He laughs with me, then stands and pulls me up with an easy swoop. “Let’s go, then,” he says.
“Okay, let me just run to the restroom first,” I say.
“All right, I’ll wait for you by the doors,” he replies, kissing me gently before I make my way to the girls’ bathroom closest to the gym.
Inside, there are at least five girls admiring themselves in the massive mirror over the sinks. Without catching any eyes, I find an empty stall and then scoot through satin and tulle to a free sink.
Washing my hands, I feel someone’s stare in the mirror.
“I know you never asked him about me,” Page Thomas says in her most accusatory voice.
This is why I should never come to social events: I am not social. I’m definitely not going to prom.
“Sorry?” I say, pretending not to have heard. Maybe I can stall her long enough so that I can dry my hands and leave.
“You should be,” she says, eyes narrowed, face puckered. She spins around, her white-blonde hair trailing after her, and leaves the bathroom.
I’m finished, and the other girls are now staring at me. So, I’m forced to follow Page.
At the end of the hall, Luke is waiting for me. Brad is there, too, waiting for Page. Luke leans against the wall, looking like a suit model. Brad is staring curiously into the trophy case.
Luke’s presence must have registered with Page, because she whips around and sees me behind her. She rolls her eyes at me, turns forward, and quickens her pace. When she reaches Brad, she grabs his hand and pulls him back inside the gym.
I can’t be sure, but I think I hear her mutter a particularly unkind word about me as they go.
“Making friends tonight, huh?” Luke says with a sympathetic smile. He is holding my coat open for me.
“Let’s go,” he says, once I’m wrapped and ready.
He grabs my hand, and we rush through the wind toward his minivan, away from it all. In the bitter darkness, my mind wanders to a question that, according to my notes, I’ve been hoping to answer: Did I change anything with Page, or is she headed down the path toward embarrassment and heartbreak, courtesy of Brad from math?
Even though she clearly has it out for me, I silently hope that somehow Page’s fate will be different from what I saw those months before. However nasty she may be, no one deserves that pain.
27
“You’re sure she’s not home?” Luke whispers as he eyes the front of my house from the driver’s seat of his van.
“Yes, I’m sure,” I reply at normal volume. “Why are you whispering?”
“I don’t know,” Luke whispers. He looks at me and flashes a huge, cheesy grin, turns back to the house, and says, “I feel like she can hear me.”
“She’s not home!” I yell, to prove the point.
“Where is she?” he asks.
“She’s at a movie,” I answer flatly.
Suddenly, I’m nervous. Luke and I have been dating for several months. Does he expect something? Do I?
Knowing that I could obsess to death about this, I decide to go for it and leap out of the van. Before I slam the door behind me, I turn to Luke and ask: “Are you coming or what? I need a grilled cheese.”
He laughs and kills the engine, then follows my lead. We’re inside the warm entryway in no time, removing our jackets and shoes. I can’t help but wonder what would happen if I just kept going, removing my dress….
“She left all the lights on. Are you sure she’s not coming back soon?”
“Luke! What are you so afraid of?” I playfully shout at him. He’s looking back toward the living room to make sure that my mom isn’t there.