They moved away, but they all did so reluctantly. I turned back to my locker and got what I needed.
“Miss White, we are glad you’re back and doing well,” Mr. Farmer said from behind me.
I turned and smiled at him. “Thank you.”
He nodded and cleared his throat. “I want you to know, if you need anything or you are having problems like the one I just encountered, you can let me know, and I will fix it. I want your experience here at Sea Breeze High to be a great one.”
He had never spoken to me before, so his sudden desire to make sure I was happy was strange.
“Thank you, sir,” I said, despite my confusion.
“Yes, well, I also want you to know that if your, uh, boyfriend wants to attend any of our functions here, we would love to have him. He is more than welcome.”
It all made sense to me then, and I wanted to burst out laughing. Mr. Farmer was just as star crazed as everyone else. I didn’t trust myself to speak, so I nodded and headed toward class. I was probably already late.
Lunch in the cafeteria was some sort of tomato and pasta mixture that was hard to swallow. I did the best I could, but, after a few bites, I just resigned myself to drink my water. I found Amanda and sat with her. We were surrounded by her friends and people who wanted to know about Jax. I didn’t say much. I managed to ignore most everyone’s questions, and Amanda worked hard to get them to leave me alone.
“So, who’s ready for Homecoming this Friday night?” Amanda asked trying to get everyone’s mind on something else.
“I found the cutest dress last week in Mobile,” a girl on the other side of Amanda gushed. Several other girls started talking about their dresses and how they planned to wear their hair. I listened, but didn’t have anything to add to the conversation since I wasn’t going to go.
“Sadie, are you coming to the game?” Amanda asked me before she bit into her apple.
I started to say no, but then I remembered my promise to Jax and his wanting me to go to football games. “Um, I don’t know,” I said over my bottle of water.
Amanda swallowed. “Please come with me. I am going to the dance afterwards with Jeff Garner, but he is on the football team, so I will be dateless during the game.”
That sounded good to me. I could go to the game and tell Jax and maybe that would satisfy him for a while.
“Sure sounds good.”
Amanda beamed. “Great! You can come over to my house after school, and we can play around with those amazing curls I’m so jealous of, and we’ll find a way to style your hair, and then you can help me with my straight as a board head of hair!”
I frowned. “Um, does it matter how my hair looks for the football game?”
She grinned and nodded. “Yes, because you’re not going to have time to do anything but change before the dance.”
“Oh, well I’m not going to the dance, so that isn’t a big deal.”
Amanda frowned at me. “Why not?”
Well, because I didn’t want to dance without Jax. I shrugged my shoulders instead of telling her the truth.
She leaned over and whispered in my ear, “If you want a date, all you have to do is crook your finger and every guy will come running.”
I shook my head. “No, that’s not it. I just don’t want to go.”
She sighed. “So you’re going to leave me alone. I thought you said that Jax wanted you to take advantage of all high school experiences.”
I nodded reluctantly.
“Well, big news flash, the Homecoming dance is one of the biggest experiences of the year.”
I sighed. She was right. He had said dances. I could come and go quickly. “Okay, I’ll show up.”
Amanda beamed. “Perfect! You want a date?”
I shook my head. “No, I’m going alone.”