“For Jamie’s sake, me, too,” Luke replies. “I just can’t believe that’s all you’re going to do.”
“Well, there is one other thing,” I say.
“What’s that?” Luke asks.
“I’m going to forget this ever happened.”
40
There is a cop car in the Meridan High School roundabout this morning. It’s not something you see every day. Students are whispering; Carley Lynch’s friends are consoling her at the top of the main hall.
It’s all a bit unnerving.
When I arrive at Spanish, I find that Jamie is already there, leaning on top of her desk with her chin on her arms. She looks like she’s been crying.
“What’s the matter, J?” I ask softly as I sit down next to her.
“What do you think?” she asks, without looking at me.
I think forward to whispers about Jamie in the hallway. To a hostile courtroom. A testimony. A conviction.
I lie.
“I don’t know, Jamie, but seriously, fight or not, you can talk to me. I’m always here for you.”
Jamie looks at me with red eyes and a puffy face. The bell rings, and Ms. Garcia starts a Spanish-language movie. A few minutes in, Jamie turns to face me again.
“We got caught,” she whispers. Fresh tears well up in her eyes. “The police took him away this morning. That bitch Carley Lynch told the principal. I’m sure it’s the best news you’ve heard all day.”
I hold her gaze for a while and then whisper back.
“It’s not,” I say honestly. “I’m so sorry, Jamie.”
She looks away and doesn’t speak for a moment. Then, finally, she does.
“I don’t believe you,” Jamie whispers, so softly I barely hear. Her chin sinks back to her arms.
I remember notes telling me Jamie’s rule about sharing her future. If there will ever be a time to break the rules, it’s now.
“Jamie,” I whisper, “it’s all going to work out okay. I promise.”
Luke and I hold hands as we cut across the parking lot at lunch. There’s a strange absence of wind, and it makes me feel even more unsettled than I already do. It’s too calm for the turbulent day.
“I can’t believe they got caught,” I say to Luke as we climb into his van.
“Uh-huh,” he says with a funny look on his face.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing,” he says.
“I feel really bad for her. I mean, I read my notes; I was pretty upset about their thing. But I can’t believe he’s going to jail. And poor Jamie. She has to go to court. And everyone is going to make fun of her. I remember it.”
“There are worse things you could remember,” Luke says.
“There are worse things I do remember,” I say back, recalling the note about my brother this morning. Right now Jamie’s mistake doesn’t seem so big.
“Good thing it’s the end of the year,” I say.