Page 11 of Break

Great…Sighing, I push my fingers through my hair. “I’m just fine, Mina. You should probably get going home or something. The guys will be here soon.”

Instead of her taking the hint that I’m not in the mood to talk, she moves closer to me and sits to my right, keeping enough space between us for a few more people to settle in. I get hit by a whiff of something sweet wafting from her, like she’s just baked cookies or a cake. I rub my nose to get the scent to disappear.

“My parents aren’t going to be home for a bit. You, umm…” she coughs lightly to clear her nerves away, then continues, “You don’t look fine. You look like you’re upset about something.”

I try to keep the frustration out of my voice when I snap at her. “What do you want me to say? You want me to give you all my feelings and secrets? I hardly think we know each other well enough for that kind of sharing.”

“Maybe not, but there’s this verse in the Bible-”

I groan and drop my head back to look up at the sky. “For the love of God, please don’t throw scriptures out at me right now.”

She doesn’t listen and keeps going like she doesn’t have a care in the world. “Proverbs says ‘A gossip betrays a confidence, but a trustworthy person keeps a secret’.” Silently, she watches me from the corner of her eye. I assume she’s waiting for some reaction, but I don’t know what she’s getting at.

“What’s your point?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the clouds moving slowly above us.

“Mypointis that I’m a trustworthy person, Max. You’re right that you don’t know me well, but I think you know enough that there really isn’t anyone I talk to at school. I’m trustworthy and don’t mind listening.”

My chest tightens at her kindness, but I’m also angry that she’s pushing me on this. Looking over at her, I’m surprised that she’s turned her body toward me. Her ridiculous skirt is pulled as far down her legs as it’ll go and tucked under her thighs. There’s also a glimmer of hope on her face that I’ll confide in her.

Giving in, I remind myself that there’s no harm in giving her what she wants. “Did you know I had been dating Raquel since the end of last year?”

She hums and nods her head slightly, indicating she was aware, so I continue.

“Well, then you may also know that she moved a few months ago. We were doing the whole long-distance thing, but last week she broke things off with me.”

Her eyebrows lift slightly in surprise before looking away from me. “Were you… are you terribly in love with her?”

She jolts when a sharp laugh rushes out of me. “No, but that’s not the point. I don’t like change and she left me in a pretty big bind.”

“Life can’t coexist without change, Max. Otherwise, you’re just existing, not living.” She cocks her head to the side like she’s mulling over her words before asking, “What bind are you in now that you two aren’t dating any longer?”

“Prom,” I grit out, realizing that it sounds superficial, even to my ears.

“Ahh, she was your date?”

Rolling my eyes, I look back up at the sky. “Obviously. I don’t care about it all that much, but we had plans, and her ditching me kind of throws a wrench into everything.”

“It may not be a big deal to some people, but clearly, it’s important to you. Is it the fact that you’ll have to go alone that’s the issue, or that it’s notherwho’s going with you?”

Thinking it over, I shrug. “Going alone, I’d guess.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of girls at school that would love to go as your date. I’m sure you could ask any number of them, and they’d jump at the opportunity,” she softly encourages me.

Snorting at that, I know she’s not wrong, but it makes me a little uncomfortable for some reason that she’s pointing it out. “You say that like you know it for a fact. Why, Mina? You offering to be my date for prom?”

I catch the blush that explodes over her face and feel slightly guilty for putting her on the spot like that. “O-oh… I umm… that’s n-not what… I-I was just saying th-that-”

Interrupting her, I move past that question so she’s not stumbling over her words in embarrassment any longer. “Relax… I’m just messing with you.”

Her shoulders droop; out of relief or disappointment, I’m uncertain. I can tell she’s unsure what to say next, but my mind is poking at me.Why CAN’T you take her?We all know her, and the poor girl probably never gets out. She wasn’t lying when she said that she doesn’t talk to anyone at school. I’d be willing to bet that there aren’t any secret friends outside of school either.

Besides, if I take her, then I won’t have to worry about someone else disrupting the dynamics we have with the guys and their dates. I can take her with me for the photos, and do the dance thing for an hour or two. Then bring her home before we go out for the after parties.

“Actually, that’s not a half bad idea,” I say, sitting up straighter and turning toward her. “Why don’t you come with me? Everyone already knows you anyway.”

I bite back a laugh from the look on her face. Her mouth is hanging open in complete shock, probably because my suggestion came right out of left field. “A-Are you serious?”

“Of course, I’m serious.”

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