Page 19 of Come As You Are

“You don’t like it?”

We stop in front of my chem class. “I’d say ‘never change,’ but I wouldn’t mean it.”

“Right back atcha.”

Salem starts to continue on, then seems to realize I’m not entering the classroom. “Isn’t this where you have chem?”

“Yeah, I just.” I shudder. “Ugh. My original roomie is in this class, so it’s where the guys are the most annoying. There’s always someone—usually Duncan Barnett—with a Rumson Girl joke the second I walk in, and I need a minute to brace myself so I don’t scratch his eyes out.”

“You’re shitting me.” Salem narrows his eyes, then seems to come to the conclusion I am not, in fact, shitting him. “Come on. I’ll walk you in. He won’t fuck with me.”

“Much as I appreciate the chivalry, I’m pretty sure it’s not gonna stop unless I stop it for myself. I just haven’t figured out how to do that quite yet.” I tip my head to the side, looking up at Salem. “Any ideas, my bad-boy guru?”

“One idea is that you never, ever call me that again.”

“Turns you on, doesn’t it?”

“On second thought, I’m just gonna leave you to the wolves,” says Salem, turning to go.

“No, come on.” I grab Salem by the back of his shirt. “We have a deal.”

He sighs, but relents. “Make him uncomfortable. Guys like him can’t stand it. If you just stay quiet or roll your eyes or whatever you’re doing now, he’s gonna keep doing it. So make him sorry he ever tried. I believe in you, Skeevy. You make me sorry I ever tried every single day.”

Just then, the bell rings, and Salem swears and twists out of my grip to head to class, while I turn in to mine.

“Rumson Girl!” Duncan says right on cue. As one of Archie’s best friends, he’s consistently the most annoying about it, and definitely the guy behind the rumor that I specifically manipulated my way into rooming with the heir to Buchanan Imports. “Is it true you make everyone in the dorm sandwiches every day? Or am I misunderstanding what I’ve heard about you and Rumson sandwiches…”

Uncomfortable. I can definitely do uncomfortable. And I can do it with a big smile on my face, too.

“First of all, if this is you asking for a three-way with me and Hoffman, I’ve already told you a hundred times, absolutely not. If this is you asking foranotherthree-way with me and Archiekins, I already told you, that was a onetime thing. But if you’re just looking for tips, my professional opinion is that you’re beyond help, and no surgeon in the world is going to be able to fix that”—I glance pointedly at his special place—“particular issue.”

“Ha ha,” he retorts, but it’s mostly drowned out by everyone laughing at him. They might be laughing at me, too, but at least I know my face isn’t turning beet red like his is.

Dr. Bock calls everyone to order, which means the end of that, and I take my seat, but not before glancing back at the door. It could just be my imagination, but I swear I catch a glimpse of Salem smirking behind the small window before he disappears.

I try to keep my own smile under control as I pull out my notebook, my eyes on my desk.

I don’t know that it’ll shut Duncan up tomorrow, but it’s nice to have hope.

Pact, 1; rich tools, 0.

The Community Service Club meets by the main parking lot every Friday afternoon, since it’s pretty much always being shuttled to one spot or another. Today it’s the local soup kitchen, and in addition to Isabel and her three stunning friends, the van that takes us there also contains Mrs. Dodd,the faculty advisor; Kayla Alton from my English class; a senior couple who at no point tear their eyes or mouths off each other; two freshman boys who are clearly there to stare at Isabel and Co.; and, as I probably should’ve guessed, Heather, who cheerfully sits down next to me and tells me all about the people I’m going to meet, because of course she did community service all of last year as well.

The van pulls up just as she’s telling me about “Bobby, who’s hilarious and always wears this hat with a frog on it.” At no point has there been an opportune moment to ask her whether she knows her boyfriend is a scumbag. Which means I could be forgiven for letting the entire ride go by without telling her, right?

“Hey! Evie!” A hand lands on my arm, and I’m shaken out of my upset by Isabel McEvoy’s glossy smile. “So glad you made it.”

“Happy to serve my new community,” I reply, acutely aware of both her friends and Heather watching us. “Have you met Heather?”

“Yeah, we—” Heather starts, right as Isabel says, “No, I don’t think so!” She holds out a hand toward Heather, who pastes on a smile as she shakes it. “And this is Jenna, Ashleigh, and Priya.” She turns to me. “Girls, this is Evie.”

They all chorus friendly hellos, and it’s clear Isabel’s mentioned me, which is just… so confusing. They’re all unreasonably and dauntingly gorgeous—Jenna’s a study in contrasts, with pale white skin, dark hair, and otherworldly blue eyes; Ashleigh looks exactly as I imagine Tyra Banks did at sixteen; and Priya’s one of the few South Asian studentsI’ve seen at Camden, with warm brown skin, strikingly long-lashed dark eyes, and a wide smile that could stop traffic. I don’t know how stunning people somehow seem to get along simply by virtue of being stunning, but I do know I do not fit in with them.

Thankfully, I don’t have time to think about it before we’re ushered inside by the organizer, who introduces herself as Brenda and launches into a speech she clearly gives every visit.

“Welcome to the Pinebrook Community Center’s soup kitchen,” she greets us, pushing the sleeves of her chunky mauve sweater up to her elbows. “How many of you have volunteered at a soup kitchen before?” Heather, Kayla, and Isabel raise their hands. “Great, so you guys are old pros. The most important thing to remember is that these are simply people in need, and they deserve the same respect you’d give anyone else. Smile. Call them ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am.’ A little kindness goes a long way.

“Another thing we take very seriously is hygiene. We’re working with food, so we want to be extra careful.” She hands a cardboard box to Mrs. Dodd. “Your teacher is going to pass around latex gloves. Please take a pair.”

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