I started to tune him out. We had covered this topic already, yet somehow teachers felt compelled to repeat themselves constantly as if we were all too stupid to catch the lesson the first time. It’s why most of my honor’s society classmates aced their classes while only doing half the required reading.
My mind drifted to Alex and me on the beach in Utuado, his tan skin peeking out from his board shorts, the way my body tingled when his arm brushed against mine. It was like I could feel a force sizzling between us when he was close. Now that was a type of chemistry worth discussing; forget atomic numbers.
“I need your homework,” Bobby grumbled, tapping the table for my attention.
I jumped slightly. “What?”
“Your homework? From last night? We need to turn it in.” He rolled his eyes.
“What’s with you?” I asked, pulling my typed assignment from the proper folder.
“Nothing.” He snatched the sheet of paper from my hand, wrinkling it.
“Clearly, there’s something.”
“What, do I have to discuss every little thing with you now? Because Emily’s mom slept with my dad?”
Mr. Berk looked over from the front of the classroom. I smiled politely and nodded to the assignments floating through the class.
“You’re acting like a jerk.”
He flicked his head toward me. “Well, maybe I’m not as fickle as you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Forget it. Go have fun with your boy, Alex.”
I exhaled loudly through my mouth. “Alex is a friend from Puerto Rico. I told you that.”
“He looked like more than a friend this morning. What, are you too embarrassed of him to say he’s your boyfriend?”
“No, I’m too polite to say he’s my boyfriend,” I snapped, shaking my head. “Why do you have to make things weird between us?”
“Because they are!”
Mr. Berk coughed from the front of the room as he collected the assignments.
“Bobby, I wanna be your friend. I wanna help you with the film festival. If that’s not enough…”
“Fine,” he said softly, in a defeated tone. “Are you coming to the meeting today?”
“What meeting?” My eyebrows bunched.
“I sent you an e-mail weeks ago! All the students participating in the festival are meeting after school today. I thought you could talk about the flyers and stuff?”
I dropped my head and stared at the lab table. I knew if I said I couldn’t make it because of Alex that would solidify the end of my friendship with Bobby. But I also couldn’t ditch Alex on his first day in Spring Mills.
“Do you think it would be okay if I brought Alex?” I mumbled.
Bobby’s shoulders immediately squeezed his neck. “I guess.”
He flung his attention back toward the worksheet we were supposed to complete. It was the end of the discussion. We both finished the lab in silence without offering each other any help.
Chapter 7
We trudged toward the auditorium. I thought it would be hard to convince Emily to join the meeting—she was avoiding spending time with Bobby for fear she might have to discuss their parents’ bedroom activities. But when we met at Madison’s locker after school, she merely shrugged.
“I can drive you home after,” Madison offered.
“No, it’s okay. My dad’s car service is on call.”
“Is it bizarre living in a hotel?” I asked, Alex at my side.
He was waiting at my locker before the bell even rang. He’d spent the day strolling the grounds with Dean Pruitt and then checking in with his Utuado school via the Internet. His teachers from back home already had sent him three new assignments. When I mentioned that I had a meeting after school, he didn’t bat an eye. He seemed happy to be included. He grabbed the messenger bag from my shoulder and tossed it over his. It was nice to have someone to carry my stuff.
“Well, our room is cleaned every day with fresh sheets and towels. They put a mint on my pillow each night, and I get room service twenty-four hours a day. Plus, my dad’s never there.”
“But don’t you kinda miss being around other people?” Lilly asked.
“I have a hotel full of people. If I go down to the coffee shop, I can read a book surrounded by a random group of business travelers and college students.”
“But they’re not your friends,” Lilly insisted.
Emily said nothing.
“Well, I think it’s great that he’s letting you stay.” I squeezed Alex’s hand hoping he’d join in the conversation. I wanted him to get to know my friends better.
“I have a friend whose parents got divorced. In the end, they just screamed at each other. It’s good that your parents aren’t doing that to you,” Alex said, trying to be helpful.
“I almost wish they would scream at each other. At least then they’d be talking. Right now, each acts like the other doesn’t exist. My dad won’t even mention my mom. This morning he asked, ‘Are you going over there this weekend?’ Like it’s some foreign place he couldn’t remember the name of,” she muttered.
“He’s trying. Cut him some slack. His wife cheated on him in his own bed,” Madison stated.
“Don’t sugar coat it or anything,” I snipped.
“Well, I wouldn’t get over it.” Madison pushed open the auditorium doors.
About two dozen students sat huddled in the front seats. Bobby was sitting on the edge of the stage facing them, his long lanky legs dangling off the end. Even from the back of the auditorium, I could hear his voice perfectly projecting the theme of the documentary he’d be debuting.
“Ireland is an amazing country. The people are so friendly. And they’re so passionate about family and religion and…beer.” He chuckled.
The metal doors slammed shut behind us and everyone turned.
“Hey.” I waved, my other hand still tightly clasping Alex’s palm.
We marched down the aisle. The crowd was silent and their faces looked as though we were interrupting a State of the Union Address.
“Guys, these are some of the people who helped me put this together. They’re gonna be doing the posters and stuff. Ya know, the grunt work.” Bobby’s tone was insulting.
My forehead clenched. He still sounded angry with me.
“Yeah, um, we saw the film,” I spoke up. “It’s incredible, really…. Oh, I’m Mariana. These are my friends Madison, Emily, Lilly, and Alex.”
“Well, I don’t actually go to school here,” Alex explained with a sultry Spanish accent. “I’m just visiting.”
“Where you from?” a blond, doe-eyed girl asked.
“Puerto Rico.” He released my hand and leaned toward her seat.
“That’s so interesting,” said a curvy brunette.
“Did you live on the beach?” asked a dirty blond.
“No, in the mountains. Lilly and I are from the same town.”
“Oh, I didn’t even know Puerto Rico had mountains,” said an Asian girl.
“I