“Run over?” Kate’s lips fall open in surprise, forming a perfect little O. She turns in her chair to face me. “Wait a minute now. I was the one who ended up with my butt on the floor and things scattered around if I remember correctly.”
“So you do remember me,” I say, and there is no stopping the self-satisfied grin that spreads over my lips as I lean back.
Miguel, who still doesn’t seem to get it, punches me in the side. “I told you she ignored you.”
I’m going to kill him. I swear to God, I’m going to strangle him.
Katherine opens her mouth as if to say something, but nothing comes out. Realizing that she’s been caught, she presses her lips in a tight line.
“Of course she remembers you! You almost gave her a concussion,” Becky chimes in helpfully—seriously, what’s with these people today and their “helpfulness”?—and winks conspicuously at Katherine.
I turn to glare at Becs across the table. “Whose friend are you, again?”
She taps the back of her fork against her chin as if deep in thought. “I guess it depends on who’s asking.”
“I figured as much.” I roll my eyes at her. Seriously, I need new friends.
“What? Don’t be like that.” Becky kicks me under the table. “Us girls gotta stick together. You know I always have your best interest at heart.”
“When it suits you.”
“That’s better than nothing, right?” Becky smiles extra-wide, batting her eyelashes. “Besides, Kate’s right. This morning was totally your fault.”
Maybe, but there is no way I’ll apologize for that. Not when it landed Katherine right at my feet. Quite literally.
“Traitor.”
“Stubborn,” Becky throws right back. “Anyhow… Kate, these are the guys, guys, this is Katherine, as you all probably already know.”
Everybody mumbles hellos, their eyes glued to us like we’re some kind of sitcom. That’s because we probably are.
“You obviously already know Emmett. The guy next to him that desperately needs a haircut is Miguel.”
“Hey!” Miguel protests, running his hand over his curly hair defensively. “What’s wrong with my hair?”
“You look like you’re in a gang.” Becky throws a carrot in her mouth, chews, and then continues. “Then there are Nico and John. And as you can probably guess, since hello varsity jackets, they’re all on the football team.”
Kate looks around the table, her eyes wide. “All of you?”
I nod my head. “And then some.”
My stomach growls loudly, so I pick up my burger and continue to eat.
“This is Texas, babe.” John grins, and the need to punch him in the face returns in full force. “Here we live and breathe football. What brings you to Texas, Kate?” There’s a low thump. “Ouch! What was that for?”
“Keep eating, John, will ya?” Becky asks sweetly.
“What? I’m just curious. We don’t often get new folk around here.”
Becky and Katherine exchange a silent glance. It’s kind of freaky, given the fact that they just met.
“See what I was talking about?” Becky sighs loudly.
“It’s okay,” Kate tells Becky, chuckling softly before returning her attention to John. “We move a lot,” she explains and looks down at her plate, stabbing a piece of chicken and salad on her fork. “Currently, we’re staying with my aunt for a while.”
“Oh, so you’re here temporarily?” This comes from Nico.
“What is this? Twenty questions? Give the girl some space to breathe, you busybodies.” Becky rolls her eyes. “And they say girls are nosy. Just ignore them.”
“It’s fine, really.”
“It’s not, but you better get used to it. It’s a small town thing. Everybody around here thinks just because they knew your great-great-grandmother, they have the right to put their nose into your business.”
Miguel balls up a napkin and throws it at Becky. “Don’t you go pretending you’re any different, Becs. You like good gossip as much as everybody else.”
Becky pokes her tongue out at him. “At least I don’t pester people with stupid nonsense.”
Kate looks around the table, her lips twitching as if she’s trying to decide whether to laugh or not. For an outsider, I guess it must be entertaining to follow the group dynamics and all the bickering.
I lean down and whisper, “Just ignore them. They’ve always been like this. I think their rivalry goes back all the way to pre-K. Sometimes when Miguel pisses her off, Becs reminds him of the days when he pulled her pigtails.”
“Pester?” Miguel huffs. “The only person who pesters is you with all your nagging.”
“Nagging?”
Kate bites into her lip as Becky’s voice rises.
“Yes, nagging. Which is exactly what you’re doing right now.”
“Oh, please, if you had any manners I wouldn’t have to nag. But sure, be a dick. After all, that’s what you’re best at!”
“Whatever.” Miguel pushes away from the table and gets up. “I’m out.”
“Is this normal?” Kate whispers as we watch him stroll away, tugging angrily at his bandana in the process.
“Oh, yes. They’re always like that. Like cat and dog, these two.”
Kate hums, taking a bite of her lunch. Becky puffs out a breath and pushes her hair behind her ears as she tries to compose herself. Her cheeks are red, lips pressed in a tight line.
I gently nudge her foot with mine under the table. “You okay, Becs?”
“Sure.” She forces out a smile, but it doesn’t fool me. She’s putting on a brave face, something she always does after one of her fights with Miguel. They’ve always been at each other’s throats, but lately, it seems like they get irritated at each other even easier than before.
Instead of facing whatever just happened, Becky pushes it back, turning her attention to Katherine. “So, how much of Bluebonnet Creek did you see so far, Kate?”
And I’m not the only one who notices. Kate opens her mouth as if to say something but changes her mind. “Not much really. We just got here a few weeks ago.”
I pick up my lunch, listening to them talk for the next fifteen minutes. The guys switch to football, and I join in every now and then, but in reality, I’m listening to the girls, interested to find out more about Kate.
“Hey, Emmett!” A few girls greet me as they pass by the table, just as we all get up to go to our next class.
“Ladies,” I nod, and they start to giggle.
As soon as they’re out of sight, Becky rolls her eyes.
“What?” I ask.
“Nothing.” She turns her attention to Kate. “What do you have next?”
“Umm…” Kate smooths some of her runaway strands. “Trig, I think?”
“That’s what I have now.” I look down at her. I haven’t noticed so far, but she’s a small thing, probably a whole foot shorter than my six-foot-two.
“Excellent!” Becky claps her hands cheerfully. “Then you can make sure to show Kate to class. We don’t want her to get lost. It’s her first day, after all.”