Page 45 of With a Little Luck

“So?” asks César. “Are you going to?”114

“I have to, don’t I?”

We reach the end of the line, where a display case of red Jell-O cups jiggles up at us. I make a face. Jell-O is disgusting. I could have sworn I saw people with brownies earlier, but when I ask the lunch lady, she shrugs apologetically. “We ran out a few minutes ago. Want a Jell-O?”

I shake my head. “No thanks.” She hands two cups to my friends, and we head toward the cash register. While I’m waiting, I scan the cafeteria and spy Maya’s table.Whydo they have to sit right in the dead center of the cafeteria? It’s like theywantpeople to look at them.

Katie, Janine, and Brynn are there, along with Raul, Tobey, Serena, and a couple of seniors whose names I don’t know.

“You don’thaveto,” whispers Matt, perhaps sensing the terror that is clogging my throat as I try to imagine walking over there. Sitting there. Acting like I belong there.

He’s right. I don’t have to. But do I want Maya to like me? Do I want Maya to see me as someone she could spend time with? Someone who fits into her world? Yeah, more than anything.

But do Iactuallyfit into her world, or am I just fooling myself?

“Hey! Hey, you!”

Matt nudges me, and I turn to see the lunch lady beaming at me and holding up a small plate with a perfect chocolate brownie on top. “I found an extra one! Must be your lucky day!”

I smile and take the plate from her. “Thanks,” I say. Then I turn to my friends and give them a solemn look. “I’m doing this.”

They return the look, all seriousness.

“Go get it, man,” says César.

I’m not sure whatitis, but I push up the sleeves of my sweatshirt like Lucy showed me, pick up my tray, and head into Jabba’s Palace.

And no, I’m not picturing Maya in a gold bikini or anything like that. Get your mind out of the gutter. I’m just saying, I’m like a Jedi knight entering a highly protected lair that is fraught with danger and tension and a whole lot of people who would love to watch me get devoured by a rancor.115

I arrive at the table and stand there for a second, feeling supremely uncomfortable. Janine notices me first. She perks up, slapping Katie on the arm, who in turn gets Maya’s attention.

“Oh, hey!” says Maya, nudging Raul beside her. And just like that, people are shifting around. Scooting down the bench. Making room.

For me.

“Sit down,” says Maya, gesturing to the bench beside her.

So I do.

“Oh, man!” says Tobey. “You got a brownie? They were out of them when I was up there.”

“I think I got the last one,” I say. I look from him to my plate, then at Maya, and back to Tobey. “Uh … do you want it?”

“Really? Yeah!” He takes the brownie.

And just like that, the group around me returns to whatever conversations they were having before I arrived. Like nothing has changed at all.

I release a held breath.

Brynn asks about the concert, and Maya carries the conversation while I pick at my food. She tells them about the VIP party, and meeting Sadashiv, and the heart he drew on her poster. She takes them through his performance, moment by moment, in such exacting detail that I feel like I’m experiencing it all over again. She remembers a lot more about the concert than I do. Not even twenty-four hours later, and I’ve already forgotten just about everything about Sadashiv and what songs he sang. All I really remember is the way Maya smiled at me before the show started. The way she glowed in the light of the stage.

“All right, enough about Maya and her magical date,” says Janine. “Here’s the important question.” She arches an eyebrow and meets the gaze of every guy at the table. Raul, Tobey, evenme. “Which of you losers is taking me to junior prom?”

This sets off a chain reaction. Hoots. Guffaws. More than one suggestive comment. Flirting. And my face turning tomato-red. Not that anyone thinks for a second that I plan on asking Janine out, but there’s an underlying question that seems just as obvious.116

Am I going to ask Maya to the dance?

Should I? Is it too soon? Would she say yes?

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