Secondary Characters (Novella) - By Rachel Schieffelbein Page 0,19

pointed to her. Again.

“Oh yeah, um, okay,” he says, turning back to look at me. He looks all flustered. Well, there’s no way he’s as embarrassed as I am. I can’t believe I actually thought someone might notice me with the Queen of Hearts standing so close by.

I basically run down the hall, clutching my books to my chest. I slip into the girls’ bathroom and head straight for the closest stall. I shut and lock the door, then spin to lean against it. It’s cold against my back and a chill spreads through my arms and my legs. I take a deep breath as the bell rings. My eyes fill with tears, but I wipe them before they can fall.

It’s the scene you don’t see in the movies. The camera is still on the lead, starry-eyed and happy. No one really cares what happens to the best friend, as long as the heroine gets her man.

Chapter Eleven

I haven’t seen Mabel in a couple days. I mean, I’ve seen her in English class, sort of. She sits behind me. It’s hard to find a way to turn around and look at her without it being totally obvious I’m looking at her. We’re studying Shakespeare and, as lame as this sounds, I actually find myself enjoying the sonnets. “Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day,” makes me think of that afternoon in the park with Mabel, the way the sunlight hit her face and made her skin glow.

If I said any of this to Nick he’d slap me and tell me to quit being such a girl. But I can’t stop thinking about her.

But then, every day, as soon as class is over, she vanishes. She makes it out that door at warp speed.

I catch glimpses of her in the hall, always in a hurry, her dark hair trailing behind her. I was starting to worry that she might be avoiding me, but I know I’m just psyching myself out.

No more excuses. Today I am asking her out before I lose my nerve again.

The moment the bell rings I bolt to the door and reach it before she does.

“Hey Maybie,” I say as she tries to dart by me.

“Hi,” she says, barely slowing. I fall into step beside her and walk with her to her locker. I take a deep breath and push the words out before I can change my mind.

“Hey, you want to go out Saturday night?” Now that it’s out there, I feel like I might throw up.

She turns and looks up at me like I’m crazy. My pulse speeds up even more and I glance at the floor. Glance at her. She still hasn’t answered. Time has slowed down to extend my misery.

“Really?” she asks, sounding skeptical.

“Um, yeah. Maybe we could see if Amber and Nick want to come along,” I add quickly, hoping it will make the whole thing sound a bit more appealing. Instead her face darkens and she purses her lips.

“Ya know what, Lance?” she asks, dropping her books into her locker with a loud “clunk.” “I think maybe we should just leave Amber and Nick alone. They seem to be doing just fine. You were right. We’re secondary characters. It’s time for us to disappear.” She slams her locker shut, then spins around and storms off.

I stare after her, my heart in my shoes. What did I do? How the hell did I screw this up so completely?

***

For the next two weeks I ignore Amber and the guys. Avoiding Amber proves to be easy enough; she’s totally wrapped up in her new, perfect boyfriend. Every once in a while she stops by my locker for a couple minutes, usually to tell me about something Nick did or said that was “so stinkin’ cute!” Yeah, adorable.

Lance is more difficult at first. He seems to be everywhere. Twice on Monday I see him lingering by my locker. Both times I go straight to my next class without getting the stuff I needed for it and end up getting yelled at by my teachers. Crappy, but better than having to face him.

But he must have finally taken the hint. Now he avoids me, too.

The real problem is English class.

English is a class I normally don’t mind, but it’s the one class I have with Lance and it sucks. Thank God he sits two rows in front of me. So when I find myself staring at him, which is far too often, at least I don’t