siblings in the universe who actually enjoy each other’s company.”
“True. But part of the reason is that we don’t spend time together within these hallowed halls.”
“Well,” I can’t help saying, “you used to eat with Hayes when you went out with Madison.”
A cold expression passes over Thaddeus’s face. I put my hand to my necklace, scared of what I’ve said. Why did I bring that up? I’m such an idiot.
“You’re right,” he says grimly. “But that relationship didn’t turn out so well, did it?”
I shake my head, scared to say anything else.
“Listen, I don’t want to get into this now, but let’s drive out to Tybee Island after school today,” he says gently. “I’d love to show you the beach. And, no—I never took Madison there, just in case you were wondering, okay?”
That much I know is true. Madison thinks Tybee is for rednecks. She’s strictly a Hilton Head girl.
“Okay,” I say, beaming. This plan is so much better than him coming to lunch with the MGs. In fact, as I cram down my three BLTs on the lawn later, I can’t stop grinning.
“Damn, Smiley,” Dex says. Despite his showdowns with Madison, he pretty much always eats at the bench now. “You back on the pipe again?”
“No… just in a good mood.”
Madison rolls her eyes. “Oh my God. Everyone around me is annoying me with their perfect relationships.”
“So you and Jason are okay again?” I ask Hayes.
“Yup,” she says. “The gris-gris totally worked. He came over last night with, like, a thousand roses.”
“I don’t even want to know what a gree-whatever is,” Dex says. “You girls are dirty.”
Hayes smiles wickedly and takes another bite of peanut butter pie.
Oh, Dex, I think. If only I could tell you the truth.
“So, are we hitting the Awful later?” he says as we walk to our lockers. “Thursday tradition.”
“Oh, crap. Dex, I can’t.”
“You’re canceling? Sacrilege.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I’ve got… a date.”
Dex shakes his head. “Man. First, you say you aren’t dating Hot-eus. Now you’re so up in it, you’re choosing him over Eggos and Country Crock. How could you?”
I grin. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“It’s cool. Just be careful.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something’s up with you,” he says. “It’s not just the hair and the insta-skinniness—which, by the way, I totally don’t trust. Diet pills went out in the eighties. Didn’t you know?”
“I’ve just been—”
“Biking a lot. Right. Last time I checked, you weren’t signed up to train for the Tour de France, Alex. And that’s the only way to explain the twenty pounds you’ve dropped in the last month. I don’t know if it’s because of Thaddeus or what, but I think these girls are getting their claws into you.”
“Don’t be crazy,” I say. “I’m my own person. If nothing else, my mom taught me that.”
“Fine, but if I catch you listening to Lady Gaga, I’ll seriously know you’re possessed.”
I laugh nervously.
“Okay,” he says. “Later days. And next Thursday, Awful Waffle, three o’clock. No excuses.”
I nod. “Count on it.”
Dex flashes me a thumbs-up. Then he hoots and moonwalks all the way down the hall and out the door.
26
After school, Thaddeus takes me to Tybee Island in his old diesel Mercedes. There was a time when I would have lectured him about running his car on used corn oil, but right now I’m so happy just to be with him that it’s hard for me to think about anything else.
“It’s so pretty,” I say, looking at the river.
“It is. I love it out here. My family’s had this beach house for generations.”
“Oh, right,” I say, remembering my grandmother’s story of her long-ago trip to Tybee Island—the fateful afternoon when she saw her fiancé with another girl. “I think my grandmother and your grandmother used to come out here.”
“It’s crazy how far our families go back, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is.” I feel a pang as I think about the word family. I don’t even really have one anymore. “And yet you don’t really know me at all.”
“Well, I know you a little,” he says, throwing me a crooked smile that makes my heart skip a beat.
We drive down the causeway, which is hemmed in by marsh on both sides. The wetlands, with their yellows fading to green, are not as dazzling as the crashing waves and sharp cliffs of Mendocino, but I think I’m beginning to like this scenery almost better. It’s subtler, more welcoming somehow. I stare out the window, taking in the huge live oaks draped with moss and the fall colors