“Jackie, it’s only one day. Nobody’s going to care.”
“Well, what about my hair?” I said, trying to arrange my usual ribbon. My fingers were shaking because I was so frustrated and my bangs wouldn’t lie right. “It’s a mess.”
“Stop,” Cole said, grabbing my hands. “I like the curls. It’s natural.”
His words came out so softly and easily. Not forced, like he was telling me something just to make me feel better. I opened my mouth, even though I wasn’t quite sure what I was going to say, but a horn honked outside, cutting me off.
“We need to go.” Grabbing my satchel, Cole pulled me from my room and out of the house. Then we were inside the shiny, black Porsche, speeding toward school.
“Jackie, you remember my friend Nick,” Cole said, twisting in the front so he could see me.
“Hey.” Nick nodded his head in greeting.
“Yeah, hi,” I muttered, as I stared out the window.
For the next few minutes, Cole tried to start a conversation with me, but I responded with one-word answers. I was too flustered. Finally he gave up and turned to Nick.
“So, you coming to the warehouse today?”
Curious, I turned to watch Cole.
“I don’t know,” Nick said, glancing at me as if this was something I shouldn’t be hearing. “Do we have supplies?”
“Plenty,” Cole responded. “Kate scored huge last night.”
“I suppose,” Nick said, still not sounding entirely convinced. “We’re not taking my car, though.”
“Might be able to snag the truck keys.” Cole pulled out his phone. “I’ll text Isaac.”
We were coming up on Valley View High now. I could see the building at the top of the hill in the distance. Cole’s fingers were punching away, but Nick still looked uncomfortable.
“Don’t invite anyone else, okay?” Nick said, his eyes flickering toward me again. “I don’t want to get in trouble.”
Hearing this, I focused my attention back out the window. I wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but whatever it was, it sounded like trouble. I kept my mouth shut until the car was parked.
“Thanks a bunch, Nick,” I said, throwing open my door. By now, the parking lot was mostly empty, and only the kids who didn’t care if they were late lingered outside. “See you guys later.”
I tore across the pavement without waiting for them, and thankfully, I managed to make it to class as the final bell rang. Slamming my bag down on the table, I turned to Alex. He was staring down at his textbook, pretending to cram in some last-minute studying, but his eyes weren’t moving over the page.
“What the heck was up with this morning?” I demanded.
“What do you mean?” he said, not bothering to look up.
“You guys left without me,” I said as I pulled a handful of pencils from my bag. “I had to get a ride from Cole’s friend Nick.”
Alex bit his lip. “Cole said you wanted to go with him.”
“Are you for real? When did he say that?”
“At breakfast,” he told me.
“Unbelievable,” I said, gritting my teeth. Cole was in serious trouble.
“Sorry?”
“Alex, my alarm clock didn’t go off this morning. Cole must have messed with it, because he didn’t wake me up until after you guys were already gone.”
“Really?” Alex asked, finally looking up at me. When he saw how irritated I was, relief washed over his face. “Thank God. I thought you gave in to him.”
“I didn’t. And by the way, I’m totally mad at you,” I said, half joking. “I didn’t have any time to get ready this morning. Do you see what I’m wearing?”
Alex looked down, and his face froze when he spotted the jersey. “Where did you get that?”
“Cole loaned it to me. I didn’t have anything else to wear.”
“He loaned it to you?” Alex asked, as if that was the most insane thing he’d ever heard.
“Yeah. What’s the big deal?” I asked. “It’s just an old jersey.”
“But that’s Cole’s football jersey. I haven’t seen it since…” Alex trailed off, too shocked to finish his sentence.
Suddenly a conversation I had with Nathan came back to me. He used to be the best receiver in the state until he got tackled wrong and broke his leg…
“Since the game he got hurt,” I finished for him.
“Yeah, how’d you know?”
“Nathan mentioned it to me when I first got here.”
“Jackie,” Alex said slowly, still shaking his head in disbelief. “The thing you don’t understand is that football was Cole’s life. After he lost his scholarship, he stopped talking about the game completely. It was like he’d never played at all.”
“And?”
“And for him to just give you his jersey…” Alex said. “I don’t even know what that means.”
Neither did I.
Mr. Piper appeared at the front of the room, clapping his hands to get out attention. “All right, everyone, listen up!” he said. “Put everything away. Books and notes under the table. It’s time to take this test.”