Page 53 of I Hope This Doesn't Find
When Julius crosses the finish line alone, the indisputable winner, to wild roars from the spectators, a grin splits over my face.
But I bite it back down when he walks straight over to me. The gold medal swings from his neck, gleaming in the sunlight. He takes it off, then holds it out toward me.
“Yours.”
I’d thought he was joking. “You . . . But you won it. You should keep it.”
He rolls his eyes. “I have so many of these lying around my house I don’t have any room left.”
“Okay, you’re just openly bragging now—”
“Only speaking the truth.”
“I—”
“Just take it, Sadie.” He closes the distance between us and hangs the medal around my neck. It’s still warm from his touch, smooth against my skin when I turn it over, unable to stop myself from admiring its faint glow, the shine of the gold. The weight of it. It’s prettier than any necklace I’ve ever seen. I open my mouth to thank him, but then he adds, carelessly, “Consider it compensation for all the awards I’ve taken from you.”
My gratitude curdles into a scoff on my tongue, and he laughs at the look on my face.
“You’re welcome,” he says.
“For being cocky?”
“That too.”
But I brush my thumb over the medal, and even though I can’t decide what it really means—a gift, a form of compensation, proof of something—it’s somehow one of the best things I’ve ever received.
The next day, we’re called into the principal’s office again.
It’s all the same. The same dull carpet, the same two seats pulled up in front of the desk, the same suffocating air. The same nerves coiled in the pit of my stomach. The only difference is the way Julius’s eyes catch on mine when I sit down next to him.
“Well, hello, captains,” Principal Miller greets us.
“Hi,” I say cautiously.
“You’re looking great today, Principal Miller,” Julius says. I’m almost impressed by his ability to dive straight into such shameless flattery at any given moment. It’s way too early in the morning for this. “Is that a new tie?”
The principal glances down at his plain black tie, which looks identical to every single tie I’ve ever seen him wear. I wait for him to scold Julius, but his poker face breaks into a pleased smile. “Why, yes, it is. Thank you for noticing.”
You’re kidding me.
“What did you want to talk to us about, Principal Miller?” Julius asks.
The principal refocuses. “Ah, right. I know it’s been a while since we had our last conversation about your little . . . incident.” His mouth puckers with distaste, as if the incident in question involved us publicly vandalizing his office or undressing the school mascot. “I just wanted to check in with you two. How are we feeling? Have you been enjoying your time with each other?”
“Yes, I’ve been having awonderfultime,” Julius says.
When I turn to him in surprise, he tilts his head almost imperceptibly toward the principal, his eyes narrowing.
“Simply incredible,” I agree, catching on. If we can just convince Principal Miller his plan worked, we might be able to finally leave the emails behind us and go our separate ways. “We’resoclose now. We’re basically best friends.”
“The best of friends.” Julius nods fast. “We hang out even when we’re not at school. She’s the first person I think of when something goes well and when something goes wrong. We even finish each other’s—”
“Math questions,” I say. “He’s been a great help in class.”
“She’s right. I help her all the time.”
I let out a high-pitched laugh. “Although,of course, I help him plenty as well, seeing as I’m much more familiar with the syllabus than he is—”
