the floor. I noticed a bouncer place a RESERVED sign on the table after we were gone.
Jules and I stuck together, but after a few minutes I got carried away in the music, and the fact that I was dancing with the Dead Elvises, and it was a long time before I remembered my mom was gone and her murderer’s trial would start soon.
ELEVEN
NOW
School. Less than four months left.
I wasn’t sure how Jack would react after Cole had showed up at school as “Neal.” I would’ve understood if he decided to completely ignore me, and maybe even ditched out on Mrs. Stone’s classroom after school.
But I was not expecting him to seek me out at lunch. I was sitting in my usual nook next to the drinking fountain when he turned the corner. He sat down on the floor against the opposite wall, facing me.
I stared hard at my knitting needles, their frantic pace nearly making them blur. What was he doing?
“Jules told me where you’ve been eating lunch,” he said.
I nodded, but I didn’t look up.
“Is this okay?” he asked.
I wanted to say no, but that answer would have required further explanation, and I didn’t want that. So I nodded once.
We ate in silence. I worried about what we would say to each other, but it never came up. He didn’t say another word.
When I got to Mrs. Stone’s classroom after school, Jack was already there. As I sat down, he stood.
“Mrs. Stone?”
“Yes, Mr. Caputo?”
“Do you mind if I close the door? Sometimes the commotion in the hallway is a bit distracting, for me at least, and I don’t want my friends thinking they can come in here and bug me.”
I looked up at Jack’s face, and then at Mrs. Stone’s. Jack always had a way of sounding like he was in charge of any situation.
“That’s fine, Jack. I’m happy to see you so dedicated.” Her eyes shifted to me as she said the word dedicated. “I hope you won’t mind if I go in and out? In the course of my teacher duties?” she said with half a smile.
Jack shook his head. “No. That’s fine.”
“Thank you, Mr. Caputo.”
Jack went to shut the door, then sat back down, and it hit me that maybe he was acting this way because of the encounter with Cole. Was I reading it right? He was protecting me. If Cole showed up again today, he’d have to go through Jack. It made my heart race.
We worked in silence for the first half hour, but I couldn’t concentrate. Did I really think I could choose to Return and then just watch Jack from a distance? He wasn’t going to allow it. This wasn’t fair to him.
I turned toward him. “Jack, you really shouldn’t be—”
“Shush. I’m trying to work,” he growled. He kept his head down, but his lips turned up slightly.
A soft chuckle escaped me. The first in a hundred years. Jack stared at me, and I gasped.
“What’d you say?” he asked.
I shook my head, my mouth slightly open. I couldn’t have just laughed. I didn’t even have the ability anymore, did I?
“It sounded like a laugh.”
“No,” I said abruptly. “No. It’s not funny.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure? Because it sounded almost as if you said something to me, and then I said something back that you found funny. And you giggled. I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.”
I took a few calming breaths. “No. That’s impossible.”
“Impossible that I said something funny?”
And there it was. I laughed again. “No. Impossible that I laughed.”
His smile widened, and I laughed some more, at first because it was obviously not impossible, and then because I knew what it meant. I’d recovered enough to laugh.
Jack seemed amazed. “I think anything’s possible, Becks.”
And then the fleeting levity disappeared. He called me Becks. He believed anything was possible. I couldn’t let him believe that. I was being selfish.
I didn’t bother putting my books in my bag. I just grabbed them and took off. I could hear his footsteps behind me as I yanked the door open.
“I’ll just
Jules and I stuck together, but after a few minutes I got carried away in the music, and the fact that I was dancing with the Dead Elvises, and it was a long time before I remembered my mom was gone and her murderer’s trial would start soon.
ELEVEN
NOW
School. Less than four months left.
I wasn’t sure how Jack would react after Cole had showed up at school as “Neal.” I would’ve understood if he decided to completely ignore me, and maybe even ditched out on Mrs. Stone’s classroom after school.
But I was not expecting him to seek me out at lunch. I was sitting in my usual nook next to the drinking fountain when he turned the corner. He sat down on the floor against the opposite wall, facing me.
I stared hard at my knitting needles, their frantic pace nearly making them blur. What was he doing?
“Jules told me where you’ve been eating lunch,” he said.
I nodded, but I didn’t look up.
“Is this okay?” he asked.
I wanted to say no, but that answer would have required further explanation, and I didn’t want that. So I nodded once.
We ate in silence. I worried about what we would say to each other, but it never came up. He didn’t say another word.
When I got to Mrs. Stone’s classroom after school, Jack was already there. As I sat down, he stood.
“Mrs. Stone?”
“Yes, Mr. Caputo?”
“Do you mind if I close the door? Sometimes the commotion in the hallway is a bit distracting, for me at least, and I don’t want my friends thinking they can come in here and bug me.”
I looked up at Jack’s face, and then at Mrs. Stone’s. Jack always had a way of sounding like he was in charge of any situation.
“That’s fine, Jack. I’m happy to see you so dedicated.” Her eyes shifted to me as she said the word dedicated. “I hope you won’t mind if I go in and out? In the course of my teacher duties?” she said with half a smile.
Jack shook his head. “No. That’s fine.”
“Thank you, Mr. Caputo.”
Jack went to shut the door, then sat back down, and it hit me that maybe he was acting this way because of the encounter with Cole. Was I reading it right? He was protecting me. If Cole showed up again today, he’d have to go through Jack. It made my heart race.
We worked in silence for the first half hour, but I couldn’t concentrate. Did I really think I could choose to Return and then just watch Jack from a distance? He wasn’t going to allow it. This wasn’t fair to him.
I turned toward him. “Jack, you really shouldn’t be—”
“Shush. I’m trying to work,” he growled. He kept his head down, but his lips turned up slightly.
A soft chuckle escaped me. The first in a hundred years. Jack stared at me, and I gasped.
“What’d you say?” he asked.
I shook my head, my mouth slightly open. I couldn’t have just laughed. I didn’t even have the ability anymore, did I?
“It sounded like a laugh.”
“No,” I said abruptly. “No. It’s not funny.”
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Are you sure? Because it sounded almost as if you said something to me, and then I said something back that you found funny. And you giggled. I’m pretty sure that’s what happened.”
I took a few calming breaths. “No. That’s impossible.”
“Impossible that I said something funny?”
And there it was. I laughed again. “No. Impossible that I laughed.”
His smile widened, and I laughed some more, at first because it was obviously not impossible, and then because I knew what it meant. I’d recovered enough to laugh.
Jack seemed amazed. “I think anything’s possible, Becks.”
And then the fleeting levity disappeared. He called me Becks. He believed anything was possible. I couldn’t let him believe that. I was being selfish.
I didn’t bother putting my books in my bag. I just grabbed them and took off. I could hear his footsteps behind me as I yanked the door open.
“I’ll just
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