Page 12 of Almost Never

Chapter Five

––––––––

“How was office duty?”

I look up to see Alec take the seat next to me. Obviously I knew I was going to have to face him after my abrupt cafeteria departure, but looking at him now, I don’t think I was quite prepared.

“Huh?” I blink.

“You said you were helping out in the office,” he reminds me.

“Oh, yeah.” I shake my head. “It was fine.”

“I didn’t know people actually volunteered to work in the school office.”

“Yep.” I pop my lips.

“How does one get involved in something like that?” He grins, dropping his notebook onto the table.

“Um, well, I originally started during my free period freshman year. I’d rather make copies and run errands around the school than sit in a quiet classroom for forty minutes.”

“And now?”

“I guess I just like it,” I admit. “I love the secretary Ms. Mullins. She’s probably the sweetest person I’ve ever met. Half the time I’m there, all I’m doing is sitting behind the desk, listening to her tell me funny stories about her cats.”

“You really are a rare breed, Hope.” One side of his mouth tips up.

“Um, thank you?”

“Oh, I absolutely meant it as a compliment.” He chuckles.

Even though it’s the last thing I want to ask, I can’t stop the words from spewing out of my mouth.

“So, you and Lulu, huh?”

I watch his expression change as he mulls over how to respond.

“It’s okay if you like her.”

“It’s strange,” he admits. “I didn’t expect to meet someone my first day here. But Lucy is...”

“Funny, charismatic, beautiful,” I cut in. I’ve heard it all before.

“Among other things, yes.”

“So are you two like a thing then?” I try to keep the disdain out of my voice but I’m honestly not sure if it works.

“Um, I’m not sure if I would say we’re a thing. But I definitely like her and I’m looking forward to getting to know her better.” He pauses. “Is that okay with you?”

I’m not sure why he cares what I think, but being the person that I am, I do what I always do. I slap on a fake smile and tell him exactly what he wants to hear. It’s not like the truth would change one single thing.

“Of course. Lulu is great.”

He looks at me like he wants to say something else but decides against it. Right then, Mr. Hadley stands from behind his desk and orders the class to quiet down.

We start off much like the day before. He tells us about the experiment we’re going to do and after writing each step on the white board, he lets us test it out.

Today we’re making square bubbles. Which seems pretty amateur to me, but I guess there’s only so many things that are considered safe in a classroom full of teenagers.

---