Little Do We Know(9)

“No. Why would I?” I stuffed my card back into the pocket of my denim skirt.

She gestured over at Luke. “Look, you don’t have to keep doing this. How many days left?”

I didn’t skip a beat. “One hundred sixty-one.”

“Have lunch with your boyfriend. It’s okay. I know you made a big deal out of it, swearing you’d never ditch Tyler and me like I ditched the two of you when I started dating Simon, but seriously, it’s okay. We get it. And we like Luke. You don’t have to hang out with us at lunch.”

“Sure, I do.”

“No, you don’t. Seriously. Even if that would make you a ginormous hypocrite, I’d never say so.”

“Not to my face.”

“Never to your face.”

I laughed. “Well, it’s not about you two anyway. Our Town is four weeks away and if I don’t get my Emily Webb lines down, Ms. Martin’s going to strangle me. Or replace me, which would be much worse.”

I pointed at the double doors that opened onto the path that led to the theater.

“Go. If I don’t show up, it’s because Mr. Elliot sent me home, not because I don’t love the hell out of you.”

I tossed the purple boa over my shoulder, spun on my toes, and moved across the cafeteria like a runway model. I could feel every eye fixed on me. I ate it up.

When I reached Luke, I set my tray on the table, threw my boa around his shoulders, and sat on his lap. He squeezed my thigh. And then he kissed me.

It was a little kiss. A school kiss. Not a get-a-room kiss, but it might as well have been. I could feel everyone watching us.

I licked my lips. “You taste like peppermint.”

He reached into his sweatshirt pocket and held up a roll of Mentos. “Freshmaker?”

Luke dropped a mint into my palm, and I popped it into my mouth.

“So…I assume there’s a story behind this,” he said as he played with my feathers.

“There is an excellent story behind this.”

I said it loud enough for Tess and Kathryn to look up from their food, and for Ava and Dominic to stop talking. Luke’s twin sister, Addison, waved her hand toward her chest and yelled, “I’ve gotta hear this,” reminding me why I liked her most.

“Okay, so…” I sat up a little taller, twisting toward them. “I’m at my locker between third and fourth. I’m just about to leave for class when I turn and find Mr. Elliot standing there with his arms crossed, looking all stern.” I mimicked his posture and expression. “In this real quiet voice, he asks me if I’m aware that I’m in violation of the school dress code.”

Using Luke’s shoulder for balance, I stood so everyone at the table could see my outfit in its entirety.

“I think he’s referring to my skirt, right? So, I give it the fingertip test.” I stretched one arm to my side, demonstrating. “And it barely passes, but it does, so I figure I’m in the clear. But then he waggles his finger at me and says, ‘Bare shoulders are not allowed, Miss Kern. You know that.’”

I scanned the cafeteria to be sure there weren’t any teachers in sight, and then I pulled the boa down, exposing my shoulders.

Even Tess looked surprised. “Um. It’s a tank top. The dress code says they aren’t allowed, but everyone wears them anyway.”

“Right?” I slapped my hand down hard on the table. “That’s what I thought! But apparently, this is not a tank top, Tess, this is a ‘dress code infraction.’” I curled my fingers around the words as I said them.

I had everyone’s undivided attention. I liked that.

“Anyway, Mr. Elliot keeps going, telling me I have to go home and change because what I’m wearing is ‘distracting to the boys,’ which is nuts, right?” I looked at each of the girls. Ava nodded. Kathryn said, “Duh.” Tess rolled her eyes. Then I looked right at Luke. “Are you distracted?”

He shrugged. “Sure, but I’m pretty much always distracted by you.”

“Of course you are.” I kissed the tip of his nose. “And that is completely your problem and not at all mine. Anyway,” I said, addressing the group again. “I tell Mr. Elliot that I have something that will cover my shoulders, and he thinks about that for a minute and tells me to go get it. Then he walks away.”

I took a sip of Luke’s soda and got right back to my story.

“I go straight to the theater, figuring I’ll find one of my sweatshirts backstage or in the greenroom or something, but there’s nothing. So, I go to the prop room and rifle through the costume racks, and voilà. I found this hot little number.” I modeled it again. “It covers my shoulders just perfectly, don’t you think? And I’ve always looked good in purple.”

Everyone laughed and I curtsied. Then I hopped off Luke’s lap, took the spot next to him, and reached for my sandwich. I was starving.

Addison stood and came down to our end of the table. “Scooch,” she said to Brian and Jake, and they both slid over so she could sit between them. “So, Emory. You’re going to Luke’s game on Wednesday, right?”

“This Wednesday?” Charlotte, Tyler, and the rest of our drama group friends always met at the diner after Wednesday rehearsals, drinking coffee, eating chocolate chip cheesecake, and running lines together. I couldn’t imagine missing it. And I needed to practice my lines.