Page 25 of Something Rad
“You’ve heavily implied it. Physically and verbally.”
She lets out a heavy sigh, closing her eyes for a few seconds before looking at me. “It’s not that I don’t like you, Robbie,” she says, shaking her head. “Things are just different for people like you and…people like me.”
I’m really not sure what she means by that, but I really don’t like the way she says it with so much disdain in her voice. I clear my throat, attempting to lighten the suddenly heavy mood in the air.
“Well, we can’t be that different,” I say. “We both landed ourselves in detention. Speaking of, what the hell put you in here, Cooper?”
“Nothingputme here,” she says, returning to her book stacking. When I tilt my head at her, she continues. “I’m here by choice. I volunteer for this. Library aiding. Shelving books,” she clarifies, holding up a stack of paperbacks.
“Why in the world would you do that?” I ask her.
Cooper looks away, her lips pulling to the side. “Not everyone’s world is the same as yours, Robbie. Maybe if you looked outside of your little bubble once in a while, you’d realize that.”
And with that, she slips past me with her stack of books and out into the library, leaving me alone in Ms. Rose’s office with raised eyebrows and a slack jaw. I slowly turn around, shaking my head. I lean against the office door frame, watching her from afar scurry from shelf to shelf without a glance in my direction.
“Well, Cooper, looks like we’re in for an interesting month.”
seven
SARA
The yellow locker door slams shut right in front of my face.
“I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you right,” Alice says, her hand still resting on the door handle.
“I’m pretty sure you did, actually,” I reply.
“Robbie Summers’s punishment for the pep rally stunt is to hang out with you for the next month?”
“Okay, that’s not exactly what I said–”
“You,” Alice continues, ignoring my correction. “Him. Alone. The library after hours. For the next four weeks–”
“Well, Ms. Rose is usually there too–”
“Sara,” Alice cries, grabbing me by the shoulders.
“What?” I groan.
“This isnuts.”
I raise a brow at her. “I’m not surenutsis the word I’d use.”
More like unfortunate. Maybe devastating.Definitelyinfuriating.
Alice chuckles. “I can’t believe this.” She removes her hands from my shoulders and wraps them around herself. “You and Robbie Summers getting allcozyin the library.” She draws out the word cozy, swaying her hips as she does so.
I grab her by the wrist, forcing her arms back down to her sides. “I’d rather get cozy with a cactus, Alice.” I turn and continue walking down the hallway.
Alice trots after me. “Oh, c’mon Sara. You have to admit how wild this is.” I pause in front of a water fountain, gathering my hair to one side. “Even if you’re not the guy’s biggest fan, there’s worse people to have to look at. Robbie’s face is way more exciting than the thousands of wrinkled pages of books you normally spend all your afternoons staring at.”
“That’s debatable,” I say, shaking my head as I lean over the water fountain.
“I give it two weeks until you’re drooling over him.”
My throat constricts on the water I’m in the process of swallowing and I let out a sputter of coughs. “Alice, I thinkyou’renuts,” I say, wiping the back of my hand over my mouth.
“No, Sara, you’rein denial.”
