Page 198 of Something Rad
I raise my brows at her, still so completely confused.
“Sara,” she says, more firmly this time, “come on. The only lie here is the one you just told me through your teeth.”
I rear back. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, Sara,” Alice scoffs, “I said you two looked happy but…what I really meant was…you have beenglowingthese last few weeks.”
I start to disagree with her, but I feel heat slowly creeping into my cheeks and turn my face away.
“It’s like you’ve been on top of the world,” Alice continues. “All of high school, I’ve never seen you so vibrant and outgoing. Soconfident. And even Rob–him.” She catches herself like the good friend she is, obeying my wishes. “It’s like he’s been a totally different person. He’s been smiling–and I don’t mean in that cocky, make-you-drop-your-panties kind of way–”
“Ugh, God,” I complain, trying to hide my face again, but Alice grabs my hand before I can.
“What I mean to say is,” she corrects herself, “he’s been smiling like he’s…genuinely happy. It’s like he went from arrogant to self-assured. Like he wasn’t constantly trying to one-up himself. Like…he didn’t think he needed to. He just seemed more…I don’t even know how to explain it…”
“Serious?” I offer under my breath.
“Yeah,” Alice instantly agrees. “Exactly.”
“Well, that’s exactly what he was going for,” I mumble. “So I guess we put on a pretty good show.”
“Sara…no,” Alice insists, and I can see her head swiveling back and forth out of the corner of my eye. “This was different.”
My eyes land on my floral duvet cover and stay there, tracing the petals and vines of the flowers woven into the fabric. “It wasn’t,” I assure her.
I can sense Alice trying to gain my eye contact in my peripheral vision. “Hey,” she says, and I tear my eyes away from the red flower I’m currently staring a hole into to give her what she wants. “Look, believe me, I am not Rob–Ugh. Can I please just say his name now?”
“No.”
“Fine,” Alice huffs. “You know I’m not his biggest fan right now. What he said in the hallway was messed up. I mean, it broke my heart in half hearing it for you.”
I wince, feeling my own heart breaking once again just at the reminder.
“And, even though I know that bitch initiated it–”
“Alice!” I cut in, a shocked laugh coming out of me. “My God.”
She just continues on, completely ignoring my interruption. “It was crappy that he kissed Denise. It was even crappier that the whole school had to see it happen.”
“Yeah,” I croak out.
“And I know we’re probably going to have different opinions about him serenading you…”
I snap my gaze up to meet hers, and Alice holds up her hands defensively.
“And that’s fine,” she insists. “These are all very real issues. Very real things you both need to work through–”
“Alice, there’s nothing to work through,” I interject. “We made a deal, we hit our expiration date, we both got what we wanted…for the most part…and now, we’re done.”
Alice tilts her head at me, her eyes thoughtful. “You know…you don’t have to be.”
“What?”
“You two,” Alice clarifies. “You don’thaveto be done.”
“But we–”
“It doesn’t matter.” Alice shakes her head, seeming to read my thoughts. “Sure, you two may have started out as one thing, but that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. That it has toendthat way.”
