Never Always Sometimes - Adi Alsaid Page 0,53

and put an arm around her, rubbing at her back the

way he’d done so many times when she was little. “Wanting to party

does not make you a cliché.” Julia smiled and sank further into his side, comforted by his warmth and the relief that came with closing her

eyes. It was tempting to keep them closed the rest of the day, let the

details remain fuzzy. Whatever she’d said to Dave, he would forgive

her. Whatever had taken them apart at the end of the party would be

forgotten.

178 NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES

APOLOGIES

JULIA AND DAVE hadn’t talked all weekend. She’d of course been

grounded, though the dads had let her keep her phone. It wasn’t

completely without precedent for them to go all weekend without

even texting each other, just a little weird. But if they didn’t talk, it was usually Julia’s fault, and radio silence from Dave made Julia realize that maybe their fight had been worse than she remembered.

Monday morning, Julia went to school, happy to get out of the

house and to not have to clean up anymore. Her phone was full of

pictures of the mayhem so she could show Dave. On another weekend

she probably would have messaged them to him, but the thought

of Dave with the soccer girl made her pull away. She remembered

his confession now, the fact that he liked Gretchen, though she still

didn’t know quite what to make of the two of them being together.

Whatever she thought of Gretchen, though, she had to go apologize.

For the fight, and whatever it was she may have said. Her friendship

with Dave hadn’t changed in four years, and it wasn’t about to now.

The first thing she was going to do was find Dave and tell him that

she was happy for him, no matter who his little love interest was. She

definitely wasn’t going to phrase it like that, though. But on her way

to homeroom, Dr. Hill intercepted her in the hallway. “Julia,” he said.

“Come with me.”

Julia followed absently, her mind still on the fight with Dave, trying

to phrase an apology, brush it all away. Then she saw Marroney sitting

in the chair behind the desk and her head cleared.

“Please, have a seat.” Dr. Hill pointed at one of the twin chairs that

faced his desk.

She did as he asked, moving slowly, wondering how much Marroney

had accused her of. Marroney looked like a smaller version of himself.

When she took a seat, she could have sworn she saw him push himself

farther away. This was going to be great.

Dr. Hill moved around her so he was standing to the side of the

desk, in between her and Marroney. He crossed his arms in front of

his chest. The dads always talked about how attractive Dr. Hill was,

often joking that they were going to leave each other for him. “I’m sure you’ve already figured out why you’re here.” He leaned forward and put

his fingertips on the desk in front of her. “It has to stop, Julia. I’m going to assume for propriety’s sake and to save myself a headache that you’re just having some fun at Mr. Marroney’s expense. But following him

around town? Breaking into his house? Unwanted physical assault?

Even you have to see how inappropriate that is.”

Marroney practically flinched at the euphemistic reminder of the

tickling incident. With all that had happened, she’d almost forgotten

about that ill-conceived initial flirtation in the Chili’s bathroom. How the hell had she let Dave talk her into that one? Marroney looked

180 NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES

downright scared to be in front of her, and Julia felt a little sorry for what she’d put him through. She poked fun a lot, but she genuinely

liked the oddball. “Sir, in my defense, the cupcakes were a gift for

Teacher Appreciation Day.”

“That’s in May.”

“I’m so appreciative, I couldn’t wait that long.”

“That’s enough,” Dr. Hill said. “Mr. Marroney would be within his

rights to press charges against you and file a restraining order, but he was considerate enough to come to us first and ask us to intervene. You

should be thankful he did, because a police record could jeopardize

your graduation, not to mention your collegiate future.”

Julia wished she could record the conversation so Dave could laugh

with her about it. He’d joked about her getting a restraining order.

That she’d come close to actually getting one was, in her opinion, a

smashing success, and maybe even better than hooking up with a

teacher. Julia’s mom would have a good laugh about this. It wasn’t

exactly playing keep-away with a security guard’s lunch in Singapore,

but it was tinged with just the right distaste for authority.

“You’ve clearly crossed the line, and I need your word that