Chapter 5 #2
There was no one better to stir up excitement than co-captains of the Brentwood High cheer squad. By the end of the day Tuesday, the whole school buzzed with the impending arrival of Madison Oliphant’s new beau.
Wednesday, almost everyone camped out by the double doors, eagerly awaiting the golden-haired hunk to walk through.
Thursday, excitement had morphed into confusion, because the beautiful boy still had yet to grace Brentwood High with his presence.
Friday, they were half convinced I’d made him up.
Friday, I was half convinced I’d made him up.
Because all the texts I’d sent from Tuesday morning on? Unanswered. Our nightly phone sessions? Logan never picked up. In fact, my calls always went straight to voicemail, like his phone was dead.
Or I was blocked.
“I hope I didn’t jinx it,” Jade said Friday at my locker. She tapped her fingers against her lower lip worriedly. “I was totally joking when I said what if he ghosted you.”
“He didn’t ghost me,” I responded automatically, pulling up our text thread as if I’d see a different last message than my ??? But no. Nothing. “I just hope he’s okay.”
“Have you visited him at work?” Riley asked as she swung her fabric lunch pail back and forth. She narrowly missed the students walking behind her. “You could confront him there.”
Unease stirred in me, and something akin to panic. “With cheer practice and homework, I haven’t had the chance.”
“If I hadn’t seen you run into him in the hallway, I’d be convinced you were lying.”
I let out a short breath. “Helpful, Riley.”
“What? I’m just saying—”
“You haven’t seen any news articles or anything, have you?” The panic tightened its grip. “Like, no teens have died in a fiery crash or anything, right?”
“Look it up on your way to lunch,” Jade said, coming from behind me and pushing on my back. “I’m starving.”
Starving? I felt nauseous as I waited for the search page to load. “I don’t even think I can eat.”
“Don’t worry,” Riley assured, going as far as to pat my shoulder. “Everyone will forget about your fake boyfriend by Monday. Probably.”
But that wasn’t even my biggest concern. I mean, sure, Jade and I had gone around hyping up Logan like he’d be the next Adonis of the school, but I was more worried about him. After a week straight of talking, Logan just went completely silent. What reason was there other than the unthinkable?
“Stop double texting him,” Jade scolded in my ear as the little angel on my shoulder. “Or quadruple texting him. You look desperate.”
“But he—”
“Ugh, I didn’t raise you to be so pathetic.” With that, Jade reached out and snatched my phone out of my grip. “People are talking, Madison. Don’t give them ammo.”
I didn’t fight her on it further, knowing she’d never give it back if I pushed. I shuffled through the hall, trying to avoid the sidelong stares of my classmates. I couldn’t make out what they were whispering exactly, but they were whispering.
Okay, maybe I did care a little that people thought I’d made Logan up.
There was one thing that could cheer me up, though, and that was the Top Tier lunch table.
Lore had it that there’d been one popularity table in the cafeteria since the dawn of Brentwood High, that Kings and Queens of the school of the century past had sat on these very seats.
When you put it that way, it sounded kind of gross, but it was a true honor.
And even though my energy levels were low, I still was in awe every time we walked up to the table in the middle of the room, unable to believe that we were the ones who got to sit in the center.
“You’re late, ladies,” Ashton crooned as we approached, gesturing at us with his chocolate milk carton. “Talking about me again?”
“You wish,” Riley replied, and before I had a chance to slide in beside Jade, Riley sat down in my seat.
I stood above them for a moment, debating to push the issue. Jade seemed unbothered, though, so I ultimately sank into the empty seat across from them.
I glared at Riley all the while. She ignored me.
“Oh, Jade,” Riley began. “Tell everyone what happened in Mr. Robinson’s class today.”
Jade immediately rolled her eyes, but in a way that was obvious that whatever it was, she didn’t want to rehash it.
“Jade had to face Maisie Matthews in debate today,” Riley said, glancing around the lunch table. She didn’t really have a rapt audience; unlike the cheer squad, the guys typically zoned us out.
I, however, couldn’t look away. “M-Maisie Matthews?”
“And guess what their topic was.”
Jade’s brown eyes locked onto mine. “Which is better: being good at academics or being good at sports. Guess which side Mr. Robinson gave me to defend?”
Judging by Jade’s dead stare, I knew the answer already. Still, I hopefully guessed, “Sports?”
“Academics. And he paired me with Brentwood’s freakshow.”
“Keep your voice down,” Connor said as he brought his tray to the table.
Landon came up to the empty chair at my side, and just like that, the Top Tier table was full.
Thankfully, Ashton and Kyle sat on the farther end, wedged between Reed Manning and Jacob Teller.
Connor sat down beside Jade heavily. “Unless you want people thinking you sound like a bully.”
I could see Jade physically fighting the urge to glare. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
“Sorry, I thought that was one of our rules.”
Her glare broke through.
“At least Madison wasn’t up against Maisie,” Riley said supportively. “It would’ve been more awkward for Madison to have been paired with Maisie, right?”
The jab wasn’t subtle in the slightest, but then again, Riley hadn’t meant for it to be. I pressed my lips together as I unpacked my lunch, fighting the urge to air out her dirty laundry. At least I’m not considering cheating on my boyfriend. Again.
The chatter continued on around the lunch table, but I couldn’t get swept up in it. I bit down on my lip to keep from asking Jade for my phone.
Things had been off when Logan and I had parted ways on Monday, but not block me and never speak again off. Right? No way had I misjudged the atmosphere that badly.
“Hey, since we’re all here,” Jade began in a hushed tone, leaning far over the table to make eye contact with each member. “We need to talk about the Most Likely Tos.”
“Again?” Kyle groaned.
“We need to vote,” Jade said, shooting him a look. “Right after school, then? Since we don’t have practice? Let’s meet at Expresso’s.”
Riley nodded eagerly. “I’ll need my caffeine fix before the first game of the season.”
Even though Expresso’s was in Jefferson, I knew it wasn’t odd for Jade to suggest it.
Her thought process was as obvious to me as my own.
Since it was in Jefferson, there wouldn’t be any Brentwood High students milling about over there—which meant our labels were pretty safe from getting leaked.
We could hold our own against any Bulldogs if they showed up, especially if we had Ashton with us.
Plus, too, from her lingering stare, I knew. Jade offered it up for me.
“Four o’clock,” I echoed, a relieved smile touching my lips. “I’ll be there.”