“It doesn’t matter,” I snap.
“Whoa, calm down,” he snaps back, making me wonder whether we’re going to have our first fight. “Just asking,” he says, looking toward the line of cars pulling into the lot.
“Sorry, it’s just a sensitive subject. No matter how stupid she is sometimes, Jamie is still my best friend. But I didn’t mean to bite your head off.” Luke looks back into my eyes and smiles. I can see we’re okay, but just to make sure, I add, “It’s Mr. Rice.”
“Driver’s Ed.?” Luke asks. I nod.
“I guess I can see that,” Luke says. “He’s young and all. At least it’s not Mr. Ellis.”
“Ew, gross!” I squeal, and we chuckle a little at something that really isn’t that funny, but it lightens the mood just the same.
A car parks in the space on Luke’s side and two girls get out, looking enviously at him and then scowling at me. As they walk toward the school, I remember that one of them is going to get pregnant at the end of next year. I feel like shouting after her, “Use protection!”
Instead, I keep the conversation going.
“I really don’t know what to do. I want to find a way to end their relationship without having Jamie know it was me.”
“What, you mean like telling on her?”
“In a way, yes,” I say.
“What if she gets in trouble?” he asks softly. Luke drains his coffee cup and I admire his profile.
“I don’t want that. But I want it to stop, and Jamie isn’t willing to listen to me. In fact, she’s not even speaking to me because I told her that I was worried.”
“That’s a tough one,” Luke says sincerely.
“I know. But I’ll figure it out. There’s got to be a way,” I say more to myself than to him.
“I’ll help you however I can,” he replies, even though I think he knows I was talking to myself, too.
Luke grabs my hand over the center compartment and squeezes it gently. The lot is nearly full now.
“We should go in,” he says, sounding disappointed.
“Guess so.”
He turns the key and the van is silent. I unbuckle my belt and yank my backpack off the floor in front of my feet. Opening the door, I feel a frigid blast of wind that’s in stark contrast to the warmth of the van. I hop out, slam the door, and shiver my way to the front of the car to meet Luke. He looks unfazed.
“Aren’t you cold?” I ask.
“Not really,” he replies with a shrug. “This is no match for the Charles,” he adds, confusing me.
Luke grabs my hand and we walk quickly toward the building. His fingers are calloused, and I wonder if it’s from playing guitar.
Halfway through the lot, a car is pulling into one of the few vacant spots. It is a blue four-door sedan that someone’s mother might drive. Then I realize that Brad from math is driving it. I wave. He glares at me in return.
What I did to Brad to provoke such disdain, I have no idea. But right now, walking hand in hand with my perfect boyfriend on a sunny, crisp February morning, I don’t care about Brad from math.
I don’t care about anything at all, except Luke.
“Are you sure I can’t switch partners?” Jamie asks Ms. Garcia, none too discreetly. A few of our classmates are staring at me to gauge my reaction.
“Ms. Connor, as I’ve told you now a half-dozen times, the partner you chose at the beginning of the year is the partner you will have until the end. I don’t want to hear another word about it.”
Ms. Garcia turns her back on Jamie and starts writing today’s class agenda on the whiteboard. Jamie rolls her eyes and trudges back to her desk, which she picks up and plunks down with a loud bang so that it’s facing mine.