Never Always Sometimes - Adi Alsaid Page 0,54

it stops

now. I want you to apologize to Mr. Marroney for the discomfort

you’ve caused.”

Julia raised her hands up. “No, you’re right. Mr. Marroney, I am so

sorry for all the discomfort I’ve caused. I never meant for it. Quite the opposite, really.”

“Ms. Stokes.”

JULIA 181

Marroney was looking down, a thin sheen of sweat visible on his

forehead. Maybe it was her imagination, but she thought she saw his

lip quivering beneath his mustache. He rubbed his hands over each

other like he was trying to calm himself.

“That time it legitimately just came out wrong. I never meant to

make you uncomfortable, truly. I was having a bit of fun, and I’m sorry

I took it so far. I was mostly kidding.” Dr. Hill raised his eyebrows

at her. “Entirely kidding,” she corrected, even though deep down,

there was something she found appealing about Marroney. It wasn’t

a physical attraction like she’d joked about with Dave, but something

had made her pick him over every other teacher. “I promise to no

longer cross any sort of lines or give you any baked goods or recite any kind of poetry in your honor.”

“Mr. Marroney, is that enough of an apology for you?”

“Let’s just put the matter behind us.” He tried to sigh, but it came

out more like a wheeze. Julia fought the urge to settle things with a

hug. He really looked like he was near tears.

“Wonderful,” Dr. Hill said, clapping his hands together. “Julia, first

period’s about to begin, you can go straight there.”

Julia stood from her chair, a little sad that she’d have to back off.

She wanted to run straight to Dave to tell him what happened, but

homeroom was over and her English teacher was way too intense about

tardiness, so it would have to wait. Julia went to her locker to grab her copy of Heart of Darkness, which she’d read exactly zero percent of.

She rummaged around until she found a half-filled crossword puzzle

182 NEVER ALWAYS SOMETIMES

she could entertain herself with, then shut her locker and turned

down the hall to get to class. Halfway there, eyes already searching the crossword clues, she ran right into Dave.

“Hey,” he said, his arm on her shoulder to steady her from the

impact. He pulled it away slowly. “I saw you walk out of Hill’s office.

What was all that about?”

The hallway filled with the sound of people talking, making their

way to their classes. Julia didn’t know how anyone could be so chatty

and loud that early in the morning. People pushed past them, their

backpacks hanging off their shoulders, phones in their hands. Dave

looked so great in the morning. She wondered how he did that, how

he always seemed ready for the day as soon as it arrived. Maybe it

had something to do with sleep cycles, or it was just the softness of

the morning light that worked with his features. He was probably

having completely normal thoughts, and here she was trying to figure

out why her best friend looked good in the morning. Maybe she was

still hungover. She shook the thought away, wanting to get to the

apology, to make sure he knew she stood right where she always had.

“Marroney finally ratted me out. Never hook up with a teacher might officially be off the docket.”

“That’s too bad.” He shifted the weight of his backpack and put his

hand on the back of his neck like he always did when he was nervous.

Were things awkward? Had the fight been that bad? “Are we going to

talk about the other night?” Dave said.

“God, yes, please. Sorry I didn’t text. The dads had me spit-shine

JULIA 183

the whole house, which I probably deserved. Also, sorry about our

fight. I guess I was a little drunk. I remember you telling me about

Gretchen and that’s about it. Was I a bitch about it?”

Dave smiled in that cute, sheepish way he often did and shrugged.

“Maybe a little bit.”

“Well, that sucks.” Julia stepped out of her shoes, feeling the comfort

of the floor on her bare feet. “Whatever I said, I’m sorry I said it. Did you yell back at me?”

“There was some yelling.”

“David Daniel Davis, get the hell out of here! You yelled? I’m so

proud of you. Tell me more.”

Dave blushed. “I was mean.”

“Wow, I brought the mean out of you? I’ve never seen you be mean.

What did I say?”

“You made fun of me for liking Gretchen.” Dave’s hand was still

clutching the back of his neck and she chuckled as she pulled it down

for him. The mention of Gretchen made Julia’s heart sink for some

reason, but the touch of his skin on her fingers was solid and reassuring.

Julia grimaced. “I’m sorry I was a