On his way back to his seat, something dropped on Lilah’s desk. She started – it was a note! She peeked around at the neighboring students to see if it might have come from one of them, but everyone else seemed buried in their own homework. It was Friday morning, after all, and first period at that. What better time to start the coursework that was assigned on Monday and due today? Lilah quickly uncrumpled the note beneath her desk, her hands shaking slightly as she bent her head to read it.
Hey. I heard you were gonna be at the concert tonight. Maybe I’ll see you there.
Her eyes shot up, half-expecting the note to be some sort of prank; but no, Jace had turned around in his seat to look at her again. And not only that – he actually flashed her a wink when their eyes met! He nodded toward the note in her hand and put his fingers together in the air to mime a pen writing a response. Glancing over at Mrs. Cameron, Lilah tucked the note in her lap to scratch out a reply in purple ink. After pausing a long moment to craft a suitably nonchalant response, she began to write:
Hi Jace! Yes, I’ll be there with Seth. It would be so cool if we could meet up!
No, that wouldn’t do. Too enthusiastic. She scratched out the sentence, then started again:
Hey. Yeah, I’ll most likely be there. Maybe we can—
“Miss Quinn, whatever you’re scrawling in your lap, I seriously doubt it has to do with your reading assignment.”
Lilah’s head lurched upwards to find Mrs. Cameron standing over her and the entire class turned around in their seats. “S-sorry, Mrs. Cameron. I was just—”
“Perhaps you’d like to share with the class whatever appears to be turning your face that particular shade of red? I’m sure we’d all find it equally interesting.”
“I… I’d rather not, since it’s a note from my doctor,” Lilah blurted out. Her teacher’s eyes widened. Where did that come from? she fretted to herself. God, Seth must be rubbing off on me!
Mrs. Cameron knelt close to Lilah, lowering her voice. “In that case, I sincerely apologize, Ms. Quinn. I am well aware of your health concerns.” She pressed her lips together in what Lilah could only deduce to be an apologetic smile, then straightened back up. “Class, back to your assignments! I know at least half of you have an essay due in third period and I see far too many of you frantically skimming through that book for my liking!”
As Lilah stuffed the scratched-out note in her pocket, her eyes flitted to Jace. He was still looking at her over his shoulder, the corners of his mouth turned upward.
Nice, he mouthed at her, raising his eyebrows appreciatively.
She gave him a small smile before returning to her own unread book, feeling rather pleased with herself.
· · ·
“Wait, wait, wait – Jace McKinnon talked to you today?” Seth asked, gripping his uneaten burger with two flexed hands. “Did you step on his foot or something?”
Without asking, Lilah dunked a fry in Seth’s milkshake, making him grimace. “Nope, not this time!” she grinned, tossing the vanilla-coated French fry in her mouth. “He dropped a note on my desk saying he heard I was going tonight and maybe we’d see each other. Just like that! In the middle of homeroom!”
“Giiiirl! Aren’t you glad I got you that dress for tonight? You’re gonna look so hot! Jace is gonna be all over you!”
Lilah felt her face grow hot for the second time that day. “He is not going to be all over me! He barely even notices me these days.”
She let her eyes wander across the cafeteria to the long table where all the biggest jocks in the school were having a loud, boisterous discussion. Jace – the school’s star pitcher – was there, laughing at something that Seth’s ex-boyfriend, Benny, had just said. Benny had recently made the varsity football team, and his newfound popularity as pass rusher had elevated him from “the chubby gay kid” to “the hero who carried the Grizzlies to the state championship.” Benny’s sister, Nikki – the captain of the cheer squad and quite possibly the most beautiful creature Lilah had ever seen – was on the other side of Jace, clutching his arm as the three of them laughed at what appeared to be the funniest joke ever told in the history of jokes.
“You know, I loved Benny before he was popular,” Seth muttered.
“I know,” Lilah said, pulling her eyes back to the drab lunch she had packed that morning – a soggy chicken salad sandwich and a hard-boiled egg.
“Well, one of us should try to get some action tonight,” Seth muttered sullenly. “It sure as hell isn’t going to be me so you’d better at least let me live vicariously through you.”
She gaped at him over the top of her sandwich. “In some alternate reality where Jace McKinnon would choose to make out with me over Nikki Chavis, I wouldn’t even know what to do! I’ve only ever kissed two boys before!”
“Umm, try three boys? Or did you forget that time we kissed back in seventh grade?”
“First of all, that was, like, a half-second peck, so it barely counts,” she muttered, rubbing her temples to rid herself of a creeping headache, “and we only did it because we were dared to. And then two days later, you burst into tears and told me you were gay, so—”
“I did not burst into tears,” Seth replied, primly taking a bite of his burger. “I calmly told you that I preferred boys.”
“The point is,” Lilah continued, “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing.” She took a long gulp of soda, scrunching her eyes shut. The lights in the cafeteria suddenly seemed very bright. Seth must have made a comment during that time, because when Lilah opened her eyes again, he was staring at her expectantly.
“Sorry… what?”
He rolled his eyes. “I said, in that case, you might actually appreciate the fact that I managed to score some of these.” He waved a tiny baggie of bright purple pills in front of her face, then quickly tucked them back into his pocket before anyone else in the crowded cafeteria could notice.
“What are those?” Lilah asked, her eyes wide. “Did your brother give you that?”
Seth scoffed. “A good druggie never rats out his dealer. Ugh, would you stop looking at me like that? Jesus, Li. When are you gonna grow out of this lame Goody Two-shoes phase? You’re so boring sometimes!”
“I’m not a Goody Two-shoes!” Lilah shot back, his words stinging more than she cared to admit. “But that stuff might really mess you up!”
“Spare me the lecture, would you? I get enough of that from my dad.” He stared at his tray angrily.
Lilah bit her lip, wanting to say more, but her thoughts were a jumbled mess. And Seth wasn’t exactly in a patient mood.
“Look, my brother told me that this stuff will just make you feel super happy and energetic, like nothing bad can touch you. As long as you drink a ton of water, it’s fine. And this way, if Jace does want to hook up or whatever, you might actually be able to let loose and have some fun for once in your life.”
Lilah massaged her forehead with the palm of her hand, fretting silently to herself. She clearly hadn’t known what she was signing up for when Seth told her he’d bought two tickets to some rock band she’d never heard of. She only knew, thanks to his clever sleuthing in the boys’ locker room, that they were Jace’s favorite band. But now all this talk about drugs and hooking up… Well, it made her head throb. When the warning bell for fourth period rang, it sounded louder and shriller than she’d remembered.