Page 42 of It's in the Contract
We break into our meal, and every bite is divine, especially the lovely dairy. I take a bite of my yogurt and moan. “Ugh. It’s so, so good.”
Zeke opens his container and takes a bite. “Oh my holy fudge.”
A smile crinkles my eyes. “Oh my holy fudge? Does that mean it’s good?”
Zeke closes his eyes over another bite. “It’s soooo good. You were right. Best yogurt in the universe.”
I hold up my spoon and we cheers before taking another bite. “Speaking of fudge, our last stop has to be Gosanko’s around the corner. They have this salted caramel dark chocolate fudge that is literally to die for.”
I set my yogurt cup down and pull out our contract notebook from my bag. I flip to the page of our list of things to do and put a check next to Pike Place Market. I cap my pen, feeling satisfied and happy, when I hear, “Oh, it’s you.”
I freeze at the voice that haunts all my school-based nightmares.
“Hi, Brielle,” I say through gritted teeth.
Brielle stands over us, wearing high-waisted cutoff shorts and a cute turquoise tank top. Katrina and another girl, Angela, stand on the sidewalk slightly behind Brielle. Angela, a twig of a girl and the star basketball player of our school, points at me and giggles, whispering something to Katrina. My face flushes.
Brielle glances at the notebook on my lap, and I hurry to close it, hoping she didn’t see anything. She continues to stare at it for a beat longer. I shove it back in my bag.
“Hi.” Zeke sets down his food and stands, extending his hand. “Brielle? Nice to meet you. I’m Zeke. You must be one of Callie’s friends?”
Brielle looks Zeke up and down before extending her hand and giving his a reluctant shake, holding his hand like it’s dirty and gross.
“Oh,” Brielle says, “I don’t know if I’d say that. Callie and I are more competitors than anything.” She turns her smirk on me, looking down her nose. I’m tempted to stand just so we’re on even footing, but I don’t want her to think she’s getting to me.“Did you hear they chose the flavor for the pies the Homecoming candidates are going to get creamed with when they lose? Banana cream. I’ve heard it does wonders for your skin.” She sneers. “Something you happen to need.”
My insides twist. Katrina gives a snort, and Angela throws her head back in a laugh.
Zeke frowns. “I don’t think you have any right to make comments about Callie’s skin, which is perfect, by the way. Would you ladies care to join our picnic?”
Zeke thinks I have perfect skin?
Brielle gets this ugly look of distaste on her face, waving her manicured nails at us. “We’ll pass this time.” Brielle digs in her Gucci purse until she finds her phone. Her French tips tap away, and then she turns the phone to face me.
It’s the Homecoming voting page.
“Have you seen the votes?” Katrina asks. Her face looks extra-long and horse-like today.
I check the numbers, my heart hammering in my chest. Last time I looked, the voting had barely gotten started. Brielle was at almost fifty votes, and the rest of the runners—myself included—were hovering around a dozen.
Now Brielle has over a hundred votes, while Beth and Hana are at twenty and thirty. My heart lifts a tad when I see that I’ve actually gained some traction. My vote count is at seventy-five.
“I got the entire girls’ basketball team to vote for Brielle,” Angela chimes in, her freckled face beaming. “Brielle promised that we’d get a ride on her parents’ yacht in exchange.”
My heart sinks. “How . . . how fun, Angela.” I used to like her. Now I’m barely holding back my irritation. It all feels so unfair. What do I have to offer that Brielle can’t top? Nothing.
“Speaking of my parents’ yacht, will you be coming to my Homecoming party this year?” Brielle turns to Zeke with a fake pout. “Sorry, not you.”
My stomach turns. “I wouldn’t miss it.” I paste on a smile. Even though I hate Brielle, her Homecoming party is the event of the year. I don’t have a choice but to go.
Brielle smirks and turns to walk away. Her blonde hair is straight today and blows slightly in the breeze. “Oh, Callie.” Brielle turns. “I’ll say hi to Noah for you. Not that he’s missing you at all. He’ll be happy to hear that you’ve moved on so soon.” She looks Zeke’s body up and down with disgust.
“Oh, uh, Zeke and I are just friends.” My face flushes hot.No . . . Don’t start the rumor that Zeke and I are dating.She most definitely will.
Zeke looks from her to me and back to her. “Callie is my friend, and she’s been kind enough to show me around since I’m new here and don’t know anyone. Clearly you ladies are not the kind of people Callie wants to associate with, since Callie’s friends have been nothing but kind to me. So I will ask you to leave us alone and let us enjoy this beautiful day.” Zeke sits back down next to me, a tad closer than before, like he can shield me from Brielle’s cruelty with his body. My heart skitters.
Brielle frowns, her face darkening. She stalks away without another word, her friends following after her. She looks one more time over her shoulder and snaps a photo on her phone as she walks away, and my stomach drops. What is she going to do with that? It’s one thing formeto be posting pics on my social media page and putting them in the right light. It’s something else entirely when someone else posts what they see as “juicy gossip”.
“Thank you,” I say after a long pause. “That was really nice of you to say.”
