“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I say, waving them off as we walk. “It won’t affect our work, I promise.”
I lead the group to the home ec room. The lights have been turned out and there are candles lit on our table, which has been set with plates and utensils.
“What the…” A.J. says, squinting in confusion.
“It’s all of our side dishes,” I say. “Happy Feast-Off, four days late.”
“You’re kidding,” Isaiah says, his eyes wide. “How did you do all this alone?”
“I had a little help making the potatoes,” I say, winking at Luke.
“Jeez. What made you go to all the trouble?” Isaiah says.
I shrug. “You guys. I just wanted to let you know I, uh, appreciate you.”
“Oh, I’m so beyond touched,” A.J. says, fake sniffling. Then he gives me a light punch in the arm, which I know is his way of saying “thank you.”
I turn to Alisha. “And I want you here because you’re the only person from Hunter’s group to not throw me aside and I’m really, really glad for it.”
“And we’re glad to have you here, too,” A.J. says, making a show of grabbing an extra plate and utensils, then adding an extra chair to our table.
“Unless you plan to outdo us in cooking like you did in beer pong,” Luke jokes. “Then you can go right back to the dance.”
Alisha laughs. “All right, then, what are we eating?”
“I think the question is ‘what aren’t we eating?’” Isaiah says, surveying the food all lined up in serving dishes on the kitchen counter.
“You made the corn casserole!” A.J. says, and I swear to god, he actually claps.
“It’s the least I could do for making us so far behind in points,” I say, helping myself to mashed potatoes.
“Well, it was kind of worth it,” A.J. says, as he sits down. “You beating the crap out of Jared with deviled eggs is the awesomest thing I’ve ever seen. And I’m sorry for not saying it sooner.”
“You should’ve seen it,” Isaiah says to Alisha as they sit down. “She tackled him and he couldn’t get up. His beret went flying halfway across the room!”
Alisha throws her head back and laughs. “Mild-mannered Ellie. I can’t picture it!”
“I was kind of surprised no one jumped in to stop me,” I say, taking a seat next to Luke.
“Hey, it was a fair fight,” Luke says. “You were holding your own quite well.” He nudges my knee with his, and I fight the urge to swoon.
“That, and we were living vicariously through you,” A.J. says between mouthfuls.
“Yeah, and then Bryce had to take pity on Jared and stop you,” Isaiah says, laughing.
“Was Jersey Strong all bitching about me after I left?” I ask.
A.J. nods. “But then you missed it—the Bakers made this crazy standing rib roast thing, so of course they won and—”
“Wait, the stoners won?” I say.
“Yup,” A.J. says. “And Jersey Strong was pissed because they finished in second and accused the Bakers of cheating because they were thinking like us and put their roast in the oven earlier in the day…”
“… And Mrs. Sanchez flipped out on them,” Isaiah says. “And then she took most of their points for the day because of lack of sportsmanlike conduct.”
“Insane. So that means only Synergy and the Bakers got a lot of points?”
“Yup,” Luke says. “And then, as you know, some members of Synergy were having a meltdown all day—”
“That’s Hunter and Brynn’s group,” I tell Alisha.
“Oh, lord,” Alisha says, rolling her eyes. “I can only imagine that the ‘who’ melting down was Brynn, then.”
“And their meal came out all half-assed, so they didn’t get that many points,” A.J. finishes.
I think about this for a minute. “So, basically, we still have a good shot at being in first place by June … and I mean that in the least competitive way possible.”
“Of course we can win,” A.J. says. “We’re learning sewing in January. I mean, can you picture Bryce and Anthony with a needle and thread?”
With that, we all bust out laughing and it’s awesome and I take a moment to soak it all in. There’s the “thuggish juvenile delinquent” who’s now telling us about his new job at a bakery in downtown Ringvale Heights, which will help him decide if he wants to “go to pastry school, if I’m still into that in the fall.” There’s the “solemn, silent guy” who is laughing so hard at A.J.’s description of his new boss that he starts pounding the table with glee. And there’s “the tattooed goliath bad boy” looking disappointed as he dabs at a stain on his reindeer-festooned necktie. He feels my gaze and his eyes soften as they meet mine. Under the table, I rest my knee against his and he smiles.
They say if you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen.
I’m glad I stayed.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The journey from Home Ick to The Secret Recipe for Moving On literally spanned a decade, and over those ten years, you pick up a lot of gratefulness for the people who made this dream a very tangible thing. The hugest of thank-yous to:
The beyond wonderful editorial team at Swoon Reads: Jean Feiwel and Lauren Scobell, who took a chance on me, and allowed Ellie, Luke, A.J., and Isaiah to have life beyond a Word document saved on my laptop; Kat Brzozowski, for putting me at ease with the very first phone call we had about this book, and for being a guiding force and nurturing it from first draft to actual, polished novel; Holly Ingraham, for her invaluable first-pass edits that helped reshape this story and bring out its best aspects; Erin Siu, whose enthusiastic comments and sharp edits helped keep me focused through the more challenging changes; Starr Baer, Maddy Newquist, and Emily Heddleson, for catching all the errors that would most definitely haunt my dreams if they made it into print; Trisha Previte, for creating such a delightfully adorable cover that captures the spirt of this book perfectly; Emily Settle, for walking me through all-things
