Secondary Characters by Rachel Schieffelbein Page A

she walks calmly over to me. Or at least that’s how it would look to Nick, who’s staring at her back.
    I, on the other hand, can see that her eyes are all lit up and her mouth is open in a silent, “Ahh!!” When she reaches me she grabs my hand and squeezes it so tight I think my fingers might fall off.
    “Ow,” I say, laughing and ripping my hand out of her lumberjack grip. “I take it things went well with Nick.”
    “Yes,” she says slyly, raising her eyebrows. “We have a date next Saturday night … and so do you!” She turns away from me and starts walking fast. Then she spins back around and grins, waiting for my reaction.
    I glare at her. “What? With who?” I ask, even though I have a feeling I know who. Nick’s best friend. Lance. Does she really think I’ll agree to that? Is she out of her freaking mind?
    She tips her head back and laughs.
    ***
    It’s a beautiful fall day, the sun is shining, and I’m stuck sitting here on a float wearing a suit and a football jersey with a plastic crown on my head like a freaking idiot.
    I’m supposed to be waving at the crowd, but Mabel is sitting in front of me in a sexy teal dress that totally shows off her smooth, tan skin, and all I can think about is asking her out. I’ll ask her if she’s going to the game tonight, which I know she is, and then I’ll ask her if she wants to hang out afterward.
    Should be easy enough.
    So why is it so damn hard?
    Okay, quit being a wuss and just do it. I lean forward. She smells like lilacs and I can already feel my heart racing. Without thinking, I reach up and grab the back of her folding chair and pull her toward me.
    Not a great idea.
    She screams. Like a freaking banshee.
    Note to self: in the future, do not flip Mabel over.
    I manage to say something, but my pathetic attempt at humor causes her to roll her eyes and turn away before I can ask her. Damn it. Why do I always turn into an idiot around her? I spend the rest of the parade mentally kicking myself. And inhaling the lingering scent of lilac.
    When the parade is over, I see Nick getting Amber’s phone number. Of course. Lucky bastard. It’s so damn easy for him.
    He watches Amber walk away before jogging over to me. He’s got a shit-eating grin on his face. I am seriously tempted to punch him.
    “How the hell do you do it, man?” I ask him.
    “You owe me,” he says, jabbing his finger into my chest.
    “What are you talking about?”
    “Next Saturday night, I’m going out with Amber … and I talked her into making it a double date.”
    “No way,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. Something in my stomach is starting to buzz like a bunch of bumblebees, but I don’t want to get my hopes up in case he’s just being a jackass. Which is likely.
    “We’re going to a movie and she said she’d get Maybie to come, too.” He nods toward the girls, who are laughing together across the street.
    It takes me a minute to soak it in.
    “Are you frickin’ serious?” I ask.
    I’m going on a date with Mabel Johnson? Hell yeah!
    I turn back to Nick, but now I’m the one grinning like an idiot.
    “Yeah, well, you owe me,” he says. “I mean it. “I’m thinking you can do my English homework for the rest of the semester.” He nods at me, his face serious. “Sound good?”
    “Yeah, right.” I shake my head and roll my eyes. “I think Mrs. Sandberg would notice if you suddenly started using two-syllable words.”
    “Fuck you, man.” He laughs and punches me in the shoulder. Hard. But I can barely feel it.
    I have a date with Mabel. I am on cloud frickin’ nine. If I wasn’t standing in the middle of a crowd full of Tiger fans, with Mabel and Amber just a few yards away, I would totally be jumping up and down right now.

Chapter Two
    Amber and I stand under the lights at the bottom of the hill—as close to the field as we can get—to watch the game. Okay, that’s not entirely true. We’re not so much watching the game as the players. Amber’s