Page 42 of As the Rain Falls
I snort, “Famous last words of someone who won’t stop kissing his ass.”
“Ido notkiss his ass, and I’m being totally serious,” Mateo counters, and his smile falters for a second when I don’t say anything else in response.
His pencil, a sharp blue one that had been idly spinning between his fingers, slips and clatters onto the desk.I stare as he snatches it back up, tapping it against the paper in a jittery, uneven rhythm. His eyes flick to the clock, then to Mrs. Yun, then finally back to me, and I catch the exact second when his playful confidence fades away.
“You don’t know him like I do,” Mateo explains, his voice quieter now. His knee bounces under the desk, making our tables tremble. “Just a warning, Rivera. Girls like you don’t stand a chance against guys like him, so don’t even try to pretend that you can handle him.”
Girls like me.
Classic.
The thing nobody ever likes to hear, especially not me.
It’s, like,sobackhanded andsodemeaning.
“O-kay?” I agree, but it really sounds more like a question. “Whatever, dude. No need to try to insult me. Caleb is the one who seems to be going after me. I literally don’t care about him at all.”
“I’m not trying to insult you, Rivera. Really, I’m just trying to say—”
“What? That I’m clueless? Give me this!” I cut him off and grab the note with Caleb’s number. His face falls as I place the piece of paper inside my backpack.
“I really don’t think you should do this.”
“Listen, I don’t know what’s going on between Caleb and you, but I’d like to be left alone because I don’t want any drama.”
“Neither do I, I swear. I’m trying to warn you off because he is…”
“He is what?” I snap. “God, just leave me alone!”
The bell rings abruptly, cutting our conversation short.
I glance forward, hearing Kayla and Alice start to argue with each other. Alice says something I don’t get to hear, and a second later, my friend snaps.
“This eraser is mine!”
“It’s not yours, Saint-Louis,” Alice claps back. “It’s literally mine! It has my name written on the sides, you see?”
“You stole it! You stole it from my purse when I wasn’t looking last week!”
“Psss! Psss!”
Antony Silva throws a piece of paper at Mateo’s head. It falls back on the floor before the brown-haired boy can catch it.
“Man, do you know the answer to question five?”
“Which one is it again?” Mateo turns his back to me, distracted by the question. “Is it the one about the boats?”
“The one about the floating boats, yeah.”
“Answer B.”
“Pens down!” Mrs. Yun claps her hands together, and the class groans in unison. “Everybody, pens down! The test is over!”
I pick up my stuff and walk up to Kayla, not bothering to lose my breath over boys when my education is clearly more important.
With my test in hand, I stop by her side and make a sad face. “Can I see your answers?”
Mr. Yun grabs my paper, glaring at me like I am her personal number one enemy. “See you next week, young lady.”
