Ashes to Ashes by Jenny Han Page A

going to have to let him down.
    As soon as the bell rings, I scoop up all my bouquets and race to my locker. I have to hide Alex’s roses before Reeve sees. I stuff them all inside as quick as I can. Some of the stems break, and a few petals fall out onto the floor. I stoop down and pick them up and put them in my purse.
    *  *  *
    PJ, Derek, and Alex are already at the lunch table when I get to the cafeteria. I spot Reeve in the lunch line.
    I slide into the seat next to Alex. “Hi,” he says.
    â€œHey,” I whisper back. I mouth, Thank you.
    He mouths back, You’re welcome.
    I glance over at Reeve again. He’s picking out a Jell-O at the counter.
    Alex leans in and touches my arm. In a low voice he asks, “Did you read the card?”
    I nod and make myself smile. “Can we talk later?” I want to do this so carefully, and in private.
    He nods, and I can feel my heart break a little bit.
    Ashlin comes running up to the table just as Reeve sits down with his lunch. She throws down her lunch bag and shrieks, “I heard someone sent you fifty roses, Lil!” My mouth goes dry. “You lucky bitch! Who was it?” She sits down and reaches around PJ to whack Derek on the shoulder with her bag. “Derek only sent me five! Cheap bastard.”
    â€œUm . . .” What do I say? My dad?
    Ash giggles and swivels in her seat. “Was it you, Lindy?”
    Alex is just smiling. I can’t even look at Reeve.
    That’s when Jamie comes running up to the table with a single red rose in her hand. “Lillia, I forgot to give this one to you in all the craziness this morning.” She hands me the rose and a card and walks away.
    â€œOpen up the card!” Ash demands.
    Everybody’s looking at me now. Slowly I open the little red envelope. The card says, First time I bought a rose for anyone other than my mom. Congratulations, Cho. I can feel my cheeks heat up. “It’s from my dad,” I say at last.
    â€œOh my God, you’re a horrible liar, Lil,” Ash says with a laugh. She reaches across the table and snatches the card out of my hands.
    Desperately I say, “Give it back, Ash.”
    The smile on her face fades as she reads. She puts two and two together immediately, her eyes moving from Reeve to me and back again. “Is this a joke?”
    Beside me Alex has gone rigid in his seat. He looks from Reeve to me. “So you guys are together.”
    I’m such a coward. I can’t even answer him. All I can do is look down at the table.
    Then I hear Ash whisper, “Oh. My. God.” I look up at her,and she’s staring at me with round disbelieving eyes. “Lil?”
    I open and close my mouth. I don’t know what to say to her.
    Rubbing his hands through his hair, Reeve says, “Um . . . yeah. We are. We didn’t want it to come out like this, but, yeah.”
    Alex quickly gathers up his lunch tray and stands up. “Feel free to throw those roses away if you haven’t already.”
    Reeve reaches out to him. “Hey, dude, listen—”
    Alex doesn’t let him finish. He gets up and leaves and doesn’t spare me a second look.
    The entire cafeteria has gone quiet. Everyone is staring at us.
    â€œTell me this isn’t happening,” Ash says. She’s talking only to me. “Tell me you and Reeve are not a thing.” When I don’t say anything, when seconds pass of me still not saying anything, she hisses, “Ren’s body isn’t even cold!”
    I feel all the blood drain from my face.
    Sharply Reeve says, “What’d you say, Ash?”
    Ashlin shrugs a defiant kind of shrug, and Reeve narrows his eyes at Derek in warning. “You need to put a muzzle on your girl.”
    Derek brushes him off and keeps on eating his sandwich. “Chill out, Tabatsky.”
    Ash is shooting daggers at me, and PJ just looks dumbfounded. I feel sick to my