“Oh, right,” says Lindsey vaguely. “The one in Bozeman?”
“Yes,” she says, sounding a bit out of breath. “I would have killed to get that internship. Practically all of the vets graduated from Washington State, which is my dream school, as you know.”
She glances at me again. I smile faintly. She looks away.
“Congrats!” the girls at the table are all saying practically in unison.
“Thanks.” She looks genuinely happy and proud and excited for the future, even without the victory squeal.
“Wait, does this mean you’re going to be gone all summer?” Audrey asks, frowning.
“June through August.”
“That’s great,” says Emma. “Now tell us about how Jason Lovett asked you.”
I can almost hear Wendy blush.
“Actually, I asked him.”
I lean forward and rest my chin in my hands, like I’m really bored and not listening in to everything that’s going on. I’m glad for Wendy. Jason seems like a good guy, a bit on the short side, big, hopeful brown eyes, a soft tenor voice that I hope for his sake deepens as he gets older. But nice. Somebody who will treat Wendy right.
Angela finally shows up. She tosses her brown paper lunch sack down on the table in front of me and slides into a chair. Intuitively her eyes flicker over to the Invisibles table, where Wendy and her friends are still going on about how she asked Jason.
“You should make up with her,” says Angela. “She’s over it, whatever it was. What was it, anyway, that got her panties in a bunch?”
“Mostly I think it was because she was jealous of all the time I was spending with you,” I say pointedly.
“Oh well, I can’t exactly help you there. I am amazing, you know.”
I grin. “I know.”
“Oh! Speaking of me being amazing, have I got news for you.” She leans forward, her eyes still bright with mischief. “I heard that Christian and Kay were having major problems during spring break,” she whispers theatrically.
I quickly survey the cafeteria. It takes me a second, but I find Christian sitting by himself in the very back of the room. No Kay in sight. No friends. Interesting.
“What kind of problems?”
“A big screaming match in front of like a hundred people at a party kind of problems.
There’s this nasty rumor going around about Christian hooking up with a girl on the Cheyenne ski team at the State Championships.”
“And who’d start a rumor like that?”
She smiles with that annoying, knowing look in her eyes. “I told you, didn’t I? Rumor or not, it was only a matter of time. ”
That’s when Kay Patterson enters the room.
Kay is wearing a skirt that I’m pretty sure violates the school dress code, and more makeup than usual, almost raccoonlike around the eyes, her lips a deep, brazen red.
Her gaze immediately seeks out Christian. He appears to be completely absorbed by his Tater Tots, not looking up, but I can tell by his posture that he knows she’s there.
And she knows he knows it. For a moment I think she’s going to burst into tears.
Then she starts walking, and sways right up to a group of freshman/sophomore jocks in the corner. The whole cafeteria pivots to watch her. She chooses one of the guys seemingly at random and says something in a low, phone-sex-operator voice. She runs her fingers through his hair.
Then she turns and sits in Jeffrey’s lap.
I think everybody’s jaw hits the floor at approximately the same time.
This is way beyond Christian and Kay having problems. This is Kay leaning forward against Jeffrey’s chest and saying something into his ear so close that she could have licked him. His gray eyes widen slightly but he’s obviously trying to keep his cool. He doesn’t move.
I stand up.
“Excuse me for a minute,” I say politely to Angela, like I’m just going to powder my nose. But I’m seeing red. I fully intend to walk over there and use my angelic superstrength to punch Kay Patterson in her dainty turned-up nose, for a number of reasons, really, the least of which being that she’s chosen my baby brother for her twisted game and nobody better mess with my baby brother.
“Wait.” Angela grabs my arm in a steely grip. “Calm down, C. Jeffrey’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”
Jeffrey looks like he’s going to swallow his Adam’s apple.
“Where’s Christian?” he croaks.
“I don’t know where Christian is,” Kay purrs as if she couldn’t care less. “Do you?”
I tear my gaze away from the new slutty version of Kay. Christian has stopped eating and is gathering up his stuff onto his tray. He stands up and walks over to the tray drop-off, turns and points a look of general disdain in Kay’s direction, then heads for the door.
Good for him, I think as he yanks the door open. It bangs shut behind him. I watch him through the window as he strides down the hall toward the main exit, his fury streaming out behind him as clearly as a trail of smoke in the air. Then he’s gone.
