“Shut up,” Madison said, punching him in the arm. “Just shut up, okay?” She tried to collect her thoughts and figure out what to do. For the first time in her life, Madison felt evil. Like, no-good, scummy, nasty evil, and she didn’t like it.
“Geez, what’s up your ass? It’s not like you actually liked him,” he said, turning to her. His harsh voice turned sweet, and he lifted her chin with his finger. “Want me to kiss you and make it better?” Before she could even answer, he bent down, and right in the middle of Main Street, he kissed her.
“Better, right?” Cash said when he pulled away.
Madison nodded her head. But of course she didn’t feel any better. Cash of all people should know that she was just really good at lying.
23
laura
AS MR. LEBLANC handed back the graded tests, a mix of cheers and moans filled the room. Laura prayed that she wouldn’t fall into the latter group.
“Nice work,” her teacher said, tossing a paper on her desk. Her entire body relaxed when she saw the “A-” scribbled at the top in bold red ink. She looked over at Vince, who gave her a thumbs-up, then spotted the “A+” written at the top of his. Of course.
Vince and Laura left class together, passing Riley, Rory, and Emma, who were huddled around a desk, comparing their bad grades. Laura and Riley locked eyes, and both quickly turned away.
Laura smiled at Vince. “I think we should celebrate,” she said as they walked through the hall. Lockers clanged open and shut, and a group of sophomore girls bumped into them, blushing when they saw Vince.
“What are you doing after school?” Vince asked. “Want to check out that new ice cream place that just opened up, Delicious-something or other?’?”
Laura laughed. “You mean ‘Udderly Delicious’?”
“Seriously?” Vince wrinkled his nose.
“Yeah. Tragic, right?” It was a family-owned shop. Horrible name, but according to the Town Talk, great ice cream.
“Completely. You in?” He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder, and Laura caught a whiff of his woodsy cologne.
“Yeah, sure,” she said. “Oh wait. Do you mind if Brian comes, too? I forgot, he’s picking me up today.” Though Brian was still hobbling around with a brace on his leg, it was luckily on the left side; he was comfortable behind the wheel now.
They’d finally finished the insurance appeal over the weekend, and ever since they’d mailed it, Brian had almost been back to his old self. He whistled while he helped his mom make her famous crawfish soup, and they’d even managed to have sex yesterday morning without Janet walking in on them. Still, as much as she tried to push her unease aside, something was bothering her. Perhaps she was just worried about the appeal. It was one thing to send in the paperwork; it was another to get the green light on the surgery.
If she was being honest with herself, though, Vince’s comment the other week had gotten under her skin. He’d said she had potential—but for what, exactly? She was working so hard in school, but she didn’t know to what end. Was a diploma from Toulouse High as far as she’d go? And was it really enough to stand from the sidelines, cheering Brian on?
“That’d be cool,” Vince said, snapping her out of her thoughts. “I’d love to finally meet ‘The Legend.’?”
Laura raised her eyebrows at the sarcastic edge to his voice, but Vince just winked and told her he’d meet her in the parking lot after school.
Before her next class started, she bent down in her seat to text Brian from inside her backpack. Mrs. Baldwin had a policy of making you read your last five text messages out loud if you were caught with a phone in class. Laura blushed thinking about the sexy selfie she had sent Brian from work the evening before. As she tapped the screen, she noticed he had already written to her.
Can’t make it today, babe. You’ll find a ride?
A strange feeling of relief washed over her. “No prob,” she typed and then tucked the phone back into her bag just as Mrs. Baldwin called for attention at the front of the room. For some reason, she had a feeling she’d have more fun if he wasn’t there.
? ? ?
“I’M SERIOUS!” LAURA squealed, laughing so hard that her face was probably the color of her red velvet ice cream.
The parlor was surprisingly modern, with Lucite tables, a blond-wood soda fountain bar, and brushed metal stools. The owner of the shop, an overweight middle-aged guy, hummed along to the zydeco music playing on the speakers. He crumbled up Red Hots and cinnamon into chocolate ice cream while shaking his shoulders along with the music. His moves reminded Laura of her dad, who was physically incapable of cleaning up after dinner without dancing to eighties music.
“You mean to tell me Mrs. Baldwin had no idea her skirt was tucked into her tights? I don’t believe it!” Vince laughed. “Also, she’s like a hundred. No one wants to see that.”
“I know,” Laura said. “Also, I can’t believe none of us told her. That’s kind of bitchy, huh?” She flashed a devious smile.
“Wasn’t she the one who made Jack Robicheaux cry?”
“To be fair, she confiscated his vintage Playboy collection, and we all know how, um, special those are to him.” Laura shuddered. “And he got two months of detention because of it. But yeah, that’s her. The infamous Mrs. Baldwin.”
“Karma, man . . .” he said, scooping out a chunk of his Tabasco jalape?o ice cream. “Okay, I’m gonna try this. Wish me luck.” He took a bite and looked up at the ceiling with a thoughtful expression. “Not bad,” he said. “Not bad at all.” He pushed the cup toward her. “Here, try it.”
She dipped her pink plastic spoon into his ice cream. “This is weird,” she admitted as the flavors—somehow both spicy and sweet—dissolved on her tongue. “But I like it.” Laura scooted his bowl back to him. “Can you believe there’s only a few more months left of school?”
“Yeah, it’s insane.” He shook his head. “What are ya gonna miss the most?”
Laura considered the question. She’d already had the experience of leaving high school, so in many ways, she’d already made her peace with it ending. “Well, not the people, that’s for sure. My three best friends are out of high school already, and as for everyone else . . . frankly, I’ll be happy if I never see any of them again.” She shrugged.
Vince grinned. “Really? You won’t miss anyone?”
She snuck another quick bite of his ice cream. “Okay, fine. I might miss you, study buddy. But only because you share your snacks.” He laughed again, and Laura felt a warmth bloom in her chest. “To be totally honest, though, I think I’m going to miss schoolwork. I know it’s so nerdy, but there’s something incredibly satisfying about doing a problem and getting it right.”
He nodded slowly. “I completely agree. And not to keep poking at a sore spot, but that’s part of the reason I’m excited to go to college.”
She scraped the bowl with her spoon to get the last bits of her ice cream. “Well . . . I’ve been thinking about what we talked about the other day,” she said. “You know, the whole me-not-going-to-college thing.”