The Friendship List(30)

As he pulled the bus into the high school parking lot where he would pick up his passengers, he glanced in the rearview mirror. Lissa sat in the last row, looking out the side window, her arms crossed, her expression sullen. They still weren’t speaking. Keith couldn’t remember the last time they’d gone this long before making up and he didn’t like it. In the last few months, Lissa had changed and he had no idea why.

He knew part of her sulk was his fault. She’d caught him going through her luggage. He’d wanted to make sure she was bringing her birth control pills, a fact she hadn’t found amusing.

“What do you think I’m going to do?” she’d screamed. “Have sex right there on the bus with everyone watching?”

She’d grabbed her tote bag from him and had stomped out of the room, muttering to herself about becoming an emancipated minor.

He vowed to do better, then got off the bus to wait for the rest of the students to arrive for their early morning departure.

Right on time cars pulled into the parking lot. He greeted the parents and their kids, confirmed paperwork and contact numbers, promised he would do his best to make sure no one got into trouble.

Best friends Aidan and Andy complained (again) about the aquarium. “It’s so dumb, Coach. Why do we have to go there?” Aidan asked, his too long hair falling in his eyes.

Andy agreed.

They were both tall, rangy boys who played basketball. Aidan also ran track. He was a decent athlete, but Andy was the real star. He had a good shot at a basketball scholarship. UCLA was unlikely, but maybe UC San Diego. Keith was going to try to work some magic there.

“Everyone voted,” he reminded them. “Your side lost. It’s one day, guys. You’ll survive.”

They grumbled as they got on the bus.

A familiar Subaru pulled up. Unity waved from the driver’s side. Ellen and Cooper got out. Coop unloaded the luggage while Ellen walked toward Keith, a folder in her hands.

“I have paperwork,” she said with a smile. “Lots of paperwork. You really should figure out a way to go digital with this.”

“I like having hard copies,” he said automatically, as he stared at her in confusion. Something was different with Ellen, he thought, trying to figure out what it was.

He cataloged her appearance. Her long hair was pulled back in a ponytail, just like always. She had on makeup maybe, which was a surprise, but made her eyes looked bluer than usual. As for what she was wearing, it was just some shirt thing and pants that stopped just below her knee. Nothing out of the ordinary except—

He swore silently. The clothes fit. For once they weren’t swirling around her, the extra fabric concealing every part of her body. He could see the shape of her waist and her hips, the outline of her thighs. And breasts. Ellen had breasts!

He realized he was staring and forced his gaze away. Of course she had breasts. Women had breasts. Ellen’s were no big deal. Only he’d never noticed them before and he didn’t want to see them now.

Okay, that was too strong. It’s not that he didn’t want to see them, it was that he didn’t want to notice them. It wasn’t like that for them. They were friends. They supported each other. There wasn’t any awareness or tension or...

For the second time he jerked his attention away from her body. What was wrong with him? Obviously he was more stressed about the trip than he’d realized. Or the fight with Lissa was affecting him.

He took the folder from her and put it in his backpack with the others. Cooper loaded their luggage in the bus, then went up the steps. Ellen returned to her car and hugged Unity. They had a whispered conversation, laughed, then Unity drove away. Ellen returned to his side.

“I can’t believe we’re really doing this,” she said. “I can’t believe you’ve done this before and are willing to do it again.”

“It’s not so bad. The time goes fast and the kids have fun.” He nodded toward the back of the bus and lowered his voice. “Lissa still isn’t speaking to me.”

“But it’s been nearly a week. I’m sorry. Maybe I’ll get a chance to talk to her on the road.”

He grimaced. “She caught me going through her bag, looking for her birth control pills.”

Ellen stared at him. “You know you’re an idiot, right?”

“Pretty much.”

Another car pulled up and Luka got out.

“Coach, Coach, I got an A on my first Spanish test!”

“Good for you.”

Luka beamed.

Keith knew reminding him that if he’d applied himself in the first place, he wouldn’t have to take summer school wouldn’t be helpful, so he only thought it.

He collected paperwork from the kid’s tearful mother, who gave him three bags of homecooked food.

“For the trip,” she explained. “The boys get so hungry. There are forks and plates for everyone.” She smiled at Ellen. “Luka has never been away from me for this long. I worry about him.”

Ellen patted her shoulder. “I’ll be sure to look out for him. And Coop’s along. Try not to worry, Kiki.”

“I can’t help it. He’s my baby.”

A baby who could flatten any offensive player in the league, Keith thought.

Luka hugged his mother, then got on the bus. Keith saw he went all the way to the back and sat next to Lissa. Maybe the two of them could talk about how horrible he was. Although with an A under his belt, Keith would guess Luka was feeling pretty good about things today.