Chapter 12
Ezra
“Oh, come on,” Rue says as we walk to class the next day, hand in hand.
“It’s not that bad.” But it is that bad.
Every head we pass turns to follow us as we make our way through the halls.
The corridor feels narrower than usual as we walk through it together, like the whole school suddenly decided to funnel into this one hallway just to watch us pass.
I don’t know how she and her friends do this all the time.
“Everyone keeps staring,” I say in her ear. The sweet way she smells when I get close to her face gives me pleasant goosebumps I try to ignore.
She sighs. “You’ve never been stared at before? I find that hard to believe.”
“Why? Because I’m so handsome?”
Rue rolls her eyes.
I laugh. “Of course I’ve been stared at, Rue. I’m used to some attention, being a basketball player and all. But I can’t say I’ve ever had the same level of all these curious, and, like, awed stares as you and the rest of the theater crew probably get.”
“Until now,” she says.
“Right. Until now.”
She laughs lightly. “Well, it beats getting teased for being too quiet, at least.”
“Rue…” I slow us down and meet her gaze. How do I even begin to tell her how sorry I am? Yeah, she can smile now, but even her jokingly mentioning that day fills me with regret.
She pulls us forward toward the wooden staircase. “Come on. I can’t be late for class again, and if you’re going to linger, I’m leaving without you.”
She says that, but the tiny smile on her lips tells me she’s not going anywhere.
I walk her to class before heading to my own. But not before I hear Dot talking to Rue near the door as she’s coming in.
“You and Ezra seem cuddly,” she says.
Rue hesitates. “Yeah. We...uh, we are.”
I peek over my shoulder to see Dot nodding through the doorway. “To be honest, I’m happy you moved on from Carlton. He never deserved your attention.”
I arch an eyebrow, remembering everything Little Birdie said about Dot and Carlton at the beginning of the school year.
Apparently, Carlton was pretty furious with Dot, and all because she got cast as the romantic lead to his biggest rival, Zayne.
Then again, maybe Carlton was onto something, considering Dot and Zayne are now in a relationship.
Rue’s voice snaps me back to attention. “If anyone gets to say Carlton never deserved me, it’s you. But are you sure you’re not just biased?”
“Oh, I’m sure. You and Ezra are goals,” Dot says.
I laugh. And then hurry away from the door before either of them realizes I’ve been eavesdropping.
True to its name, Fallbrook is a Christian prep school, and my next class—Bible class—is one of the hardest, but still really fun.
Today, Mr. Sterling passes out a worksheet and says, “In light of a certain gossiper returning to Fallbrook—yes, I’ve heard you all talking—I thought it would be appropriate to remember why gossip is a dangerous thing to indulge in. ”
The top of my worksheet reads:
A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.
—Proverbs 16:28
The rest of the worksheet has a number of similar verses about gossip, and my task is to fill in where each verse is found.
Then we take a pop quiz on the differences between the Mosaic covenant and the new covenant, and I’m pretty sure I pass. Surprising, because I can’t stop thinking about how it feels to hold hands with Rue.
Her hands are so much softer than mine, not calloused from playing basketball or lifting weights.
I can’t help but smile at the memory of the way she used to playfully tease me for getting so locked into whatever video game I was into at the time.
She always pointed out that I barely wanted to take my hand off the controller to do something as small as take a drink of water.
I can’t help but compare the endearing nature of Rue’s teasing back then to the present jabs I’ve gotten from my new friends anytime gaming comes up.
Jabs that are clearly trying to demean me, because—even though they’ll dabble in the occasional shooter game—I “only play nerdy stuff” and take gaming too far in general.
Lunch arrives quickly, thanks to all my daydreaming.
I find Rue at her usual table. It’s weird that I’m starting to get used to sitting with her and her friends.
It’s only been a few days, but somehow it already feels like a routine.
I hope it’s not even weirder when we eventually stage our breakup, and I stop sitting there.
I throw my arm around her shoulder when she sits down. “I got you an extra cookie. I know oatmeal raisin is your favorite,” I say, placing it on her lunch tray.
Mabel rests her face on her hands. “Awww.”
No one notices the way Rue goes quiet after that. Or if they do, they don’t say anything. Rue has trouble meeting my gaze, but she blushes and leans in to kiss my cheek.
Or, at least, she tries to.
But I turn my head at the same time, and her lips meet the corner of my mouth instead. Not a full-on kiss, but close. And now my stomach is dancing, but I try to play it cool.
“Ahem.” A throat clears next to us.
I blink away my stupor to find Olivia standing at the edge of our table, flanked by two of her cheerleading friends.
“Oh, no,” I mutter.
Olivia must have been ten years old the last time she talked to Rue.
I doubt Rue even recognizes her. Olivia was tall as a kid, with wild curls, but it’s like she started growing early, only to completely stop one day.
Now Olivia is short, even for a freshman, and her hair hangs down her back in perfect waves, because she spends hours straightening and curling it every few days.
But to my surprise, Rue lifts her hand in a little wave. “Hey, Olivia.”
My sister beams. “You remember me?”
“Of course, but it’s been a while. You’re all grown up now.”
I clear my throat. “She would say you’ve gotten taller, but that would be a lie.”
Olivia scoffs at me. “Be quiet. I’m talking to Rue. Rue, will you come to our house for dinner on Sunday night, please? My mom is making lasagna.”
I blink, stunned. This wasn’t part of the plan. I was supposed to ask Rue over, not Olivia. What, does she think I’m going to chicken out or something?
Rue also looks at a loss for words. All her friends are watching her stutter as she clearly tries to think of an excuse why she can’t. But she doesn’t have one. And I don’t either, otherwise I would come to her rescue, because she clearly doesn’t want to.
“I would love to,” Rue finally says.
Olivia smiles like a kitten who just caught her first mouse. “Perfect. See you then.” She turns on her heel with her friends and leaves me staring after her in disbelief.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper in Rue’s ear. “She shouldn’t have asked you in front of everyone. She did it to pressure you instead of just letting me ask you privately like I told her I would. I promise I’ll talk to her about it later.”
Rue opens her mouth to respond when Meredith lets out a loud and dramatic sigh. “What are you two whispering about?”
“Sorry,” Rue says automatically, even though she didn’t do anything wrong. She blushes, scrambling for an answer, so I interject.
“If you want, I can be really loud and vocal about how beautiful and perfect I think Rue is. But I figured that might get annoying.”
Meredith’s face heats as she shrugs. But she doesn’t fire a retort for once. Mabel giggles, and Carlton stares at his lunch like it holds the answers to life. I briefly wonder what Dot would think of that, but she’s eating with Zayne and his brother at a different table today.
Rue squeezes my hand. It’s probably just for show. Still, my hand tightens around hers before I can stop myself.
“Are you ready for our first rehearsal tonight?” she asks.
The nerves in my stomach expand. “That’s today?”
“Yeah. After school, silly.”
“Right. I totally forgot.” At least I won’t be missing basketball practice. This is the one day this week we have off.
Meredith cracks her fingers. “I still can’t believe you didn’t audition, Rue.”
“Yeah,” says Mabel. “This is the first time ever, and it’s not going to be the same without you.”
“Thanks,” she says. “But I can’t sing. You guys know I only do plays, not musicals. And I’m finally coming to terms with my situation. I’m actually kind of excited to learn something new.”
Carlton chuckles. “Like how to highlight my good side while I’m onstage?”
“No, I’m doing sound, not lights, remember?”
And I can’t help but add, “You have a good side, Carlton?”
It earns me a glare from the dude. One that pleases me more than it should.