Between the Lines

- 21 -

Kendal

I knew I should have stayed home today. After getting no sleep and dealing with everything yesterday, I am unprepared to function normally. Even Braden’s coffee is not going to get me through an encounter with Madison, who is standing in a doorway at the other end of the hallway, staring at me. She doesn’t look like she’s in any kind of hurry to get to class.

I don’t think Braden sees her, because he’s asking me about our writing assignment, and I’m wondering when exactly he thinks I would have written anything else on it.

“You forgot it?” he says, and I nod, too busy worrying about what I know this looks like to Madison, who probably has already heard that Kyle and I are fighting, and that Braden broke Kyle’s finger last night, and now here I am, walking into school with Braden.

If I’m really lucky, someone saw me talking to him outside, too. This day just keeps getting better.

“You, Kendal Leah, forgot your homework?”

Forgot is an overstatement. It’s in my backpack – it just looks the same as it did when I left here yesterday. But now is not the time to discuss this. “I have to get to class.” I turn abruptly and start walking toward another hallway – whatever I can do to get as far away from Madison as possible.

“Uh, Kendal?” Somehow Braden is still next to me, hurrying to keep up.

“Sorry, Braden. I’ll talk to you later. I have to go to class.” The bell chimes overhead, letting me know that I’m already late. So is he, so I’m not sure why he’s pursuing this right now.

“Then why are you going completely the wrong way?”

This makes me stop in my tracks and whirl around to face him – the fact that he knows where my first class is paints the whole story about how he knew where I live in a very different light. I stare at him, waiting for an explanation.

“Well?” he asks, as if he hasn’t just admitted to stalking me at school, too. As if I’m the one who owes him an explanation.

I raise an eyebrow.

“Seriously, Kendal. Why are you going this way when Mr. Brody’s room is that way?” He hooks his thumb back over his shoulder.

“Do you have my class schedule memorized or something?” I demand.

His eyebrows knit together in a way that makes me wonder if I’m speaking English. I’m pretty sure I am.

“How do you know what class I have first period?” For a terrifying moment, I wonder if I told him yesterday and I just don’t remember. Maybe I am the one acting strange here. I brace myself to be embarrassed by the answer.

And I am, only it’s unimaginably worse.

“Kendal, I’m in Mr. Brody’s class, too.”

My stomach twists in ways that stomachs are not supposed to, and I look desperately up and down the hall, but there are no bottomless pits I can throw myself into. There’s not even a bathroom.

I stop myself just before I ask him if he’s serious or if he’s just messing with me, but by the pretending-not-to-be-hurt look on his face, he isn’t. And now I’ve wasted the time I otherwise might have had to save face, to find some way to laugh it off and at least pretend I’m the kind of person who notices who’s in class with me. But it turns out I’m not and now Braden knows that, too. Between this and calling him the wrong name yesterday, I’m surprised he hasn’t walked off in disgust.

He hasn’t, though, so I just sigh. “There is not enough coffee in the world for some days.”

To my surprise, he grins and looks sideways at the cup of coffee in my hands. The empty cup. His empty cup of coffee.

I’m about to be voted off of some reality show; I just know it.

There might not be anywhere to hide in this hallway, but there is an exit at the end of it. With my luck, it’s locked or has an alarm on it, but still I’ve managed to take two steps toward the door when I feel something around my upper arm.

It’s a hand. His hand. He’s touching me – and it doesn’t bother me nearly as much as it probably should.

He nods toward the other end of the hall. “This way, Sunshine. We’re late enough already.”

I’ve never showed up late to a class before, and just the thought of walking in, trying to get to my seat while everyone is watching me, getting a lecture from Mr. Brody…all of this is enough to have me noting the location of every exit we pass, but somehow I don’t escape out any of them. Braden isn’t still touching me, but he’s walking just behind my shoulder, not saying anything, just hurrying both of us along to class.

I don’t think I like it, but I’m not sure. Maybe I just think I shouldn’t like it. I know that if Kyle were here, he would have quickly taken advantage of any hesitation on my part about actually going to class. We’d have been in his car right now. Or wherever it is he goes when he skips class.

Mr. Brody doesn’t even look up from his computer when I enter the room and slip into my usual seat on the aisle in the second row. There’s a quiz sitting on the desk, and I feel like it’s the first stroke of luck I’ve had since pulling into the parking lot. Everyone in the class is too busy scribbling furiously on their papers to notice me.

I have no idea where Braden usually sits in this class, but I know it’s not the seat behind me. And yet, he slides in like that’s exactly where he belongs. I’ve managed to dig out a pen and get my name and the date written on the top of the paper when Mr. Brody stands up and makes his way over to this side of the room. He passes right by me like I don’t exist, but I hear a rustle of paper behind me, and then he goes back to his computer.

I frown, but then concentrate on remembering the algorithm to solve the first problem.

Then something lands on my desk, right in the middle of my quiz. A small, folded-up piece of paper.

I look to the side, but nobody in that direction seems to be paying attention to anything except their quizzes, so I twist around and look at Braden. He’s watching me.

Something like dread fills my stomach as I turn back and unfold the note. It’s written on a tardy slip with today’s date and Braden’s name. Underneath Mr. Brody’s signature is handwriting I’ve only seen once – yesterday as we were writing – but already I recognize it.

You owe me.