Page 70 of Chasing Infinity

“What the heck was that about? I could hear you two yelling at each other from all the way across the field.” Caleb asks.

I tighten my fists at my sides as we walk the remaining distance to our new table. “Addison Parks just made a big mistake.”

I can’t deny it, though; as much as I’m annoyed with the whole ordeal, a part of me is slightly impressed that she had the gall to stand up to me. No one else in this school would have dared. That wasmytable. I always sat there, which meant that no one else did. It was as simple as that. I could’ve given her the benefit of the doubt with being a new student or whatever, but now. She had to go and dig her heels indeepand wouldn’t back down even when I blatantly informed her to her face.

Impressive.

Or stupid.

But I meant what I said when I told Caleb that Parks made a mistake. She wouldn’t live this down that easily. No one makes a McCoy look like a fool. It’s a lesson she will learn, and she’ll learn it fast.

Addison Parks has my full attention now, and she likely won’t lose it after that little fiasco over a lunch table.

Addison - Age 12

“Are you okay?” a soft voice asks. For the second time during that lunch hour, I’m interrupted from this chapter I’m trying to get through in my book about Greek mythology. Suppressing a frustrated sigh, I find Charlie Sullivan standing in front of me, wearing an unsure expression on his face.

“I’m fine.”

“Noah McCoy can be a jerk sometimes.” He pauses and thinks about it some more. “No, actually, he’s a jerk about ninety-nine percent of the time.”

I brush a few wild stray hairs out of my face as I look at Charlie. It’s windy out today. I’m immensely grateful that my mom had tamed my hair enough to pull it into a bun before school; otherwise, I’m sure I’d be left with a bigger disaster of a hair day than usual. “Clearly. What is his problem?”

Charlie motions to the bench next to me, silently asking if he can sit. I nod my head, and he slides into his seat, resting his elbows on the table. He observes me with his kind green eyes. “Noah’s just not used to not getting his way. His parents are rich, and they spoil him by giving him whatever he wants, so when that doesn’t happen….”

“He turns into a jerk?”

“Exactly.”

“Well, I don’t like him. How was I supposed to know that this was his table?” I ask incredulously. “And besides, I’m already sitting here. Did he just expect me to move?”

Charlie laughs, “Probably. I bet he’s not sure what to do with you now. You’ve probably just made yourself Public Enemy number one.”

I frown at him, thinking back to my recent face off with Noah. “He told me I’d regret it.”

“Yeah, you probably will.” My eyes go wide at my friend’s blunt response. Charlie laughs and shrugs his shoulders. “What? It’s the truth. Noah’s got a lot of pull around here.”

“We’re in middle school. What does he think he can do to me?”

“We’re in middle school,” Charlie repeats my statement as if that is answer enough. “Probably a lot.”

I sigh and reach for a baby carrot from my lunch box, popping it into my mouth and biting down, appreciating the crunching sound between my teeth. “Well, that’s unfortunate.”

Charlie chuckles again and pats my shoulder in mock comfort. “I think you’ll live. You seem to be pretty tough. Are your parents like professional wrestlers or something?”

I laugh now and shake my head. “No, my dad is a cop, and my mom likes to bake. She’s probably the most non-threatening person around.”

As soon as my sentence leaves my mouth, alarm bells sound off in my head, and I glance up at my friend in panic. Charlie notes the stress now written all over my face and frowns. “What’s wrong?”

I set my half-eaten carrot down on the wooden table and bite my lower lip. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that,” I mutter. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.”

“What, that your dad’s a cop? Mine’s a cop too. Maybe they work together.”

I shake my head and look at Charlie with wide, alarmed eyes. “He’s not working as a cop here. At least not officially. I’m supposed to say that they’re both just a chef and a baker, so we moved here so they could open up their own café.”

My heart thuds in my chest as Charlie scans my face. I can almost see the wheels turning in his head, attempting to put the pieces together. I pray silently that he doesn’t decide to go and tell their teacher that she’s making up wild stories for attention. My parents would be so mad at me. They gave me one explicit instruction,do not tell anyone.

We’ve barely been in Willow Heights for a week, and I’m already doing the exact opposite of what they told me to do.

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