sexy and sophisticated. “Facebook!” Alison announced as she headed back to her seat to upload the pic.
Javi squeezed in between Claudia and me on the bench. When his thigh rested against mine, I about rocketed to the moon.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. Javi ate during second lunch and was supposed to be in his English class right now.
“Bathroom break,” he replied. His trademark grin hitched up his lips.
“I think you took a wrong turn somewhere,” I said, nudging him. He leaned into me and laughed, and instead of pulling away, the entire right side of his body remained in contact with mine. Forget the moon, I was on my way out of the solar system.
“So what’s with Claudia?” he asked eyeing her suspiciously. She was still in the middle of her hyena routine, and Alison, who’d finished posting the picture to all her social media sites, had death in her eyes.
“Nothing,” Alison replied dryly.
Her response made Claudia almost laugh herself off the bench.
“You’re weird, you know that?” Javi asked before chuckling at Claudia.
“You have no idea,” Alison added with a nod. “Claudia Zamora is a freaky devil-worshipping, emo loser with more scars on her wrists than friends.”
My hackles rose. I’d never been one to stand up to others, mostly because I was usually the one being made fun of. But Alison’s comment about my friend turned the rocket I’d been flying on thanks to Javi’s warm touch into a missile.
And that missile headed straight for Alison Gutierrez.
“If Claudia really worshipped the devil,” I told Alison, “she’d be bowing before you, wouldn’t she?”
Stephanie gasped in horror, and Claudia’s laughter died almost instantaneously. Alison’s only reply was to cross her hands on the wooden tabletop and glare at me with arched eyebrows.
Javi’s sudden chuckling caught all our attention. “That was priceless,” he said as he wrapped his arm around my neck. He hadn’t done that since I’d taken the now famous photo. “Tru has some good comebacks and always cracks me up.”
What the hell was he talking about?
“It was pretty good,” Stephanie added with a nod. Her shock had been replaced by amusement.
Alison didn’t buy it. The slant of her eyebrows revealed she had no trouble discerning between a true insult and a playful jab. But Javi’s protective presence kept her poison at bay. “I’ll give you that one, Tru,” she said with a hesitant smile. “But everyone only gets one.”
I understood the warning. If I crossed Alison again in any way, she’d find some way to cut me off at the knees. Being friends with Javi apparently only went so far.
“What are you up to this weekend?” Javi asked. He no doubt desired a subject change.
“What else but party at Heather’s tomorrow night?” Stephanie answered. Heather Barnes was one of the richer students at Burbank. Her parents had a two-story house with a pool. I’d overheard Heather talking about her big house in economics class earlier in the week.
He nodded as if he’d forgotten about the gathering. “What time does it start?”
“Ten o’clock,” Alison answered. “You coming?”
Javi turned to me. “Are we?”
I not only became speechless but turned deaf too. After all, I couldn’t have heard Javi correctly. There was no way he was inviting me to a party filled with jocks and popular kids.
“You should come,” Alison said with a nod. This time she was looking at me. Not Javi. “Everyone will be there.”
Why did it suddenly feel as if someone had walked all over my grave? I couldn’t stop shaking.
“What do you say?” he asked. He switched his gaze from me to Claudia and then back to me again. “We should all go.”
“I don’t think so,” Claudia answered with a snort. “Not my scene.”
Alison’s quick sideways glance at Claudia seemed to be her way of saying, “no shit.”
“Come on, Tru!” Javi pleaded. He wrapped his arm around my neck and drew me
Javi squeezed in between Claudia and me on the bench. When his thigh rested against mine, I about rocketed to the moon.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. Javi ate during second lunch and was supposed to be in his English class right now.
“Bathroom break,” he replied. His trademark grin hitched up his lips.
“I think you took a wrong turn somewhere,” I said, nudging him. He leaned into me and laughed, and instead of pulling away, the entire right side of his body remained in contact with mine. Forget the moon, I was on my way out of the solar system.
“So what’s with Claudia?” he asked eyeing her suspiciously. She was still in the middle of her hyena routine, and Alison, who’d finished posting the picture to all her social media sites, had death in her eyes.
“Nothing,” Alison replied dryly.
Her response made Claudia almost laugh herself off the bench.
“You’re weird, you know that?” Javi asked before chuckling at Claudia.
“You have no idea,” Alison added with a nod. “Claudia Zamora is a freaky devil-worshipping, emo loser with more scars on her wrists than friends.”
My hackles rose. I’d never been one to stand up to others, mostly because I was usually the one being made fun of. But Alison’s comment about my friend turned the rocket I’d been flying on thanks to Javi’s warm touch into a missile.
And that missile headed straight for Alison Gutierrez.
“If Claudia really worshipped the devil,” I told Alison, “she’d be bowing before you, wouldn’t she?”
Stephanie gasped in horror, and Claudia’s laughter died almost instantaneously. Alison’s only reply was to cross her hands on the wooden tabletop and glare at me with arched eyebrows.
Javi’s sudden chuckling caught all our attention. “That was priceless,” he said as he wrapped his arm around my neck. He hadn’t done that since I’d taken the now famous photo. “Tru has some good comebacks and always cracks me up.”
What the hell was he talking about?
“It was pretty good,” Stephanie added with a nod. Her shock had been replaced by amusement.
Alison didn’t buy it. The slant of her eyebrows revealed she had no trouble discerning between a true insult and a playful jab. But Javi’s protective presence kept her poison at bay. “I’ll give you that one, Tru,” she said with a hesitant smile. “But everyone only gets one.”
I understood the warning. If I crossed Alison again in any way, she’d find some way to cut me off at the knees. Being friends with Javi apparently only went so far.
“What are you up to this weekend?” Javi asked. He no doubt desired a subject change.
“What else but party at Heather’s tomorrow night?” Stephanie answered. Heather Barnes was one of the richer students at Burbank. Her parents had a two-story house with a pool. I’d overheard Heather talking about her big house in economics class earlier in the week.
He nodded as if he’d forgotten about the gathering. “What time does it start?”
“Ten o’clock,” Alison answered. “You coming?”
Javi turned to me. “Are we?”
I not only became speechless but turned deaf too. After all, I couldn’t have heard Javi correctly. There was no way he was inviting me to a party filled with jocks and popular kids.
“You should come,” Alison said with a nod. This time she was looking at me. Not Javi. “Everyone will be there.”
Why did it suddenly feel as if someone had walked all over my grave? I couldn’t stop shaking.
“What do you say?” he asked. He switched his gaze from me to Claudia and then back to me again. “We should all go.”
“I don’t think so,” Claudia answered with a snort. “Not my scene.”
Alison’s quick sideways glance at Claudia seemed to be her way of saying, “no shit.”
“Come on, Tru!” Javi pleaded. He wrapped his arm around my neck and drew me
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