Sticks & Stones by Abby Cooper

Author:Abby Cooper
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780374302894
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

22

A PROJECT

By Monday morning, not getting any cake was the least of my worries.

The first day back after winter break is always the worst thing ever. But on this Monday, not only did I wake up with the super-bummed ugh-I-have-to-wake-up-early-and-go-to-school feeling, I woke up with a funny feeling, too. Something felt off, like it had that day when Liam broke up with me. When I got to school, I noticed Jeg bouncing in, wearing about a dozen jangly beaded bracelets, her dumb one-fourth-of-a-peace-sign necklace, and an enormous smile on her face. She was probably just happy that she’d had a good party.

Really happy.

But then Liam came in with a big smile, too. And then they looked at each other, still grinning all goofy, and then Liam grabbed Jeg’s hand and held it all the way to her seat, where he let it go, then kept grinning stupidly all the way to his seat on the way other side of the room.

I really thought I was going to throw up, but somehow I didn’t. Which was very lucky, because I’d had rainbow sprinkles on my pancakes for breakfast and it would’ve been a very colorful, very embarrassing kind of vomit.

The room started buzzing, but I couldn’t hear or see or think. I couldn’t do anything. I overheard little bits and pieces. “Going out!” “Since the party!” “He’s liked her forever!” “So cool!” “Great couple!”

My face grew hotter and hotter. How could this happen? Liam was supposed to be getting back together with me, not going out with her! And she was supposed to be someone who sort of cared how I felt about things like that! Why had she invited me to her party if she didn’t?

I couldn’t look at either one of them for the rest of the day. I sat in the bathroom at lunch with my book because I couldn’t possibly face the two of them, all happy and stuff, parading around like they were the king and queen of England, and I didn’t want to talk to anyone else, either. I especially didn’t want to talk to Nice Andy and stare into his nice face and watch him eat his nice food and nicely tell me how cool and awesome I am even after I had abandoned him in Amsterdam. How cool and awesome could I possibly be if Liam would rather go out with Jeg than me? Even Mr. Todd’s announcement over the loudspeaker that he’d be making the Explorer Leader decision this week couldn’t cheer me up.

* * *

By nighttime, my face had changed from sort of getting gross to totally puffy and full of nasty I’ve-been-crying-forever eyeball gunk. Disgusting. Like even more disgusting than disgusting. Like, disgusting-looking people would be embarrassed if they saw me. They’d be disgusted, in fact.

DISGUSTING settled on my arm and made itself comfortable (and me miserable). Mom stuck my hands in oven mitts so I wouldn’t scratch and made me look at a zillion old pictures with her as a distraction.

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