Most Likely (Most Likely #1) - Sarah Watson Page 0,24
end up in Cleveland?”
“Nasty divorce,” Victoria said. Then she quickly corrected herself. “Not me. My parents.”
“Yeah. I figured.” She didn’t tell Victoria that her parents had divorced nastily too.
Victoria grabbed a box of assorted candy bars from the storage cabinet and started filling the display rack.
“You don’t have to do that,” Martha said. “Besides, the movie is about to start, and I don’t think anyone will show up for a three-hour documentary about urban farming.”
Victoria made a face. “Is that what we’re showing? I didn’t even know.”
“Then why are you here?” Martha realized that her question came across as a little blunt. “I mean, look, free country. You can hang out wherever you want. But why here?”
Victoria shrugged. “I needed to escape my house.”
“Oh, sorry. Everything okay?”
Victoria stacked the candy carefully. One bar on top of the next with the labels facing the same way. “It’s fine. It’s not like I’m running from anything dramatic. Just boredom, really. We only moved here about a month ago. Nobody at my new school talks to me.”
“Where do you go?”
“Hawthorne Academy,” Victoria said. “Do you know it?”
“Yeah.” It’s where Ava’s mom had tried to send her after everything that happened freshman year. The school was as famous for their rigorous academics as they were for their students’ large bank accounts. Rumor had it that everyone there drove a BMW and had an Adderall dealer on speed dial.
“It’s not exactly an easy place to be the new girl. And I’m like an expert at being the new girl. Here. I’ll do that.”
Victoria took two big stacks of napkins from Martha and got to work filling napkin holders.
“It’s fine. You’re not even getting paid right now.”
At least Martha hoped she wasn’t. She was still nervous about this cutting into her hours.
“I don’t mind.”
Victoria smiled, and Martha realized for the first time how pretty her new coworker was. She was definitely weird. But a quirky weird.
“So tell me, what’s cool to do in Cleveland? I’m still figuring out my way around.”
“Nothing’s cool to do in Cleveland.”
Martha’s phone buzzed. It was probably Jordan. She’d promised to text as soon as her interview was over. Martha was dying to know how it went. She grabbed for her phone so fast that it flew out of her hand. Victoria bent over to pick it up at the same time that Martha did, and it was frankly a miracle that they didn’t bonk heads. Their fingers did touch for a second, though.
“Sorry,” Martha said. “I’ve been waiting for an important text.”
She checked it and found a message from Jordan.
He’s running massively behind. I’m still waiting in the lobby. Now I have to pee, and I’m terrified that if I go to the bathroom, he might come out to get me and then he’ll think I left. WHAT DO I DO?
“Everything okay?” Victoria asked.
“Yeah,” Martha said, laughing. “Sometimes I think my friend has it all together, and other times, not so much.” Martha typed out her response.
Pee, you idiot.
“So,” said Martha, “which parent did you get? In the divorce?”
She correctly assumed that any child of divorce would know what the question meant.
“My mum. Dad’s still in London.”
“I got my dad. My parents are divorced too.”
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. It gets easier. I don’t know how far into it you are. But it becomes normal. Weirdly normal.”
“I hope so. Things with them were never great. It was inevitable. Dad was always working, so not having him around doesn’t even seem that different. Cleveland’s been the biggest adjustment. It’s been lonely. I think that’s why Uncle Benny offered me the job. He told me how cool you were. I think this is like a setup.”
Martha swallowed. Hard. “Oh?”
“Since I need friends.”
“Oh,” Martha said again. Then her phone buzzed. “Hold that thought.” Martha read the text. “Uh-oh.”
“What’s wrong?”
Jordan had sent the message in all caps.
MAJOR DUCKING PROBLEM.
Victoria peered over her shoulder. “What’s a ducking problem? Is that like an American thing?”
Martha was absolutely sure that Jordan had not meant to type “ducking.”
Ava and Logan were staring deep into each other’s eyes when she heard her phone buzz. “I should get that,” she started to say.
Logan shook his head. He somehow did it without breaking eye contact. Which was frankly a little unnerving. “We’re not supposed to look away.”
“It’s probably Jordan,” she said, still keeping her eyes on his. “She might be done interviewing that city guy.”
“Do you want to start this over? Because I sure as hell don’t.” They went on with the staring. After a