SKYLAR
Henry and Zoe waited by my locker after third period, Zoe talking a mile a minute. Henry listened to her animated chatter, interjecting a few nods or “uh-huhs” whenever she stopped talking long enough to wait for his response. He seemed different. Relaxed, happy, and almost stylish. The jeans were looser and the right length. The shirt was still a short-sleeved button up, but at least the pens were gone from the pocket.
“Ready for lunch?” he asked me in a lighthearted tone that was becoming common.
I halted in front of them. “Sure.”
Zoe trembled with excitement and latched onto my arm. We’d only seen each other in passing today, and her bugged-out eyes screamed she was bursting to tell me something. “You and I need to use the ladies room. Right now.”
I heard the side doors click, and suddenly Blake and Chugger were walking toward our little group. No Cody.
“We’d better move if we’re going to eat anything,” Blake said.
“We’ll meet you in there.” Zoe tugged on my arm and practically dragged me to the closest restroom.
“What is going on with you?” I asked.
She did a quick check under the stalls and, once satisfied there were no listeners, took a preparatory breath. “Lindsay went to that party on Friday night and threw herself at Blake. He pushed her off, said he only wanted you.” Her eyes went doughy. “Isn’t that so sweet? Of course, Cody tries to be the hero. Consoles her. Brings her home. He acts like it’s okay that she cheated on Blake. I don’t know. Part of me wonders if there’s something going on between the two of them. Cody’s a risk taker, but he’s not that stupid. Or maybe he is.”
The stab-in-the-back comment from first period. Blake’s jumbled words on the phone about Cody taking everything, and Cody’s casual reference of spies knowing his secrets. A sharp pain of some distant emotion hit me in the heart. “How do you know all this? I thought you weren’t going.”
“I didn’t have to be there. It was only topic discussed in first and second periods. Not really, but seriously, there’s hardly anyone who doesn’t know about it.”
I closed my eyes against the stinging pressure in my sinuses.
“Skylar, honey, you’re upset. Why?” Zoe rushed over and wrapped her arms around me and hugged me. “Blake is over Lindsay. You should be happy.”
“Can I tell you something?” I whispered, a slight plea in my voice because I was desperate to tell someone.
She released me and stepped back. “Sure.”
“I think I like Cody. Not Blake.” The words gave me freedom from my cage. The one nugget of truth in the sea of lies at this school. But Zoe’s mortification clipped my wings.
“You cannot like Cody.” Her tone was a combination of disappointment and scolding, but not surprise.
I walked over to the mirror and pretended to check my makeup. “I know you’re not a fan, but he makes me…” Burn from the inside out. Takes me up and down with just one smile. “Feel different. Special.”
Zoe stood next to me and leaned against the sink. “That’s how he makes all the girls feel. Why do you think Vicky Donner cried over him all last year? And why do you think Jill Spencer, who can have any guy at this school, is okay with only being a bed warmer? He’s that tortured, disconnected, hot guy. Every girl thinks she’s going to be the one he falls for.”
“What if it’s just his image?” I thought of my dad. “What if he’s playing a part on stage?”
“Well, Skylar, then he deserves a Tony award because I’ve seen Cody in action, and he cannot be trusted.”
My chin fell. I studied the droplets of water left in the sink basin.
Zoe wrapped an arm around my shoulders and squeezed. “You and Blake are right for each other.”
For all the bad blood between Zoe and that crowd, she seemed to worship Blake and Chugger. It didn’t make sense. “Why do you hate the rest of them and not Blake? He’s like their ringleader.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess I feel like Blake got betrayed by Lindsay and deserves a happy ending. And Chugger’s nice to everyone. I’ve never heard either of them bash people behind their backs. I guess I respect them. And I think you’re fabulous, so, of course, I’d want the two of you together.”
This conversation wasn’t going anywhere. Zoe and I had two different views of the same people, and I wasn’t about to let that damage the only real friendship I’d ever had. “Okay. Just forget I said anything.”
She gave a smile of approval, and we walked toward the door right as Lindsay stumbled in. She froze when she saw us.
It was the first time I’d seen her up close. Dainty features surrounded by silky, blond hair. Stunning. She studied us, but her eyes remained lifeless. Two blue pools that locked away any story I might have gained from them.
She extended her hand to me. “I’m Lindsay Clark. I’ve seen you around but didn’t have the chance to introduce myself yet.” Her hand was warm and her grip light.
“Skylar.”
“I know. I’ve heard.” Her tone didn’t imply meanness, but Zoe stiffened next to me.
“We have to go. Blake is waiting for her at our table.” It was odd to hear the malice in Zoe’s voice. “In the meantime, try to stay out of the backseat of cars.”
I was too shocked for manners. Zoe pushed me out into the hallway, and my wits came slamming back the minute the bathroom door shut. “Zoe! That was unbelievably cruel.” I was tempted to walk back in an apologize to Lindsay, even though a part of me hated her for being so pretty and for riding in Cody’s truck.
“Trust me. She’s the enemy.”
“She’s still a person.”
“A person who pretended to be my friend, and then laughed when Jill called me a social climbing heifer just because I sat at their table. Come on, Skylar, you know girls like her. They parade under fake smiles but will turn on you in an instant. She’s the mean girl, not me.” Zoe’s voice trembled as a year’s worth of pain spilled from her mouth.
I pulled her into a hug. She was only trying to protect me. “I’m sorry they hurt you.”
Zoe offered a weak smile. “It doesn’t matter now. Everything has changed this year. A toast to karma.”
I doubted karma had anything to do with it. “Let’s just go to lunch. I’m sure we’ve missed some grand story from Chugger.”
Zoe’s face burst with life and color. She’d never admitted to her crush on Blake’s best friend, but I knew if he ever asked, she’d say yes in a millisecond.
I thought back to Cody. I would probably do the same. I guess that made me just like all the other poor girls who pined over the one they couldn’t have. Maybe normal was closer than I thought.