In a way, Estaine reminds me of Charlie. Not in the brotherly sense, because that is not the case. It’s just... I’m so comfortable with Estaine. Even though I just met him, I feel like I can be myself around him and I feel like I can tell him anything.
I already have told him everything. He knows the truth about who I am, and nobody else in the school knows. Not Teagan. Not even Brooks. Though, to be fair, I haven’t got to spend as much time with Brooks, because he goes to West Raven.
About thirty minutes into the show, Estaine gets a call. Our pizza is here. He pauses the show and goes to grab our pizza. He says we can eat on the bed, but I insist we eat on the floor. I can’t stand for there to be crumbs in the bed. It’s, like, my number one pet peeve in life. When I told him that, he laughed and told me I was weird, which I already knew.
I have no idea what is going on with Estaine and me, but what I do know is that I enjoy hanging out with him.
I’m glad I told him the truth.
Monday, August 28
Something happened.
I wake up in an extra-good mood, which is weird for a Monday morning.
Yesterday, I hung out in Estaine’s dorm until curfew. Thankfully, I was not late. So, no more added detention.
At least I get to do detention with Estaine. It won’t be so bad with him.
Today, I am wearing a white fitted shirt that says, ‘Hello Monday You Jerk.’
The dress code at this school is weird.
All the girls have to wear skirts, which is normal for private schools. The skirts have to be black, khaki, or plaid. Since I hate khaki, I own a ton of black and plaid skirts. But we can wear whatever t-shirts with sayings on them.
The skirt lengths are weird though. We follow the fingertip rule, which means some of the girls wear their skirts really short. But the guys at school can’t wear shorts any shorter than their knees. Shouldn’t both girls and guys have the same rule on the length of their clothes?
I put my Converse on and see Teagan shaking her head at me.
“What?” I ask.
“Every day, I spend an hour getting ready and you throw on the first thing you can grab, and you still look cuter than me,” she says.
Teagan is pretty.
Way prettier than me.
“You’re crazy,” I say.
“The guys here like you.”
“Only because they didn’t see me go through puberty, like they did you,” I say.
“Valid point,” she says.
“And guys here like you, too.”
“Not the one I want to like me.”
“Who?” I ask.
“That’s not important,” she says.
“That’s not fair. You know all about my crush on Brooks and Estaine.”
“So, you admit you have a crush on Estaine?” she asks.
“No. I admit nothing,” I say.
She just smiles. “Too late. You already said it. Can’t take it back, now.”
“Whatever,” I say. She basically already knew it, anyway. Like, I think she knew it before I knew it.
A moment of panic hits me.
“Wait, you don’t like Estaine, do you?” I ask.
“What? No. No way,” she answers. “I promise you that the guy I have a crush on is not Estaine or Brooks.”
“Okay, good,” I say, letting out a breath.
Nothing can ruin a friendship more than friends crushing on the same guy. That would be bad. Teagan is the only girl friend I’ve had since I was in middle school, and I do not want to ruin it.
We walk to the dining hall together and grab some coffee and food. We join our friends, and I am glad to see that Bryce is not sitting there. He’s sitting on the other side of the cafeteria with some of the guys from the football team.
Phew.
No drama this morning.
“Nice shirt,” Jason says to me.
“Thanks,” I say, taking a seat by Estaine. It seems to be my designated seat. Everybody kind of sits in the same spot every day.
“Hey,” Estaine says.
“Hi,” I say.
“How was your MMA training this morning?” he asks.
“Good,” I answer. “Except Uncl... umm...” I cough. “My trainer got a little rough and accidentally punched me in the arm.” I lift up my sleeve and show him the purplish bruise that is starting to form on my forearm.
“Ouch,” he says.
“Yep,” I say, pulling the sleeve back in place. I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. “I whined about it and he pretty much told me to quit being such a girl, and suck it up.”
“Harsh,” Estaine says.
I laugh, pulling out my phone. “He’s not nice. He says that it’s better to be tortured by him than...”
My voice cuts off as I read the text.
UNCLE MATTY: This is not a test. Run, don’t walk. Get here as fast as you can. Something happened.
I don’t say anything to my friends. I just jump up and run out of the cafeteria as fast as I can. I run straight to my car, suddenly thankful for all the running that Uncle Matty makes me do every morning. I’m faster because of it.
As I start my car, the passenger side door opens and I watch Estaine get in. I don’t argue. As soon as his door is shut, I put my car in reverse and back out of the parking spot. I put it into first gear and push down on the gas as hard as I can. I see Estaine reach for his seatbelt, but I don’t bother with mine.
“I grabbed your phone,” Estaine says, holding up my phone in his hand.