Since Starlee left. Yeah. I know. But I needed something to fill the gap.
I’m tossing my bag over my shoulder when Brandon Waters runs into me. “What the hell, man?”
“Sorry. Jeremy heard there’s a new g
irl in the office.” He’s already halfway across the room.
George zips up his backpack and shrugs. “Fresh meat is so rare around here, everyone gets excited.”
“Or loses their damned minds.”
Which normally my brother and I would be curious too, but there’s only one girl occupying our thoughts and she’s across the country.
“See you at lunch,” George says once we reach the door. Our classes are in opposite directions.
“Later.”
In the bustle of the hall I try to think of how I can make it up to Sierra. How I can get her to understand while also doing what she needs me to do. If I can come up with a solid plan by this afternoon, maybe she’ll let me go to the tournament this weekend.
I see Dexter’s curly, dark hair down the hall. Shit. I need to apologize to him, too.
Things are easier on the internet and computer. Less face-to-face. Less interaction. I like it there. It makes sense, or it did, until I met Starlee. Then things changed for me, but as soon as things got good she was gone again, and I don’t know if I can handle more face-to-face realities.
These are the things on my mind as I settle into the desk of my next class, ignoring the talk of hot new girls and the football game coming up. To protect myself and my heart, I’ll avoid both.
It’s just safer that way.
9
Starlee
When my mother was a teenager, she went to Lee Vines High School. There were fifty-eight kids in the school. Twelve in her graduating class. No wonder she ran away.
In the last twenty years, that’s changed. The small-town schools were combined into a larger campus in June Lake. It’s less than four hundred students and it’s smaller than my middle school, but the hum of the students as they walk by the administrators’ office still rattles me a little. It’s been so long since I’ve been back in a regular school, around this many kids my age, that I feel the overwhelming panic settle in my chest.
“You okay?” Leelee asks from the seat next to mine.
“Yeah, just nervous, I guess.”
She grips my hand. “You’ll be fine.”
I can’t help but look out the wide glass windows as the students change classes, hoping for a glimpse of one of my boys. All I see is the blur of faces and hair along with slamming lockers, loud voices, and shuffling feet.
“Ms. Jones?” the registrar calls. We both stand and walk over to the counter. The white-haired woman with thick glasses holds up a stack of papers. “The good news is that when you enrolled in our online classes this summer, it got you in the system. We have all your records and that makes it easier to place you in classes. It looks like you’re mostly on the AP track, although you’re missing a few electives since you were home-schooled. Those can probably be rectified with a little documentation, but for now I’m adding you to PE and Art.”
She hands over the schedule. My name is across the top. It’s real. I’m a student.
Holy shit. I’m a student. I will my knees not to buckle.
“Ms. Nye, will you be providing transportation or does she need a bus pass?”
“Yes, either I’ll drive my granddaughter or she’ll ride with friends. She already has a few at the school.”
The woman smiles at me. “That’s nice.”
She leans over and presses a button. “Ms. Ross—can Margaret Wilson come to the front office?” She looks back at me. “Margaret is one of our Student Ambassadors. She’ll help you find your classes.”
“Can’t we call one of my friends?” I ask. I’m not sure I’m ready and a familiar face would help. One of four familiar faces.