Page 63 of The Art of Us

“Mara’s being sued for libel ... or maybe it’s slander?”

“Ireland lived in a bathroom.”

“Not just any bathroom. It was an outhouse.”

“So weird.”

With every whisper, Kal’s heart sank lower. What had he done?

Mr. Wasden didn’t have any more information than anyone else, but he’d declared that even if he did, he couldn’t tell him.

And despite all the rumors in school, Kal figured no one there knew anything more than he did. Probably less.

“Proud of yourself?” Emily stood blocking his way to his physics class.

“Not in the least.” If his honest response surprised her, she didn’t show it.

“You really screwed up Mara’s life, Kal.”

“So I figured. I’m really sorry.”

“She had to make a statement to the police, you know. Her parents are going crazy with the whole situation, and she’s stuck living with a girl that you planted in her house like some spy.”

“Ireland is not a spy. Mr. Wasden and Mara’s parents arranged that. Not me.” Kal considered going around Emily but stopped. “Is she okay?”

“No. I just told you. She had to talk to the police. There’s this whole thing.”

“Talking to the police is not a bad thing. He hurt her. There should be consequences. And anyway, I mean Ireland. Is she okay?”

Emily put a hand on the hip of her canary-yellow miniskirt. “You did not just ask me to verify the well-being of the spy.”

“She’s not a spy, Emily.”

“Whatever.”

She finally moved out of his way so he could get into his seat on time, even if she didn’t give him any of the information he wanted.

Kal’s physics teacher seemed to not care Kal didn’t feel like talking because she kept calling on him. “Describe heliocentrism.”

Kal looked out at the people. Emily was in the class and giving him a flat stare. Several other people looked curious. He already had a type of infamy for being in a band, and now he was connected to the situation between Rowan, Mara, and Ireland. He cleared his throat and gave a response so he could sit down and mope in peace. “Heliocentrism means the sun is at thecenter of our solar system, not the Earth. Planets go around the sun. It replaced the idea that Earth was the center, helping us understand our place in space.”

Kal moved back to his seat and heard a few muttered comments about Rowan or Mara from people who seemed to think the world revolved around one or the other depending on whose side the person was on. How Mara was being called out confused him. And Rowan running around a track hardly made him worth being the center of anyone’s universe.

Since Ireland and Mara were both absent from school, only four members of the art club were left to try to wrap things up with the mural. The detail work required to blend everything while still letting each piece of work stand on its own took way longer than Kal had imagined. If Ireland had been there, they would be swapping puns about chickens or elephants or whatever came to mind or they would be playing would-you-rather games.

Kal missed her.

He was agony walking.

He hated knowing Ireland was out there in the world and hurting and that it had been him who caused the pain.

Would Mara’s parents kick Ireland out of the house because of all that had happened? Would she end up homeless again? Not like it was Ireland’s fault that Rowan hurt Mara, but Ireland was part of all the rumors taking place.

And Mara. How was Mara in all of this? Kal’s eyes kept going back to the flower garden she and Ireland had created on the wall. Ireland had wanted to help Mara. And Kal had screwed it all up.

His phone buzzed with a message from Ireland. His hands shook while he swept his finger over the screen. “Kal, I appreciate you telling me the truth. But I don’t think I can trust you. You promised you wouldn’t tell. But you broke your word. Iknow this is my fault too, but maybe that’s the problem. Maybe us both being at fault means we’re a toxic match.”

That was the whole message.

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