Page 53 of The Dating Game

“Really?” I ask before I can stop myself, and they all exchange knowing looks at my expense. Apparently I’ve showed my hand. Now they know that I’m low-key (as they would phrase it) obsessed with Will. Or at least that I like him.

“You two aretotallydating,” the brunette says with a squeal.

“Totally,” another girl, this one with black, straight hair and gorgeous ivory skin agrees. “I’m June, by the way,” she says with a little wave.

“Hi, June.” Gratefully I latch onto the subject change that is introductions. “Nice to meet you. I’m Brooke.”

“We know,” the redhead says with a laugh. “Everybody on the bus was talking about you. Lizzie Conklin said she interrupted you and Will about to kiss.”

My cheeks flame, but I paste on a smile. “Oh she did, did she?” They all nod. “Well, I hate to spoil the gossip, but that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Anyway, enough about me and Will. Tell me about yourselves. I know you’re June.” I point to June. “What are everyone else’s names?”

“I’m Reagan,” says the girl who first asked if I was dating Will. She picks up a tortilla chip off her plate and dips it in the salsa.

“Maeve,” says the redhead.

“Carmen,” says a fourth girl, speaking for the first time, her voice quiet but clear.

“Farrah.” The brunette who said Will was dreamy offers her name along with a wave.

“And I’m Marley,” the last girl says, her braided hair swinging as she tilts her chin at me. “We’re all sophomores at HDH.” HDH, I know, is short for Hope Desert High, the high school Grace Canyon K-8 feeds into. Will told me that most of the kids on this trip go there, though about a dozen attend other schools in Tucson.

“That’s great,” I say. “Sophomore year, the year of the license.”

“I have mine already,” Maeve declares proudly.

“Me too!” Carmen says.

“I get mine next month,” Marley pipes up. “Assuming I pass the test.” She grimaces. Immediately all her friends start assuring her that she will. It’s sweet to watch and actually makes me miss Sydney and my sisters. If they were here maybe I could tell them about my conflicting feelings when it comes to Will, and they in turn could offer me words of encouragement. Ha! Not! Sydney would tell me to get over myself and freaking go for it. Hannah would probably find some way to compare the situation to Esther—her favorite Bible story, and one that she always seems to find a way to connect things in her life to. And Jill. Well, first she’d probably say I just needed to look at the whole vomiting thing from a different angle, spin it into something not so bad. Like instead of saying I threw up on the man’s shoes and ankles, she’d tell me to say I incentivized him to get a pair of new shoes and take a shower.One should always shower after falling from the sky, I can just imagine her saying.

Of course I wouldn’t tell any of them about how Will overheard Grant breaking up with me. Then they’d want to know what Grant said, and I could never bear to repeat it. Couldn’t bearto hear them try to tell me that Grant was wrong about me. Obligatory words of consolation would only make me feel worse. Not to mention pathetic.

Okay, time to get off the Poor Me Express.

I grab my cup of water and ask the girls another question.

“So what are you guys looking forward to most about this trip?” I ask them.

“Working with the kids,” June answers immediately and Marley and Carmen quickly concur.

“I really like talking to people,” Reagan chimes in. “So I’m looking forward to getting to know the locals— and working with the kids too,” she adds. “Little kids are so cute.”

“Working with the kids is my answer too,” Maeve says.

They all turn expectantly to Farrah. She sets one hand on her chin, lost in a daydream. “Getting kissed by Silas Nash.” Reagan’s answering giggle seems to snap Farrah to attention. Her olive cheeks redden as she quickly stammers, “A-and working with the kids.”

It’s a very Gracie Lou Freebush adding “world peace” to her “stricter gun control” answer inMiss Congenialitymoment except instead of a burst of applause her amendment is followed by a burst of laughter.

“And what might I ask is so funny over here?” an amused and familiar voice asks from behind me. I look up to see Will standing there and my brain immediately starts running through a frantic how do I look sequence: Is there food in my teeth? On my face? How’s my hair? Is my stomach pooching? What are my hands even doing right now? They’ve folded themselves on my lap like Will is a teacher who just asked for my full attention.

Ha! Like he even has to ask. He has my full attention and then some. My gaze peruses over him determining that if I ran through a “howdoes Will look?” sequence it would go like this: Teeth? Straight and white. Food on face? Negative. Hair: Like if I ran my fingers through it I’d inadvertently sigh. Stomach: Definitely not pooching. Hands? On the back of my chair!

“We were just talking about who each of us wants to kiss this week,” Reagan announces before adding with a teasing smirk, “Do you want to know who Brooke said?”

Oh my gosh! I cannotbelieveshe just said that! Excuse me, but nobody told me that I sat down at theMean Girlstable! My cheeks flame as I attempt to force out a laugh. “Hahaha. She’s joking. We weren’t talking about that. Hahaha,” I have to say the words that generally form a laugh, because I can’t seem to make an actual laugh come out. “We weren’t even talking about you at all,” I pitter on; across from me Maeve dissolves into giggles.

Too late I realize my error…by saying we weren’t talking about who we want to kiss then following it up with saying we weren’t even talking about him, I’ve basically managed to infer that he’s who I want to kiss.

This whole thing is so high school. Then again these girlsarein high school.

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