Page 38 of Forget Me Not

Ed and I find Cooper waiting for us outside the administrator’s office. She’s doing an exceptional job studying her new schedule. Or, maybe she’s just staring at the paper to avoid having to make eye contact with all the other students moving through the hall like unruly herds of cattle.

“Coop,” I call her name to get her attention over the noise.

She lifts her gaze, searching for me, her bright blue eyes land on me almost immediately and she smiles, waving at us. Weaving her way through a new crowd of freshman cruising through, she cuts across to where we’re standing. “Hey.” She’s damn near giddy. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen her quite like this.

“What’s up with you?”

She turns her schedule around to show me. “I have the same bitch for first period!”

I grin. “I’m sorry. That really sucks for you.”

She shoves me playfully, doing her best to look stern, but it doesn’t stick. “Don’t you get it? We have a class together! Not only are we actually in the same school at the same time, but we get to start every day hanging out from now until we graduate!”

“You’re only this excited because you think I’m exaggerating what a bitch our teacher is,” I tease as we start to walk. But Cooper won’t be fazed. She just hooks her arm into mine and keeps jabbering on about all the ways this is going to turn out to be the best thing that’s ever happened to us. It’s not the best. It’s the most normal. Which, makes it seem like it’s the best.

“Hold up,” Ed cuts in just as we’re about to walk into class. “You’re not like gonna try and pass us notes and shit, are you? I know you and Gun are besties and all, and I’m totally down with being pals, but I don’t want all the slumber parties we’ve had together to give you the wrong idea, I’m a dude. Passing notes, giggling and anything that involves hearts and doodles of any kind, are not my department.”

She frowns. “You think I would doodle hearts and shit?”

I wrap my arm around her shoulder and squeeze her close to me, kissing her temple. “That’s my girl. All disgusted withhearts and shit.” Maybe she’s right. Maybe having first period togetheristhe best thing that’s ever happened to us.

By the time we get out of class, Cooper’s ready to transfer schools. That’s how mean our teacher is.

“What happened to her to make her like that?” she asks, still shaking her head in disbelief.

I shrug. “No idea. I mean, there are plenty of stories floating around, but I doubt any of them are remotely close to the truth.”

Ed smirks. “I don’t know. I kinda think that one rumor going around about her being abducted by aliens and returned without a soul may be onto something. You ever watch her when she’s just sitting at her desk? She taps her ring finger on the wood. Over and over and over again. Just that one finger. I think it’s a tick of some sort. A glitch in the alien programming. Just a matter of time before she breaks and we all wind up alien lunch.”

I laugh, but Cooper doesn’t. When I turn to check on her, she’s clearly contemplating Ed’s story.

“I think you may be overanalyzing what he said.”

“Huh?” I’ve never known anyone who could sink so fast. It only takes a second for Coop to completely drown inside her own mind and totally check out. When we were younger it scared me. Now I know she comes back as fast as she goes.

“You followed that trail of thought way too far, Coop.”

The corner of her mouth curves up. Just the one side. I can usually tell how lost she got in her own thoughts by how long it takes her to commit to a full smile again once she’s back out. Half a smile’s not too bad. “I was just wondering if maybe she was engaged at some point and it didn’t work out. I mean, maybe that’s why the ring finger. Maybe it’s subconscious. Maybe he ditched her at the altar. Or died. I mean, I could see how either one of those could seriously piss a person off.”

“An interesting idea. Tell you what, you go straight down this hall for two more class rooms, then turn left at the third door, that’s your second period. Feel free to continue to contemplate the aliens versus broken heart theory and tell us what you’ve concluded when we catch you later.”

She stops. “Later when?”

“Lunch. Just hang by the lockers closest to the cafeteria and we’ll find you.”

She nods and starts walking again, following the directions I gave her. Then she spins back around on her heel, grinning. “This is weird by the way. You treating me like it’s the first time I’ve ever started a new school and had to find my way around in uncharted territory.”

I’m about to answer her when Ed cuts in, “He’s not being nearly as nice as you think. Your next class is in the opposite direction, out the doors and to your left in the last trailer parallel to this building. And there aren’t any lockers to be found anywhere near the cafeteria.” He presses his lips together and shakes his head back and forth in slow motion. “At all.”

She briefly looks offended as she marches back to where she came from. Then, she grabs me by the arms in passing, yanks me to her and smacks her lips square against mine, laughing. “Thank God. I was starting to think our last stint in a holding cell made you go soft or something.”

Then she keeps walking backwards toward the doors, her eyes locked on mine and giving me the finger the entire way.

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Reed

Present Day

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