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I rub ers drift over the bracelet This was here Delicate, thin and gold It should’ve been impossible for me to find, but I found it Weeks and weeks after the fact I did a terrible thing and I get to wear it on uess I sort of hope there will befor ically, there won’t be Still, I have to coht be won’t go away until I do

And then it goes away

Until it co out on the bus just so I can see Jake get on Our eyesover his shoulder and it kind of see, but he doesn’t He finds his spot in the , huh?"

I pause and look down at Chris He looks up at me His math homework is open on his desk, half done He pulls out the chair beside hi it Sit"

I raise an eyebrow "Sit?"

"Would you please sit down?"

I toss my books on the desk and do as I’ at his book "A full unit behind, al to catch up Maybe I’ll just drop out It’d save raduate"

"That’s always one option," Chris says "Heard you fell out of a tree last Friday"

"Heard you were at Finn’s High ti use There were a lot of us there Just shot the shit, introduced Jake to soood parties"

"Didn’t I, though" He looks away "I could get used to Becky I was thinking about it Wouldn’t be so bad Just for senior year"

"Lucky Becky"

"Like I said, I’ sole, which is your fault"

"You think you can "

Just like that, I’rab h it’s not like I have so in ten minutes

But in ten ain I sit and reach for his pencil Twirl it between uilty," I tell him "About any of it"

And now it’s not just about Becky anymore

He opens his ain

"Or sorry," I add "You can’t make me sorry about any of it either"

"Okay," Chris says, "but whether or not you’re sorry or guilty doesn’t change the fact that I forgive you anyway And I don’t blame you"

"Yes, you do"

"I don’t"

"You do You’re just saying that because you want to--"

"I don’t bla clearly--"

"Why are we talking about this?"

I have no patience for this kind of bullshit It’s like now that I’ Grey everyone’s all, Oh, she ain, which is what I was afraid of, but no one gets to ain because it’s better for everyone this way People are so stupid They don’t even knohen you’re helping theht it up," he says, and then he sirlfriend again, I give you irlfriend thing and let’s make it sexual favors"

I can’t tell if he’s serious or not

"Do I look that cheap to you?" I ask

When Becky enters the room, he moves to the back to sit beside her "WIN OR LOSE!

IT’S ALL THE SAME!

WE DO OUR BEST!

WE’VE GOT GAME!"

I’ It’s lunchti squad in that stupid cheer

"--Unity and disparity I’ve been thinking about this a lot and I’m totally confused--"

"Did you hear that?’

Jake looks up from his spot besideDid you hear it?"

"Uh, not really," he says, annoyed "See, I was talking about our art project--"

"Shut up; they’re doing it again Listen It’s really awful"

The girls resule formation, Becky at the point of it

"One, two, three!"

The cheer starts up again Jake and I watch, transfixed The beat is painfully off, the dance steps contrived and aard Cardboard cutouts of cheerleaders operated by arthritic monkeys would move more fluidly

They finish and Jake--bless his heart--says, "Yeah, that was pretty bad"