Catching Jordan

Catching Jordan - Section 3

At lunchtime I head to the cafeteria, which always smells like a mixture of meatloaf and salad dressing, like those odors have seeped into the concrete walls and tile f  loor. I grab a slice of pizza, a salad, and a couple cartons of chocolate milk. I know I’m seventeen and that those little milk cartons are for kids, but I love them.

Today, I’m the first person to sit down at the football team’s table, and when I look up at the lunch line to see where the rest of the guys are, there he is. Ty. He stares at me, smiling. From across the cafeteria, he mouths the words, “Can I sit with you?”

I take a bite of pizza and point at the table. He grins again. Suddenly I seem to lose the ability to chew.

He drops his tray down and slides in beside me. Our elbows touch. “Hey, Woods.”

I nod once. “Ty.”

I scan the cafeteria for the rest of the guys, hoping they’ll be here soon. JJ and Carter are talking to a tableful of freshman girls. From a few tables away, Lacey is glaring at JJ, but he doesn’t even notice because some redhead is feeding him French fries. Carter is listening to a girl with long brown hair, gazing at her as if she’s saying very important things, like giving a play-by-play account of Super Bowl XXXVIII. In all actuality, she’s probably giving him a play-by-play account of some romance novel where some chick is in love with a boy who’s really a werewolf, and a vampire who’s really a dragon with enormous wings, and a handsome king who’s really a vampire.

Henry is standing over by the windows talking to Carrie Myer. He’s leaning against the glass and frowning at her. Is Mom right? Are they going to get back together? Carrie says something, and they both turn and look at me. She stares at me for a sec, then turns back to Henry and says something.

What’s that about? I wish I could read lips. Then he drags a hand through his curls and focuses on the ceiling tiles. Carrie wipes a tear off her face, turns, and walks toward the doors. Her eyes are all puffy and red. Henry follows her out into the hallway, frowning.

Even though she said she’s glad, maybe Carrie is actually pissed that Marie went out with Henry yesterday, thus breaking the cardinal rule of cheerleading. JJ once told me that if a guy dates one cheerleader, the rest of the cheerleaders will never, ever date him because of squad loyalty. Yeah, JJ didn’t understand it either. It’s not like anyone is getting married. But when it comes to Henry, the rule doesn’t apply: the girls disregard it and mess around with him anyway.

Too much drama for me.

Speaking of fooling around, Ty’s sitting so close I can smell him. The scent of soap and detergent wafts up to my nose.

Ty leans over and whispers in my ear, “I don’t know whether to thank you or hate you for sending me home with Henry yesterday.”

“Oh hell,” I say. “What did he do?”

He stuffs a few French fries in his mouth, but keeps talking. “First he takes us to this diner. Those friends of his, Kristen and Marie, are all over us. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but Kristen doesn’t seem to have anything between her ears.”

I snort and chocolate milk comes out my nose. Yeah, I know, I’m the sexiest creature on the planet. Ty grins at me.

“Go on,” I say, wiping up my chocolate snot.

“So we stay at the diner for a couple hours, talking about absolutely nothing. And I mean nothing. Oh yeah—there was no studying going on either. Henry and Marie made out for, like, an hour.”

I start cracking my knuckles as Ty goes on. “Then we go out to his truck, and I’m thinking, great—finally, I get to go home. My grandfather’s probably worried sick about me. But no, Henry doesn’t take me home. He drives us way out into the country into this field. It’s basically a giant mud puddle.”