13
Alittle over a week later, and it’s almost business as usual. Aiden is not attending football practice regularly because of his ankle. My mom and dad have been picking him up after school, and sometimes the three of them go over to the field to watch part of the practice. Aiden hasn’t said anything else about Jamie, so I’ve just left the topic alone.
The past week has been super busy and I’ve barely had time to think, never mind think about Jamie Trent. To be honest, being so busy has been a relief. I’m transferring handwritten notes from a counseling session with a troubled sophomore into my computer. It’s a half-day today, and I’m hoping to be able to get out of my office on time—Cora and I have tentative plans to go to lunch.
I finish transferring my notes, wrap up some other paperwork, and then I have one last appointment—a follow-up with a junior who was on academic probation last year which prevented him from playing basketball for part of the season…and he was one of the star point-scorers. He’s doing better this year, partly due to tutoring sessions with Jen in the mornings. We go through his grades, check for missing assignments, discuss upcoming tests and projects, strategies for success, and which colleges he plans on applying to this year—he has a good chance of getting some decent scholarships for basketball, so keeping his GPA up and getting good scores on his entrance tests is vital.
Once that appointment is finished, the bell is about to ring and I still have few other items on my to-do list before I can leave. It’s another twenty minutes before I’m done, and as I’m shutting down my computer and turning off my light, Cora sweeps into my office, purse on her shoulder, carrying a backpack by the handle, typing a text message one-handed.
“You ready, Elyse?” she says without looking up at me.
“Sure am.”
“I’ve barely seen you this past week. We’re still going to lunch, right?” She finishes her text, sends it with abloop, puts her phone to sleep, and stuffs the device in her purse. “I’m hungry, so the answer had better be yes.”
I laugh. “Yes, Cora, we’re going to lunch.”
“Where should we go?” Cora asks, her voice thick with sarcasm. “Wait, I know! José’s!”
I laugh. “A wealth of choices, indeed.” I lock my door and wave at the principal as I pass his office.
We almost always park next to each other, so we walk out to our cars together and I follow her to José’s. We get a booth near the front—it’s busy this afternoon, as most of the staff at the high school had the same idea we did. We order iced tea and burritos, and fill up on chips and salsa while we wait for our food.
“So.” Cora gestures at me with a chip. “What’s the latest on you and Jamie?”
I sigh. “There is no latest.”
“Bullllllllll-shiiiiiiit!” she says in a singsong. “There is too. I can tell just by looking at you.”
“Cora.”
“Elyse.”
“I’m not gossiping with you.”
She rolls her eyes. “It’s not gossip if it’s aboutyou, ya dork.”
“Fine. Then I just don’t want to talk about it.”
She leans forward, her eyes gleaming as she seizes my avoidance like a dog with a bone. “Something happened.” She pounds the table with her fists in time with her words: “Tellme,tellme,tellme!”
“Cora!” I hiss. “Quit making a scene!”
She cackles as she dips another chip into the salsa. “It’s like you don’t even know me! I live to make a scene.” She crunches on the chip, and then shoves the bowls away. “God, make me stop! I’m already full and we haven’t even gotten our food yet!”
“I know, right?” I take one last chip and then resolve to not eat any more.
Cora’s voice is quieter, but still intense. “Elyse Thomas. Youhaveto tell me what happened.”
Our food arrives just then, and I’m spared having to answer for a few more minutes as we dig into our food. We eat in silence for a while, and then Cora finally gestures at me with her fork, speaking around a mouthful of food.
“All right. Talk.”
I sigh, poking at the last few bites. “I told him nothing could happen, that I wasn’t ready, that I needed to focus on Aiden, protect Aiden, all that.”
“Right, I remember all that.”
“So then Aiden sprained his ankle, right? And Jamie was just…amazing. He brought Aiden to the ER and sat with him until I got there, and he bought an entire season ofNinjagoso Aiden would have something to watch to take his mind off the pain. He sat in the ER waiting room forhours. And then he got carryout for us all, and…” I shrug. “Aiden just absolutelyadoresJamie. He worships him like he’s a superhero or sports star or something. And Jamie genuinely likes Aiden. He listens to him, talks to him like an adult, plays with him.”
