Chapter 12
Twelve
Vote for Callie Carter! Link in bio.
Instagram caption by @SuzyJeongBoss.
I hang up the last poster on the cafeteria wall and step back to admire our handiwork.
Suzy and I used the better part of our lunch hour to hang up posters (designed by Dana) all over school, and they look phenomenal.
The poster shows a picture of me, my brown hair perfectly wavy, my makeup flawless and my smile bright.
I’m wearing one of my favorite shirts—a forest green tank that matches our school colors.
In green font the poster asks people to “Vote for Callie Carter for Homecoming Queen” and there’s a QR code to take them right to the website.
“They look amazing!” I grin. “Dana did such a good job.”
Suzy grabs my arm and pulls me toward the lunch line. “Now I’m hangry. Let’s go.”
We grab food—salad and turkey sandwiches. The bread is gluten-filled, thankfully.
The cafeteria is crowded and loud, as usual. Cassidy and Brian are reporting the school news from screens on the walls, but their voices are drowned out by the students’ chatter.
Tom Sheppard climbs on top of a table and waves to Suzy and I. “Callie, I’ll vote for you if your dad can get me a part in the next Marvel movie!”
I barely hold back my eye roll, instead forcing a smile to my face. “You got it, Tom!”
He hoots a laugh and only takes a seat when a lunch lady waves her ladle at him threateningly.
I swivel my head, scanning the room for our table and for something else. Zeke.
Step one in my plan—invite him to sit with us. Okay, Cal. Deep breaths. It’s not that big of a deal.
Brielle, Noah, Katrina, Troy, and a few other members of the football team crowd around a table to the left.
Brielle catches my eye and winks. Noah doesn’t even look at me, and that hurts more than I want to admit.
I force myself to turn away from the back of his gorgeous head so that no one catches me staring.
“You okay?” Suzy asks. She’s way too good at picking up on my moods.
“I’m fine.” Finally, I see our friends. Dana stands and waves at me, the red stripe in her hair shiny in the cafeteria light. Kayla is engrossed in a conversation with Nicole and Chelsea. The table is once again crowded—mostly drama club members—but there are a few open seats left.
Suzy and I sit down, and Dana whips out her phone to show us the next hair tutorial she’s going to try, a double braid thing that turns into a swirling arrangement.
I pick at my salad and glance around the lunchroom again, but I don’t see Zeke. A part of me is slightly relieved. But another part—a tiny part—is worried and disappointed. Where is he? Is he sick?
But then he walks into the room. He’s wearing a shirt with a space ship on it—Star Trek, I think?—and he heads to the lunch line. I eye him sideways the whole time, only half joining in the conversation with Suzy and Dana. I nod and mumble something but keep my eyes on Zeke.
He’s through the line. He’s standing there, looking for a table. Why is this so hard? I need to invite him to sit with us. It’s part of our contract. Step one: show everyone that the lines dividing “nerds” and ”popular kids” are thinner than they think.
I stand. “I’ll be right back.”
I hurry over to Zeke, and I glance over my shoulder once. Suzy’s watching me with confusion on her face.
“Hi,” I say when I reach Zeke, a little breathless for some reason.
Zeke’s face lights up in a smile, and my heart skips a beat. Umm. What was that?
I smile back and feel some of my nerves ebb away. “Do you want to sit with us?” I ask.
“I’d like that,” Zeke says, ducking his head shyly. “Thank you.”
I motion for him to follow, and then I walk back to our table.
The lunchroom has fallen still, and everyone’s eyes are on me.
I walk, feeling my skin prickling. I can’t help but glance to the side and see Noah, Brielle, Troy, and the others we used to sit with.
People I called my friends—not Brielle or Katrina, but the rest of the table—until this stupid breakup divided us.
Noah stares, his eyes enormous, and Brielle covers her mouth like she’s trying to hold in a laugh. Clearly she thinks that me associating with someone whose shirt says, “Space—the Final Frontier” will work in her favor.
I watch the tables where the nerds usually gather, gauging their reaction. Most of them aren’t even watching, but one girl with heavy eyeliner and black pig tails nods when she sees me. I give her a bright smile and a wave. She frowns, confused, and looks away.
I reach the table, my stomach swirling with nerves. What will my friends think about this? There’s a fear, deep inside of me, that if I do something outside the norm, I’ll be deserted. I won’t have friends. People won’t like me. They won’t—
“Hi!” Zeke says. “Can I sit with you guys?”
Everyone stares at him. Suzy’s black eyes look him up and down. Dana blinks, perplexed for a moment, before flashing him a winning smile. Kayla makes a disgusted face. A few of the other girls giggle behind their hands.
I clear my throat. “Guys, this is Zeke. I invited him to eat with us today.”
“Hi, Zeke.” Suzy looks from him to me with a confused expression.
“He’s cool,” I say. “He’s in my . . . organic chemistry class.” Not strictly true, but none of them are in o-chem, and I can’t tell anyone besides Suzy that I’m being tutored. I just can’t.
I sit and motion for Zeke to do the same, and he sits in the last open chair at our circular table, next to me. Zeke’s smile wavers.
“He’s my friend, and I wanted him to meet you all.” I don’t know where my burst of courage comes from. Maybe it’s seeing Zeke nervous. I have this weird desire to protect him, to show him that maybe, maybe it’s worth it to make a real friend before he leaves at the end of the semester.
“Zeke, this is Suzy,” I say, pointing. Suzy nods.
“This is Dana,” I point to Dana, and she waves. Zeke waves back. “And Kayla.” Kayla crosses her arms and glares. You know, I don’t actually like her that much.
“That’s Chelsea, Nicole, and Arjun,” I say, pointing at each in turn. Arjun must’ve joined our table while I was gone. He grunts and flips a swoosh of dark hair out of his eyes.
“Nice to meet you all,” Zeke says, picking up his slice of pizza. “And thanks for letting me sit with you guys. I was getting pretty lonely eating by myself every day.”
My heart goes out to him at the same time I’m a little embarrassed for him for admitting that.
“Dude, is that a Star Trek shirt?” Nicole asks. I don’t know very much about her other than we had English together last year and somehow she keeps her white converse shoes pristine.
“Yes?”
“Oh man, I’m such a Trekkie! Who’s your favorite character?”
Nicole and Zeke immediately launch into a discussion, and I smile behind a bite of sandwich. Kayla stares at Nicole like she’s never seen her before.
Suzy gives me a questioning glance.
“He’s cool, right?” I whisper to her.
She nods slowly. “Yeah.” She glances from me to Zeke. “He’s cool.”
I let out a breath of relief. The hardest part is over. I quickly take in the reactions of people around the lunchroom, paying close attention to the groups of people who’ve been labeled, for better or worse, nerds. Some of them are still watching, including the girl with the black pigtails. Good.
Noah frowns at me like he’s trying to figure out what’s going on, and I smile innocently back.