Happenstance Read Free Page B

my books in my locker and
walked slowly to the east hall, the fifty-minute-long high I’d been on with Weston
during Art quickly faded with each step. I dreaded seeing everyone’s reaction
when I walked through the door.
    Brady and Brendan were sitting on top of desks, some students
were looking at their phones, texting or checking social media, and the Erins
were sitting at desks that were turned around to face everyone else. Mrs.
Hunter, English IV teacher and senior class adviser, wasn’t there yet. Shit .
    “What are you doing here?” Alder said. I didn’t answer, but that
never deterred the Erins. “No one wants your opinion.”
    I took a seat in the back near the door and hoped Mrs. Hunter
wouldn’t be much longer.
    Sonny feigned sympathy. “You can leave. No one gives a shit what
you have to say, anyway.”
    “It’s mandatory,” I said simply. “I’m not leaving.”
    Sonny stood up. “You will if I make you.”
    “Sit down,” I said.
    Sonny’s expression morphed from annoyance to shock to rage. “What
did you say to me?”
    I looked her straight in the eye. “I’m staying. Sit down.”
    Weston’s gaze bounced from the Erins, to me, and back. Sonny took
a step toward me, and Weston stood. By the look on his face, even he was
surprised at his reaction.
    Sonny looked at him with utter disgust. “What are you doing, Wes?”
    Weston cocked his head for a moment. He took a breath and blinked
a few times, clearly unhappy about being in the middle of things. “It’s a
mandatory meeting. No point in making her miserable over it. She probably
doesn’t want to be here.”
    “Weston!” Alder said, astonished.
    Weston took a puff from his inhaler, staring his girlfriend in
the eye. “Leave her alone.”
    Just as both Erins’ mouths fell open, Mrs. Hunter breezed through
the door and headed to the front of the class. “What did I miss?”
    Weston sat down, and so did Sonny.
    “Nothin,” Sonny grumbled.
    “Okay, let’s get started,” Mrs. Hunter said, winded. “Who wants
to be in charge of the senior assembly?”
    The relief that washed over me made me emotional, more than I’d
been in quite a while, but I kept the tears inside, refusing to let my
classmates see me cry. They would just have to be disappointed for the day.
     

 
     
     
    Chapter Three
    “Bitches!” Frankie said, as she watched soft serve feed
out of the machine. “I can’t believe she bowed up on you like that. What was
she going to do? That’s right! Nothing!”
    “Are you even talking to me right now?” I asked, amused.
    “I would love to talk to the twaterati about it. Love!”
    I laughed once and shook my head, letting the mixer blades make
love to the M&M Blizzard I was making. When Frankie trained me, she said it
looked a lot like giving a guy a hand job. I wasn’t exactly sure what that was
like, but I would make someone very happy one day.
    Frankie was ten customers deep when I finally arrived after the
senior class meeting, and we hadn’t had a break in four hours. Friday nights
were always hectic, but that didn’t stop Frankie from ranting about my
confrontation with Sonny.
    She put her hand on her hip, and all of her weight on one leg. “I
am so proud of you. For real. I think it’s the first time you’ve ever stood up
for yourself, isn’t it?”
    “I don’t know. It wasn’t really standing up for myself. I just
told her that I was staying.”
    “And to sit her bitch ass down.” She wrinkled her nose. “That
part’s my favorite.”
    Just as the sun began to set, the pace eased up a bit. The last
car left the parking lot, and I began scrubbing the huge mess we’d made when we
didn’t have time to clean up after ourselves—or be careful—before the next
rush.
    A truck pulled in quickly, and I knew instantly who it was.
Weston Gates was the only person in town with a lift kit and Rock Star rims on
a cherry red Chevy. He hopped down and jogged over to my window. He was sweaty,
still in his