Page 15 of XO

The look he gives is one I’ve never seen before. Respect maybe? Calling a truce?

“Jacob!” While the sound of the whiney voice pulls his attention, his suddenly annoyed eyes remain glued to mine. “Gotta go,” he says, resigned to his current fate.

I don’t say anything as I watch him leave, but no more than two steps away he turns to face me, annoyance replaced with anticipation. “Hey, I wanted to ask… we have a huge home game next Friday night. It would be good to see you there.”

I’m thrown completely off guard. It’s one thing to learn lines for the play, but to actually invite me somewhere, so he can enjoy my company is something completely different and unexpected. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck bristle. “Why would you want me there? I thought you’d have enough girls waiting to cheer you on.”

For a second, his frown mimics mine. “I just—”

“Jacob!” Chelsea yells, her impatience grating on my nerves. Jacob rolls his eyes and gives a tight smile. “Starts at seven,” he mentions before heading in the direction of his human leech. Chelsea smirks, in victory, but the look of death shooting my way makes it difficult not to lift my middle finger at her.

“What the heck was that?” Nessie asks, eyes wide.

“I don’t know.”

“Jacob Lynch was just super nice to you, and I don’t even think he was being nice to be mean.”

I understand her theory—I can count on one finger the amount of times Jacob has been nice me. “I feel like it’s a setup.”

Nessie looks doubtful. “I don’t know, he sure seemed sincere.”

“And that’s probably where the trick lies. Fool me with kindness before humiliating me.”

She leans forward as if discussing a code-red conspiracy theory. “Do you think that’s his objective this time?”

“Why wouldn’t it be? Why should this time be any different?”

“So, are you going to go?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think I should take the risk.” I feel another sharp stab of pain in my abdomen reminding me to book in with Dr. Symmonds. “Besides,” I say, pushing the ham sandwich out of sight. “I don’t even like football.”

I glance over my shoulder and spy both Jacob and Chelsea with their backs to me. She snuggles in close while he wraps an arm around her waist. The look he gave me moments earlier is totally incongruous to his current public display of affection which begs one question.

What are you up to, Jacob Lynch?

4

THEN

By the end of the day, I’m ready to go home, but my commitments simply don’t allow me that luxury. The pain, instead of it being sporadic and unpredictable, is now persistent, offering no downtime. I wipe the sweat from my brow even though the air conditioner is pumping away and set the newspaper and wire on the floor. My objective, provided by Ms. Zagwich, is to create some of the smaller props for the prom. Whimsical garden features that would be suitable for a tribe of fairies, and paper mâché is my starting point. Anna silently roams around the art room, stocktaking what materials we have available to us.

Rolling out the chicken wire, I lean over and cut a straight line ready to start work on my first giant mushroom.

“Do you think Ms. Zagwich knew what she was saying when she called it a magic mushroom?” Kevin’s voice startles me from behind. I turn as he enters the room, all confidence and smiles, his hands jammed into his football jacket.

I smile back, remembering the giggles among us as we were all given our tasks for the last period of the day. Only three of us are present, Jacob and Chelsea deciding they had better things to do. Considering she wanted to hijack the prom planning, she sure isn’t too keen on the hard labor or working with others.

“I don’t think she understands most of what happens in the world,” I add. Ms. Zagwich is a fantastic teacher and her choosingA Midsummer Night’s Dreamfor the prom is no mistake. She genuinely is off with the fairies.

Kevin slides in next to me, invading my space but not necessarily in a bad way. He watches me curiously wearing a playful smile. I blush under his gaze.

“So, Rosie.”

“Yes, Kevin?”

He smirks and it’s disarming. “What’s the deal with you and Jacob?”

I freeze, my smile fading. “I’ve told you already… there’s nothing. Why are you so persistent about it?”

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