“Yes,” she answered, but she couldn’t look at me when she said it.
“I don’t want to fight,” I admitted. “We can’t fight.”
She nodded. “No. We shouldn’t fight. We’re...”
“Partners,” I finished.
“Thanks for coming to my meet. Can’t say I’ve ever had anyone come out here to see me run. It was nice.”
“Wow. A compliment. You really should rehydrate. I don’t think you’re feeling too well.”
Josephine laughed in response. It sounded a little forced, but the tension eased a little.
“Thanks for the idea with the coffee,” I said.
Josephine shrugged. “That’s what partners are for.”
Chapter 20
The following Monday was the second day in less than a month that I headed to school earlier than I needed to. I promised Jenna I would stop by the gym and help the cheerleaders put up the homecoming posters. They needed a big, strong man. Or a big enough schmuck who was willing to get up early and do the bidding of a bunch of girls in matching skirts and ribbons because his girlfriend looked cute when she asked him.
Either way, I was there a full hour earlier than usual. With our winning record, Homecoming was a big deal. Which meant every inch of the school had to be covered with mundane, monotonous slogans like: Shepherd High is #1 or Go Team Go!
I let my head bang against the shelf of my locker as I threw my book bag into it.
“Someone’s not a morning person,” a voice chirped, annoyingly amused.
I slammed my locker to find Josephine leaning against the locker next to mine, holding two cups of coffee. She held one in front of me. “Don’t worry it’s not Starbucks. It’s from Dunkin. A lot cheaper. Hopefully not too low class for Mr. High Brow.”
“I thought we were done with nicknames?” I asked, cradling the beloved substance in my hands.
“Were we? I don’t remember saying that. I kind of like em, Richie Rich.”
“You are more annoying than usual in the mornings,” I replied, pointing a sluggish finger in her direction. “What are you doing here so early?”
“Jenna asked me to help with the posters. I think she thinks if she’s super nice to me in front of all the cheer robots, the rumors will stop.”
I felt the color leave my cheeks. “Um. What rumors?”
“You know...the ones about you and me getting all biblical. Mating. Making the nasty. Doing things—”
“I got the picture. You can stop.”
Josephine laughed as she started to walk to the gym. Always walking ahead of me. I followed her. “You and Jenna are talking now?”
“Yeah. She called me yesterday. Can’t say we talked very long, but it was cool she asked me.”
Great. Sure. I wanted them to be friends, but the thought of secret conversations seemed a little dangerous. “So, you’re here, fully prepared in hoodie-mode, to help the Shepherd High cheerleaders just because of some stupid rumors? I thought you didn’t care about crap like that.”
“I never said I didn’t care. How come bullies always try to make themselves feel better by claiming the bullied don’t give a damn what anyone thinks anyways? I don’t value their opinion, but I’m not exactly thrilled they are going around saying I’d mess around with someone’s boyfriend.”
I stopped walking. “You think I’m a bully? I mean aren’t I a little old for that?”
“Sure, you are. Doesn’t mean you aren’t one at times,” she replied, only stopping her walk to damn me before heading to the gym.
Ouch.
Jenna waved excitedly when she saw us. The other girls, cheer robots as Josephine properly deemed them, stopped and stared as I walked in with Josephine.
This was going to be loads of fun.
“Hey guys! Has he passed his addiction on to you?” Jenna asked, eyeing the coffee in our hands.
“Um. No. I just...” Josephine fumbled. It probably would have been a good idea to get a coffee for Jenna as well. Instead, I’m sure we looked pretty chummy walking in together with our discount coffee.
“So, how many posters do I need to put up?” I asked before leaning in and giving Jenna a kiss. I could hear the whispering around us begin. The next few moments were going to be very important in Operation Save My School Status, and the ball was most certainly in Jenna’s court.
“Only a few...”
“How many, Jenna?”
“You love me right?” she asked, a little louder than needed.
I grinned. “I love you enough to hang up every poster you and your friends created, paper cuts and all, without a single complaint.”