and despite the fact that I know he loves Livy in a way he could never even think about loving me, those words make me smile.
They really make me smile.
“Okay, so what’s this bullshit about you might not graduate with us?”
I groan, sinking back in the booth. I should have known this was coming. There was no way Chase wouldn’t mention it.
“It’s fine. I have it under control.”
“Seriously, explain it to me.”
I shrug. “I guess my grades haven’t been as good as they were. I missed a bunch of assignments and haven’t been doing well on tests. I’m basically failing all my classes.”
He just looks confused. To be honest, so am I. While I’m far from the best student, I’ve always stayed on the right side of acceptable, but it all just seems to have fallen apart recently.
“Is your dad home?” he asks quietly.
I sigh. “He’s coming back in the next week or so.”
He nods in understanding. I guess the last couple of weeks make sense to him now. Whenever my dad is around or due to come back, I’m always erratic. It’s why he always cut me so much slack when we were together. That coupled with the fact that I’ve just watched him fall head over heels in love with another girl over the last couple of months has really messed me up, and it’s no wonder my grades have suffered.
“Well, you can’t not graduate with us.”
“I know. I’ll figure it out.”
“What have they said? I assume Ms. Sallinson has spoken to you?”
“Yeah. I have to get my grades up in math and chemistry, and they’re giving me extra credit if I raise money for charity.”
“Okay.” He nods, his gaze elsewhere as he thinks something through in his head. “How much do you have to raise?”
I shrug. “She didn’t give me a specific amount, but I get the impression that I’m not going to get away with just throwing in a few hundred bucks. She made a point of saying she needs to see evidence of me fundraising on school grounds.”
“Okay, well that’s fine. We can do that.”
I raise an eyebrow. “We?”
He rolls his eyes and throws a fry in my direction. “Yes we. I’m not graduating without you, you douche.”
Something about his words makes me think he’s being serious, and they lift some sort of weight off my shoulders. Maybe I’m not in this alone after all.
“So what ideas do you have?”
I shrug. I haven’t really thought about it. “Maybe a bake sale?”
It sound pretty lame, even to me, but Chase nods. “It’s a start. You could do one every Monday for the next month or so, bake on Sunday. You’d sell out easy.”
I nod my agreement, although the thought of baking all day Sunday to make things people actually want to buy does not sound appealing. I don’t remember the last time I baked anything that was edible. “I guess.”
“You’d need lots of stuff. Brownies, cookies, muffins.”
My eyes widen. This is starting to sound impossible.
“You could get the cheerleaders to help you.”
Well that’s not going to happen. The only one I feel like I can trust is Sasha, and maybe Jennifer. The rest would think it would serve me right to be left behind in high school.
“And we can think of other stuff too.”
I nod and can’t help the small smile playing on my lips. He means it. I know he does. This is the thing about Chase—he follows through with what he says he’s going to do, so if he says he’s going to help me raise a bunch of money then that’s what he’s going to do.
“And how’s the tutoring going? I assume the school’s set you up with a tutor.”
Uh…
He eyes me. “What?”
“I haven’t actually gotten around to that yet.”
“Are you joking?!”
“I just…”
“When did you find out about this?”
“Last Thursday.”
“Abigail!”
“Okay, okay. I know.”
“Abigail…you might not graduate! What part of that do you not get?”
“I know, I know.”
“You need to a get a tutor.”
“I know.”
“You need to get Brett Sanderson or someone like that that.”
What the hell? How does everyone know this kid’s name but me?
“How do you know him?”
He shrugs. “Everyone knows him. He’s really smart, and he tutors too.”
“Okay. Right, well…yeah, I’ll go find him tomorrow.”
“No. You need to text him now and see when he’s free. Schedule your first tutoring session for tomorrow.” Apparently I don’t answer him quickly enough. “Abigail!”
“Okay!”
Chase reaches for his phone, taps a couple of times, and then holds up a number for me.
Of course he has