That Stupid Little L-Word:

Chapter Fifty-Six:

After much more encouragement from both my mother and my friends, I gather the strength to go to school again. It's hard. When I step onto campus, I feel like someone's plastered a neon-red target sign on my face. I keep my head down and my grip on my backpack tight, prepared to use it as a weapon if necessary. 

"There you are!" 

I turn around. Amanda stands a few feet away, an excited smile on her face. My gaze darted to the promotional poster for prom taped to the wall behind her. 

I grimace at it and walk toward her. "Hey, there you are," I say. 

Amanda glances behind her. "Oh come on," she groans. "Prom isn't that bad!" 

Ever since the bathroom incident, Amanda has been hounding me to go to prom. Personally, I am not comfortable at dances. I don't dance. I can't dance. I have the grace of a baby giraffe. It's just not happening.

Amanda's expression sours. She grabs my arm and starts to drag me toward Ms. Henry's classroom. "You wouldn't even have to dance." 

"That's alright." I let her yank me inside the cooled building. Ms. Henry's door is open; her classroom has become our safe morning hangout.  

Ms. Henry glances up as we enter the classroom. She sits behind her desk, sorting through a mountain of papers on her desk. She smiles at me. "Good morning, Alice." 

"Good morning," I chime. 

Kylie sits at a desk near Ms. Henry, fiddling with her cellphone. Her backpack rests on the floor beside her. She looks up as Amanda and I approach. "Hey!" 

I nod at her. 

"Ms. Henry," a new voice enters the room. I look over my shoulder, and watch as Trash-Can freezes near the door. His eyes focused on me, expression unreadable. 

"Hello, Eric," Ms. Henry greets, amused. "What can I do for you?" 

Trash-Can snaps out of his daze. He turns toward Ms. Henry and holds out a piece of paper. His voice is quiet as he explains his dilemma. 

"Amanda," another voice sings. 

Amanda beams as slender arms wrap around her shoulders. Tobi pokes his head over her shoulder, smiling. "Hello, Tobi." 

"It's been a while. You abandoned Tobi." He pouts. 

"I didn't mean to." She hugs him and then steps out of his embrace. "Tobi, you remember Alice and Kylie." 

Tobi hisses at Kylie. "You're evil." 

Kylie frowns. Amanda smacks Tobi's arm and glares at him. "I told you about her," she insists sternly. "She's not evil anymore." 

Tobi grunts. He slides into the chair beside me and reaches out, gently poking my stomach. "So there's a baby in there?"

"There is," I say, smiling a bit.  

He hums and strokes my stomach. Amanda rolls her eyes and shoots Kylie an apologetic look. Trash-Can approaches soon, stuffing his paper back into his backpack. "I didn't know that you guys hung out in here," he says as he approaches. 

Amanda snorts. "What? Can't get enough of Alice?" 

My eyes widen, and I swear my cheeks are on fire. "Amanda," I say, embarrassed. 

Trash-Can glances at her, his eyebrow arched. He looks unperturbed. "At least I have the balls to ask her out." 

Amanda flushes a bright red color. I snicker and shake my head. Trash-Can plops down into the seat across from me, beside Amanda, and beams.