Curvy Girls Can't Date Quarterbacks - Kelsie Stelting Page 0,17
got her unicorn notebook out of her backpack, used the key attached to her necklace to unlock it, and then flipped open to a page with a gray ribbon down the middle. On the lined page was a drawing of a girl with a missing tooth.
“You drew yourself,” I said. “That's beautiful.”
“Thank you.” She grinned at me. “Mommy said that you're a great artist, and I wanted to start practicing too.”
My heart completely melted. “You're already very good. Much better than I was when I was your age.”
She seemed pleased by that, but then all of her features fell. “But I probably should be working on my letters instead.”
“Nonsense,” I said, outraged for her. “Nothing says you can’t do both. You can be an artist and a student at the same time. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
Seeming to understand, she nodded. “But Mommy would probably be mad if we didn't read any books.”
I let out a laugh. “Probably. Let’s go pick them out.”
We decided to look in the section that started with the first letter of her name, and she found a book on alligators to read. It was a little too hard for her, but I had her “help” me with some of the words I knew she would be able to sound out. By the time the alarm on my watch vibrated, we’d made it through most of the book. The librarian helped us check it out so she could finish reading it at home with her parents.
With her book tucked safely into her backpack, she said, “Do I get any candy today?”
Crap.
In the rush to get out the door, I’d forgotten to get any. I racked my brain for something I could give her. “I can do you one better than candy,” I finally said, reaching into my backpack and looking through my pencil case. Inside, I found some markers, pens, and my set of watercolor pencils. “What's your favorite color?”
“Green,” she said without hesitation.
“Perfect.” I grabbed a green one and handed it to her. “This is a special pencil that you only need to use with your mommy. I want you to draw an alligator with it. And you can add a tiny bit of water to make the color spread easier.”
Her eyes lit up. “Seriously? Like a pen?”
“Seriously.”
“I'm not allowed to have them around my baby brother.”
I laughed at that. I may need to text her mom after all.
She took the pencil from me like it was contraband and placed it carefully in the side pocket of her backpack. “Did you use it to put your eyeshadow on today?”
I laughed. “Something like it.”
She smiled up at me. “You look like a princess.”
“I feel like one,” I answered honestly.
Eleven
I wasn’t sure what to expect from him in math class, but I was a little disappointed when we went back to our normal routine of him facing the whiteboard and me staring at the back of his head.
To be fair, we did have a test coming up. But still.
One person who didn’t disappoint was Merritt.
The second she saw me walk into health class, her arms folded over her chest and a smug smile spread across her lips. She was surrounded by her cronies, leaning back against a desk like she owned the place. “You know what they say about putting lipstick on a pig?”
“That it’s animal cruelty?” I sat in my desk and started going through my notes.
“No,” Merritt said, stepping closer. “That it won’t make any difference to a boy who’s had better. Much better.”
Of course my mom was in the hall talking with one of the other teachers. Not that I needed her to fight my battles, but I was already tired from the morning. And getting frustrated. I whipped my gaze up to Merritt and said, “I’m pretty sure he broke up with ‘better,’ so if you’d leave me alone, that would be great.”
She let out a laugh that was too loud, like I’d hit too close to home. “You know what, Hutton—”
“It’s Mrs. Hutton,” my mom cut in. “And let’s save the questions for the end of class.”
I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful for my mom and her finally good timing. Less thankful after she winked at me in front of the entire class.
Lunch period came quickly after that, and I was grateful to find reprieve in the AV room with the other girls...and Mr. Davis?
Our AV teacher sat at his desk in the corner of the room, massive headphones over