to hit on all her friends? Sorry. He’s just all girls, all the time. I’m Britt.” She held out her hand, smiling with shockingly white teeth. Leila shook her hand and grinned. “You’ve already had the pleasure of meeting this one.” Britt nudged him again, a little too hard this time, and he stumbled a little.
“Hey,” Mikey said, laughing. He reached out and shook Leila’s hand. “Normally I’m a hugger, but we did just run all the way here.”
“You ran here?” Leila asked, curious and at the same time relieved he didn’t lean in for a hug, due to the fact that she didn’t know the guy and he was absolutely dripping with sweat. What was it with every new guy she met at this enrichment thing being positively drenched? “From where?”
“Well, my family lives down in South Philly, about,” he drew out the “about” as he turned and looked towards the road leading away from the parking lot. “Oh, maybe five miles or so? Probably a little more, maybe a little less. I don’t know, I don’t really keep track of—”
“You’re full of it,” Britt snapped. She turned to Leila. “He has an app on his phone that tracks how far he walks, never mind how far he runs.”
“One, stop hurling me under the bus. Two, you don’t get calves like these by sitting around all day.” He struck a pose and bent down a little, flexing the muscles in his legs. “Boom!”
“And what about you?” Leila asked Britt, laughing at Mikey’s antics.
“Not nearly as far as this one,” she said. “My house isn’t too far from the Art Museum. You’re new to town, right? Have you been there yet? You should run up the stairs. It’s like, tradition.”
“Ha!” Leila shouted. “Yeah, no, I’ve done that. Bad date.”
“Say no more,” Mikey said. “We’ve all been there.”
“Sure you have,” Britt grinned.
Leila smiled as the two of them bickered with one another. They reminded her of the way she and Sarika always jokingly went at it, playfully mocking each other the way only the truest of friends can. She wondered what their history was like, how long they’d been friends, what they’d seen together. She and Sarika, they’d been through more than most.
“I wonder where Shawn is?” Britt said to no one in particular, surveying the still-milling crowd of students. “He should have been here, like, hours ago. That guy is always insanely punctual.”
“I half expected him to be waiting in the parking lot, composting the remainder of his breakfast and making us feel guilty,” Mikey said, and then waved his hands about in an exaggerated fashion. “I’m Shawn. Oh no, you guys, don’t sneeze, you’ll murder innocent bacteria floating in the air.”
Britt nudged Mikey again, and Leila laughed.
“I guess we can take the tour without him, right?” Leila didn’t so much as ask as she suggested. Leaving him behind would be great. She wasn’t eager to have any conversations with him, about the date or anything else. His offensive conversation, his prying questions, the bicycle accident, his lack of follow through. Not even a text, ugh. Her head hurt just thinking about all of it, never mind the concussion.
“I’m down,” Mikey said, almost a little too quickly. Leila gave him a look, and he shrugged. “I’d just maybe like to enjoy the outdoors, hang out with my friends, new and old.” He grinned at Leila and she rolled her eyes. “And maybe not be made to feel so terrible about being a human being.”
Leila laughed with Mikey and Britt until Mikey’s eyes widened, and he nodded over her shoulder.
“Incoming,” he muttered, crossing his arms. “Looks like he’s back taking the chariot.”
“The what?” Leila asked, turning around. A dark-black SUV with tinted windows and thick, oversized tires pulled up into the dirt parking lot, pushing up clouds of dust in its wake. A couple of students coughed as the truck braked near them and a plume of dirt washed over everyone. Leila rubbed her eyes and glared.
The passenger-side door opened, and out popped Shawn, his weathered backpack slung over his shoulder, his usual sunny disposition turned way down. He walked around the front of the car to the driver’s side door, and stood up on his tip-toes as the window lowered.
“Later, babe,” Jessica said, leaning out the window.