“I don’t see why it changes anything,” Carmen was saying. “He’s still just weird.”
“He’s just quiet,” said another voice. I was pretty sure the remark came from Samantha. “Besides, he’s fuckhawt.”
There was a bunch of giggling then.
“You’re crazy,” Carmen said. “You’re just as nutty as Mayra for dating that weirdo. She could have anybody. Now that Justin has completely fucked himself and got expelled, she’ll be totally out of options when she comes to her senses.”
“She’s not about to give him up,” Samantha said. “Did you hear her talking after Spanish? She said if you ever saw him with his shirt off, you’d all be biting and scratching to get a closer look.”
“I just can’t believe she’d give it up to someone so weird. Come on, girls—we are talking about Matthew Rohan here. He can’t even talk half the time!”
“He’s always been cute,” another voice said. I wasn’t sure who it belonged to.
“Beyond cute. He’s dead sexy.” That was Aimee. I didn’t even realize she was with the group. “He was cute even when he was younger. From what Mayra has told me, he is seriously all man under that shy exterior.”
“He can have a piece of me.” It was Samantha’s voice again.
“Everyone’s had a piece of you!” Carmen snapped back.
They moved down the aisle of books and out of earshot. My ears and neck were burning, and I realized I had been squeezing my eyes shut the whole time. Even though I heard what they said, I couldn’t really process enough to make any sense out of all of it. Mostly I wondered what else Mayra might have told other people about me.
The more I thought about it, the more I didn’t like the idea. I knew I would see her later, but I didn’t know if I would be able to confront her on the ride home.
“You all right?” Mayra asked as we pulled into my driveway.
I just shrugged.
“You’re quiet even for you,” she said with a smile.
I knew she was trying to lighten things up, but I was still feeling odd. I just shrugged again, poked at the fish shape on the door, and got out of the car. I knew I felt pissed off; I just wasn’t sure what I was supposed to do about it or why I still wanted to kiss her at the same time.
“Matthew? What is it?” She stopped in front of me, blocking my way down the sidewalk to the front door. “Did someone say something to you today?”
“Not exactly,” I mumbled.
“What, then?”
I glanced up at her, my eyes narrowed, then looked away and walked around her to the front door. I could hear her footsteps behind me as I turned the key in the lock, and we walked inside.
“Matthew!” Mayra finally yelled. She grabbed onto my elbow and stopped me from going any farther. “What the hell happened?”
I pulled my arm out of her grasp and stomped over to the couch. I dropped down hard on my ass and leaned forward with my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. Mayra walked over slowly and sat down beside me while I tried to keep my breathing slow. I couldn’t even figure out what was going on in my head. I was angry. I was angry with Mayra for talking about me to her girlfriends. I was also embarrassed because of what they were saying about me, and I was blaming Mayra for that, too.
She didn’t try to touch me or push me to talk; she just waited for me to be ready. By the time I was, I had already figured out that I wasn’t being fair—Mayra hadn’t been there with those girls. I really had no idea what she might have said or not said.
“What did you tell the girls on your t
eam about me?” I finally asked.
“What did I…? Matthew, I have no idea what you mean.”
I took in a long breath and then let it out slowly.
“I heard some girls talking—Aimee, Carmen, and Samantha—I’m not sure who else. They were talking about me and about…things you said about me.”
“What things?” Mayra said. Her tone was dark.
“About…what I look like…”