Inevitable and Only(45)

“He’s not my boyfriend!” I said over my shoulder, without slowing down, and it came out louder than I’d intended. Elizabeth had to run a few steps to catch up with me. “We’re just friends. We went to the dance as friends. And he told me that he has a crush on you. He asked if you were dating Sam. You’re not, right?”

She shook her head. “No, no, I’m not.”

“Why not?” I couldn’t help it, I was curious. “I mean, half the girls in our school are in love with Sam Shotwell.”

“Oh, he’s just not my type.”

“Okay. Well, if nerdy guys with great taste in music are your type”—I felt a burning sensation behind my eyes and blinked angrily—“then you and Farhan would get along really well.”

“Cadie, I don’t—are you sure? I could’ve sworn you said you liked him. I mean, as more than friends.”

“Nope. I thought so, maybe, for like two minutes. But he’s not my type,” I said, echoing her without meaning to. The words felt strange in my mouth. I wondered if they’d felt equally strange in hers.

We were across the street from Saints Philip and James now.

“All right, I’ll meet you back here when Mass is over.” I was more than ready to end this conversation.

“Bye,” she said, and hesitated, as if wondering whether she should say something else.

I walked away before she could decide, and I didn’t look back.

Instead of going to the Daily Grind, though, I wandered over to the Baltimore Museum of Art. It’s right next to the Hopkins campus, and admission is free. Micayla had introduced me to the museum. She brought her homework there sometimes and worked sprawled out on a bench in front of her favorite paintings. “Osmosis and all that. Can’t hurt to try,” she said.

After talking about Farhan, I felt too restless to sit and memorize lines. I decided to go to the Matisse and Van Gogh room instead. All those wild colors seemed like the right medicine for my mood.

“Hey, Cadie.”

I looked up. Heron Lang was standing behind the front desk in the lobby.

“Heron! I didn’t know you worked here.”

“Just a weekend gig. Gets me free admission.”

“But admission is already free …”

“I know. Joke. Ha?”

I shook my head. “Ha. Sorry, I had kind of a rough night. And a rough morning.”

Heron nodded sympathetically. “Dance drama?”

“Yeah, why? Please don’t tell me you’ve already heard about it.” At a school as small as Fern Grove, rumors spread like maple syrup across a hot pancake … My stomach started grumbling, and I realized I still hadn’t eaten my granola bar.

“Heard nothing,” she said. “I could see it in your face.”

I studied Heron. She had dark circles under her eyes. “Did you have dance drama, too?”

“Bingo.” She hunched her shoulders. “I think me and Aimee are over for good this time.”

“Oh, Heron, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know you were dating her.”

“Ehh. We were on-again, off-again all last year. I thought going to the Fall Ball together might help us feel like more of a couple, but she said it just showed her that she’ll never feel that way about me.”

“Well, turns out my date didn’t feel the same way about me, either.” Somehow it was easier to talk to Heron, whom I barely knew, about what had happened with Farhan. The whole story came spilling out. “You know what? I realized I don’t even know him. Like, we’ve gone to school together since forever, but I’ve barely ever even said a word to him. Until this whole dance thing. So why the hell am I so upset?”

Heron came around the desk to give me a hug. “I’m sorry, Cadie. It still sucks. You deserve better than that. And what’s Elizabeth’s deal, anyway? I thought I saw her there with Sam Shotwell.”

“Yeah, but apparently she’s not interested in him.”

“Whoa. Not sure if Sam’s ego can take that; he’s used to getting any chick he wants. Well, good for her. Showing him that he can’t automatically snap up the new hot pick of the week.”

“Heron!”

“I mean, no offense, I know she’s your sister and all, but—wow. She’s kind of smokin’.”

I laughed. “Don’t even. Know where she is right now? At church. That’s why I’m here. I’m waiting for Mass to be over so I can escort her home. My mother thinks she’ll get kidnapped or something if we let her wander around Baltimore on her own.”

Heron raised her eyebrows. “I thought your family was Jewish?”

“We are. She’s my half sister, through my dad. Her mom was a super-religious Catholic.”

“I could set a world record,” Heron said, “in the category of Falling for the Most Unavailable Girls. Any roomful of people, I can instantly pick out the girl who is least likely to ever want to date me. And of course that’s the one I won’t be able to stop thinking about.”

I sighed. “I know that feeling.”

“Guess we’re both screwed.” But Heron grinned. “Thanks for listening to me complain. It helps a little.”

“No, thank you. I’m the one who started it.”