Page 62 of Something Rad
“Oh,right. Becauseeverybody’sinto you. I almost forgot.” She rolls her eyes.
“Hey, I didn’t say that.”
“You imply it often enough,” she quips, looking away. “It’s easy to put two and two together.”
“You’re putting words in my mouth,” I argue.
Cooper lets out a scoff of disagreement, shaking her head. After a few seconds she glances back at me. “Why?” she asks.
“Whywhat?”
“Why would you expect anyone to believe that?” she asks. “That we’d be together? That I’d be with you? That… That you’d be withme?” Her voice cracks on the last word, and she stops meeting my eyes.
I let out a sigh, bracing my arm on the door frame to my side. “Cooper, people believe what I want them to believe. Spend a little more time with me and you’ll find out soon enough that with enough confidence you can make people think you’re capable of anything.”
“We don’t run in the same crowd, Robbie.”
“We would if you were my girlfriend.”
Her lips part, a harsh puff of air escaping them. She blinks at me several times.
“You know I’m right,” I say.
She shakes head, slowly at first, and then more aggressively the longer she thinks. “I know that you’re crazy,” she tells me.
“Cooper, please just allow yourself to think about it,” I say. “It would only be a month.”
“Amonth?” she chokes out.
“That’s all it would take.”
Her eyes squint, and I can see her internally shutting down.
“Hey,” I say. Her gaze falls to the floor as her head continues to shake. I push off the door frame, circling behind her. “Cooper?” I place one hand on her shoulder, and she jolts in surprise. “Just try to picture it. Please?”
She says nothing, but I can feel her release a deep breath by the way her shoulder falls. I take it as an agreement.
I stretch my other arm out in front of both of us, motioning to a nonexistent picture with my hand.
“One month of us together,” I begin. “People see you with Robbie Summers.Who’s that girl?, they ask.She must be something special.No, sheissomething special. We put on a show, make our appearances. Everybody knows your name and, with my name attached to yours, you’re a shoo-in for Homecoming Queen. You’re a Bay View name.TheBay View name.”
I see Cooper’s throat bob in my peripheral vision, and it brings a grin to my face. I lean in closer to her side, continuing.
“Every guywants youand every girl wants tobe you. It’s only natural you go on to win student body president. And, therefore, become…”
“Yearbook editor,” Cooper whispers.
“Scholarship:secured,” I state, snapping my fingers in front of us. “You attend the school of your dreams, graduate with honors, then go on to do something more rad than anyone at little old Bay View High could ever imagine.”
Cooper’s lips roll into her mouth, and I swear her eyes go glassy. I can see the gears turning in her mind. The puzzle pieces fitting together. She sees it. She can almosttasteit.
Attagirl, Cooper.
“And in turn, people see me with this new mystery girl.No,” I stop myself, fighting a smirk. “Nota mystery girl. Asmartgirl. Aseriousgirl. The future valedictorianandstudent body president, in fact. Now,what would a serious girl like that ever do with a goofball playboy like Robbie Summers?, they’ll ask.He must have a deeper side. A bright future ahead of him. Look at him, in a committed relationship with Bay View High’s ‘Most Likely to Succeed’.You know what that means?He’llsucceed. Yes, he has something to offer to the world other than his badass car and his luscious hair–”
“Okay–” Cooper cuts me off, breaking from the trance I’ve seemed to put her in.
“Your words, not mine, Cooper,” I say, continuing. “Yeah,” I nod. “They’ll all see. The teachers. My family.” I click my tongue. “Denise.”
