All's Fair in Love and HoCo (ONC 2022)

Chapter Two: Conkers

"Hey, Barfy!" twanged a voice as students poured through the halls after the lunch bell had dismissed us from class. Why did it seem everyone went silent whenever my nickname was shouted through the hall? It's like they were waiting with popcorn for my reaction.

I cringed as Caleb, the boy who lived directly across the street, sidled up to me. He'd only been here since a few days before the start of school and, to my chagrin, he'd already learned my nickname. The pain of being one of way too many Emilies in the school. And worse, having Barfield for a last name. Thank God, I'd gotten used to it in third grade, because it didn't matter which school I attended, the nickname followed me wherever I went.

I stopped in front of my locker and started twisting the combination. I really didn't have time to talk to anyone, not if I wanted to actually eat my lunch. "What's up, Caleb?"

He brushed away the fluffy, blond curl that was hanging in front of his eyes. Both the curl and the color had probably come from bottles, judging from the sliver of darker roots. "You're pretty chill with Bri Sanchez, right?"

Umm... I nodded, then stuffed my books into my locker. "Why do you ask?" I grabbed my purse.

"Well, I was wondering if she might be interested in going to Homecoming with me and if you'd be willing to help me ask her." His words came out quickly and he scrunched his face, stopping once his glasses were back toward the top of his nose. "So, what do you think?"

That explained why he'd been sitting behind us on the activity bus on the way home from cross country practice every night for the past week.

Usually, Bri went for the taller guys who were built like trucks. Caleb was tall and skinny, but he was also paler than the last two boys she'd dated. But his dorkiness had made her laugh more than a few times over the past week. The dork factor could be a problem or an asset. I wasn't sure how Bri would interpret it.

I took a deep breath, inhaled a scent of Eternity, and immediately began to swoon as I looked for Riley. He passed by in the center of a group of his friends from the football team and a few cheerleaders. His smile stretched from one ear to the other, as it did whenever I saw him. I'd never seen him even remotely upset. Attentive, yes. Studious, yes. Happy, absolutely. But angry? No, never.

Caleb cleared his throat, in an apparent reminder that I hadn't answered his question.

"I'll talk to her at lunch and let you know tonight, and if she's willing to go with you, I'll help you ask her."

"So, you think I have a shot?" He leaned against the lockers beside mine.

I gave an uncomfortable sigh. "You have a better chance than most of the guys in this school." Bri's shout of my name came from down the hall. She stood with her arm akimbo. "I'll tell you on the walk home from the activity bus. See you later." It was the best I could do, so I closed my locker and hurried off toward Bri before she could resort to shouting my nickname.

"Oh, you take so long!" Bri said with a scowl once I was at her side. "Amaria and Shreya have already started walking."

"I'm sorry. You didn't have to wait." I stepped up my pace and winced as the shin splints throbbed. I needed to push through it unless I wanted cafeteria food or hunger pangs. Neither sounded appealing. With my luck, my stomach would rumble while I interviewed Riley or one of the other football guys this afternoon. "Caleb was asking about you."

"What does he want?" She slowed down, and her voice seemed a little nervous.

"He wants to know if you're interested in going to Homecoming with him."

Several students were eating from their lunchboxes in the commons, a couple of food-mumbled "Hey, Barfy's" and "'Sup, Bri's" filtering through as we passed by. Bri remained silent, giving only curt waves to the students who had greeted us.

The doors opened to a blue sky, and I basked in the warm sun, trying to soak it in. I just wasn't ready for October's promise of gray, gray, and even more gray.

Bri stopped under a tree. "So, what did he say? Does he like me?"

I looked up. This was not the tree we wanted to be under. Spiny fruits of doom were ready to drop at a moment's notice, and I didn't want one to land on me. I pointed upward and nudged Bri away as a horse chestnut fell through the branches, missing Bri by a couple of inches. That was a little too close for comfort. Who knew what kind of damage those one-centimeter spikes could do from that high up?

"He asked if you'd go with him. That's all he had time to say before you shouted for me." Another conker fell to the sidewalk and rolled until it was a few feet in front of me. I sidestepped it while Bri looked at me expectantly. "I would guess that means he likes you, right? I can't imagine asking someone who I didn't like to be my Homecoming date."

"So, do you think he likes me?" Was she kidding? She kicked at a horse chestnut. When it stuck to her shoe, she bent down and removed it, carefully avoiding its spikes.

"He definitely likes you. Why else would he ask you to Homecoming?" Well, he wasn't exactly fitting in with everyone, but that was beside the point. People didn't generally ask people they didn't like to be their dates, did they? And they didn't need help when they were asking someone to go with them as friends. "Do you want to go with him?"

Bri sighed. "I don't know. I mean. I like him, but I'm not sure my parents will even let me go with a date."

"Maybe you won't have to tell them?" I felt sorry for Bri. Her parents were adamant that she can't date until she turns eighteen. She'd had boyfriends here, but she could only see them at school or if we just happened to run into them when we were downtown grabbing some gelato. That happened a lot.

She gulped. "I'm not sure I could keep that a secret. Knowing Caleb, he'll want his parents to pick me up."

I hated that we couldn't drive until we were eighteen in Germany. "My parents will give you a ride, and if we have a sleepover afterwards, it's very possible. Your parents will never know unless you tell them."

"We'll see." She forced a smile onto her face. "You can tell him to ask me. I'll say yes. Unless he turns into a jerk."

So, Bri was going to have a date for Homecoming, while I was a dead woman walking. No boy was going to ask me, not with my move looming around the corner. I could only hope I'd get to finish the school year. But I knew from previous experience that the army sometimes had other plans. They could move us in the middle of a semester and there wasn't much we could do about it. Well, unless someone screwed up Dad's orders.

"Oh, speaking of Homecoming, Zach asked if you'd be interested in going with him." Bri's smile reached her eyes.

I went through my list of Zachs. Olsen or Myer I could possibly handle, but Prater was another story. We were friends and I preferred to keep it that way. When I didn't answer, Bri confirmed it was Zach Prater and I let out a sigh and shook my head. "I just don't think that's a good idea."

"But he's so nice. And he likes you. You'll have a blast with him."

I gave her side-eye. "He likes me now, but I'm not interested in him, and I don't want to lead him on. We're just friends."

It was Bri's turn to sigh. "Is there anyone you want to go with?"

"There are a couple of seniors I'd consider going with," I answered. And a junior, but I wasn't convinced he knew I was alive.

"Seniors." Bri laughed. "For a second, I thought you were going to say Riley Jones."

I took a deep breath so I could find the right words. "No, he's probably going with one of the cheerleaders."

We walked into the PX, grabbed some Taco Bell, and scarfed it down on the way back to school, somehow avoiding a mess. I made it to Human Anatomy and physiology just in the nick of time and cringed as Mrs. Burke announced a new seating arrangement and sat me next to Riley. I was certain remnants of the tacos were stuck in my teeth.