siblings were in it!”
“Sure,” I said. Teasing him was way more fun than I’d anticipated.
“Okay, I think they can pick on you if they want.” He pretended to be leaving.
I shoved his shoulder, and he smiled. “So,” he said, “friends?”
The bell rang, and I stood. I needed to get to class.
I didn't know if we'd ever get to be friends, but I answered, “Definitely not enemies.”
Twenty-Five
Butterflies continued dancing in my stomach through the rest of my classes, all the way until lunch. When I reached my friends at our new table that was big enough for all of us and our boyfriends, Jordan said, “Spill! Spill! Spill!”
Zara looked up from her salad. “What's going on?”
Jordan pointed her finger at me. “She ran off with a certain cowboy to his locker because she ‘forgot’ something at his house.”
“Don't use quote fingers on me!” I said.
Rory lifted her eyebrows. “Well, did you forget something?”
My cheeks flushed red. “No.”
“Aha!” Jordan cried. “And Ray totally defended her in class. Someone made a joke about her, and he completely shut it down.”
Callie's mouth fell open, and she covered it. “Are you serious?”
I rolled my eyes. “About the cow joke? Of course. You know how people are in this school.”
Carson pounded the table. “Give us the details.”
I raised my eyebrows at him and then grinned at Callie. “You've converted him.”
He rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Quit deflecting. What happened with Ray?”
Still laughing, I shook my head. “He brought me to the custodial closet and—”
Rory squealed, and Zara said, “Please tell me that he kissed the crap out of you.”
“Let me finish!” I said with a laugh. “You're all ridiculous.”
They fell silent, and Beckett said, “But the suspense is killing me!”
“Right?” Kai agreed.
I shook my head. “He just wanted to make sure I was okay. Apparently, he's never heard someone make fun of a fat girl before.”
Beckett frowned. “I don't like it that you girls call yourselves that.”
“Why?” I asked “It's what I am. I’m not ashamed of it.”
“But it's not all of who you are,” he said.
We were quiet for a moment.
I picked up a cucumber slice from my tray. “It doesn't matter anyway. Nothing's going to happen between Ray and me.”
Zara swung her head toward Jordan. “We’ve heard that before from this one, and now look.” She pointed her fork at Kai. “She’s dating an almost billionaire.”
Jordan leaned her head against Kai’s shoulder. “True,” she said.
“My parents aren't changing their ways anytime soon, and I'm pretty sure Ray doesn't want to date the poster child for anti-farming.” The weight of it settled in my chest. It wasn’t about what I wanted; it was about reality.
My friends slowly changed the subject, but I couldn't help being disappointed by my own words, no matter how true they were. Maybe going to the store tonight and talking to my dad would help. A girl could dream.
After school, I got in my car and drove to the store, thinking about the conversation I would have with my dad. While he wasn't around as much as my mom, he was easier to talk to, more even keeled.
As I pulled into the parking lot, the signs we put up stared back at me. Cruelty free. NO Factory Farming. NO GMOs.
Where I'd been fairly ambivalent before, I now felt ashamed. My parents might have done the research online, but I doubted they knew any farmers personally—had never gotten their hands dirty or rode a horse long enough to feel like their legs would fall off the next day.
I took a deep breath and got out of the car, locking it behind me. The parking lot was pretty empty, but around four it would be so packed everyone would be rushing around to keep up.
Inside, Janet slowly cleaned the register with a rag, looking bored. She thrived on the busy times. At the sound of the door buzzing, she perked up and said, “Hi, Ginger! How's school?”
“Good,” I answered, glancing around for my dad.
“He’s training the new stocker.”
“New stocker? Did Leroy leave?”
“No, no, no,” she said. “He's planning on expanding some offerings soon, especially around the meat counter, so he wanted to be sure we had enough help.”
Would that mean more hours for Dad too? Why hadn’t he told us? But then again, my parents didn't exactly loop us in on a lot of decisions around the store. We were just there to help if needed. I couldn’t wait to go to the dorms at UCLA to start finding my voice—and people who