You Should See Me in a Crown(48)
“For your information, I took it off to prove to Jaxon that I could eat more hot wings than he could in three minutes. I might be a cliché, but I refuse to get buffalo sauce all over my brand new Yeezy hoodie.”
“You really are a caricature of a high school jock from a bad ’80s movie sometimes, you know?”
“Oh yeah? Well, if I’m the stereotypical jock, then that makes you our reluctant protagonist, the hot nerd with a heart of gold.” My face heats, but he either doesn’t notice or doesn’t care. He grins and tilts his head to gesture behind me. “And there goes the love interest with the boom box, ready to stand in your front yard.”
I cut my eyes out to the patio, where Amanda is standing near the swimming pool. Or, I would be looking at Amanda, I guess, if I wasn’t so distracted by who she’s talking to. Some girl I don’t recognize (with ridiculously long, glossy brown hair) is laughing at something Amanda said and placing a hand on her wrist. My stomach starts to hurt a little.
“Who is that?” I ask.
Jordan looks back outside like he forgot who we were talking about already.
“Oh, um. Not sure. A lot of people are here from Park Meade. Word spread fast on Confidential today, so we’ve got a big crowd.” Someone calls to him from outside, and he smiles at me quickly. “You gonna be good, Lighty? I know this isn’t your scene.”
There are so many people in the house and outside, my skin feels like it’s a little too tight for my body. I know how important this party is, how crucial it is to put in the work tonight to get more people on my side, but the thought physically pains me. Suddenly, the same old anxieties that I thought I’d wrestled into submission bubble up. What if I say the wrong thing to one of Jordan’s teammates and make a fool out of myself? What if any misstep I make is caught on Campbell Confidential for everyone to see?
But I have to be good—I have to be on—if I want to make this work. Anything for Pennington.
I nod, and he ruffles the top of my hair before taking off, yelling at Harry Donato to get the hell away from his mom’s hand-painted Grecian vase.
“Liz, come outside!” G waves at me from her spot on the deck.
When I step outside, Amanda’s eyes catch mine, and she offers me a quick, thin smile before turning her attention back to the girl with the perfect hair.
The rational part of my brain tells me that Amanda is doing exactly what we agreed to do—keep it cool and casual in public. But the other part of my brain, the part that isn’t governed by logic and reason, is a little annoyed. I guess I expected her to act happier to see me, and it stings that she doesn’t.
“Lighty!” I turn, and Jaxon Price has his hands cupped around his mouth, shouting for me. “Come over here a second!”
I look around, half-convinced there’s another Lighty in the building, before finding my way over to him. He’s sitting around the firepit with some people who I only know because they’re so hard to ignore—real joiners, the lot of them. The type of people who I would’ve avoided at all costs three weeks ago.
“Lighty the Mighty, you gotta tell these fools about that sick touchdown you made at the powder-puff game!” Jaxon takes a sip from his red plastic cup and points it at me. “I swear to God, if we’d known what those legs could do, I would have tried to recruit her for the team a long time ago.”
Everyone laughs a little, and my shoulders come down from where they’ve been all tensed up. One of the girls from the cheerleading squad moves over to make room for me in one of the oversized wicker chairs. So far, this isn’t so hard.
“I rewatched the whole thing on Campbell Confidential like a million times! It was amazing.” The girl nods. “And when Jordan carried you off the field after that hit? Ohmygosh, so romantic.”
Wait. Romantic?
“Oh, no. Me and Jordan are just—”
“Lighty, seriously, where did that talent come from? You are a BEAST.” Jaxon starts pumping his fist in the air. “Ligh-ty Strong! Ligh-ty Strong!”
The sound of it reverberates around the space outside, and suddenly other people are joining in. I’m shocked that I don’t immediately ask the universe to create a black hole in the middle of this patio and swallow me whole. I’m sort of … liking it? Jaxon’s tone is so genuine, his smile and energy so excitable, I know this isn’t at my expense. We’re all laughing together, and I’m not feeling like the butt of some stupid cosmic joke.
The sound of my name spilling from so many mouths, knowing that the girl I more-than-like might be watching me, fills me with something like confidence. I feel like a different person. I figure Amanda will come over any second now—this is too good for her to miss.
I spot the PomBots playing cornhole in the yard at the same time Rachel sees me. Her glare is enough to cut through glass, but even that doesn’t bother me.
Jordan walks over and perches himself on the arm of the chair I’m sharing. He starts talking about how we used to battle for first and second chair in middle school and how, even then, I was relentless. I never let him get away with anything.
“Admit it, Lighty! You may be quiet, but you’re lethal.” He laughs.
“Silent but deadly!” Jaxon chimes in, and we all laugh because apparently fart jokes never stop being funny, no matter how old you get.
I sit around the fire with them, talking about nothing and everything, and as the night settles in around us, I don’t even realize how much time has passed. For the first time in, well, maybe ever, I’m feeling something better than being cool—I feel like I fit. I’m smiling what I’m sure is a cheesy, self-satisfied smile, and the tightness that usually takes up residence in my chest slowly fades.