Phase (2 page)

I opened my mouth then shut it. Why had I done it? Juliet, new girl to Gregory, had landed in my first period class and I’d shown her around, made sure she’d found her classes. I’d introduced her to my friends at lunch, where I found out that she was a foster kid with the Vardens. My relief that she wasn’t dating Ezra was overcome by my sympathy for her situation. I’d even invited her over for dinner on Wednesday, but she’d barely talked, and when she had, she told me coldly that she’d only come over because she wanted to be away from her foster family for a little while. She didn’t want to be friends, especially with someone who pitied her.

She’d made me cry.

So why had I stuck up for her, even to the point of getting hurt?

Glutton for punishment, Exhibit A—Sophie Todd.

“She was being so mean,” I mumbled, taking off the ice pack the school nurse had given me. The left side of my face was now numb, but I knew it would hurt again soon.

Juliet didn’t comment for a few seconds, then said, “You’re very strange.”

I didn’t have time to agree with her because the door opened and Summer, with a busted lip, flounced out. She smiled smugly at us and waved as she left the office.

I was oddly happy to see that busted lip.

“Sophie Todd?” Dr. Mack called.

I stood up and promised myself I would not cry. I walked toward the door and looked back once. Juliet watched me and, out of the blue, offered me a small, encouraging smile.

I was too shaken to know if I smiled back.

Dr. Mack asked me to share what I’d seen. I told him everything and repeated that Summer had thrown the first hit. He seemed to believe me.

“Sophie, you are an excellent student and good person,” he began at the end of my tale. I watched his gray eyebrows as they twitched with every word he spoke. “I would hate to see your clean record marred because of the company you keep.”

“Dr. Mack, she provoked Juliet.” I was adamant. “Jules was walking away when Summer grabbed her hair.”

He nodded. “I understand this. I’m just telling you to be careful. I’ve had to call your parents to let them know what happened.”

I closed my eyes. “Oh no.”

“Are you OK to finish up classes today?”

I nodded, opening my eyes. “Did my parents sound upset?”

He gave me a “duh” look, for a principal anyway. He stood and went to his office door.

I followed. “Dr. Mack. You’re not going to suspend Juliet, are you? She really did try to walk away.”

“I like to give everyone a second chance. We’ll see.” He opened the door. “Go to class.”

“Thanks, Dr. Mack.” I walked out to see Juliet still sitting tensely.

“Juliet Ellery, please come in.”

She got up, wiping her hands on her jeans. She met my eyes for a second, then went past me.

Class had already started, so the halls were quiet as I pulled out my cell to call my dad.

“Hey, Dad,” I started weakly.

He heaved a big sigh. “I know you weren’t just in a fight, were you?”

“Can I explain first? There were extenuating circumstances.”

He chuckled. “Go ahead.”

I quickly gave him a rundown of the words exchanged and how the fight had escalated. “Dad, she was awful to Juliet.”

“Who was?”

“Summer. Summer Harlan.”

“Harlan? Your friend had to make a Harlan angry.” He chuckled again. “Juliet shouldn’t have hit her.”

“I know. But part of the reason I’m explaining is that I’m supposed to study with Juliet tonight. We have a test tomorrow, and the teacher assigned us partners to study with. So she’s supposed to come over.” Our geography teacher, Mrs. Lange, was evil like that.

Another long pause. “I see.”

“Please? It’s school. And I dunno, I like her. Not sure why.” That last statement was more to myself. I’d felt something when I’d seen her at Walmart. A connection. Maybe a kindred spirit, although that seemed like a long shot with her being so different from me.

Oh, and not liking me.

He laughed. “That’s my girl. All right, I’ll make sure it’s OK with your mom, but if it’s your teacher’s assignment, not much we can do, huh?”

I grinned into the phone. “You’re the greatest dad ever.”

“I’m your only dad.”

“Details.”

“I have to work now. And you have class.”

“Love you.” I froze as I saw Ezra Varden walk out of the boys’ bathroom just as I said that. He paused at seeing me.

“Love you too, pumpkin,” Dad said and hung up.

I closed my phone and slipped it into my bag. “Hey,” I said lamely. I could talk up a storm with anyone: stranger, friend, relative. I rambled enough when I was nervous, but seeing Ezra right at this moment, I was struck dumb. Or at least, ineloquent.

“You OK?” he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He looked at my face and winced. “Looks like it hurts.”

I nodded. “It does. Thanks, you know…for…” Picking me up? Touching me? Giving me more reasons to crush on you? “Breaking it up.”

He shrugged it off. “Someone had to, although seeing Summer get a taste of her own medicine wasn’t bad.” He smiled a little.

I grinned back, completely ecstatic to see him smile. “You going to class?” We had Chem. 2 together. And second period Pre-Calculus and sixth period Spanish 4, the most classes I’d ever had with Ezra in our entire high school career.

“Yeah.”

We walked next to each other, a good foot of space between us. I imagined him reaching out and taking my hand, but I knew better. Didn’t stop my daydreams, though.

The looks on my classmates’ faces when I walked in with Ezra was almost worth the throbbing pain I was feeling. Or maybe that’s why they were looking.

* * *

I’d gotten bombarded with questions from classmates all afternoon. Connie and Mary-Beth, the two girls I always sat with at lunch, asked me all kinds of details. Despite my explanation, they seemed to think it was Juliet’s fault. I often wondered why I considered them friends. I never saw them out of school.

I saw Juliet by her locker after final period. “So, are we still studying?” I asked. “Might be easier if you rode with me.”

She scoffed. “Are your parents OK with you driving around a juvenile delinquent?”

I nodded. “I talked to Dad. And you’re not a juvenile delinquent.”

Her eyes widened and she shut her locker. “No kiddin’? Wow. Yeah, we have to study, right?”

She was talking. A lot. For her.

“Yep.” I touched the side of my face again and winced as we headed toward the doors that led to freedom.

“Hurt?”

I nodded. “What about your hands?”

She lifted them, regarding them like she’d forgotten. “Had worse.”

I really wanted to ask her about that. But I didn’t. As we walked toward my car, Ezra approached us. Juliet stiffened.

He didn’t seem surprised to see me with her. “So…you get suspended?” he asked Juliet.

She shook her head. “I get a grace period.” She rolled her eyes. “But if it happens again…blah, blah, blah.”

“Yeah. Summer’s, well, about as self-involved as you can get.”

Juliet almost smiled. “I have to go study with Sophie. For class.”

His eyebrows rose. “Really? I can’t come into town later to pick you up.”

“So I’ll sleep over.”

“Um, it’s a school night,” I said.

The two of them looked at me.

“I could ask.” Man, was that lame.

“Don’t you need clothes…?” Ezra gestured without continuing.

“I’ll borrow hers,” Juliet said.

I laughed, and again they both stared at me. I recognized the expression from other classmates. It was “are you for real?” or some variation. “Sorry, but you won’t fit my clothes.” I had “birthin’ hips,” as Mom liked to say. And I liked food. I’d never be skinny a day in my life.

Ezra sighed heavily. “I can come back to town.”

“I’ll drive her out,” I said.

“You sure?”

“Yes, sir.” I saluted him smartly.

Both he and Juliet gave me yet another odd gaze. They were becoming quite common, but… I saluted him? What in the world was wrong with me?

“OK,” Ezra said slowly. “Thanks.” He backed up and jogged to his car. I watched him leave, feeling all kinds of moronic.

“Are we going?” Juliet’s voice snapped me back into reality.

When we got home, Mom was waiting with her eyes nearly into little slits, a sure sign she was mad.

“Um, you can head up to my room. I’ll be up soon to start studying,” I told Juliet.

She nodded. “Hi, Mrs. Todd.”

“Juliet.”

Juliet headed upstairs.

“Did Dad call you?” I asked Mom when Juliet was out of earshot.

She nodded, reaching out to grab my chin and peered at what was probably the beginning of a bruise. “Are you OK?”

“Never thought I’d ever be in a fight, did you?”

She smiled wearily. “It definitely was not on my list of mom worries.”

I hugged her. “Thanks for being nice to her.”

She kissed the top of my head and let go of me. “I’ll holler later for you to set the table.”

I headed up the stairs to my room. It wasn’t big, but with loads of bookshelves, a desk, and my bed, I loved it.

Juliet jerked immediately away from my bookshelf when I walked in, but I saw the longing flash in her eyes. At least I thought I did.

That’s why I said, “You can borrow any if you want.”

Her head turned, a blur of motion before her pale blue eyes pierced mine so deeply that I took a step back. “Aren’t you afraid I’d do something to it?” Loads of bitterness in her voice.

Maybe, but I shrugged. “Books can be replaced, and you seem to like books a lot. You know what they can mean to someone. And if you did do something, why would I let you borrow any more? So, you’d just be shooting yourself in the foot.”

She blinked once. “Good point.”

I smiled, feeling it more than I usually did around her. “So, should we start? Dinner’s not for another hour and a half. You hungry? I could grab an apple or something.”

She snorted and plopped on my floor with her bag. “I’m always hungry, but I’m good.”

That’s one thing we have in common. I sat at my desk and pulled out my books. I tossed my Geography book on the floor, then got up to look through my CDs. “What kind of music do you like to study to?” I asked, running my fingers over the plastic cases.

“I dunno.” She watched me for a second. “Whatever.”

“I like mellow stuff. When I study. Instrumental. So my brain can think.”

“You like instrumental?” Her disbelief was evident in her scrunched up face. “Weird.”

I shrugged. It was an accepted fact that I was weird. At least to me. I pulled out a mix I’d made on my computer and stuck it in my laptop. “Eleanor Rigby (Strings Only)” began to play, and I settled on the floor.

Tiny, quick paw-steps clicked, and I saw Slightly at my open door. I grinned.

Slightly Soiled, named for the Lost Boy, had been part of the family since I was five years old. Her breed was indeterminate, but she was the closest thing I had to a sister.

“Juliet, this is Slightly. Slightly, this is Juliet.”

Juliet stared at my dog for what seemed like more than a minute. And Slightly, the friendliest dog on the planet, stared back. Her tail didn’t wag, and she stood almost on point, like a bloodhound would when he picked up a fox’s scent.

“Um…” I was weirded out.

Slightly edged in front of me, growling low in her throat, as though protecting me. Her fur stood on end.

“Slightly, it’s OK.” I looked up at Juliet. She’s not usually like this,”

“She’s letting me know that you belong to her,” Juliet said matter-of-factly.

“What?” I looked at Juliet, confused.

Her eyes never left my dog’s, as though she was talking to Slightly with her eyes. I almost slapped myself for the ridiculousness of that thought.

Juliet waited for another second, then held out her hand. Slightly edged over and sniffed her hand. After a pause, she licked Juliet’s fingers, then lay down, rolling over to show her belly. Juliet smiled and rubbed Slightly’s tummy. “Cute.”

“Yeah, she’s awesome.” I clicked my tongue a few times. Slightly waddled over to me. She licked my face, right where I’d been punched. I grimaced and wiped my face. “Thanks.”

She gave me a doggy smile, jumped on my bed, turned three times, and lay down. I shook my head, looking back at Juliet who was flipping through the chapter in our Geography book.

“So, how did you know that she was thinking that?”

Juliet’s eyes snapped up to mine. “I don’t. I just guessed. Animals are protective of their own. Not sure she knows she’s a dog and not a human.”

I laughed. “Probably not. She’s like my sister.” I waited about ten seconds for Juliet to say anything. “So, I guess we could go through the questions at the end of the chapter?”

Silence as Juliet turned pages in her book. I sighed and pulled out a notebook to answer the questions on my own, then saw the green notebook from Walmart sitting in my drawer. I’d forgotten I had it. Taking a moment to summon my courage, I pulled it out and tossed it over to her.

She looked at it, then at me. “You…”

“I thought you’d want it.”

She took it and ran her fingers over it like she had the week before. “Don’t you want it?”

“I have tons of notebooks. I’m like a notebook addict.” I shook my head at my own verbal nonsense. “Never mind, I got it thinking I might see you again.” I sounded like a stalker.

“Oh.” She gave me a searching look, then opened the notebook. She didn’t say anything, not even thank you.

She was just not the friend I’d been hoping for. My shoulders slumped.

“Flashcards?”

“Huh?” My head shot up.

“Do you want to make flashcards?” She met my eyes. “Be easier to quiz each other.”

“Sure. Although I do know what the difference is between a mesa and plateau.” I groaned and got up, searching through my desk drawers for index cards.

“Tell me.”

I glanced back at her.

She looked conspiratorial. “Don’t we have to teach each other, after all?”

I smiled. She nearly smiled back.

* * *

Dinner was better than before. Juliet must have taken a friendly pill because she smiled. Twice. Once at one of Dad’s really bad jokes. It was noteworthy. Then, armed with two sodas, Juliet and I retreated to my room to study more.