place—because you were in trouble back home?”
“I don’t think it’s any of your business what happened to her prior to arriving here,” Ben tells Mr. Everett.
I wish I had a camera, because the look on Mr. Everett’s face is priceless. Instead of sending Ben to the principal’s office or giving him an extra assignment, they have a showdown with their eyes.
Ben wins.
Mr. Everett clears his throat and pretends to shuffle a few papers around on his desk. “You’re right. It’s none of my business.” He turns around to the board.
“How’d you do that?” I whisper.
Ben cuts me a sideways glance and the corner of his lips slightly curves. “I’m just good like that, I guess.”
“Huh.” It comes out as more of a huff, but I’m sure he heard me. I fall back against my seat, paying attention to Mr. Everett this time. After all, he’s right. I’m here to stay out of trouble, and to keep my grades from slipping. The bad part? Now that I have new friends and Ben, I don’t miss home as much. Pathetic, I know.
The bell rings and Ben stands, saying, “See you after school.”
Sitting with Jana and Blake at lunch is the worst part of the day. Both avoid any eye contact, and neither say one word to me, like I’m invisible. It’s not like I have anyone else to sit with either. Ben has a totally different lunch schedule than me. It’d be much easier to carry on a conversation with him right now.
At the end of the day, I stand at my usual spot near the building, and away from the curb. My eyes stretch, searching for his BMW.
“Please don’t tell me you’re riding home with him again.” Jana’s voice startles me.
“Uh, actually I am. Why?”
“This is wrong. So very, very wrong. You have no idea what you’re getting into, Candra. Please don’t do this.” The expression on her face grabs hold of my stomach and twists it into a pretzel. She’s pained, concerned. Is Ben really that bad?
“He’s not like them,” I say. This is getting out of hand. How many times do I have to tell someone that it doesn’t matter what our families think, as long as we have fun together?
But then I wonder if that’s the same as living a lie.
Jana throws her arms around my neck in a sudden hug. “Just be careful, okay?”
I nod, still unsure of what the big deal is. So his brothers want to bully me, and we’re both stuck in the middle of this stupid family feud. Who cares? If we choose to live a different life, then so be it.
Ben pulls his car next to the curb. I run over and open the door.
“Miss me?” he jokes. His head lowers, so he glances at me through his long, black lashes.
“Ugh. I never thought today would end,” I groan, getting in his car. Immediately his earthy cologne fills my nostrils; it’s musky and thick and I could inhale it all day.
“Why’s that?” He moves the gears into drive. One hand clutches the steering wheel, the other rests on top of the shifter. We creep through the ocean of students in the parking lot.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I get to see you.” My chest feels like an elephant’s sitting on it. Why’s it so hard to tell him?
Ben gives me a quick glance, and the corner of his mouth twists. He doesn’t say much on the way home, adjusting the radio so it plays some mellow rock music. As we pull into my driveway, he slows to a stop.
I shoot him a confused look. “What’s wrong?”
“You know we’re just friends, right?” he asks.
I know what those words mean. He doesn’t want anything further with me. It’s okay to date Lily, the bottled-blonde ditz who worries about shopping and her looks more than life itself.
But, to play along in what might be the sorriest excuse known to man, I say, “Oh, yeah, of course. You didn’t think…I mean, because of what I said…” What did I say again? I fake a laugh.
He smiles, rubbing his fingers along the two-day old whiskers surfacing on his chin. “I just wanted to be clear.” But his
“I don’t think it’s any of your business what happened to her prior to arriving here,” Ben tells Mr. Everett.
I wish I had a camera, because the look on Mr. Everett’s face is priceless. Instead of sending Ben to the principal’s office or giving him an extra assignment, they have a showdown with their eyes.
Ben wins.
Mr. Everett clears his throat and pretends to shuffle a few papers around on his desk. “You’re right. It’s none of my business.” He turns around to the board.
“How’d you do that?” I whisper.
Ben cuts me a sideways glance and the corner of his lips slightly curves. “I’m just good like that, I guess.”
“Huh.” It comes out as more of a huff, but I’m sure he heard me. I fall back against my seat, paying attention to Mr. Everett this time. After all, he’s right. I’m here to stay out of trouble, and to keep my grades from slipping. The bad part? Now that I have new friends and Ben, I don’t miss home as much. Pathetic, I know.
The bell rings and Ben stands, saying, “See you after school.”
Sitting with Jana and Blake at lunch is the worst part of the day. Both avoid any eye contact, and neither say one word to me, like I’m invisible. It’s not like I have anyone else to sit with either. Ben has a totally different lunch schedule than me. It’d be much easier to carry on a conversation with him right now.
At the end of the day, I stand at my usual spot near the building, and away from the curb. My eyes stretch, searching for his BMW.
“Please don’t tell me you’re riding home with him again.” Jana’s voice startles me.
“Uh, actually I am. Why?”
“This is wrong. So very, very wrong. You have no idea what you’re getting into, Candra. Please don’t do this.” The expression on her face grabs hold of my stomach and twists it into a pretzel. She’s pained, concerned. Is Ben really that bad?
“He’s not like them,” I say. This is getting out of hand. How many times do I have to tell someone that it doesn’t matter what our families think, as long as we have fun together?
But then I wonder if that’s the same as living a lie.
Jana throws her arms around my neck in a sudden hug. “Just be careful, okay?”
I nod, still unsure of what the big deal is. So his brothers want to bully me, and we’re both stuck in the middle of this stupid family feud. Who cares? If we choose to live a different life, then so be it.
Ben pulls his car next to the curb. I run over and open the door.
“Miss me?” he jokes. His head lowers, so he glances at me through his long, black lashes.
“Ugh. I never thought today would end,” I groan, getting in his car. Immediately his earthy cologne fills my nostrils; it’s musky and thick and I could inhale it all day.
“Why’s that?” He moves the gears into drive. One hand clutches the steering wheel, the other rests on top of the shifter. We creep through the ocean of students in the parking lot.
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I get to see you.” My chest feels like an elephant’s sitting on it. Why’s it so hard to tell him?
Ben gives me a quick glance, and the corner of his mouth twists. He doesn’t say much on the way home, adjusting the radio so it plays some mellow rock music. As we pull into my driveway, he slows to a stop.
I shoot him a confused look. “What’s wrong?”
“You know we’re just friends, right?” he asks.
I know what those words mean. He doesn’t want anything further with me. It’s okay to date Lily, the bottled-blonde ditz who worries about shopping and her looks more than life itself.
But, to play along in what might be the sorriest excuse known to man, I say, “Oh, yeah, of course. You didn’t think…I mean, because of what I said…” What did I say again? I fake a laugh.
He smiles, rubbing his fingers along the two-day old whiskers surfacing on his chin. “I just wanted to be clear.” But his
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