“Wyatt, do you remember the tree house you built and wouldn’t let girls into?”
Wyatt lifted his gaze from his food and grinned at me, “Yeah and you were so freaking mad. I think I hung that sign just to piss you off.”
I was sure he did. Wyatt had lived to make me mad. We had a huge boy versus girl battle going back then. Miranda was happy to play with her Bratz dolls which just gave him more ammunition. Miranda made me look bad. Dolls made the boys think we were weak and I was so not weak.
“Do you remember the tree in my backyard you climbed and said I couldn’t?”
Wyatt frowned a minute and then a grin broke across his face, “YES and you did climb it one day by yourself and fell down but a kid helped you or something. I don’t know. I didn’t believe your story then and I don’t believe it now. It was a little far fetched,” he continued to go on and on about how fast he could climb that tree and his obvious prowess where it was concerned but my mind was on other things.
The boy had been real. That dream was a memory. Why had I forgotten it?
“You gonna eat that?” Wyatt’s question broke into my thoughts and I pushed my tray toward him. I wasn’t sure what “that” he was referring to but all the “thats” on my plate weren’t going anywhere near my mouth.
“Help yourself.”
“Sweet. Thanks,” he grabbed the tray and pulled it in front of him.
Miranda shivered as she stared down at it. That had been my thought exactly.
“So Pagan, when are we going to get to double with you and Dank?”
“Um... I don’t know. I didn’t know you wanted to.”
Miranda cocked her head to one side and gave me an incredulous look, “Of course we want to. You’ve been the one holding out.”
No. Wyatt was friends with Leif. Wyatt hadn’t been crazy about Dank and me. He felt like I was cheating on Leif even though I’d told them all that Leif had broken up with me. I shifted my gaze to Wyatt who was happily eating the food I’d given him while waiting on me to reply. Had they forgotten Leif completely?
“Oh, okay, well let me talk to him. He’ll be gone for a little while but when he gets back, then sure.”
Wyatt grinned and took a swig of water. I shifted my attention to the table beside us where Leif normally sat as reigning king. No one seemed to be concerned about his absence. Not even Kendra, his girlfriend for years before he’d broken things off with her this summer. Had they ever really been a couple or had he just played with her head?
Kendra threw her head back and laughed at something one of the boys said and I watched in fascination as she flirted openly with them. Thankfully she’d forgotten all about Dank once he left the first time. I hadn’t had to deal with her flirting with him on his return. It was almost like I didn’t exist as far as she was concerned. Then her eyes caught mine and a flicker of knowledge startled me before she gazed right past me and squealed out the name of another cheerleader approaching the table. They all acted like nothing had happened. No one worried over their star quarterback anymore.
“I need to brush my teeth and reapply lipstick. Come with?” Miranda asked, standing up.
I nodded and stood up to follow her out of the cafeteria.
“Hey Miranda, so Wyatt’s not upset about Leif so much now,” I coaxed, waiting to see how she responded.
Miranda peered back over her shoulder, “Who?”
Mom wasn’t home. Fantastic. I was alone. I closed the door behind me and scanned the kitchen to see if there were any unwanted visitors either floating around or, in Leif’s case, walking around. The coast seemed clear but that didn’t calm my nerves much. I dropped my bag on the table and walked over to the fridge to get a drink and make myself a sandwich.
A taco salad complete with a crispy tortilla bowl was wrapped up with a sticky note on top.
Gone out with Roger. Be back late. I ordered your favorite from Los Tacos. Enjoy.
Love you,
Mom
Add this to the fact that she’d left me at home alone and I could kiss her face. I was starving after nothing but a roll for lunch. I’d tutored two freshmen after school and there had been no time for eating then. Now it was after six and I swear my big intestines were eating my little intestines. I needed food. Grabbing the salad and a can of soda I headed for the living room. After hearing Miranda talk about this week’s Pretty Little Liars, I wanted to watch it myself.
Sinking down onto the couch with my meal I tucked my feet up under me and turned on the television. Thanks to good ‘ol Roger, my mom’s boyfriend, we had ourselves a nice new sixty-two inch flat screen on the wall. Roger was the district manager over the Best Buys in this area so he got killer deals. I’d already dropped the hint I was in the market for a new laptop. My old one was headed to the grave yard fast.
“Pagan.”
Screaming, I dropped my fork and scanned the room for the owner of that voice.