Page 35 of Fake It Till You Break It
Either way, Jake was either going to thank me or hate me, but at least I tried my best. Someone had to.
I WAS SO OCCUPIEDwith emailing Finn that I forgot about my lab report until the next morning. Not wanting to get a zero and risk Mom’s wrath, I skipped breakfast to finish it. By lunchtime, I was torn between either starvation or risking my life by eating the brownish gray blob on my plate. The school claimed it was a “burger,” but I’m fairly sure I saw something exactly like this on the chapter about fungus in biology a couple of months ago.
Maybe I could just eat the shredded cheese on top. Out of everything on the plate, that looked the least questionable. Which wasn’t saying much.
I was poking at the cheese when someone bopped me on the head with a folder. “Why are you staring at your lunch like you’re expecting it to pounce?”
“I wouldn’t mind if it did. At least then I would know it’s still fresh.” My head turned just as Jake straddled the seat besideme. His arms clenched the back of the chair as he leaned toward me. My eyes zipped toward the brown bag in his hand. “What is that?”
“Oh, this?” He dangled it in front of my face like a pendulum clock. “Just my egg sandwich that I was going to toss out. Ms. Saunders didn’t show up to fourth period so the class just hung out and ordered pizza.”
Not sure if I was getting weak from hunger, I could feel myself swaying with the bag. “Lucky. What is this? The sixth time she didn’t show up?”
“Yeah, I doubt she’s going to have a job by the time she finishes planning her wedding.”
“People do crazy things for love. So about that sandwich…”
He blinked at me and shook the bag. “What? Do you want it?”
“Uh, do you not see this drool?”
“Here.” Finally! My hand grabbed at the bag, but he held it out of my reach. “If you promise to do all the dishes by yourself the next time Mom and I come over for dinner.”
I grimaced. “Even the pans?”
“Everything.”
I chewed on my lower lip as I considered his offer. Mom had a habit of cooking these huge feasts whenever the Adlers came over, and she somehow always ended up using every single utensil and plate in the kitchen. Which made doing thedishes a pain in the ass. Plus, she didn’t like to use the dishwasher for anything but a drying rack, so washing everything took ages.
The image of the mountain of dishes flashed in my mind, and I crossed my arms. “Nope. Not worth it.”
Just then, my stomach let out a big rumble. Seriously, the people at the table next to us actually turned to stare. Like they’ve never heard someone’s stomach talk before. Or a bear growl.
Grrr…
“Well, then at least promise that you’ll never call me a dork again,” Jake bargained with a grin. His voice grew louder like he was a game-show host. “That’s it. Just one tiny, measly, little promise for this deliciously fresh egg sandwich from Chef Adler.”
“You’re so lame. Fine, I promise…” I swallowed and tried again, but it was like the words kept getting stuck in my throat. “I promise never…”
The annoying smirk on his face widened. “Never…?”
Gah, the ass. He really was milking this for all it was worth. My jaw tightened, and I lifted my chin. “Forget it. A measly egg sandwich isn’t enough for me to throw away my dignity.”
“What if I tossed in a Twinkie?”
Now that’s a game changer.
I eyed him. “You don’t have one.”
“You’re right. I don’t have one. I have two.” He slid the clearpackage across the table at me like a peace offering. “I’ll even give you the first one for free.”
Damn, Jake wasn’t playing fair. He knew all my weaknesses. And Twinkies were at the top of my vices. I’ve loved the sweet spongy delicious cake and creamy filling for as long as I could remember. Had to have at least one every other day. And that was because I gave myself a limit.
When Hostess stopped making Twinkies years ago, I went into a withdrawal. Like a serious withdrawal. It was a depressing and dark time. Especially because I had also hit puberty that same year so my hormones were already going crazy. Thankfully, Twinkies made a comeback less than a year later. I like to think that my Kickstarter campaign made a difference even though we didn’t raise any money. Awareness still counts.
But I was stronger than this. I mean, women fought against discrimination to no end. They didn’t give in.
Even as I continued giving myself a mental lecture, my hand reached out to grab the Twinkie, as if it had a mind of its own. Before I knew it, the creamy soft cake was in my mouth. And it tasted a thousand times better than usual. Probably because I was starving.
