So Many Boys (The Naughty List #2)(45)

“Tessa?” someone called, and I sniffled quickly and looked down the hall. It was Megan Wright. She was jogging down the hall toward me, her books in her hand. “Could you do me a favor?” she asked, looking back over her shoulder down the hallway. “Will you tell Ms. Lipton that I’m sick or something?” She looked panicked as she continued to glance around, smiling politely at Joel once.

“Is everything all right?” I asked, my heart rate accelerating. “Do you need help?”

Megan swallowed hard, and for a minute, I thought she was going to tell me what was wrong; instead she shook her head. “I just have to get out of here,” she whispered. “You’ll tell Ms. Lipton, though?”

I nodded, feeling truly worried.

“Thanks, Tessa.” She exhaled before turning around. “Oh,” she said, looking back at me. “I heard you’re thinking of getting back on the Smitten Kittens.”

“Yep.”

“I’m glad. They need you.” Then she turned and hurried down the hall, her sandals flopping on the linoleum floor as she ran toward the exit.

“What was that about?” Joel asked, bumping his shoulder into mine.

I sighed. “I have no idea. But whatever it is, it’s not good.” I looked over, startled by just how close his face was to mine. Honeycombs! He was very handsome up close.

“Definitely not,” he said, quietly, his eyes flickering to my mouth. We stood, somewhat frozen, until the tardy bell rang. It snapped me awake.

“Dang it,” I said, spinning toward the English hallway. “I’m late!”

Joel was looking down at the ground, his eyebrows pulled together, as if he was in deep thought. I wasn’t sure why he looked so confused, but I did know that I wanted to avoid detention.

“I have to run,” I said, ducking down to catch his eyes. “I’ll see you later?”

He straightened up, staring at me with a curious look on his face. “Um…sure. Yeah, I’ll catch you later, Tess.”

I curled my lip at him, not sure why he’d suddenly gotten so weird. When I gave him a wave and turned to jog down the hall to class, I thought I might have heard him call my name, but when I glanced back, he was gone.

I was pretty sure I scored less than an A on that language arts test I’d taken about Death of a Salesman. Ms. Lipton kept calling on me, then having other students correct my wrong answers. It was humiliating. And I felt like a science experiment during lunch because everyone was staring at me. Apparently Chloe had caught sight of Aiden and Mary too, but she wasn’t as restrained as I was. She told the entire school. And although they asked politely (which I appreciated), the theme of today’s interactions was, “How is Tessa handling it?”

When the day was over, I was completely relieved, not to mention a little overwhelmed with emotion. But I was determined to make it home before even one tear eked out.

When I got outside, I noticed that the Washington sky had imploded! It was cloaked in dark gray rain clouds. Ick. It was dreadful.

Feeling the first sprinkle touch my nose, I glanced up once more before dashing toward my car. I jogged across the parking lot and unlocked my door, happy that I’d just beaten the storm, as the rain began to hit my window in fat splatters.

I refused to think about how perfectly this rain complemented my crumbling life. I stuck my key in the ignition and turned it. There was a series of clicks, but otherwise nothing happened. “Oh, no,” I said, trying it again. Nada.

I slapped my hand across the steering wheel, feeling annoyed. Even my car was breaking up with me? I stared at it, anger welling up in me, thinking about Mary. About Kira. About…Aiden. I slapped my steering wheel again, feeling it sting my hand.

“Stupid car,” I mumbled. I hit it again. “Stupid, stupid, stupid…” I left my key dangling in the ignition as I beat the leather steering wheel with my fists, screaming louder with each hit.

There was a knock at my window and I jumped, out of breath and shaking. Joel was out there with his backpack over his head, trying to block the rain. Embarrassed and still a bit crazed, I opened the door.

“You’re beating up your car,” he said, as if it was just a casual observation.

I nodded, not sure I could respond. My throat was still sore from yelling.

“Do you need a ride?” he asked loudly as the rain began to pour around him.

“Yeah,” I answered. “I think my battery’s dead.” I grabbed my bag off the seat and moved to get out, where I was immediately pelted with water.

“I don’t have jumper cables,” he shouted over the sound of the rain, reaching out to hold his backpack over my head as we walked toward his car. It didn’t help keep me dry, but I thought it was an awfully sweet gesture anyway.

“My dad has some in my garage,” I offered. I wasn’t sure when my parents would be home, so I’d need to find someone to get my car started again.

“Great,” Joel said, putting his hand on my back to lead me forward. “Let’s go get them.”

I sat in Joel’s front seat, my wet hair sticking to my forehead. I looked sideways at him and he laughed, pointing at me. I felt my mouth form into a pout as I flipped down the vanity mirror and tried to unstick my hair.

“Sorry,” he said, holding up his hands in apology. “I don’t mean to laugh. I’m just not used to seeing you looking so…wet.”