Pass It On by J. Minter Page B

baseboards.”
    â€œDon’t worry. Once you get comfortable with it, it’ll seem really cool.”
    After he was gone I tossed my clothes around for a while, like a salad. I concentrated on Ruth, and her face did the thing in my mind where I couldn’t fully see it, which I knew meant I had a huge crush on her, and I couldn’t wait to see her in the flesh again.
    But the peals of laughter coming from Mickey’s mom in my kitchen snapped me back to attention. The idea that I knew where Mickey’s mom was and Mickey didn’t …
oh man
. And the hand holding and what it would no doubt lead to the moment I got out of there—that made me really sick.

david shouldn’t be surprised
    â€œThanks for meeting me.” Amanda stood with David on the corner of West Broadway and Thomas, across from Odeon. It was quiet, and the trees on the street formed a canopy over them. Amanda stared up at David, and hot gusts of breath escaped her lips.
    â€œOf course.” David used a sweet voice, and he smiled at Amanda, who was wearing one of her awesome short skirts and white leggings, which she knew he liked. He touched her cheek.
    â€œHave you thought about what I suggested the other night?” Amanda asked. She blinked up at David. She rubbed his arms. She said, “Wow, you’re getting so strong.”
    â€œUm, yeah, I’ve thought about it,” David said. Of course he had, but he hadn’t figured out what to do about it.
    â€œSo, we’re going to do it?” Amanda said. She glanced at the Odeon, as if someone were waiting for her there. “Look, I really need to know that we are. Because…”
    â€œBecause why?”
    Amanda didn’t speak. Expensive cars sped past them on West Broadway, and women walked by carrying tiny yipping dogs. One of the women smiled at David, and Amanda saw. Her eyes went wide.
    â€œYou’re becoming quite a catch. It’s hard to keep up with you,” she said.
    â€œDon’t say that,” David said.
    â€œI need to be in Odeon in a few minutes. I’m meeting my SAT tutor there. I was going to blow off the session, but if you’re not going to ask me the thing I asked you to ask me, I guess I’d better go get smart instead.”
    â€œUh, you’re taking private tutoring in addition to Princeton Review?”
    â€œYeah, this is better, he’s some guy who really went to Princeton. He works for my dad. There he is.”
    They watched as a handsome young man in a suit got out of a cab and dashed into the restaurant.
    â€œI’m late.” Amanda’s voice seemed small, and nervous. “And if you’re not going to like, up the stakes with us, I’ve got to go.”
    â€œBut don’t you think what you’re asking for seems kind of unreal?” David asked.
    â€œSure it is. But David…it’s like everybody wants you. It’s getting hard for me to handle.” She took a few steps back from him.
    David stared. He waved his hands around, as if he were trying to erase something.
    Amanda turned. The light was green. She walked across the street.
    â€œI love you, David,” she yelled.
    â€œWait!”
    She didn’t look back, though, so David followed her. They reached the front of Odeon, which was Art Deco with lots of warm red light and an overall feel that was not exactly inviting to guys in hoodies and the new And Ones.
    â€œStop me,” she said, as she put her hand on the big brass doorknob.
    â€œWait,” was all David could say. In the back of his mind he couldn’t help thinking how bizarre it was that she thought he was so sought-after and confident when he was so totally not.
    The Princeton guy must have seen Amanda, because he came to the door and opened it for her. He wasn’t a big guy, but he looked about twenty-three and extremely eager to please. David noticed that the guy didn’t even bother to glare at