One Small Thing(25)

“Then I don’t want to go,” Macy says.

Beside her, Yvonne rolls her eyes. Macy’s flakier than dandruff. She jumps on and off bandwagons at the drop of a hat. If the Charlie Manson fan club did become a thing, she’d be the first one to sign up.

As for this Lincoln party, it’s sounding more and more appealing, at least if I can convince one of my friends to come. This time, I can’t take the risk of going alone, but the fact that it’s a different crowd is exactly why I want to go. None of Darling’s students looking at me with pity? Sounds like heaven.

“I want to go,” I say slowly.

“Me, too,” Macy pipes.

Yvonne snickers softly.

I glance at Scarlett. “Will you come if I go? Even if the crowd is trashy?”

She thinks it over. “Yeah, what the hell. I owe you a party after bailing on the one last weekend.”

I grin. “Sweet.”

“And anyway, Lincoln peeps aren’t as bad as the Lex crew.” Then she offers an annoying reminder. “You’re grounded, though.”

“Shit. Right.” I chew on my lower lip, ponder and shrug. “I’ll have to sneak out, I guess.” And why not? At this point, my parents can’t punish me any more than they already have. What are they going to do, break down my bedroom walls?

“You’re not sneaking out,” Jeff says darkly.

I frown at him. “No offense, Jeff, but you can’t tell me what to do. If I want to go to a party, you can’t stop me. And don’t you dare threaten to rat me out to my parents, because that would be a total dick move.”

When he flushes, I know the thought absolutely crossed his mind. “Fine. Then I’ll take you.”

My eyebrows shoot up. “What?”

“If you want to go, I’ll take you.” He reaches for his water bottle and takes a long sip before setting it down. “At least then you’ll have someone there to watch your back.”

There’s a stir of excitement in my belly. “You’ll help me sneak out?”

Jeff grins. “No sneaking out required.”

“But I’m grounded.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll talk to your parents. I’m like the parent whisperer.”

“I want to go, too,” Macy declares, tugging on Jeff’s arm.

He flashes a regretful smile. “Sorry, my car’s a two-seater.” Jeff drives his dad’s old Audi TT, or at least he did before he left for England. “If Scarlett’s going, she’ll have to take her own car.”

“Forget it,” Scar says in a flat tone. “I’m out.”

“Why?” I ask in disappointment. It’s always more fun when Scarlett is around.

“I’d only be going to keep you company. So if Jeff’s going, there’s no reason for me to be there, too.”

Her explanation makes zero sense to me. Why can’t the three of us all keep each other company? But Scarlett picks up her phone and starts scrolling through it, making it obvious she doesn’t want to be questioned. So I let it go.

“Meet me after school,” Jeff tells me. “I’ll drive you home. I’ve gotta meet with my guidance counselor now.”

Jeff takes off, and the rest of us finish eating. Scarlett’s quiet for the rest of lunch. I can tell that for whatever reason, she doesn’t like the plan for tonight, so as we’re putting our trays on the conveyor belt, I assure her, “Jeff’s going. Nothing bad will happen to me.”

“It’s Jeff I’m worried about.”

“Ouch.”

She shrugs. “Sorry.” Only I can tell she’s not. “But you’re really all about yourself these days.”

That’s also painful. And I don’t think I totally deserve it, either. I might’ve asked Scarlett to cover for me last weekend, but I’ve always had her back, too. I used to cover for her all the time when she was going out with Matty.

“Jeff’s a big boy,” I retort. “But if you’re so worried about him, then come to the party with us. You’ll be able to keep an eye on him.”

“I already told you, I don’t want to.”

Shrugging again, Scarlett heads toward the cafeteria door. She doesn’t check to see if I’m following her, which tells me she’s done with this conversation. Unfortunately for her, I’m not.

“Scar, come on, wait.” I grab her arm just as she reaches the entrance.

Her expression is cloudy, and she flips her auburn-colored hair over one shoulder like some R & B diva. “What?” she asks tightly.

An unhappy groove digs into my forehead. “Why are you so mad?”

“I’m not mad.”

“You look mad.”

“Well, I’m not.” She flips her hair to the other side. “I just don’t like that you’re dragging Jeff to this party in Lincoln when it’s obvious he doesn’t want to go. I know you’re having a hard time with that asshole killer being back, but don’t take advantage of your friends.”

“I didn’t ask Jeff to take me,” I protest. “I wanted to go with you.”

Scar presses her lips together. “Whatever, Lizzie. I just think you could have handled that differently.”