you out of this,” he promised.
And this time, I didn’t know why or what changed, but I believed him.
“Ok,” I agreed.
He took my hand again and then led me back to the main upstairs hallway. We walked quietly down the staircase and back toward the office. Just as we passed the closest classroom to the main office, Phoenix and Chase emerged from the room, carrying that same stupid oversized wooden board.
“Well, look who decided to grace us with her presence again,” Chase called out sarcastically and then nudged Phoenix in the rib.
I cringed for a second, even closing my eyes against the awkwardness, but after a moment I realized there wasn’t really any weirdness going on. Chase sounded…. just…. casual.
“Ah, the Ginga-Ninja. How are you sensei?” Phoenix did his best impersonation of my Kung-Fu apprentice maybe….? And then turned to bow to me with palms pressed flatly together.
“Did he tell you, he’s trying to make t-shirts of that?” Ryder laughed. He had dropped my hand a few steps back, but now he threw a friendly arm across my shoulder.
“Obviously that would be awesome!” I laughed too.
Mrs. Tanner stepped out into the hall at the sound of our raucous behavior and frowned at all four of us. “The prodigal daughter has returned,” she grunted at me, leveling me with her angry-wench eyes. “Didn’t I warn you about missing more school? Mr. Costas wants to talk to you about summer school, unless you’re seriously considering doing us all a favor and just dropping out?”
“Sorry,” I shrugged apologetically. That was not an option yet.
Mrs. Tanner’s attention snapped up to the three boys that surrounded me, my three friends. “Don’t you boys know better than to hang around Ivy Pierce? She’s no good. She’s going to get you all into trouble.”
Surrounded by this loyal company I barely even felt the sting of her words.
Ryder looked back and forth between Mrs. Tanner and me and then said in a proud, raised voice, “It’s too late for that. Ivy Pierce may be trouble, but she’s exactly the kind of trouble I’ve been looking for.”
I smiled at him for sticking up for me again and then my grin grew when Chase started clapping and Phoenix hollered a “Preach it.”
Things were still bleak. But not nearly as desolate and depressing as they had been.
Besides, tragedies were always easier to face when you had friends.
Acknowledgments
First to my God, in the land that is plentiful and when I walk through the wilderness, may I always turn back to praise.
To my husband and best friend, Zach, you complete me. Just kidding! I love you. You are an amazing man, and none of this would have ever happened without you, or because of you. Plus you’re a really good kisser.
To my Stella, Scarlett, Stryker and Solo, I love you more than anything. This is all for you.
To my mother, Helen, I couldn’t have asked for a better fan or supporter than you. Your encouragement, support and fix-it-texts mean everything.
To Jennifer “Nate” Nunez, you are a phenomenal editor and fantastic friend. Thank you for helping me make sense, (deleting my parenthesis) and putting up with every long email and run-on text. But most of all, thank you for making me laugh. I couldn’t do this without you.
To Sarah Hansen, thank you for your vision. You see creative in a way I can’t and have genius in a way I never could. Thank you for every cover and every design. I am in love with this one. But then again… I’m in love with all of them!
To Lindsay, Miriah, Bridget, Diana, Brooke and Ashley, you girls are the greatest friends. Thank you for your energy and excitement. Thank you for letting me talk about myself. And thank you for promoting me! You are true friends. You make me feel like a real writer and I can’t thank you enough for that!!
To my Hellcats, Michelle Leighton, Georgia Cates, Shelly Crane, Amy Bartol, Angeline Kace, Samantha Young and Quinn Loftis, I am so beyond blessed to know you ladies. You are the greatest writers I know! Badass, rock stars that dominate this world. Love each and every one of you!
To Jenn Sterling, you inspire me daily. I am so proud of you and amazed by you! Thank you for your friendship and knowing when to call “Seahorse” when you see it.
To Lila Felix, one day soon we will share a table together. I’ll bring the fire extinguisher; you just give me the signal. It’s important we