My Kind of Crazy - Robin Reul Page 0,40

I’ve never been more wide-awake.

13

"Did you make the finals?" Nick asks me as we’re walking toward our lockers at the beginning of nutrition break on Monday.

I worry that maybe I forgot about some test or competition in gym class. “Finals? What are you talking about?”

He raises his eyebrows and shakes his head. “Dude, it’s like you live in a cave sometimes. Amanda posted who’s moving on to the next round. If your number is listed on her website you have to answer more questions.”

With everything that has been going on, I’d nearly forgotten about Amanda’s site and whether or not my answers had actually gone through. “I haven’t checked. How about you? Did you make the cut?”

He grins and rubs at his bad eye, almost as if he’s trying to guide its gaze back into place. “I did. I had some pretty smooth answers, so I’m not surprised. I’m not sure what to do though, because I got this thing developing with Peyton, right? I wouldn’t want to have to break Amanda’s heart if I’m dating someone else. It wouldn’t be fair.”

I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. “Definitely. So what’s the deal with you and Peyton? Are you guys, like, going out now or what?”

“She’s definitely into me. I can tell. Who could resist the Giuliani charm? Dinner went really well, except for the part when you and my parents were hanging around messing up my mojo.” He gives me a mock punch in the arm. “What was up with that foot rash story, man? That was disgusting.”

“Well, you drove her home, right? You were alone then. Did you put the moves on her or what?” I’m razzing him, but I’m more interested in the answer than I’d care to admit.

Nick shoots a glance over his shoulder and rakes his fingers through his hair. “Nah. I just drove her home, you know? I didn’t want to push my luck. Had to be a gentleman. Of course, if she’d invited me in, I might have been willing to bend the rules.”

“Of course.” I smile and say, “So did your sister get back together with her boyfriend?”

He snorts. “Not yet. My father is ready to have a friggin’ coronary because he never liked Bobby in the first place, but he also doesn’t like to waste money. My sister dropped some serious cash on a dress, and there was a nonrefundable deposit for the caterer. I know they’ll get back together, but Giovanna is drawing it out and making Bobby beg for her forgiveness. Can you imagine if my father knew she was knocked up?”

“She’s pregnant?”

“Let’s just say you don’t need to be Sherlock to notice she’s in the bathroom throwing up most mornings. When my father finds out, it won’t be pretty.”

“Wow.”

“Family. It’s the original f-word, am I right?” He cracks himself up, then tries to act all casual as he asks, “So have you seen Peyton around today?”

“I haven’t.” What I don’t add is that not seeing her has been driving me nuts. She hasn’t said a frickin’ word since I left that comic on her pillow. I don’t know what the hell I was thinking, showing her my stuff like that anyway. I’m not used to letting anyone else into my head. It’s a bit like standing naked onstage during a school assembly.

We separate, heading to our respective lockers. I still have seven minutes before nutrition is over, so I dart around the corner to the school computer lab and log on to Amanda’s site. I scroll down the list of twenty-five or so numbers that’ve moved on to the next round for further questioning, and there it is: entry number 456. Holy shit. It took.

This is really happening.

I don’t have time to read through the new questions since I have to get to my next class, but the odd euphoria of feeling one up on those who didn’t get chosen makes me smile. Part of me wants to show everyone I’m not the loser they think I am, but another part of me doesn’t care because the whole thing is so inane to begin with. It’s like what Monica said: life and people never live up to expectations. I’m supposing Amanda would be no different, but I’d love a chance to prove that theory wrong. Although we’ve only talked once since the incident, I feel like our conversation gave me a better sense of who she is as a person, and I’d be lying