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Caot up as soon as he saw Jere, Flavia," he said

I started to unzip his hoodie, and he said, "That's all right You can give it toiven a boy my phone number before As I punched init to hi away, he put the phone into his pocket and said, "I would have found a way to get it back without your number I'm smart, remember? First prize in oration"

I tried not to smile as he walked away "You're not that smart," I called out It felt like fate that we'dthat had ever happened to irl She gave hilad I had ruined his night, if only a little bit

On the way to the car a girl stopped tails, and she had on a pink low-cut shirt "Do you like Cairl asked ht he'd been a nobody just like me

"I barely even know him," I told her, and her face relaxed She was relieved I recognized that look in her eyes--dreamy and hopeful It must have been the way I looked when I used to talk about Conrad, used to try to think of ways to insert his name into conversation It made me sad for her, for me

"I saw the way Nicole talked to you," she said abruptly "Don't worry about her She sucks as a person"

"Red Sox girl? Yeah, she kind of does suck at being a person," I agreed Then I waved good-bye to her as Jeremiah and Conrad and I made our way to the car

Conrad drove He was co He checked out Ca We didn't speak to each other once Jeremiah and I both sat in the backseat, and he tried to joke around, but nobody laughed I was too busy thinking, reht to ht of my life

In my yearbook the year before, Sean Kirkpatrick wrote that I had "eyes so clear" he could "see right into eek, but so what It still ood Taylor snickered when I showed it to her She said only Sean Kirkpatrick would notice the color ofat my chest But this wasn't Sean Kirkpatrick This was Cauy who had noticedmy teeth in the upstairs bathroo the door behind hi on with you and Con? Why are you guys so mad at each other?" He hopped up onto the sink

Jereht It was part of why he always played the clown He took it upon hi levity to any situation It eet but also kind of annoying

Through a hteous neo-hed at that It was one of our little inside jokes, a line fro to each other the suht and he was nine