a crush on Sienna. "I don't date white guys," Sienna had told him the first time he asked her out. "But I'm not white," he had said. "I'm clear." Sienna didn't go out with him until he asked her a third time, and it was only so that he would stop asking. They'd been together since.
David looked at Mary. "Are you all right? You seem kinda down."
"I didn't sleep well last night," she admitted.
"Dealing with a lot, I'll bet," he said.
You have no idea, she thought.
"Hey there," Sienna said as she walked up to David's side. "Not trying to steal my boyfriend too, are you?"
Mary chuckled. "Of course not. But what do you mean by 'too'?"
Sienna gasped. "You didn't hear?"
"Come on, Sienna," David said. "Gossip makes you so unsexy."
"But this isn't gossip. It's concerning Mary," she said.
"What are you talking about?" Mary asked.
"I'm talking about Carter and Laci's break up."
"I heard about that," Mary said. "Laci dumped him. But how does that concern me?"
"I heard that Carter dumped her," Sienna said. "The point is that they aren't together anymore. Kinda convenient for that to happen after an accident involving you and him."
Mary was speechless for a moment. Then, she frowned. "You're a moron."
Sienna looked at her like a deer in headlights.
David frowned. "That was too far, Mary."
Mary ignored him as she snapped at Sienna. "You hear this and that and whatever. Who the crap cares? Just leave me alone."
Before they could say more, Mary darted down the nearest stairwell and left the school. On the bus, she recalled her encounter with Laci. She seemed okay and pretty nice, actually. Not broken up or anything. But then again, she could have been acting because she was flirting with that other guy. Despite who did the dumping, that might've been why Carter was so distant.
He was the same way the next day. And the day after that. And every day that week. The only time Mary saw Carter was in Physics, and he sat in the back and didn't make eye contact with anyone.
When the Honor Roll was posted for the quarter, Mary found her name in the usual spot. It would be higher if it weren't for that cursed English class. But at least they were through with the Italian hell book.
She looked at the rest of the list and found Carter's name, which had never appeared on the Honor Roll before. But there he was at the thirteenth rank. Somehow, in less than a month, he had improved his GPA exponentially.
Another few days passed. Finally, Mary couldn't stand it anymore. After Physics, she ran out the door to catch Carter in the hall. "Carter! Wait a minute!"
He stopped and turned to her. "Hello, Mary," he said politely.
"Hey," she said. "Um, I know it's been a while. But I've wanted to say how sorry I am. About you and Laci."
"Sorry?" he asked. "Why?"
She shrugged. "Well, I'm not an expert on relationships or anything. But it couldn't have been easy breaking up."
"Oh. I see." He paused for a moment. "Relationships are curious things. Don't you agree?"
"Yeah. Totally. I—hey!" she said. "You just used a contraction!"
"I did."
Mary saw that he was still walking a little weird, but not mini-lunging any more. "How long has this been going on?" she asked.
"I've been practicing." He stopped. "Mary?"
"Yeah?"
"Have you completed your painting?" he asked. "The one of Saturn's rings?"
"Oh yeah," she said, recalling they had talked about it before. "I did."
"May I see it?"
Well, she had said he could. And Mary wasn't one to go back on her word. "Um, sure. It's in the Art room. But isn't basketball practice going on now? I don't know if you have enough time to see it."
"I'm not on the basketball team anymore," he said.
She stared at him. "You're not?"
He shook his head. Still a little dramatic, but not as much as before. "My coordination is not as it used to be. My doctor and coach agreed that I should not play for the rest of the season."
Mary felt like ironing her hands again.
"Did I say something offensive?" he asked. "Why do you look sad now?"
"Oh." She shook her head, "It's just…I'm…I thought basketball's a big deal to you. And I'm sorry that you can't play anymore because of…well…because of me."
"I do not blame you for anything," he said.
She shrugged. "I know. But I still feel bad about it."
He stared at her for a moment. Then he said, "I understand. But I hope that soon you will know that