Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler

Author:Janet Gurtler
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Published: 2012-08-06T22:00:00+00:00

chapter fifteen

I make it through classes with an invisible bubble around me that keeps me safe from onlookers. I suspect it has something to do with the locket.

Taylor texts me, but we miss each other in the halls. I wonder if it’s possible to get through the whole day without speaking to anyone other than teachers. But I have English after lunch, and I’ll see Casper, so probably not. I’m surprised I haven’t gotten any texts from him, which I’d both expected and dreaded.

At lunch I take my brown bag outside to eat alone. I try not to remember earlier days of sitting in the cafeteria with the swimmers, close to Zee while he made jokes about my three sandwiches and Taylor threw crusts at him.

The air outside is chilly, so there aren’t many kids around. I stand in the entranceway and lean against a railing, not wanting to sit on the damp grass. I watch the usual groups hang around the outskirts of the school like they do at school grounds all over America. Dad always says teenagers think they’re original, but other than having a lot more technology, they’re not so different from their parents. I can’t imagine that he’s right. It has to be harder now than when he was a kid.

I chomp on my sandwich, down to one from three. I’ve cut back on the huge portions, afraid of eating too much. Without swimming, I’m afraid of ballooning up. For the millionth time, my fingers go to the necklace, and I rub the locket and stare at cars passing the school, making up stories in my head about the people inside.

“I hope that’s not peanut butter.” My mouth stops chewing, and chunks of bread and ham stick to the roof of my mouth.

A girl is staring at me. She walks close, her long legs perfect for the black skinny jeans she’s wearing. Her arms are crossed over a thin black sweater with no jacket to keep out the chills. She’s either freezing or has lava running through her veins. She snaps her gum, and even though she’s pretty, with her short whitish blond hair and big hoop earrings, she reminds me of someone from a TV commercial about troubled youth. She’s the girl from English class. The one Casper dropped as a partner for me.

She uncrosses her arms and squints as if she wants to give me a beat-down. I force myself to swallow the food in my mouth and stare back at her, trying to look tough and not terrified.

“It’s not peanut butter,” I tell her. “I don’t eat it anymore.” My cheeks turn red, realizing how stupid that must sound.

“Yeah? Too bad you didn’t put that into practice a few months ago.”

I want to say something snarky back, but don’t have the energy or will. I drop my eyes and look at her scuffed-up ankle boots.

“You know who I am?” Her voice challenges me to something I’m not sure of.

I push off the railing, drop my hands to my side so I’m standing taller, and look straight into her eyes.

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