P.S. I Like You(18)

“Are you taking notes?” he asked me. “This is what success looks like.” His eyes swept over the jewelry on my table, pausing on the tray with all the feathered necklaces. He raised his eyebrows. “You’ll probably need more than notes.”

I pretended to write on a pad of paper. “First step, dress like a forty-year-old man. Second step, treat people badly. Third, act like the world revolves around me. Did I miss any?”

Cade smirked. “Actually, you missed quite a few. Don’t pretend like you know everything, don’t write and walk at the same time, and think about other people every once in a while.”

“What? Me think about other people? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“No hidden meaning there.”

I narrowed my eyes, about to say something I probably shouldn’t have, when my mom placed a hand on my shoulder. “Do you go to school with that boy?” she asked me. “How fun.” Then, much to my horror, she called out, “Hi. Nice to meet you.”

Cade brought out a smile that might’ve looked sincere to my mom, but actually was completely mocking her.

“Hi, booth neighbor,” he said, and my mom laughed like that was some super witty line.

“What a cutie,” my mom said under her breath. “Do you know my daughter?” This she said at a volume he could hear. I cringed.

Cade met my eyes, and a playful sparkle lit his up. “I do. We go to school together.”

“That’s great. If it’s slow today, you two won’t be so bored now.”

“Lily definitely keeps things interesting,” Cade said.

“We feel the same way,” my mom said as if he hadn’t just insulted me.

Today was going to be awful.



The day wasn’t going as badly as I originally anticipated. Cade minded his own business and I did mine. And now, he wasn’t even in his booth. He’d left about an hour ago and hadn’t returned. Maybe Isabel was right. Maybe I did start things more often than I realized.

A woman with a coin purse and several stripes of colored hair stood at our booth, checking the circle price tags on each item and then counting her change. Every time she’d come up short then move onto the next item. There had to be a song in this situation somewhere. If a penny can bring luck and a dime can grant a wish, how come my eleven cents hasn’t bought me what I need. I chuckled at the lame lyrics.

“What’s so funny?” my mom asked.

“Oh, nothing.”

“You ready for a lunch break?”

“Sure.”

She handed me a ten. “I want one of those big veggie burritos.”

“Okay, I’ll be back.”

I weaved my way through the crowd as I headed toward the food trucks at the end of the street. I had been standing in line for a few minutes when I saw Cade sitting off to the right at a long plastic table with one of his friends, Mike, from school. They were a stone’s throw away and even though I wasn’t trying to listen, I could hear their voices perfectly.

“Do you think Coach expects us to be at every club practice plus the games?” Mike was saying.

“Yeah,” Cade answered. “At least you don’t have mornings here and afternoons there.”

“True. How many more of these do you have to work?” Mike asked.

“As many as the company decides to do,” Cade answered.

“It’s not too bad. This is a good place to meet new girls. Unlike club baseball.”

“Really? Have you noticed the average age of the buyers here? Not really my age bracket.”

“I noticed that one chick from school in the booth next to yours … you know … what’s her name … Lily. That could be interesting. She’s weird, but cute.”

I tensed up.

“Lily Abbott?” Cade said. “You think Lily Abbott is cute?”

“You don’t?”

“No.”

“Then maybe I’ll go talk to her.”

“Believe me. Avoid her at all costs. She’s not worth your time at all. She’s a—”

Before I could hear how Cade ended that delightful sentence, the person standing in line behind me snapped: “Are you going to order or are you just looking?”

“Oh, I’m ordering.” Flustered, I stepped up to the window, glancing once at Cade to see if he’d seen me. He raised one eyebrow at me, then took a drink of his soda. I hurriedly placed my order and waited on the opposite side, far away from Cade.

My thoughts were swirling. That Mike guy thought I was weird, but cute? I wouldn’t have expected that. I didn’t think boys thought of me at all. But I wasn’t really surprised by Cade’s response.

I could see why Cade hated me. I really could. In his mind, I had broken up him and Isabel. And I might’ve been able to deal with his hatred if that was the only reason for it. But his attitude toward me wasn’t new. It wasn’t post-Isabel. It had started when he and Isabel started. His jerkiness all along was what made me want him out of Isabel’s life. His attitude was the precursor to mine. He’d created my loathing with his. And I couldn’t for the life of me understand why.





Chemistry used to be the class I had to get through. Now it was the class I couldn’t wait to get to. Monday morning seemed to drag on forever. Math was nothing short of torture. Composition, my favorite class ever, was slow, and in English, Ms. Logan decided we should read Romeo and Juliet out loud, the entire period, with English accents. A few drama students were the only ones who made it halfway entertaining. Everyone else butchered it. Two more classes until I would get to read today’s new note.