to come?” Tristan says, putting his wallet back into his jeans.
I smile and stand on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “I’m sure. Thanks for the sandwich.” I start to walk away but then turn back. “Oh, one more thing. You may want to visit the carnival manager down at the fairgrounds. I heard a rumor that he’s looking for a band to play tonight.”
I wave goodbye and disappear into the hallway just as I hear a loud clatter behind me. That would be Sophia’s tray tumbling to the floor and her chocolate pudding finding its way down the front of her future boyfriend’s shirt.
I check my phone.
12:49 p.m. Right on time.
You gotta hand it to Cole Simpson. He may be a giant knobhead, but he sure is punctual.
12:51 p.m.
“What did I miss?” I say, as I approach the group of tables pushed together in the center of the library.
Owen stops midsentence and gawks at me. “What are you doing here?”
“Isn’t this book club?” I ask, sliding into the chair next to him.
“Yeah, but aren’t you—”
“I’m joining,” I say, looking around at the seven other members. “If that’s okay with all of you?”
Everyone nods back in response. I turn to Owen. “Is that okay with you, Owen?”
“Of course,” he blubbers. “We were just talking about the reasons the film wasn’t as good as the book, but since you haven’t read it, I guess you can observe—”
“I personally think the movie didn’t work because we lost the powerful impact of Death as a narrator,” I launch in, instantly igniting an impassioned debate among the other book club members.
I glance at Owen and give him a wink. For some reason, he can’t seem to close his mouth.
“Don’t you have a speech to practice?” he whispers to me a few minutes later.
I grin. “I thought I’d stir up some trouble here first.”
“I thought you spent your lunches in the band room now.”
“Trust me, this is much more exciting.”
“More exciting than hanging out with rock stars?”
“Oh, infinitely more exciting.”
Owen barks out a laugh. The rest of the book club stops their discussion and stares at us like we’re from another planet. I duck my head into Owen’s arm and stifle a fit of giggles.
For the first time in a long time, I know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Break On Through (to the Other Side)
1:33 p.m.
“Running for vice president of the junior class, here’s Ellison Sparks, Sparks, Sparks.” Principal Yates’s voice reverberates through the gym and Rhiannon gives me a little shove.
“Where are your notes?” she hisses.
I pull the note cards from the pocket of my dress and tap them against my hand. Then I step up to the microphone and clear my throat.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Ellison Sparks,” I begin, looking down at the index cards. The truth is, I’ve given this speech three times already, I don’t really need the notes. I pretty much have the whole tedious thing memorized.
I find Owen in the bleachers. He’s back in the front row. He gives me an encouraging nod, and I let my gaze drift to the rest of the faces staring back at me. The hundreds and hundreds of people who didn’t even know my name until I started dating the lead singer of a local rock band.
I glance back at Rhiannon. She gives me another one of her perfected dirty politician looks.
Why am I even standing up here? Why did I ever say yes to her?
Was it so I could write down another impressive statistic on my college applications? Was it because I’m just incapable of saying no to pushy tyrants like Rhiannon Marshall?
Or is there possibly another reason?
“Don’t just stand there,” I hear Rhiannon growl through her teeth. “Talk.”
I clear my throat again and peer back down at my notes. Then, before I can second-guess myself, I return the cards to my pocket.
“Hi. I’m Ellison Sparks,” I begin again. “Although most of you probably know me as Tristan Wheeler’s Girlfriend.”
A few sniggers from the crowd. I find Tristan sitting four rows from the back and flash him a smile. He gives me that delicious dimpled grin in response.
“I admit, as far as titles go, it’s not a bad one to have. Especially if you’ve seen him without his shirt on.”
The sniggers instantly turn into catcalls. Principal Yates shoots me a look, while from somewhere behind me Rhiannon hisses, “What are you doing?”
I ignore them both.
“And although that is an accurate title—I am, indeed, Tristan Wheeler’s Girlfriend”—I look to Owen but he’s