Black Tuesday by Susan Colebank

butt. It worked, though. It went with her black Doc Martens, black tights, and spiked dog collar.
    Ryan let out something that sounded like a snort. “Define ‘adult.’”
    â€œCan legally drink. Has a lower insurance rate than the rest of us.”
    â€œWithin the confines of those definitions, yeah, sure.”
    â€œHey sunshine!” A guy with a “Saguaro High Basketball” shirt sat on one of the chairs in the sitting area Jayne had passed earlier. A girl with a short blonde shag sat next to him crunching through a bag of Doritos.
    â€œI’m not in the mood, dipwad.” Ryan stopped. “I assume you went out of the way to say hi because you’re wanting me to introduce our new meat?”
    Ryan kicked the boy’s legs out of the way and started picking up some empty soda cans littering the coffee tables. “Darian Green. Meadow Haraway. This is . . . what’s your name again, princess?”
    â€œJayne Thompkins.” Jayne wanted to say, It’s Jayne Thompkins, Goth Girl Loser . But she didn’t.
    That didn’t stop the words from burning in her throat, though.
    â€œSo, Miss Jayne Thompkins, why are you here?” Darian crunched into an orange chip as he leaned behind Meadow. The girl seemed to be staring a little too hard at Jayne. Like she was trying to place her from somewhere. “College résumé?”
    â€œSomething like that.” She crossed her arms and shivered. It really was cold in here. She’d have to bring another sweatshirt next time. Just not her Harvard one. “How about you guys?”
    â€œGot caught selling my brother’s Ritalin for recreational purposes.” Meadow fiddled with the clasp on her silver link bracelet, a shiny silver heart dangling from it. “I’ve got another three months to work it off.”
    Jayne didn’t know what to say to that. Sorry you’re a drug dealer didn’t seem right. Instead, she smiled and nodded in consolation.
    â€œDon’t judge us based on Meadow’s lack of judgment here.” Darian smiled. He looked like a guy who was used to getting people to like him. “Me? I’m in your boat. Gotta pump up my résumé in case that basketball scholarship doesn’t come through.”
    Jayne saw Meadow raise her eyebrows as she kept searching through the chip bag. Ryan started to cough, but it was more theatrical than real.
    Darian wasn’t telling the truth. She got it. She stole a glance at Darian again. He was cute in a tall jock sort of way. What’d he do, get caught with alcohol in his locker, or a joint?
    â€œHey, princess, Maria’s waiting for you.” Ryan materialized by her elbow, the armful of cans gone. Jayne felt her cheeks grow warm when she heard that stupid nickname again.
    Was she blushing? Wow. She was embarrassed about the nickname. And since she didn’t care what Meadow thought, she must’ve been caring about what Darian thought.
    Never in her life had she cared what a boy thought. Well, a boy boy. Tom didn’t count.
    Darian’s voice followed her as she walked away. “If you get bored, my screen name is IHeartBB. It’s totally gay, but Meadow picked it out.”
    Jayne didn’t turn around. She felt weird having a boy yell to her to call him. Or rather, “IM” him. She’d never really had a guy do that before. Sure, there was Tom, but he wasn’t a guy guy.
    As they walked away, Jayne asked in a low voice, “Why is he here? Drugs?”
    â€œDrugs?” Ryan laughed. “Sure, why not.”

14
    JAYNIE, YOU IN THERE?”
    Ellie’s voice sounded halfway hopeful on the other side of the bedroom door. Which was weird since Jayne had stayed pretty much to herself these last couple of months and hadn’t exactly been chatty. She’d become an expert at avoiding Ellie all day and night. Luckily, if she pissed off Ellie early enough, her sister would hold a