Page 15 of Chasing Chase London: Part 8-Valentines Day
She gives a little squeal of excitement and a flurry of claps. It’s good to see her acting like her usual self again after the crying incident. “Okay, so,” she says, clapping her hands together a final time. “Prom roses are sold by student council during prom week. Every student can only buy one, and they’re delivered during homeroom. But they don’t have tags, so only student council knows who sent them. Unless someone tells you they’re sending you one, and then you have to take their word for it.”
“That sounds like a recipe for drama.”
“Oh my god,somuch drama,” she says with a gleeful grin. “Last year, someone actually stole the logbook to find out who sent everyone roses. I heard they’re locking it up this year.”
“Wow.”
“I mean, if a guy gives you hisone rose, it’s like, a thing. Also there’s friend drama, because they have red and white ones, and basically, you can buy a red one to say you like someone, or a white one to say friendship. So if the guy you’re talking to givesyou a white rose when you were expecting red… You can see where this is going.”
“Yeah,” I say with a grimace. “Though you wouldn’t know it was from him…”
“You’d know he didn’t send you a red one,” she points out. “Or if someone you thought was a friend sends you a red one instead of white, it basically means he likes you. Or if you send a guy a red one, it means you’re down to fuck.”
“Sounds complicated.”
She laughs and waves a hand. “Just don’t do that. Oh! Or do!” She wiggles her brows at me.
“Pass.”
“Of course not everyone buys one. Some people think it’s elitist or whatever, but they’re just jealous. If you get one, you put it on your locker door all week so people will see that a guy likes you. So you definitely need to get one if you’re in our group.”
“Great,” I mutter.
“Don’t worry, girls send each other the white ones, so even if a guy doesn’t give you one, a bestie might. The red ones are more important, obvi, but a white one is still respectable. You just want to make sure you have at least one, or everyone will think you’re a loser that no one likes.”
“So what you’re saying is that I need to send a white rose to Lindsey during prom week.”
She laughs and drops onto my pull-out bed, which squeaks in protest. “That too,” she admits. “It’s going to be a big deal to see who she gives hers to this year. Last year I swear people were more obsessed with that than who won prom queen. Anyway, let’s watch something. Are you allowed to seeMagic Mike?”
“What do you think?” I ask, rolling my eyes.
“Lame,” she says. “Then let’s watch something with Ryan Gosling.”
So we do. We watch a movie and eat candy hearts and giggle about how bad they taste and what they say. I ignore the fact that Daria keeps checking her phone, obviously hoping Colin will text when he’s done with practice. I ignore the tiny voice in my head that whispers that if we really got to give our best friend our one prom rose, I wouldn’t give mine to Lindsey. Even more traitorous, I wonder who else only gives one to her because they’re too afraid to give it to anyone else. Would Daria give hers to me too?
five
Now Playing:
“Bad Boyfriend”–Garbage
As soon as I’m better, Lily gets sick. Mom goes to get medicine for her while she’s sleeping in the evening. I’m catching up on homework from the days I missed when the doorbell rings. I rush to open it, since my aunt and uncle are out on a date, and I don’t want it to wake Lily.
I pull open the door and step back in shock. Lindsey stands on my porch, tears streaming down her face.
“Lindsey, what happened?” I cry. Panic slams into my stomach, and I think I’ll puke even though I’m not sick anymore.
“I don’t know,” she says with a hiccup. “I need you to come over.”
“I can’t,” I say, the panic crashing into me faster. “I’m so sorry, but I have to watch my sister.”
“Can you bring her?” she asks, wiping her streaming eyes.
“She’s sleeping,” I say, agony tearing me in half.
“I’ll bring you right back,” she promises. “It will only take a minute.”
“My mom will kill me,” I say, cringing as I watch a fresh burst of sobs wrack her frail body.
