the luster of helping out their fellow man lessened, because
they pretty much became MIA. Sure, they’d cheer “California”
when they saw Levi hobbling in the hallway, but that was the
extent of their help.
Of course Stacey and the cheerleaders (even Emily) were
more than willing to help. Nothing like playing Florence
Nightingale to drum up romantic delusions.
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Unfortunately, Levi was not an appreciative patient. He
hated asking the guys for help and didn’t want to be pitied by
any of the girls. He especially despised having his mom come
into school with him, because it made him feel like he was in
first grade again.
That left me. I was sure he wasn’t thrilled he had to rely
on me so much, but I never put up with his crap. So we got on
nicely.
“I can do it myself,” he said one day before lunch as I was
opening his locker.
“Suit yourself.” I backed away and watched him balance
on one leg and maneuver his crutches so he could open his
locker. Once he got the lock open, he had to hop back to make
room for the door to swing open. One of the crutches fell as he
tried to grab his lunch bag.
Luckily, I was anticipating this and grabbed it before it hit
the floor.
“You know, I can make your lunch and bring it with me —
it’s not a big deal,” I offered.
“I can do this,” he mumbled.
I teased him. “Oh, poor you, I’m offering to make you
lunch. You love my food.”
Danielle approached us. “Wait, are you offering to cook?
What does a girl need to do to get some of your chicken salad?”
“Injure yourself,” Levi snapped.
I shook my head at Danielle. “He’s having one of those days.”
“Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” Levi groaned.
“Come on.” I grabbed his lunch, and the three of us walked
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to the cafeteria. “If you’re going to be like this all day, we can have you sit somewhere else.”
“Sorry,” he said quietly. “I don’t meant to be —”
I graciously finished the sentence for him. “Stubborn.
Ungrateful. Gloomy. A pain in the rear.”
“Yes.” A smile began to warm his face. “All of that
and more.”
I set his lunch down, took his crutches from him, and
leaned them against the wall. “At least you acknowledge
that. And, of course, how awesome I am.”
“Of course.” He smiled as he opened his lunch bag. “How
could I ever forget?”
“I honestly don’t know.” I rested my chin on my hand. “How
did you?”
Danielle groaned. “It’s amazing how quickly you two snap
back into place. It’s almost sickening, really.”
“Levi just needs a constant reminder of how much he needs
me.” I knew this always got under Levi’s skin, even though it
was kind of the truth. I only teased him about it because he
seemed to prefer it when I made fun of him.
Typical boy.
“So what’s the plan for break?” Danielle asked. We only
had a few days left before Christmas.
“I’m thinking some sloth combined with gluttony.” I was so
tired from studying and carting around Levi. I was looking
forward to ten days of doing nothing but watching TV, reading, and stuffing my face. I’d asked Dad for some new
cookbooks and was going to try making sushi from scratch.
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(Starting with California rolls — there was no need to spend
the holidays with food poisoning.)
“Ah, sloth and gluttony.” Danielle smiled. “Two of the
greatest words in the English language.”
I turned toward Levi. “You invited Stacey to New Year’s,
right?” Since Levi wasn’t in the mood to go to any party, I
volunteered to cook a big meal that night. Danielle was coming, but leaving early to go to a band party.
He nodded. “Yeah, although I don’t want her to not have a
good time because of me.”
“Hey!” I slapped my hand against the table. “Speak for
yourself, but I’m a very fun time.”
“Yeah,” Danielle agreed, “read the stalls in the guy’s
bathroom.”
“Ha, ha.” I shot her a dirty look.
I didn’t really understand Levi’s relationship with Stacey.
I’d thought they were breaking up, but they were still together.
And I didn’t fault him for that. She was one of those gorgeous,
bubbly girls who’s always smiling and giving out compli—
ments. It seemed like a nice, easy relationship for Levi. Not a
lot of complications. And I’m an expert on Levi and complications. So I honestly had no idea why he didn’t want to spend
more time with her, even though he was claiming it was for
her sake. It seemed like he was always making excuses to not
hang out with her. And why on earth would he not want her
to be around on New Year’s Eve? His track record of girlfriends being faithful on that day was not great. But he didn’t
need me to remind him of it.
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Plus, I had learned my lesson. I knew better than to stick
my nose in Levi’s relationships. If he wanted to talk to me