Higgins’s classroom and I settle into the only remaining seat on the front row next to Alex Wu and in front of Tucker Watson. Great. Stupendous, even.
If sandwiches were made of humans, this would be a highly uncomfortable human sandwich.
Alex Wu is one half of the only openly gay male/male couple at CCHS. He’s into gaming and skateboarding and he’s so thin that skinny jeans are loose on him.
As I sit down, he looks over his shoulder and gives me a nod.
Oh, and he was my first kiss. Did I mention he’s cute? Very cute. But Alex is very much off the market. He’s basically married to his longtime boyfriend and my own self-proclaimed frenemy, Kyle Meeks. I love Kyle, but more than that, I love to hate Kyle.
“All right,” says Mr. Higgins as he lowers the lights. “Settle down. Eyes and ears up front for announcements.” He’s the kind of teacher who was definitely taunted in high school and enjoys his power now just a little bit too much. I mean, the guy is wearing a sweater vest and a turtleneck. At the same time. That’s a whole new level of nerdy white guy I didn’t know existed.
A spunky intro plays with graphics zooming across the TV suspended in the corner of the room until the screen cuts to Millie Michalchuk behind the desk of the school newsroom. Millie and her boyfriend resurrected the once-defunct school news program by using it as a vehicle for morning announcements, which I am a huge fan of, because this Millie chick is sunshine. She used to do the morning announcements from the intercom in the attendance office, but someone at this school woke up and gave her the spotlight she deserves, though based on the snickering at the back of the classroom, not everyone agrees.
I roll my eyes and mutter, “Let a fat girl live.”
Behind me, Tucker Watson loudly shushes me.
I repeat: he shushes me.
And that’s it. That’s Tucker Watson’s third strike against me.
I whirl around in my seat and say, “Excuse you. Rude.”
His mouth forms a soft O, like he’s shocked I would ever talk back to him.
And somehow, despite all the ways he’s been a total dick in the past, I’m still slightly disappointed by this confirmation of his dick-ishness.
“Mr. Brewer,” warns Mr. Higgins, and I turn back around, still snarling.
Strike one: sophomore year. Tucker and I are paired up for a class project in Texas Government. We make a plan to meet twice outside of school to prepare. The first time is at my house. It goes fine. Great, actually. And I might even have had a very slight harmless crush. Our second meeting is at his place, but when I show up, he doesn’t answer. I see the blinds move while I wait outside. I swear a few kids walking by even laugh at me. When I confront him the next day, he tells me he forgot and that we should finish the project separately.
Strike two: junior year. First day. World Literature. We’re seated at the same table. Tucker asks for a seat reassignment. In front of the whole class.
There are some people at this school who I’ve never even shared a class with, but by some awful twist of fate, Tucker and I have shared at least one class a semester. Thankfully, besides our run-in at Ms. Laverne’s office, we’ve managed to stay out of each other’s way, but him shushing me gets me riled up all over again.
“Prom court nominations will be tallied this Friday and announced on Monday morning,” sweet, sweet Millie continues. At least she can’t hear the jokers in the back of my classroom from the safety of her little studio on the other side of the building.
Mr. Higgins zaps the TV off and immediately starts droning on about business loan interest rates.
After class I follow close on Alex’s heels and make small talk about his weekend just to avoid having to face Tucker and his stupid jawline.
“It’s only fair that I get the solo at graduation, ya know?” Alex says, for what I’m guessing is not the first time.
“Huh?” I nod as we turn the corner into the choir room. “Oh, yeah. Totally.”
Kyle is lounging on the risers, with his legs crossed at the ankle, a reminder that in this room, he is a king.
Clem sits with her chin perched on her knees, laughing at something Kyle’s said. Kyle is a total golden boy. Brown hair parted down the side and even