things.”
“I can’t be rushed,” I said brusquely. “I don’t know about you, but I want to do well on this.”
“Why? It’s not like you need the grades.”
“Excuse me? Why wouldn’t I?”
“Doing well is pretty much a given — Miss Castle likes me.” He smirked, and went back to writing in his notebook. I didn’t ask what he was writing, and he didn’t offer to divulge anything.
Jake’s suggestion had freed my imagination, and it was a lot easier to come up with the next lines now that I could write them about Xavier. All I had to do was picture his face and the words flowed as though my pen had a life of its own. In fact, the four-line stanza I had been allocated hardly seemed enough. I felt as if I could fill every notebook in the world with my thoughts about him. I could devote pages to describing his voice, his touch, his smell, and every other detail of his person. And so before I knew it, my fluid script sat beneath Jake’s swirling calligraphy. It now read,
“That works,” Jake said. “There may be a poet in you after all.”
“Thanks,” I replied. “What have you been so busy working on?”
“Jottings… observations,” he answered.
“What have you observed so far?”
“Just that people are
“Do you hold that against them?”
“I think it’s pathetic.” He sounded so bitter that I shrank away from him. “They’re so easy to figure out,” he continued. “It’s not even challenging.”
“People don’t exist for your recreation,” I protested. “They’re not a hobby.”
“They are for me. Most are an open book… except for you. You puzzle me.”
“Me?” I feigned a laugh. “There’s nothing puzzling about me. I’m just like everyone else.”
“Not quite.” There was Jake being cryptic again. It was getting unsettling.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, but I had to turn my face away so he wouldn’t see the color spreading across my cheeks.
“If you say so.” He let the subject drop just as Alicia and Alexandra timidly approached our desk and waited for Jake to acknowledge them.
“Yes?” he snapped, when he realized they weren’t going to go away. I’d never heard him use such a cutting tone before.
“Are we getting together tonight?” Alicia whispered.
Jake glared at her in exasperation. “Didn’t you get my message?”
“Yes.”
“So what’s the problem?”
“No problem,” she said, looking mortified.
“Then I’ll see you both later,” he said smoothly.
The girls exchanged covert smiles before returning to their seats. Jake shrugged his shoulders in response to my puzzled look as if to say that he was as mystified by their attention as I was.
“Looking forward to Friday?” he asked, changing the subject. “I hear that due to a little sporting mishap you no longer have a partner. It’s a terrible shame pretty boy won’t be able to make it.” His dark eyes shone and his lip curled in a snarl.
“News sure travels fast around here,” I said in a flat voice, choosing to ignore his jibe. Now that I was dreading rather than anticipating prom night, I didn’t welcome the reminder. “Who are you taking?” I asked out of politeness.
“I, too, am flying solo.”
“Why? What about your fan club?”
“Fans are only acceptable in small doses.”
I unconsciously let out a deep sigh. “Life’s not very fair, is it?” I was trying my hardest to put a positive spin on things, but it just didn’t seem to be working.
“It doesn’t have to be like that,” Jake said. “I know one would hope to attend such a function on the arm of a beloved, but sometimes one just has to be practical, especially when said beloved is otherwise engaged.”
His exaggerated speech succeeded in making me smile.
“That’s better,” he said. “Gloom just doesn’t suit you.” He straightened in his chair. “Bethany, I know I’m not your first choice, but would you allow me the honor of accompanying you to the prom to help you out of your current predicament?”
It might have been a genuine gesture, but I didn’t feel comfortable accepting.
“I’m not sure,” I said. “Thanks for offering, but I’d have to discuss it with Xavier first.”
Jake nodded. “Of course. Just know that the offer is on the table should you care to accept it.”
When I broached the subject with Xavier, he didn’t hesitate: “Of course you should go with someone else.”
Xavier was leaning back on the couch, facing the TV. I could tell he was bored — for someone used to being so active, daytime television was a poor substitute. He wore a gray sweatshirt, and his ankle was propped up on a pillow. He looked restless and kept shifting positions. He didn’t complain, but I knew his head was still pounding from the impact of the collision. “It’s a dance,” he continued with a reassuring smile. “You’re going to need a partner seeing as I’m useless to you.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. “And how do you feel about Jake Thorn as my partner?”
“Really?” Xavier’s smile vanished, and his blue eyes narrowed almost indiscernibly. “There’s something about that kid I don’t like.”
“Well, he’s the one who’s offered.”
Xavier sighed. “Beth, any guy would jump at the chance to be your date.”
“But Jake’s my friend.”
“Are you sure about that?” Xavier asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing, just that you haven’t known him for very long. Something about him doesn’t feel right.”
“Xavier…” I took his hand and pressed it against my cheek. “It’s just one night.”
“I know, Beth,” he said. “And I want you to have the full prom experience; I just wish it was another guy…
“It doesn’t matter who I go with, I’ll still be thinking of you the whole time,” I said.
“That’s good, try and sweet-talk me into this,” Xavier said, but he was smiling now. “If you’re sure about Jake, then go with him. Just don’t act as if he’s me.”
“As if anyone could measure up to you.”
He leaned down to kiss me, and as usual, one kiss wasn’t enough. We fell back onto the couch, my hands running through his hair, his arms locked around my waist, our bodies pressed together. At the same moment we both caught sight of his plastered ankle sticking up at a strange angle and burst into laughter.
25
Substitute
“Excellent!” said Jake when I told him the news. “We’re going to make a stunning couple.”
“Mmm.” I nodded.
There was still a nagging doubt at the back of my mind, a feeling of foreboding that caused a slight shiver to run down my spine. When I was lying safe in Xavier’s arms, the idea hadn’t seemed so bad, but in the cold light of day I was beginning to regret my decision. I couldn’t explain my uneasiness, so I chose to ignore it. Besides, I
