Page 10 of More Than Chemical
I remained still. Jay was right. I was losing it. Reliving the encounter moment by moment and trying to process how I felt about it was destroying me. Meanwhile, Texas had shrugged it off.
My heart cinched tight, as if a beanstalk had grown around and around it, cutting off the circulation.
“I’ll see you in calc.” I brushed past Jay. “I need to go to the bathroom.”
“I’ll wait for you,” he called from behind me.
I went straight into the restroom, set my backpack on the sink, and stared at my reflection in the mirror. My brown hair was matted down from my hat. My hazel-green eyes were bloodshot.
Adriana Bianchini. Ugh. I mean Blankin. Adriana Blankin, you look terrible.
My mascara had smudged. Not from crying, even though I wanted to. Probably from my eyes watering during the freezing-cold trek to class. I waved my hand under the paper towel holder and tore off a piece. Using hot water, I tried my best to get the black off.
According to Jay, Texas—the guy rumored to do multiple girls every week—had decided I wasn’t interesting after all. That hurt. That hurt like hell.
“He isn’t worth it,” I said to my reflection.
One of the stall doors creaked open, and a girl walked out. “I’m sorry,” she said. “Did you say something?”
I shook my head and went to use a toilet. Scrawls of graffiti decorated the light-blue door.
Now I was talking to myself.Enough.I needed to focus on what was critical—my classes. I should be on the dean’s list too. And that was exactly what I would do. No matter what happened, no matter how little sleep I got, in May, I would make certain I was on that list.
I finished up and headed back into the hall. Jay was leaning against the radiator in the vestibule. He shouldn’t have waited. I opened the door, stood by him, and bundled myself up.
He looked odd, a blank stare fixed on his face. His posture was all wrong.
“What’s the matter?” I asked.
His eyes narrowed and focused on me. “Guess who I just spoke with?”
“Who?”
“Him.” The side of his mouth scrunched.
A current of heat zapped through me. “You mean…”
He nodded.
“But you said he left.”
“He left the lecture hall but apparently not the building.”
My heart sped up like I’d just taken a five-hour energy shot. “What did he say?”
“I…” He shifted his weight around and gazed at the floor. “Well…”
“Please,” I pleaded. “You have to tell me.”
“He asked me if you were my girlfriend.”
Blood rushed into my head. “Girlfriend?”
Jay nodded.
The skin on my neck tingled. Texas thought I was with Jay.
The idea almost sent me flat on my butt. It had never occurred to me. But I supposed it made sense. We were with each other quite a bit. We ate together. Sometimes it was just the two of us, but most of the time we were with Emma, Priya, and other girls from my floor or guys from his cross-country team.
