Chapter 39
THIRTY-NINE
Patrick
I’ve been wandering around the festival with Vicky for almost two hours.
We got distracted by the Bake Club’s pie-eating contest for a good while before we left to grab a slice of free pizza.
I assumed Sara Lin would text me once Rose released her from newspaper booth duty, but she hasn’t.
Which means she’s probably already wandered off with Joe.
Ugh, figures.
At least I have Vicky to keep me company.
We’ve already compared Eagle Gate’s clubs and extracurriculars to the ones she has at Brookside, but she was eager to learn more about the organizations they don’t have—like Culinary Club.
She spends so much time working at Kiki’s, so I don’t get why she’d want to surround herself with even more food, but I oblige anyway.
It’s not like I have anything better to do.
Eventually, the pain meds my doctor gave me at the hospital start wearing off. I start moving slower, and Vicky offers to meet me back at the booth after she finds me some water. It’s a kind gesture, really, so I tell her I’ll meet her over there.
When I enter the booth from the back, I’m shocked to find the back of Sara Lin’s head, where she’s sitting next to—
Subwayboy?
What the heck? Have they been here this entire time? Where’s Joe?
I drag another folding chair between them, which makes them jolt apart. Ah. They were listening to music with his earphones. They’ve folded their jackets over the backs of their chairs, comfortable, as if they’ve been here a while.
Weird. Since when are they friendly? Doesn’t matter, though I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t bet her she’d sit here in silence the entire time.
“Patrick? Are you okay?”
But it’s not Sara who asks. It’s Tammy.
Where did she even come from?
I sink into the chair. “My pain meds wore off. Vicky went to grab water for me.”
Sara checks the time on Oliver’s phone. “It’s okay, Patrick. The festival’s almost over. You can—” Suddenly, her face falls. “Crap! The festival’s almost over!”
I arch one brow. “You just said that.”
She’s on her feet in an instant, scrambling toward the front of the booth. “Why didn’t Rose ever come back? Ugh!”
I give her my best conspiratorial grin. “Twenty minutes until you’ve gotta quit Newspaper Club forever.”
Oliver jolts upright, concern flashing in his eyes as he looks to Sara. “What?”
Sara grabs her head between her palms, clearly in distress about this. “Agh, I lost track of time!”
Tammy clears her throat, startling me all over again. I already forgot she was standing behind me.
“Well, if you need to go, maybe Patrick and I can stay here and tend the booth for you guys?” Tammy suggests.
Relief floods Sara’s face. “That would be amazing—thank you, Tammy.”
As she’s pulling on her cardigan, I narrow my eyes at her. “Just give up, Sara. It’s too late. How are you even going to find them? This field is huge. Vicky and I didn’t even make it to all the booths.”
“It’s not too late,” she snaps, frustrated. “I have twenty minutes.”
An annoyed ache spreads through my chest. I fiddle with the strap of my sling, which is folded over my jean jacket like a seat belt.
I’m conflicted. Sure, I want Sara to win the bet so she can stay in Newspaper Club, but I’m jealous she’s about to get her first kiss from Joe. Ugh! I don’t even want to imagine it.
“Then hurry up and go,” I mumble under my breath.
“Twenty minutes for what?” Oliver asks, coming around to Sara’s side. “Did you two make another stupid bet?”
Sara blushes. “Uh, maybe?”
Oliver pulls on his jacket. “Fine. I’ll help you. Let’s go.”
“Oh—you don’t have to! It’s okay, really,” Sara argues, but Oliver’s already placed two hands on her back, gently guiding her away from the booth.
“Nineteen minutes,” Oliver warns, like he’s Father Time himself. “For whatever it is you have to do. So let’s go.”
Sara throws me a helpless look over her shoulder as they take off, but what does she expect me to do? Tammy already volunteered us to stay.
Speaking of, Tammy slips into the empty seat next to me. Her signature pigtails hang over her cashmere sweater, and she stares at me from behind her round glasses.
I slap a hand to my forehead, suddenly frustrated. “Dang it, if she can’t find him, she’s gonna lose again and it’ll be all my fault,” I moan. “Why did I agree to this?”
Tammy fixes me with a sympathetic look. “What’s the bet about?”
“She has to kiss someone by the end of the festival, so now she’s going to find my arch nemesis Joseph L. Yang.” I hinge over the table, clutching my head with my good arm, then add, “The L stands for loser.”
“Oh,” Tammy says, voice quiet.
“She’s probably going to get rejected by him,” I go on.
“And I still can’t decide if it’s a good thing or a bad thing.
Probably bad, right? Ugh, yeah. I know. I’m so stupid.
Why would I bet her to kiss someone else if I like her?
I mean, if she wanted to get her first kiss over with so badly, I should have just bet her to kiss me. ”
Tammy gasps and throws her hand over her mouth. “Patrick!”
“I mean—I don’t know what I’m saying. I can’t think when I’m in pain,” I say, face flaming.
Argh, why did I just say all that to Tammy? What if she tells Sara?
After a long pause, Tammy says, “Patrick, if you like her so much, shouldn’t you go and stop her?”
Do I like her? Those words slid from my mouth so easily, which has to mean something. Right? Joe’s a great guy, but when I picture Sara with a boyfriend it’s . . .
Me.
But do I want to ruin what we have? What does it mean for our friendship?
“I give up.” I groan into my arm. “It’s too late.”
“It’s not too late.”
But that wasn’t Tammy’s voice. I lift my head to find Rose coming toward us.
“Where the heck have you been?” I blurt.
Rose rolls her eyes, her tall suede boots emphasizing each step she takes until she stops at the table.
“Joe and I were interviewing students, remember? He’s such a great interviewer, by the way.
” She practically swoons when she says this.
“And he said I have amazing skills, too, which I already knew, but it’s nice to hear. ”
I adjust my hat with my good arm as my broken arm flares with pain. I wince, then say, “So, what, are you two dating now or something?”
Rose flushes. “If you must know, I admitted that I’m into him and asked when he was going to ask me out. Obviously, we’d make a cute couple.”
“Oh, Rose, that’s so exciting!” Tammy squeaks. “So you’re a couple now?”
Her blush deepens. “Not exactly.” She clears her throat. “He got all blustery and awkward and started apologizing, so then I jumped to the next best conclusion. I mean, he’s so nice and good-looking. Gentle, respectful, with amazing hair and great fashion sense—”
I release an aggravated sigh, because I don’t want to hear about how great Joe is right now. “Get to the point.”
Rose narrows her eyes at me. “So I said, ‘You’re gay, aren’t you?’”
“Joe’s gay?” Tammy and I gasp in unison.
Wow, talk about a plot twist.
“That’s the thing—he’s not!” she confirms. “This is what I’ve been trying to tell you this whole time, geez. If you really don’t want to lose Sara Lin, you need to stop her right now.”
I raise my brows. “What are you talking about?”
“Joe told me he already likes someone else. Another girl, he said,” Rose continues, a wash of insecurity creasing across her forehead.
“And I was like, Well, you need to be more careful and direct with your feelings, Joe! If you keep treating all these girls the same, how are they supposed to know if you like them or not?” She crosses her arms. “And he told me I was right! That he should be more direct. And then he decided he would confess to her—tonight.”
Unease shifts in my stomach. “Well, who’s he confessing to?”
“Isn’t it obvious? Patrick, Joe’s going to confess his feelings for Sara.
” Irritation flicks behind her eyes. “And you know what? It’s probably good Sara’s left the booth.
Joe thinks she’s still here, so it’ll be the first place he looks.
Which means one of us needs to go find her and stall her before he turns up.
And it would be perfect if you use that time to tell her how you feel, Patrick.
That way you can keep her mind off Joe.”
I launch to my feet, slamming a palm on the table to stabilize myself. “Stop saying all this like I’m working with you! I’m not going along with your evil master plan to split them up. I already told you, I’m not doing any of this for you.”
Rose’s lips puff into a pout, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinizes me. “Whatever, Patrick. The thing is, whichever way you look at it, it doesn’t matter. We both want the same thing in the end.”
Tammy rises to her feet, then gives me an encouraging nod.
I take a deep breath. Okay. It’s official.
Joe has a crush on Sara. So if I’m going to explore something deeper than friendship with her, I need to tell her that my feelings have changed.
And I have to do it tonight. No regrets, no mistakes.
I glance around, wondering if Vicky’s going to show up with my water.
I really don’t want to ditch her, but I’m running out of time.
It’s fine, I decide. She’ll text me to figure out where I’ve gone, and then I can tell her everything.
Because she was right all along, wasn’t she?
I needed to figure out my feelings toward Sara before she fully moved on.
“Hurry,” Rose snaps. “You guys go that way, and I’ll go this way.”
I grasp Tammy’s hand with my good hand. “Fine,” I say, already moving away from Rose. “Text me as soon as you find her.”
And as we tear down the rows of booths, I find myself hoping I’m not too late.