Burn for Burn
Page 55
Reeve looks surprised, maybe even pleased. He takes the cup, taps it against hers, and then he downs it in one swallow. Smacking his lips, he says, “Good luck to you, too, Cho.”
I turn, hoping that Mary saw that. She winks at me.
Lillia doesn’t answer him. She just takes another sip of her drink, looking nervous.
Now that that’s done, I head out of the gym and toward the girls bathroom to pee. I’ve already had, like, three cups of punch.
I walk in, and there’s Rennie, standing in front of the mirror wearing this ridiculous silver sequined dress that barely covers her butt. She gazes at herself in the mirror, pursing her lips and making her eyes wide. I know that mirror face so well. I’ve seen her do it a thousand times. For, like, two seconds nostalgia washes over me, and we’re back in my room, mixing up lip glosses for the perfect red and trying to figure out how to pluck our eyebrows.
Her eyes flicker over at me in the mirror, and the moment is over. “Oh, wow,” she says. “I can’t believe you came. Alone.”
“Well, it is our senior year,” I say. That’s it, nothing more.
She gives me a weird look before walking out. I guess because she was expecting another fight? One of my bitchy comebacks, perhaps? Don’t worry, Rennie. It’s coming. The bitch slap to end all bitch slaps.
* * *
I’m pouring myself more punch, because damn, it’s seriously good, when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around, thinking it’s Mary. But it’s not. It’s Alex, dressed up in a black suit. I have to admit, he looks hot.
“Hey,” I say.
Alex makes a mock surprised face. “You remember me? Alex Lind? The guy you haven’t spoken to since school started.”
I can’t hold back a smile. “I’ve been busy.”
He lets out a laugh. “I’m kinda surprised you’re here tonight.”
Mockingly I say, “How could I miss homecoming? It’s the biggest night of our lives.” I say it mockingly, but I’m actually feeling real feelings. Because I’ve missed Alex. More than I want to admit. And it feels really good to be talking to him again, like old times.
Alex smiles. “You look nice, Kat.”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, smiling at him to soften it up. I’m wearing a tight black dress made out of stretchy material, and short black boots, plus a ton of eye makeup. When my dad saw me leaving the house, he was all, “Katherine, are you going to a biker bar?” As if there are any real biker bars on Jar Island.
“What about me?” Alex asks. He says it jokingly, but I can tell he actually cares what I think. “How do I look?”
“You look okay,” I tell him. When the smile on his face falters, I say, “You look good.”
His face gets serious. “Kat, I just want you to know, no hard feelings.”
Huh?
He rubs the back of his neck. “I had a lot of fun with you this summer—and that night on the boat. But I get it. You weren’t into it. Probably wasn’t meant to be anyway, right?”
“Right.” I’m dazed. The only reason I didn’t keep after Alex was because I thought he liked Nadia. My pride—I just couldn’t take it. Now that I know it wasn’t the case, that he and Nadia were never a thing, maybe something could happen with us.
Alex heads back over to his table, where Lillia and the rest of his friends are. I feel a pang in my stomach. I tell myself it’s because I’m hungry.
Mary comes over. She doesn’t look me in the eye; she just stares at the food.
“Have a Dorito, Mary,” I say in a low voice. “Or a cupcake.”
Her head snaps up. “I’m too nervous to eat.” I see her looking around the room for Reeve. “Shouldn’t he be feeling it soon?”
I examine her, her thin wrists, the way her clavicle sticks out under her dress. It makes sense now, the fact that she never eats. This too must be Reeve’s fault. Eff him and his football scholarship. “Don’t worry,” I say, covering my mouth up with a chip so no one sees us talking. “It should be any minute now. All we have to do is sit back and watch.”
Mary nods and tries to smile. “I’m going to miss our secret midnight meetings.”
“Are you kidding? I keep falling asleep during first period. I can’t have that bringing down my GPA any more than it already has.” Not if I want to go to Oberlin next fall.
“I just hope we can figure out a way to still be friends.” Mary blinks rapidly. “You guys are all I have here.”
I hesitate. I don’t know how to answer her, because I don’t know myself. Yeah, Lillia and I are cool right now, but I’m not about to suddenly start wearing that friendship necklace tomorrow morning. But Mary’s looking at me with pleading eyes, and I don’t want to disappoint her, so I say, “Mary, don’t worry about that stuff tonight. Let’s just enjoy the show, okay? This is what you’ve been waiting for.” I have to talk a bit louder than I want, because of the clapping. I stand on my toes and look out to the dance floor. A circle is forming. I grin at Mary. “Follow me.”
I lead her to the center of the gym, right on the periphery of the crowd that has gathered around Reeve. Everyone’s clapping and giving him the floor. He’s flushed and sweating through his shirt; he’s unbuttoned the top buttons and loosened his tie. He is dancing his ass off, bopping around like an idiot. I can’t tell if it’s the ecstasy or if it’s just Reeve being Reeve.
Mary and I exchange a look.
I know for sure that it’s the E when Reeve starts to break-dance. He can’t break-dance for shit. I start to laugh. I laugh even harder when I see Rennie trying to get close to him, dancing sexy, but it doesn’t work because Reeve’s moves are too wild and jerky. Once, he almost punches her in the face. Rennie grabs him by the tie and pulls him closer to her, and then he takes the tie off and wraps it around his temple. It dangles as he dances away from her and grabs Mrs. Dumfee, who teaches chemistry and is about a hundred years old. She tries to protest, but he puts her arms around his neck and jumps up and down. She actually goes along with it, the old hag. Probably the most action she’s seen in, like, thirty years.
The DJ starts throwing props out into the crowd, feather boas and beach balls, cheesy stuff like that. Reeve runs up to the DJ table and grabs a pair of maracas and starts galloping around the dance floor like a prize pony, shaking the maracas above his head. I swear, he’s shaking them so hard, I half expect them to split and drop seeds all over the floor.
I turn, hoping that Mary saw that. She winks at me.
Lillia doesn’t answer him. She just takes another sip of her drink, looking nervous.
Now that that’s done, I head out of the gym and toward the girls bathroom to pee. I’ve already had, like, three cups of punch.
I walk in, and there’s Rennie, standing in front of the mirror wearing this ridiculous silver sequined dress that barely covers her butt. She gazes at herself in the mirror, pursing her lips and making her eyes wide. I know that mirror face so well. I’ve seen her do it a thousand times. For, like, two seconds nostalgia washes over me, and we’re back in my room, mixing up lip glosses for the perfect red and trying to figure out how to pluck our eyebrows.
Her eyes flicker over at me in the mirror, and the moment is over. “Oh, wow,” she says. “I can’t believe you came. Alone.”
“Well, it is our senior year,” I say. That’s it, nothing more.
She gives me a weird look before walking out. I guess because she was expecting another fight? One of my bitchy comebacks, perhaps? Don’t worry, Rennie. It’s coming. The bitch slap to end all bitch slaps.
* * *
I’m pouring myself more punch, because damn, it’s seriously good, when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn around, thinking it’s Mary. But it’s not. It’s Alex, dressed up in a black suit. I have to admit, he looks hot.
“Hey,” I say.
Alex makes a mock surprised face. “You remember me? Alex Lind? The guy you haven’t spoken to since school started.”
I can’t hold back a smile. “I’ve been busy.”
He lets out a laugh. “I’m kinda surprised you’re here tonight.”
Mockingly I say, “How could I miss homecoming? It’s the biggest night of our lives.” I say it mockingly, but I’m actually feeling real feelings. Because I’ve missed Alex. More than I want to admit. And it feels really good to be talking to him again, like old times.
Alex smiles. “You look nice, Kat.”
“Yeah, I know,” I say, smiling at him to soften it up. I’m wearing a tight black dress made out of stretchy material, and short black boots, plus a ton of eye makeup. When my dad saw me leaving the house, he was all, “Katherine, are you going to a biker bar?” As if there are any real biker bars on Jar Island.
“What about me?” Alex asks. He says it jokingly, but I can tell he actually cares what I think. “How do I look?”
“You look okay,” I tell him. When the smile on his face falters, I say, “You look good.”
His face gets serious. “Kat, I just want you to know, no hard feelings.”
Huh?
He rubs the back of his neck. “I had a lot of fun with you this summer—and that night on the boat. But I get it. You weren’t into it. Probably wasn’t meant to be anyway, right?”
“Right.” I’m dazed. The only reason I didn’t keep after Alex was because I thought he liked Nadia. My pride—I just couldn’t take it. Now that I know it wasn’t the case, that he and Nadia were never a thing, maybe something could happen with us.
Alex heads back over to his table, where Lillia and the rest of his friends are. I feel a pang in my stomach. I tell myself it’s because I’m hungry.
Mary comes over. She doesn’t look me in the eye; she just stares at the food.
“Have a Dorito, Mary,” I say in a low voice. “Or a cupcake.”
Her head snaps up. “I’m too nervous to eat.” I see her looking around the room for Reeve. “Shouldn’t he be feeling it soon?”
I examine her, her thin wrists, the way her clavicle sticks out under her dress. It makes sense now, the fact that she never eats. This too must be Reeve’s fault. Eff him and his football scholarship. “Don’t worry,” I say, covering my mouth up with a chip so no one sees us talking. “It should be any minute now. All we have to do is sit back and watch.”
Mary nods and tries to smile. “I’m going to miss our secret midnight meetings.”
“Are you kidding? I keep falling asleep during first period. I can’t have that bringing down my GPA any more than it already has.” Not if I want to go to Oberlin next fall.
“I just hope we can figure out a way to still be friends.” Mary blinks rapidly. “You guys are all I have here.”
I hesitate. I don’t know how to answer her, because I don’t know myself. Yeah, Lillia and I are cool right now, but I’m not about to suddenly start wearing that friendship necklace tomorrow morning. But Mary’s looking at me with pleading eyes, and I don’t want to disappoint her, so I say, “Mary, don’t worry about that stuff tonight. Let’s just enjoy the show, okay? This is what you’ve been waiting for.” I have to talk a bit louder than I want, because of the clapping. I stand on my toes and look out to the dance floor. A circle is forming. I grin at Mary. “Follow me.”
I lead her to the center of the gym, right on the periphery of the crowd that has gathered around Reeve. Everyone’s clapping and giving him the floor. He’s flushed and sweating through his shirt; he’s unbuttoned the top buttons and loosened his tie. He is dancing his ass off, bopping around like an idiot. I can’t tell if it’s the ecstasy or if it’s just Reeve being Reeve.
Mary and I exchange a look.
I know for sure that it’s the E when Reeve starts to break-dance. He can’t break-dance for shit. I start to laugh. I laugh even harder when I see Rennie trying to get close to him, dancing sexy, but it doesn’t work because Reeve’s moves are too wild and jerky. Once, he almost punches her in the face. Rennie grabs him by the tie and pulls him closer to her, and then he takes the tie off and wraps it around his temple. It dangles as he dances away from her and grabs Mrs. Dumfee, who teaches chemistry and is about a hundred years old. She tries to protest, but he puts her arms around his neck and jumps up and down. She actually goes along with it, the old hag. Probably the most action she’s seen in, like, thirty years.
The DJ starts throwing props out into the crowd, feather boas and beach balls, cheesy stuff like that. Reeve runs up to the DJ table and grabs a pair of maracas and starts galloping around the dance floor like a prize pony, shaking the maracas above his head. I swear, he’s shaking them so hard, I half expect them to split and drop seeds all over the floor.
