Page 20 of Enemies to Prom Dates
“Concussion,” I said. “His parents are taking him to the hospital where they work, so they can have a third doctor come to the same conclusion. He’ll be fine in a couple of weeks.”
“Which makes you QB One for now. How lucky is that? You didn’t have to even wait your turn. Just one week for Chas to get his brains scrambled. So tell me. How much money did you pay Toby to pull his block on that linebacker?”
Heath laughed as if he what he’d said had been funny.
I didn’t think it was.
“You do realize Chas is my friend. I would never want him hurt on purpose.”
“Yeah, yeah. But we both know your daddy wasn’t happy with you being number two. And we know how you like to make your daddy happy.”
“Fuck you. You say that like I’m sucking up for some nefarious reason. Wanting to make my dad proud is not a crime. Wanting to make my mother happy is not wrong.”
“Excellent use of the wordnefarious. Do you ever hear yourself talk?”
Yes, sometimes I say things like…never is a long time.
“Yo!”
I turned and saw Ed making his way through a bunch of the groups. He stopped long enough to fill up a cup then eventually made his way to where Heath and I were standing.
“What the hell took you so long? We left at the same time.”
He shrugged. “I had shit to do.”
I sighed. “Did you seriously go to see her?”
“Her who?” he said, shifting nervously from foot to foot. He was definitely feeling guilty about something.
“Bee,” I said, as if he was thick. “You know you don’t have to go over there. You’re not obligated to be her boyfriend.”
“You know fuck all about it,” he said belligerently. “What did I say before the school year started? We don’t talk about it, we don’t talk about her. She’s fucking Voldemort as far as anyone is concerned. That’s what you agreed to, but it seems like this topic keeps coming up.”
“You do get the irony of that,” I said. “By not saying her name, it gives her more power.”
Health chuckled. “Excellent use of the wordirony.”
I snarled at him. “Fine. Then can we talk about something serious? I’ve been hearing rumors. Something about a list with a bunch of girls’ names on it. Wick said something about it the other day. But now I’ve heard it from other people.”
“What list?” Ed asked.
“Oh, so you have heard about it,” Heath mused. “I wasn’t sure how you would react.”
“React to what?” I asked. “Is it real?”
Heath nodded. “Oh, it’s very real. They’re calling it the Freshman Bait List. Apparently, our fellow classmates, well at least the male classmates, have put together a list of hot freshman girls they want to target.”
“Target for what?” I asked.
“Why their virginity, of course.”
Said by Locke, who had clearly been within earshot of our conversation, as he strolled into the center of our circle. Of course Heath and Ed knew who he was, but as the only person who’d actually been introduced to him, I felt obliged to make it official.
“Ed, Heath. The new guy, Locke. Locke, that broody one is Heath and the other broody one is Ed. Don’t get them confused.”
Ed and Heath lifted their cups in Locke’s direction, and he took a hit on his vape pen letting out a plume of steam. He offered it to me, but again I waved him off.
“You don’t partake in recreational drug or alcohol use?” Locke asked me, obviously noting my lack of cup in hand.
