Page 5 of Batty About You
“You’re never late.” It’s that good girl vibe that she gives off. Innocent, sweet, helpful, smart. Straight A student, salutatorian, the eldest daughter...
She doesn’t deserve a monster.
A little voice inside my head whispers,“But she wants you.”
And my own, sane, sensible voice snaps back,“Because she doesn't know what you are. Once she does... It’s a life of lies or the end of the romance that never was.”
“I’m sorry I have to go,” her wheedling voice apologizes. “I know this is a big step for us. For you. You can trust me, Boggie. I would love you no matter what you looked like or how shy you are. If you’re anxious about the ball, we don’t even have to go.”
“I want to take you to that ball more than anything. Almost more than anything. Just... Promise me you’ll try to understand if I’m different? No matter what I look like, I have a good heart. I would never hurt you.”
“You’re talking like I think you’re some secret serial killer! I know you! You know me. You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted. After we started writing—no one else has ever even been a flash on the radar. Whatever that means. My dad says it all the time, and I think it means it was nothing. Everyone else to me means nothing. You mean everything.”
She thinks that now, says that shitty little voice.
I try not to listen to the voice that agrees, and just focus on Kelly’s words.
“You mean everything to me, too, Kell. More than you’ll ever know.”
Chapter Two: Kelly
“The campus is closed?”
“Schools are closed, too. The Halloween parade starts at noon. It’s a big deal.” Cathy Bainbridge resettles her glasses on her nose and hands me a stack of menus to take back to the front. “Is this your first Halloween here?”
“Actually...yes. Even though this is my second year at Pine Ridge NYU, last year I was home for two weeks at the end of October when my father had emergency hernia surgery. It was minor, but my mother had us holding a vigil at the church ‘round the clock, cooking enough food to feed several armies...”
“Your mother sounds like the stressed-out version of mine. We have five kids in the family, including me, and we’re super close.”
“Same. I had to fight tooth and nail to get to an out-of-state college,” I giggle. “Are you going to the ball?”
“As a server for the caterers. The Pine Loft is doing the food, and there’s a massive five-tiered cake that my bestie is making. Claire of Cakes by Claire? She’s married to the chef of The Pine Loft Coffee Shop. And Cindy—you know, Cindy, who covers some shifts here? She works there, too. We’re going to work the event and party a little in the lull. We got matching black dresses so we look ‘uniform’ enough to be caterers and cute enough for our dates.” Cathy’s smile suddenly falls. “Well, Cindy and Claire are married.Theyhave dates.”
“Oh.” I feel a pang that’s all too familiar—being the single friend. I’ve been in that boat for seven years, because Bogdan grabbed my heart pretty much from his first letter, and he never let go. I don’t want to rub that in, though, so I blurt out, “I got free tickets from someone in the honor society on campus.”
“Kappa Delta Pi?” Cathy squeals. When she’s not a part-time waitress, she’s a full-time second-grade teacher, and it shows in her beaming smile and her always upbeat but patient personality.
“Pi Kappa Lambda. The music honor society, not the educational one, even though I’m going for music ed.”
“Still...honor society chicks rule,” Cathy says, throwing the rock n’ roll hand sign up in the air.
I have to laugh. There isnothingbadass about us. We’re the quiet ones with ponytails and big purses with books in them. If there’s a break, she’s got her gradebook out, and I’ve got my textbooks open or my laptop up.
Cathy and I move to the stack of dark green linen napkins and the trays of cutlery to roll up new sets of silverware for the dinner crowd. I’m bursting to tell someone, anyone, about what I think might happen tonight, but I don’t want Cathy to feel bad.
