unpredictable and draining, the other—warm and exciting. I chose Justin, but wished I hadn’t let her go. Especially when she didn’t answer her phone the rest of the weekend.
Naomi was already in the locker room when I arrived. Her eyes looked glassy and vacant today. Kari stood over her, muttering something I couldn’t make out. They both stared at me for a moment before turning their attention back to each other.
“I know it was you,” Kari said before joining her friends across the aisle.
Naomi chewed on her thumbnail, eyeing the floor.
“What happened?” I took out my gym clothes and shoved my lunch box into the locker.
“Nothing important.”
“Are we going to work on ‘Dawn’ tomorrow?”
She stood up and opened her locker. “That depends. Does Justin want me to take a drug test first?”
“He’s worried about you. We both are.”
“I’m sorry that he couldn’t handle his shit.” She slammed the metal door shut. “But it doesn’t mean he gets to piss on everyone’s parade, you know? To be honest—I’m thinking of quitting the band. I’m just not feeling it anymore.”
I pulled my T-shirt over my head. It felt heavy and cold against my skin. “You can’t do that—”
“Cut the shit, Drea.” She walked toward me until our faces were inches apart. “When we first met, you looked at me like I was a pile of dog crap. And you haven’t stopped judging me since. You and Justin are dying to get rid of me. Admit it.”
“That’s not true.”
“Admit it!”
I backed away, avoiding her piercing eyes. They reminded me of a zombie’s—lifeless. “I don’t understand why you… why you’re—”
She moved toward me until her breath hit my cheek. It smelled like curdled milk. “Yeah, that’s right. Look away and play innocent, like always. Or better yet, run along and ask Prince Justin to save you. He’s good at that, right?”
My eyes burned and my throat felt swollen. I couldn’t breathe. “You’re acting like Scott.”
She flicked something off my shirt. “Better get to class. Wouldn’t want Little Miss Perfect to be late.” The edge in her voice made me shiver.
I spun around and ran to the gym, wishing I didn’t have to look at her again. Being near her gave me this heavy feeling in my gut.
But she never showed up to PE.
When I entered the locker room forty minutes later, there was no sign of Naomi. But I could still feel her around me. On the cement walls. In the damp air. Heavy and unrelenting.
My lunch box seemed lighter when I pulled it out. I cracked it open to find my crayons and a few pennies. My iPod and roughly ten dollars in change were missing. Only one person knew my combination.
“Did Naomi take anything?” a voice asked.
I glanced up at Kari. She peered down at my lunch box, her thin eyebrows raised.
I nodded, letting the lid fall shut.
“Yeah, I forgot to lock up yesterday. She stole twenty bucks out of my jeans.” Kari sat down next to me. “I heard you guys fighting.”
I flicked the clasp on my box.
“That’s how she gets back at people she’s pissed at,” Kari continued. “She steals from them.”
Tears burned in my eyes. “I don’t know what I did.” I turned away, hoping she couldn’t see them. “I thought we were friends.”
“So did I,” she said. “And the sad part is, I was this close to pounding her face in before class. But I couldn’t do it. She’s so pathetic. I fucking pity her.”
All I could do was nod. The money didn’t matter. Naomi took my music. The one thing I couldn’t stand to be without. She knew that.
Kari said something else, but her words didn’t register. She stood up, staring at me expectantly. “Right, well, see ya.”
I sat in my sweaty gym clothes, unable to move. My teeth clenched together, and I gripped the sides of the bench. At that moment, I wanted to push Naomi to the ground and tell her what a disappointment she was. A
