Page 51 of Neverland

Chapter 14

THEN

“Good news, Lucy,” Mr. Daniels called, approaching my locker. We didn’t have English class so he’d purposefully sought me out. “Your C- is now an A, well done!” He handed me the test paper I’d been allowed to re-sit. Mr. Rosser instructed my teachers to give special consideration due to my circumstances.

“Thank you.” I smiled, looking at the red A at the top of the page. Now all I had was math to re-sit and I’d be back on track to securing the scholarship. Nothing was going to stop me now.

“And I may as well give you both these.” Again, he handed a form to me and the other to Romeo. “I can’t take the whole class to the theater so I’m giving you the permission forms now before I distribute them tomorrow. If you could get them signed and returned to me by the morning, you’ll secure your spot.”

I shifted nervously. “Mr. Daniels, is it okay if I get Romeo’s mom to sign it?”

He smiled, regretfully. “I’m sorry, Lucy. I wish I could say yes to that, but it has to be a parent or legal guardian.”

Romeo nudged me gently with his elbow. “It’s okay, Luce, we’ll do it on our way home. I’ll come with you.”

A part of me felt like it wasn’t worth the hassle. Who knew what could be waiting me for back home. I hadn’t returned to the house since I carried my mother to the Sanchezes’. Now, I had to show my face and ask for their signature as if nothing had happened. I considered forging it, but I’d never actually seen a signature belonging to either of them so I’d just be creating one. The problem with creating my own with their name was that we all knew the school cross-referenced signatures with what was on enrolment forms to stop the very deceitful practice from happening. The punishment was suspension, and for me, the punishment for being suspended would be losing my scholarship. I had to either suck it up or not go at all. But I’d be damned if I was going to let my asshole father get in the way of my success. I crossed my fingers he’d be passed out and would never know I was there seeing Mom.

We left Mr. Daniels with the promise of signed slips and made our way home, the journey more subdued than usual. On a typical afternoon walk home, Romeo would often spend the time relaying a story he’d heard about someone in his class but adding his own dramatic twist just to hear me laugh, or he’d gently tease until I was in a fit of giggles. Today, he could feel the weight on my shoulders and didn’t press me.

“Romeo!”

We turned to the voice yelling from across the street. When I saw who it belonged to I groaned and wished I was rude enough to just keep walking.

“Hey, Callie,” Romeo greeted the beautiful blonde who was now crossing the road like a graceful gazelle. “What’s up?”

Her big blue, perfect eyes flicked to me but otherwise made no effort to acknowledge my existence. She was too caught up in acting all doe-eyed for Romeo. It was no secret Callie, the cheerleader-in-training, had a massive crush on him. “I was wondering if you had a date to the dance next Friday, and if you didn’t would you like to be my partner?”

A blast of sirens erupted down the street and within seconds, both ambulance and the police vehicles sped by in a blur of blue and red, the ear-shattering noise causing us all to block our ears. When the noise subsided, and with Callie making a point of waiting patiently for her response, the conversation continued.

“Real sweet to offer, Callie, but I already have a date.” There was a smile in his tone and I wondered who could possibly be responsible for that. Callie was already the most beautiful ninth grader in the school.

“Oh!” She attempted to hide her disappointment with her own smile, but it didn’t work. “Well, a bunch of us are heading to Game Zone later for fries and a milkshake. You should join us.”

Again, there was still no acknowledgment of my existence. The sad part was, I was used to it.

Romeo shrugged. “I don’t think so,” he said, letting her down gently for the second time in half a minute. “I’ve got important things to do this afternoon. See you tomorrow.”

Romeo turned and nudged me to fall into stride with him. I glanced over my shoulder to see an annoyed and somewhat pissed off Callie still standing there with her arms folded, one foot tapping on the sidewalk.

“She’s got it bad for you,” I said, feeling a pang of jealousy.

“Callie’s a nice enough girl.” Another pang.

We walked in silence until the burning question needed to be asked. “So, who’s the lucky girl you’re taking to the dance?” I didn’t know if I was ready for the answer. Especially with how I was already feeling about Callie.

Romeo stepped away and looked at me in bewilderment. “You, of course!”

This caused me to stop in my tracks. “Me?”

“Why do you seem so shocked?”

“Because we haven’t even spoken about the dance.”

“I didn’t think we had to. I mean, it’s just a given you and I go together.”

My heart was singing and swooning and doing backflips. And then doubt reared its ugly head. “Are you sure you really want to go with me, because I’m totally cool with you going with someone else if you want to. Like Callie.”

Lies!

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