Clara drove slowly down the street. She yanked her thoughts away from Rebecca to focus on Beatrice, the memory of her bewildered face, hand clutching the empty cup, eyes wide with the realization that she’d been caught red-handed.
“Bad manners, Bea,” Clara said. “Very bad manners.” And then she burst out laughing. Beatrice did too. They laughed so hard that Clara had to pull off to the side of the road. They laughed until they were certain their sides would rip open. They laughed until the tears stung their eyes and they couldn’t breathe. They each gulped for air greedily, trying to control themselves, bursts of giggles popping out of them intermittently like the sounds of the last kernels exploding in the microwave.
“Is Evan your boyfriend?” Beatrice asked after a time.
“No,” Clara replied wiping her eyes.
“But he likes you, right?”
“I think so.”
“And he’s a nice guy,” Beatrice said.
“You’ve met him. You know he is,” Clara said.
“So why did that girl say that he wasn’t?” Beatrice asked.
“To be mean,” Clara said.
“So people are mean to you, too?”
“Yes, Bea,” Clara said. “People are mean to me, too.”
***
They were twenty minutes into the lecture when Evan handed Clara a folded piece of paper. He kept his eyes glued to the teacher as she opened it and read its contents:
Will you be my girlfriend? Circle one.
Yes
No
Maybe (Please don’t circle this one. I’ve never understood it.)
She grinned from ear to ear, stifling a giggle. She circled her choice and refolded the paper, passing it to Evan when the teacher’s back was turned to the white board. Evan didn’t immediately unfold the paper. Instead, he tore off a small sheet from his notebook and hastily scribbled something. He passed it over to Clara who read to herself:
Am I going to like the answer?
She wrote on the paper and passed it back. Evan smirked as he read her words:
You’ll have to open the paper to find out.
He looked at his potential new girlfriend and grinned. She smiled back, and he thought of something else to write to her. He passed her the note and watched her reaction.
I think you’re the prettiest girl in school.
She blushed fiercely and looked his way. She mouthed the words “thank you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” the teacher said hovering over Evan and Clara. He snatched the piece of paper in front of Clara and was about to walk back to the front of the room before noticing the folded paper on Evan’s desk. He snatched that, too, and Evan objected.
“That’s not a note,” he said, but the teacher ignored him and resumed his lecture.
After class Evan grabbed Clara’s hand.
“I guess you’ll just have to tell me what you circled,” he said.
She shook her head. “Maybe Mr. Stevens will give it back to you.”
“Clara,” Evan said exasperated, but she pulled her hand from his and hurried out of the classroom.
He came to her at lunch, a silly grin plastered on his face. He ignored Joshua and Chris, who tried to get his attention. He breezed by Amy, who approached him and tried to start a conversation. He didn’t even see her. His peridot eyes were fastened to Clara’s hazel ones. He set his tray beside hers, crawling onto the bench and sitting so close that their arms touched.
“Hi,” he whispered in her ear, and she shivered.
“Hi,” she replied.
“How are you, Clara?” he asked. He took hold of her hand, entwining his fingers with hers, and felt the flutter in his stomach when love is new and fresh and full of promise.
She didn’t reply. She wondered how she would eat her lunch with him holding her hand. She thought that maybe she didn’t really care to eat lunch. That she could fill up on the time she got to spend with him instead.
“Hey man,” Chris said. It was more of a question.
“Hey Chris. What’s up?” Evan asked. He released Clara’s hand and opened his soda.
“Just wondering what you’re doing later,” Chris said. He looked at Clara and gave her an uncertain smile. She smiled back just as uncertainly.
“I’m hanging out with my girlfriend,” Evan replied. He took a long sip of his Coke.
Chris looked dubious. “Okay man. That’s cool.”
“You can hang out for lunch if you want,” Evan said.
“Uhh . . .” Chris turned back to look at the students sitting at his regular table. “Uh, yeah. Okay.” He sat down tentatively across from Evan and Clara. “Sooo . . .”
“I can’t go to the movies Saturday, man,” Evan said. “I’m picking up a shift at work.”
“That’s cool,” Chris replied. He took a large bite out of his sandwich, chewing it as he looked at Clara.
“You a junior?” he asked with his mouth full.
“Yes,” Clara replied.
“Enjoy it,” Chris said. “Not that being a senior isn’t awesome. But man, anybody that tells you they can’t wait to graduate is lying. I’m scared shitless.”
Clara nodded.
“Where are you applying?” Chris asked Evan.
“I’ve already applied. Maryland, Duke, and Georgia Tech,” Evan said.
“You’re such a freakin’ nerd, man,” Chris replied.
Evan laughed. “Yeah, and you’ll be working for me one day.”
Chris chuckled. “I guess.” He looked at Clara again.
“You plannin’ on eating?” he asked eyeing her food.
She nodded and picked up her sandwich.
“Just let me know what you don’t want,” Chris said.
They ate and talked, with Clara listening for most of the conversation. She shared her fries and cookies with Chris. He acted like it was the most natural thing in the world, sharing food with her. She wasn’t sure what to make of Chris, but she decided boys weren’t all that complicated. He didn’t seem to care one bit that Evan was dating her, and the longer he sat at the table eating his food and hers, the more comfortable she became with him. He was nice. She wished girls were nice like him. Why were boys so much nicer than girls? Well, at least on the whole?