Page 41 of Finding Her
“I don’t think you should go on this,” she said.
“Oh yeah?” I asked flatly. “Why’s that?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be aroundthat girl,” she said, spitting out the words in disgust. I narrowed my eyes, already knowing who she meant. Poppy.
“And why not?” I asked in a dangerously slow tone.
“She’s obviously obsessed with you, Bear! I mean, the way she showed up at the restaurant yesterday…”
I rolled my eyes and turned away. “She didn’t just show up at the restaurant, Claire. She was at the restaurant, and I ran into her. Very different thing.”
“Okay, but you said that she wanted to show you off to all her friends.”
I should have known that lie was going to kick me in the butt. All I was doing was trying to get my dad off my case. If I thought that Claire was planning to use it against me, I would have worded things very differently.
“You don’t understand what’s going on.”
“Yes, I do,” she insisted. She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Her skin was all clammy and gross, and I resisted the urge to pull my hand out. I wanted to, but I needed to time it right so that she didn’t get mad and scream at me in front of everyone again. My pride could only take so many beatings. “I’ve heard her talking about you, and it’s obvious she just thinks you’re some prize to be won.”
Internally, I said,What, like you?But I couldn’t say it out loud.
I had this theory that if Claire and I ever actually did get together, she would realize how much she hated me. It was a thrill of the chase for her. She wanted to know what it was like to have me. And then once she did, she would realize it wasn’t anything like she had imagined.
So I just said, “She’s not into me or thinking I’m a prize to be won, Claire. She’s just my gym partner.”
Just like last night, when I told my dad that Poppy was a nobody, the words made my heart clench. Because somehow, over the past few weeks, Poppy had gone from being a nobody to being somebody to me, and I still wasn’t sure how. Because no other girl, had ever managed to crack that barrier—not even, to her disappointment, Claire.
She sighed and patted me on the head. “You just don’t understand a thing about girls.”
I gritted my teeth, hating the patronizing tone she used and turned my head away, just as Poppy appeared at the other end of the bus bay, weighed down by an overstuffed duffel bag. I smirked as I saw it. How much stuff did she think she needed for a one-night trip? Claire’s gaze followed mine, and her face hardened.
“Seriously, Bear,” she said, her voice more serious now. “She’s not good for you. You need to stay away from her, okay? Tell your teacher that you’re not comfortable going on the trip.”
Yeah, as if that would go over well. No chance. But I couldn’t tell any of that to Claire, because she didn’t actually know the reason that I was in this gym class. She still thought it was an administrative error and that I was staying in the class so I would have an extra credit. It was a lie that Dad was telling everybody so that he didn’t have to admit that his son had somehow managed to fail gym.
I looked at her and then I looked at Poppy, who was staring at us from across the way. And I made a split-second decision.
“You’re right, Claire,” I said. “Poppy is into me.”
Her eyes lit up triumphantly. “So you’re not going on the trip?”
“No,” I said. I swung the bag over my shoulder. “That’s exactly why I’m going on the trip.”
I pushed past her and walked over to Poppy. I wasn’t sure if I was out of Claire’s earshot, so I made sure to whisper as I said, “I’m sorry about this.”
Poppy just stared at me in bewilderment until I leaned in to hug her. Her arms hung loose at her sides like she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be doing. And then, suddenly, they were wrapping around me, brushing along my back and sending tingles up my spine.
“Why?” she muttered into my shoulder.
“Just go with it,” I said back through gritted teeth. And I pulled away. I brushed some of her brown hair out of her eyes from where it was framing her face. I raised my voice in the hopes of Claire hearing it as I said, “You look beautiful this morning.”
Poppy still looked confused, and she said, “Thank you. Apparently, waking up at ungodly hours works for me.”
I smirked. “It sure does.” I couldn’t turn around to see if Claire was watching us, so I whispered again, “Is she still looking?”
Poppy’s eyes darted to Claire and then back to me. “Uh-huh.”
“Okay. Here’s the deal,” I said, as softly as I could. It looked like Poppy was straining to hear me. “I really, really need to convince her that I am not into her. And the only thing I can think of is to make her think I’m into you.”
