Are you okay?
There’s a “. . .” on his side of the screen for a while, and then:
Who is this?
Oh, God. Right. I’m such an idiot. He has no idea it’s me.
It’s Vicky.
Vicky Decker?
I am mortified, and normally I would give up, but I take a deep breath and type:
Yes. Sorry. Vicky Decker.
. . .
There’s an unreasonably long pause on his end, and now I am really wishing I had not identified myself by name. Maybe he was sleeping. Or really doesn’t want to text with me. And now I’ve basically forced myself on him.
If you don’t want to text I understand.
. . .
Sorry to bother you.
No, it’s not that. I’m just surprised.
In a good way.
I am not sure how to respond to that, so I open the emoji window and choose from among the smiley faces, making sure I don’t accidentally select one of the kissy ones.
?
Did you stay home today?
No. I’m in class.
Don’t let Braxley see you texting.
Renee & Laura & Maggie are giving their presentation.
. . .
There’s another really long pause on his end, and I realize I’ve just forced him to think about his presentation. Which is probably the last thing he wants to do. So I quickly type:
It’s soooooooo boring. Yours was 100x better.
Thanks.
They are seriously giving the Worst. PowerPoint. Ever.
Boring pictures?
No pictures at all.
???
I look around me to make sure nobody is watching, and I lift my phone just enough to take a photo over the top of my desk of one of their text-filled screens. They have simply put their entire report into bullet points and are clicking through it as they read aloud. In monotone.
I text the photo to Lipton.
Is that Comic Sans?
Yeah.
cringing
Me too.
I realize after writing “me too” that it’s a Vicurious thing, and get a brief pang of anxiety that it will give me away, but it’s not like my Instagram is the only place anyone ever said “me too.” Lipton’s typing again.
Is everyone laughing?
No. Sleeping.
Jeremy Everling fidgets in his chair then, and glances back toward Lipton’s desk. He shakes his head at Adam. Adam shrugs. I have no idea what that exchange meant, and Adam probably doesn’t, either. But he regains a bit of his height.
Jeremy just looked wistfully at your empty desk.
Really?
He and Adam are commiserating over how much better your presentation was.
No they’re not.
Jeremy is making faces. He is so bored. Everyone is slumped over.
Which is worse, boring people to death or having them laugh hysterically at you?
I know my answer. The fear of being laughed at is number one on my list. I’ve been boring people my whole life because I’m so terrified of being laughed at. But I can’t say that to Lipton.
Equally painful.
If you say so.
Your presentation was great. I learned a lot.
You’re just being nice.
I’m serious.
. . .
I try to think of something that will make him feel better. Make him understand that I really mean it.
It made me want to learn Minecraft.
LOL. I think I love you.
. . .
I blink at the screen. Did he actually just text that he loved me? He was kidding. Obviously. Thus the LOL. Right? Before I can think of a non-awkward reply, he texts again:
I mean I love that you want to try Minecraft.
Or go to a Taylor Swift concert.
Ouch.
Kidding.
I know. It really was my sister’s screen saver.
I believe you.
I sigh. Disaster averted.
The presentation drones on until the bell rings and they can’t even finish. As everyone’s packing up to leave, Mr. Braxley says, “Your presentation is not meant to be a recitation of your entire written report, people. Please refer to the directions I gave you, or talk to Adam and Lipton.”
Renee, Maggie, and Laura slink out, while Adam starts texting as he goes. It makes me smile, knowing the message he’s probably sending Lipton right now.
I’m mentally writing my own message to Lipton as I walk down the hall, and don’t notice Adrian Ahn sidling up to me until he rubs right against my arm.
“I see you,” he says.
I nearly jump out of my skin. “Excuse me?”
“I just wanted to say hi. Let you know that I see you.” He leans his lips close to my ear. “You’re not invisible.”
I blink up at him, nervous I might say something ridiculous in front of Adrian’s cadre of adoring fans, which today consists of three freshmen—two girls and a guy.
Adrian gives my arm a friendly nudge. “See you later.”
He strides off, his groupies staring at me. And I know what they’re thinking. Why is Adrian Ahn talking to her?
Because it’s exactly what I’m thinking.
My breath starts coming in short gasps, my eyes darting around. Does he know about Vicurious? Do they all know?
I stumble down the hall and around the corner, toward the ladies’ room. I’ll hide there, just to calm down. I’ll wait and see if anyone comes in talking about me. But just as I’m about to push the door open, I spot Adrian with his arm draped around Raj Radhakrishnan’s shoulder. They’re walking down the hall together. I let go of the bathroom door and move toward them.
“How’s it going, Raj?”
“Great, it’s . . . okay.” Raj attempts a smile, but his mouth doesn’t quite make it.
Adrian stops walking and glares at the kids lingering around him so they scatter. I look down and pretend to be searching for something in my backpack. He pulls Raj to the side of the hall. “Talk to me, man. You seem a little down.”
Raj shakes his head. “It’s nothing.”
“Come on, dude. It’s not nothing. What’s going on?”
He stares at Adrian, clearly as confused as I am, but whereas I’d just shrug and look away, Raj actually responds. “My parents are getting a divorce. It’s not going that well.”
“Fighting a lot?”
“They’re not even talking. Nobody on my dad’s side of the family is speaking to either one of us, actually. My cousins, their friends and families . . . everybody blames my mom for leaving. So, we’re kind of on our own now, my mom and I.”
“That sucks. I’m really sorry.” Adrian squeezes Raj’s shoulders. “You ever need someone to talk to, let me know.”
He nods, smiles faintly. “Thanks for, uh . . . asking.” The whole conversation has got to be a total shock. Adrian has probably never even spoken to Raj before.
But he pulls something out of his pocket, a little card. “Why don’t you come to our next show? I’d love to see you there.”
Raj’s smile gets wider. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen him look genuinely happy. “Sure. Thanks,” he says. “I’ll be there. For sure.”
“Excellent.” Adrian drops his arm from Raj’s shoulder and reaches his other hand out to give him a fist bump, which Raj totally fumbles. Adrian laughs and claps him on the back. “Take care, man. It’ll be okay. See you.”
Raj says, “Yeah, see you, Adrian.” He shakes his head a bit, like he’s just woken from a dream. But I could swear he’s grown about two inches, and he was already tall.
Raj sees me standing there and says, “Hi, Vicky.” He smiles. I almost fall over.