Before he could respond, Cal approached carrying two coffees.
“Er—here.” He handed them both to Scott, flashed a quick smile to Lauren and vanished back to the boat out of earshot.
Scott handed her one of the coffees. “If you change your mind about sailing, let me know.”
She felt temptation tug at her and settled her feet more firmly on the ground.
The tension in the atmosphere had lessened and she felt back in control.
“I won’t be changing my mind.”
“You never used to be afraid of your emotions.”
“We both know that my emotions only ever got me into trouble.” Still holding the coffee, she turned and walked back toward the beach.
25
Mack
Brave: having or displaying courage,
resolution or daring
Mack kept her head down as she walked into the cafeteria.
It felt like jumping into a shark tank.
Hello, eat me now.
She picked up her tray of food and walked to an empty table, trying to look as if being on her own was a choice and not a sentence.
She could see Kennedy watching her. Then she murmured something to the girl next to her and stood up.
Mack felt her stomach lurch.
When Kennedy sauntered across to her, she had to fight the impulse to stand up and run.
Instead she thought about Scott.
A friend is someone who cares about you.
“Hi, Kennedy.” She produced a smile that Kennedy didn’t return.
The other girl put her hands on the table and leaned in, her eyes hard. “How does it feel to be hanging out with the losers?”
The losers.
That was her name for the kids who were part of the Coding Club.
The club was run in the IT room, which was at the other end of the school.
The first time Mack had walked into the room she’d almost turned and walked right back out again.
There had been ten boys huddled around a laptop, arguing about something called Java. Mack had always thought it was an island in Indonesia, but it had turned out that Java was also a programming language.
She’d felt as if she’d parachuted into a foreign land without a phrase book and beat a hasty retreat to the door. She fully expected to see a sign saying Girls Keep Out that she’d missed on the way in, but there was nothing and before she could make it into the corridor, Sam had appeared in front of her.
She hadn’t even noticed him among the group until he stepped in front of her.