Headlock by Joyce Sweeney

Author:Joyce Sweeney
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781504004336
Publisher: Open Road Media Teen & Tween

Chapter 10

Nobody thinks to throw me a graduation party, so I throw one for myself. I decided not to go to the actual ceremony—it was on a Saturday and I would have had to miss GCW rehearsal. Anyway, I feel like I’ve already left all those high school people behind. I have a whole new life.

“Which do you think is better, pizza or pasta?” Chantal asks Ben, her new best friend. We’re at That’s Amore under the big neon eel, eating two pizzas. One for Ben, one for the rest of us. Spaghetti and meatballs for Hector. I got to keep my job in exchange for having the party here and promising never to miss a shift again.

“Pizza, no contest,” Ben says. “More saturated fat.”

“Yes, exactly!” Chantal cuts her slice of pizza into delicate squares with her knife and fork. “Do you like Greek food? I love the Greek culture. I love everything about it.”

I’m baffled. All traces of the woman who forgets to feed the dog are gone. Maybe she needs to be around people more.

Ben puts two slices together, folds it all up like a taco, and takes a huge bite. “Who’s your favorite character from Greek mythology?” he asks Chantal.

“Persephone. Her suffering made her more interesting than the other goddesses. You would pick one of the strong heroes, I would think. Hercules, perhaps?”

“Odysseus,” Ben says. “I feel like my whole life is like that story. I keep trying to get somewhere, and I get sidetracked every time.”

“I named our dog Penelope,” Chantal says, “because when she was a puppy she was always unraveling my knitting.”

She and Ben both laugh. Hector swivels to Ophelia and me for an explanation, but we just shrug. This is a side of Ben I’ve never seen either. I mean, we knew he worked in a library, but I didn’t know he was this smart. I turn my attention to a different goddess, Ophelia the ice queen.

“Things will get better now,” I tell her. “I just had too much on my plate when I was still in school. Now I just have wrestling class and rehearsal. And this job. Well, and I want to start going to a gym. And eventually get a day job that pays better. But—” I reach for her hand.

She snatches it away. “I remember now. You told me you broke up with your last girlfriend because she was too clingy and needy. I guess this is your MO. You pull away, the girl chases you, and then you can complain and feel superior. Well, you picked the wrong person this time, because I chase no one.”

Hector stares at his spaghetti. He wants no part of either conversation.

I try to role model a nice low voice for Ophelia. “You don’t understand. There’s too much going on in my life. I can’t juggle it all.”

“Oh, God!” She tosses back her brassy, beautiful hair. “Maybe Danny was right about you. You’ve got a big head now because you’ve got a stupid slot in that GCW show.

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