Page 70 of Indiscretion

Fuck my life. Why couldn’t this be the stupid music one? Though I didn’t want to sound like an idiot who didn’t even know what he was getting himself into. So I nodded. “My mom’s birthday is coming up. I thought I could make her something.”

A chorus ofawwwswent around the room, and hot-ass Allie patted the desk next to her. “That’s so sweet. Come sit here, and I’ll show you how to do it.”

Maybe this wasn’t a bad idea after all. I started to walk toward her, momentarily forgetting the reason I’d stuck around, when my eyes met Bailey’s. I looked between the two girls before responding to Allie. “Thanks. But I think I’m going to sit over there.”

Bailey’s eyes widened as I made my way over. But by the time I sat down, the look on her face I’d thought was happy had turned to something else—something pretty pissed off. “What are you doing?” she hissed.

I plopped down into the seat next to her. “Apparently making a stupid bracelet.”

She lifted her chin to the gaggle of girls. “Why aren’t you sitting with them?”

“Why can’t I sit here? Do you got the cooties or something?”

Her eyes narrowed. “You know, don’t you?”

“Know what?”

“That I don’t have alopecia.”

“You don’t?”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re not a very good liar.”

“What does it matter if I know or not?”

“Because I don’t want your sympathy.”

“Who said anything about me giving you sympathy?”

“That’s why you’re sitting here instead of with the hot girl who was batting her eyelashes at you, isn’t it?”

“No.” I respondedwaaytoo fast.

Bailey pursed her lips. “Okay, then whyareyou sitting with me?”

I tried to come up with a reason—any reason—but drew a complete blank, at least until my eyes found her violin case. “I was hoping if I was nice to you, you might give me violin lessons.”

“Youplay violin?”

“Well, not yet, but I’ve always wanted to.”

Her already narrowed eyes squinted to slits as she assessed my level of bullshit. “So you’re not giving me pity friendship, you’re using me?”

It sounded like a trick question, but I figured she’d rather the latter. I smiled wide to try to sell that I was an asshole. It wasn’t that hard, since I usually was. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Bailey took a minute to digest my response, but eventually she grinned. “Okay, but we’re making friendship bracelets in here, and you can’t wear your own because that’s bad luck, so we’re going to exchange, and you have to wear what I make you every day if you want me to give you lessons.”

I didn’t understand the current craze of wearing a million bracelets and trading with your friends, but even Ben wore a few, so it wasn’t a big deal. I shrugged. “Whatever it takes.”

For the next forty minutes, I strung a bunch of beads onto clear string. The plastic box Mrs. Kline gave out had letters and beads of all different shapes and colors. A lot of the girls in school wore bracelets that spelled out what their friends thought was their best quality—like the girl who sat next to me in English wore one every day that saidkeeps secrets. And Becca Norris wore a hot pink one that readsmiley. Bailey was just going to get her name spelled out, and she would be lucky if I didn’t screw that up. I used a lot of blue because I’d noticed she wore that color every day last week. When the bell rang at the end of class, I was just knotting the ends of the bracelet.

Bailey stood and hoisted her backpack to her shoulder.

“I have a doctor’s appointment after school. So I can do it about six, if that works for you?”

“Do it?”

She arched a brow. “Did you forget already? I’m giving you violin lessons.”

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