“Oh, well,” she started, stunned and unsure what to say. “You’re welcome, I guess. More fries?” Brody laughed, and took her up on her offer. They ate the rest of the meal in comfortable silence, sneaking smiles at each other. Mina had never felt happier. Brody had now spent a few hours in her presence and still seemed to be enjoying her company. She wasn’t sure what this would mean when they got back to school, but for now, it was bliss.
Mina asked to be dropped off a few blocks from home. “If my mom sees you, she will flip. She’s not too happy that you destroyed my bike.”
Brody became still. “I understand,” he said quietly, too quietly. He pulled over and watched Mina get out of his car.
“Thanks,” she called to him through the open window and waved. As soon as he was out of sight, she ran home to call Nan.
***
The next morning followed a similar routine. Brody appeared on Mina’s street and picked her up as she was walking to school. To Mina’s great surprise, he sat with her at lunch as well.
She was actually starting to like having Brody as a friend, if she could quit thinking about what revenge Savannah might have planned. So far it was only nasty rumors that Nan, queen of all social media, quickly dismissed. Of course Nan was thrilled to have Brody at their table and talked nonstop the whole lunch hour. Brody would shoot Mina smirks when Nan would go on a rant about one of her reality shows. He seemed to enjoy her company as well.
Mina looked for Brody by her locker after school, and felt a pang of sadness when he wasn’t there. Maybe he had gotten tired of her? After all, she wasn’t that exciting.
But when she opened her locker to grab her bag and shut the locker, he was right behind the door.
“Oh! You scared me.” Mina put her hand to her heart.
“I would never do that on purpose.”
“If I didn’t know better,” Mina frowned at Brody, “I’d say you’re definitely stalking me.”
“Of course. I’m trying to prove to you that I don’t care about social status, and you promised to give me a chance.” Brody grabbed her backpack and marched off with it toward his car.
“I promised no such thing,” she said after him.
When she caught up, Brody reached for her hand, and they walked to his car hand in hand. Mina felt as if she were on cloud nine and three-quarters, but a shiver of doubt cast a shadow on her happiness. This couldn’t be happening. It just wasn’t right, just didn’t fit with the long string of bad luck that had followed her all her life.
Brody high-fived one of his friends on the way to the car, a jock who’d never be caught dead speaking to her. She didn’t belong with someone like Brody. She was used to the stares and whispers about being an oddball, but ever since Brody had started paying attention to her, the whispers had gotten worse. She even got a rude letter shoved into her locker after lunch, probably from one of Savannah’s friends.
She stopped ten feet from Brody’s car, refusing to take another step.
“Brody, really, this is unnecessary. It’s a little overboard, with the rides to school and back, sitting with me at the lunch table. I think you’ve proven your point. You were right—I was the one who was uncomfortable with you, not the other way around. And I think you’ve paid back your debt.” Mina stood as still as she could, half-hoping and half-dreading that he would confess.
Brody refused to let go of her hand. With his other hand, he lifted her petite chin so she could look into his eyes. Were people looking? Mina tried not to care. “Please believe me when I say that this isn’t about a debt I owe or a bet to prove myself.”
“I feel like this is some sort of sick joke, and you’re trying to mess with my emotions.” Mina turned away from his touch.
“This isn’t, believe me.” Brody leaned forward, tantalizingly close to her mouth, but a bunch of catcalls and whistles alerted them to their very loud teenage audience.
“Grimey gold-digger!”
Mina stiffened and pulled away, but not far enough that Brody couldn’t steer her back toward his car. She got in it without a word, happy to be out of sight. For the rest of the ride she stared out the window in silence, ignoring Brody’s worried glances, lost in her thoughts.
Grimey gold-digger? They thought she was after Brody for his money? It was the farthest thing from the truth. Yes, she had secretly crushed on him from afar, but it had nothing to do with his money. This was worse than she had imagined. Mina was so distracted by her own inner monologue that she was surprised when Brody pulled up to the library again.
“How did you know?” Mina asked, speaking for the first time since entering the car.
“I knew that you were looking for something pretty hard yesterday, and it didn’t look like you found it. Maybe if you tell me, I can help you look for it today?”
Mina shook her head. “I don’t know what exactly I’m looking for. All I know is that I’ll know it when I see it.”
Brody followed Mina into the library with his book bag, and they headed toward the table she’d sat at before. This time he brought homework and was content to sit with Mina as she pored over encyclopedias, journals, and microfiche film. After another three unsuccessful hours, Mina was ready to give up.