Meet Me After Class

Chapter 29: See You

"Belle, remind me again why you're here? In my room?"

"Can't I just hang out with my older sister without having to have any reason at all?"

After my surreal encounter—or whatever one might call it—with Mr. Scott at the library the other day, I had sought solace in spending some alone time that Friday night, pondering the whirlwind of events that had unfolded in my life over the past week.

Adam and I kissed.

Mr. Scott and I had what I could only describe as a semi-date at the library. Semi-date—was that even a legitimate term?

I sighed, the images of Adam and Mr. Scott refusing to leave my mind. Adam was still under the weather, and truthfully, I wasn't quite ready to face him just yet. As for Mr. Scott, he seemed to have been called away suddenly, with Ms. Dartwood stepping in to supervise his class that afternoon.

Beside me, Belle lounged on the bed, her gaze fixed on the wall clock above my dream board, her boredom palpable.

"Aren't you supposed to be working at Brown's tonight?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Adam's still sick. Audrey's working."

"So?"

"She annoys me sometimes with her teasing, you know?" I confessed.

Now that Adam and I had shared that kiss, Audrey's knack for saying exactly the wrong thing had become increasingly difficult to ignore, let alone deflect without looking too guilty.

"Yeah," Belle agreed, sitting up. "Audrey can be pretty annoying and bossy," she added, picking at her chipped black nail polish.

I frowned at the hint of sadness in her voice. "Are you still not talking? Is your friendship really over?" I probed gently.

"I guess so," she admitted with a shrug.

"Why not just be cheerleaders at the same time?" I suggested.

"Because neither of us wants to just cheer. We both want to be the cheer captain," she explained, her tone tinged with resignation.

"That's lame." I was unable to hide my disdain.

"Which part of it is lame?" she challenged.

"Well, the point of being a cheerleader is to support your team—to lead or inspire the crowd to cheer with you for the team. I think you're both leaders already, if I may say so."

"And if I may say so myself, I don't think Christopher Columbus or Henry Morgan or James Cook would agree with you. There couldn't be two Christopher Columbuses leading the expedition to the West Indies, nor two Henry Morgans leading the capture of Panama City, nor two James Cooks to—"

"Okay. I get it. There can't be two captains," I cut her off with a dramatic eye roll. "But seriously, Belle? Comparing cheerleading to conquering continents? I'm just saying, it's high school, not a historical expedition."

"Really?" she challenged with a knowing look.

But I got up from the bed. "I need some fresh air. Wanna come, or do you want to stay in my room for some reason?"

With a sigh, she followed me out of my room, and we descended the stairs, greeted by Dad's announcement that dinner would be ready in twenty minutes.

As we stepped onto the porch, Belle took in a deep breath of the evening air. It was one of those serene nights where Adam, Penny, and I would have wandered around The Crest Town Center, planning our futures and indulging in Dad's red velvet cake.