Inside the waiting room, my legs start to shake. I never imagined coming back here in a million years. Thankfully, the room is empty. I couldn’t handle seeing anyone waiting for an appointment.
Jess leads me over to the receptionist, and I notice with some relief that it’s a different one from the day I was here. I’m terrified of anyone recognizing me.
“Do you have an appointment?” the receptionist asks, looking from Jess to me and back again.
I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.
“I called earlier,” Jess says. “About the necklace.”
The receptionist perks up, and my heart starts to beat fast. “Just a moment,” she says, getting up and scooting out of view.
I look at Jess, tears brimming in my eyes. “They have it?”
She nods, and bumps her hip against mine.
The receptionist comes back into view, looking excited. “Janet will be out in a moment.” She gestures at the chairs in the waiting room, but I’m too excited to sit down.
The door on the far side of the waiting room opens, and I recognize the social worker from the day of my . . . procedure.
She must recognize me, too, because she walks right up and shakes my hand. “We’ve been hoping someone would come back for this,” she says, patting the pocket of her jacket. “It seems very special.”
I nod, my mouth going dry.
“Just to be sure you’re the right owner,” she says apologetically, “would you mind describing the necklace?”
“Um, sure,” I squeak out. “It’s a single diamond. On a white gold chain.”
“We have a winner!” Janet booms, producing the necklace from her pocket and handing it to me.
I fall to my knees, I’m so relieved and grateful. I look at Jessie, tears streaming down my face. “You found it.”
Janet looks at Jessie and then at me. “I don’t remember your name, I’m sorry. But I do remember speaking with you.” She looks at her watch. “I don’t have another appointment for forty-five minutes, and I’d love to see how you’re doing. Why don’t you come back to my office for a bit?”
“My name’s Annie,” I say, looking over at Jessie. “And thanks, but I think we should probably be going.”
Jessie looks at the social worker and then over at the waiting area. “Actually,” she says, “I haven’t read that issue of Us Weekly yet. I’m cool waiting.”
I look at Janet and shrug. Might as well.
I follow her out of the waiting room, turning to look at Jess before I step through the door.
She gives me a wobbly smile, and I stumble a bit as I recognize the expression on her face. She’s proud. Jess is proud of me.
Jessie
“C’mon c’mon c’mon,” Annie urges, pulling me through the halls. It’s my first day back from suspension. With the weekend falling in the middle of my time off, it’s been almost a week since I’ve been at school. So much has changed that my head is spinning. Changed in a good way, that is.
Annie met me at my locker this morning, dressed in a kilt, crop top, suspenders, and combat boots. It’s part of her new artistic experiment, she informed me. She’s now taking classic looks and deconstructing them by adding unexpected touches. “You should see what I have planned for tomorrow,” she said, arching her left eyebrow. “Think zombie stewardess.”
Unfortunately for Annie, Vice Principal Anderson is not well versed in the arts. He caught sight of her on the way to first period and forced her to zip a hooded sweatshirt over her belly-baring top. At first Annie refused, ranting about the school stifling creativity. When faced with the choice between going home to change and donning the sweatshirt, she finally relented.
“I can’t miss lunch,” she said, poking me in the ribs. “There’s a big surprise.”
We reach the cafeteria, and Annie peeks in and waits for a thumbs-up from Jody before pulling me through the doors. Jody, bless her, stepped right up in my absence. She recruited Annie to our table and made her one of the gang. They texted me over lunch every day, giving me the blow-by-blow of what was happening at school.
That’s how I found out that even though Courtney’s nose was only slightly swollen the day after our fight, by Monday she had two black eyes and a bandage over her nose. Word on the street is, she used our fight as an excuse to get a nose job, claiming I’d broken hers and it had to be reset.
My knees wobble as we enter the cafeteria. People have been looking at me all day, whispering to one another in the halls, and nodding at me in silent recognition. Still, I’m not prepared for the way that heads snap in my direction the minute we walk through the cafeteria doors. I might as well be wearing a sign: I’m the girl who decked Courtney Williams. I put my head down to hide my smile and follow Annie as she weaves through the tables.
When we reach the back of the room, I look up to see Jody and Charlie standing in front of our table, blocking it from view. Jody vibrates with excitement, hopping up and down and clapping her hands. In contrast, Charlie slumps awkwardly, smiling up at me from under his floppy hair. The sight of him nearly sends me into cardiac arrest. Whoever coined the phrase Distance makes the heart grow fonder was definitely onto something. It takes everything I have not to leap into his arms.
“Welcome back!” Jody squeals, yanking Charlie to the side to reveal their surprise. Her eyes bulge as she catches sight of Kevin helping himself to a forkful of cake from the center of the table.
“Shit,” he mumbles as Jody rounds on him.
She’s about to tear into him when Annie starts laughing so hard she snorts. “Don’t encourage him!” Jody protests, her face flaming. “I wanted everything to be perfect.”
“It is perfect,” I tell her, taking it
