“He’s a jerk.”
“I haven’t seen him be anything but nice to you. Confess already, huh? Who broke your heart?”
I stuffed my half-eaten sandwich into the bag, willing my mind to think of a brilliant answer. The thought of telling Naomi the truth made my teeth grind. She’d probably see me like everyone else did—sad, lonely, weird, even pathetic. When in doubt, I could always use Mom’s experiences. “He cheated on me—well—a couple of them did.”
She put her hand on my knee. “I’m sorry, sweetie.” The warmth of her hand reminded me of our kiss, something neither of us had mentioned since it happened.
Roger sauntered up to us and tossed his backpack on the cement. “What’s up?”
“Lunch is half over. Where the hell have you been?” she asked him.
“Got held up by my math teacher.” He nodded at me. “What’s up, Drea? You dump that loser?”
“He wasn’t my boyfriend in the first place,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow at Naomi, but she shrugged. “Guess it was just a fling,” she said.
Roger leaned toward her, lowering his voice. “Scott got some killer bud last night. It’s in my car.”
“Sweet. Let’s go.” She grabbed my hand and pulled me with her.
I held back. “I-I don’t—”
“Come on!” Her hand tightened around mine.
“But I don’t want to go anywhere. We’ll be late for—”
She rolled her eyes. “Chill, Drea.”
Naomi and Roger scanned our surroundings as we walked around the side of the main building. Our shoes sank in the muddy grass.
“How long will this take?” I asked.
Instead of answering, she jogged after Roger toward a row of evergreen trees. They ducked behind the low branches, but I could still see Naomi’s rainbow laces and Roger’s dirt-smeared tennis shoes. The wet grass was like ice under my boots.
“Hurry up, Drea! You’re gonna get caught,” Naomi hissed.
Each step made me teeter to the left or right. I held my arms out for balance and took short, fast steps until I reached the trees. Then I dove under the branches and inhaled deeply. The air smelled like maple syrup and cigarette smoke.
A few students stood in the shade of the evergreens. Kari and Casey leaned against a trunk, narrowing their eyes at Naomi. Lipstick-stained cigarette butts smoldered near their feet. Kari met my gaze and leaned into Casey, whispering something. Both girls laughed, high and shrill.
“Ignore them,” Naomi said, leading me through a break in the trees.
We passed a lip-locked couple—all tangled fingers and soft laughter. I wondered how that felt.
Roger’s car was cream colored and shaped like an egg. The inside reeked of stale ashes and engine oil. Mom had a car like his once—even the brown upholstery was the same. Like cheap bath towels.
Roger reached over Naomi’s knees and snagged his green pipe from the glove box. Then he pulled out a plastic baggy filled with what looked like herbs.
“Ooh, that looks good.” Naomi grinned.
“Yeah, it’s real smooth.” He stuffed a pinch into the pipe and shoved the baggie back into the glove box.
“Good, because Scott’s been getting bunk lately.”
“You’re still hanging out with Scott?” I asked. The contents of my stomach crept into my throat. Why did she insist on hanging out with these guys?
“He might’ve dropped by last night.” She smiled wide and took the pipe from Roger.
He squinted at her. “He hooked up with Kelly this weekend, you know.”
She bit her lip, shrugging. “So? He already told me.”
“He was scoping out Drea on Saturday too.”
“And he told me he was totally joking.”
I swallowed hard and focused on the motor oil bottles below my feet. “Didn’t sound that way to me.”
“Do you buy everything he tells you?” Roger asked.
“Yeah, he said you’d say that too.” Naomi thrust the pipe in front of me. “You get to do the honors, Drea.”
“No, tha—”
“Why are you so into him?” Roger spoke over me.
Naomi rolled her eyes and wiggled the pipe at me. “You smoking or not?”
I took it from her, letting the cold metal sink into my palm. She settled back in the front seat and gazed out the window.
“Hey, there’s Justin,” she said.
