Free The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride Page A

crack through the icy layers surrounding Elle? “I think I figured it out.” I looked up.
    Max’s eyes narrowed a bit. “Okay,” he said. “If you say so.”
    The silence that fell between us as we ate was uncomfortable, and it dragged out in these long stretches. I don’t know if it was sheer boredom or a way for both of us to avoid the strange vibes passing between us, but we became focused on things happening around us, ignoring each other almost completely.
    â€œJust to let you know,” Max said halfway through the lunch period, “I’m pretty good at figuring things out.”
    In my peripheral vision, I could see him looking at me. I ignored him. By then, I was too intent on Jessie—who had planted herself right next to Shelby Stadler—and her friends. It was like watching one of those old silent movies; I had to pay close attention to facial expression and body language if I was going to determine what was happening in the middle of the lunchroom.
    Max cocked his head to the side and turned to follow my gaze. “You’re certainly into something over there.”
    â€œYou can’t look.” I smacked his arm. “They might see.”
    â€œYou’re kidding, right?” Max rolled up a ball of cling wrap from his ham sandwich. “You sound like you’re some secret agent.”
    â€œI’ll tell you about it later, okay? I just need to see what’s going to happen.”
    Max looked at me. “I thought you weren’t a gossip girl.”
    I rolled my eyes. “I’m not, okay? But there’s a potentially explosive situation over there. Forgive me for hoping it ignites and takes some focus off Noelle.” I turned my eyes to the girls and shook my head. “I mean Elle.”
    â€œOkay, then,” he said with a shrug. “Here’s to hoping for a major scandal.”
    Not much happened while the girls were eating. It wasn’t until the last ten minutes of lunch that I noticed Jessie turn her body, sliding her knees up against the side of Shelby’s chair.
    They were both laughing, and part of me wanted to run to Shelby and warn her that Jessie was about to bring the whole world crashing down on her head. But that wouldn’t give the students of CHS anything tantalizing to gossip, text, or IM about, and I was hoping for a full-scale blowout. So I didn’t move.
    Jessie reached up and tapped one of the pencils that secured a twisted bun on top of Shelby’s head. Shelby ducked away and shook her head back and forth. Then Jessie spoke, and the smile that had been saturating Shelby’s face dried up to nothing. I watched her squint and the lines on her forehead pull tight. She shook her head once again, harder now, and her lips mouthed the word no several times.
    â€œHere we go,” I said.
    Jessie looked at Tabby. Shelby’s eyebrows shot up, and her mouth started moving quickly as she glanced at all the girls seated at the table. Next, she looked at the girl on her right, who started nodding and moving her hands as she spoke. The girl across from them nodded as well.
    Then everything stopped. Jessie’s chest puffed up with a few deep breaths. She looked at Tabby, who shrugged as she crunched on a carrot stick. Jessie nodded, and Shelby’s body hunched forward, the tension streaming from her like the air from a too-full balloon.
    â€œDamn,” I said, stomping my foot into the ground.
    â€œCrisis averted?” Max asked.
    â€œUnfortunately.” I planted an elbow on the table and propped my chin in my hand. “It would have been perfect. A breakdown in the highest rung of senior-class popularity.”
    â€œPeople will move on,” Max said. “That is, once the news coverage dies down.”
    I tried not to think of how the media had grabbed hold of Elle’s story and couldn’t seem to let go.
    â€œYou heard the latest about the kidnapper?” Max