Free The Opposite Of Tidy by Carrie Mac

don’t.”
    “You all helped me out, so let me do this to thank you.”
    He bought their drinks, and they took a table as the barista started to make them. Ollie’s and Lulu’s soy lattes came up first, and then Tabitha’s mocha. When the three of them had gone to collect their drinks, Wade leaned overto Junie and said in a low voice, “If I was going to ask you out on a date, you’d know it.”
    This caught Junie off guard. What was she supposed to say to that? It didn’t matter, though, because everyone was back at the table, and Junie’s and Wade’s drinks were ready. He leapt up. “I’ll go get them.”
    Junie sat back in her chair, stunned. She glanced at Ollie and Lulu and then told Tabitha that she had to go to the bathroom. Which Tabitha understood as code for “come with me.”
    Once in the privacy of the bathroom, Junie told Tabitha what Wade had said to her.
    “Out of nowhere.”
    “No. Not out of nowhere.” Tabitha shook her head.
    “Like he’d been thinking about it since I mentioned it.”
    “You think?”
    “I know.” Tabitha groaned. “Just like I know he’s into you. Not me. Way to go, Junie. You’re horrible, I hate you, etcetera, etcetera.”
    Junie was going to argue, but thought better of it. “Want to have a cat fight? Go all scratch-your-face-up-bitch on each other?”
    Tabitha shook her head. “Nah.”
    “Yeah, me either.”
    But still, a long moment passed, and Junie knew that Tabitha was taking the time to imagine what could have been. At least, that’s what she would have been doing if the tables had been turned.
    “Just promise me one thing,” Tabitha said.
    “Anything.”
    Tabitha pulled the door open. Across the café, Junie could see the others, laughing. Ollie and Lulu tucked into one big easy chair all knotted up with each other, and Wade across from them, his and Junie’s drinks on the low table beside him. He glanced up and smiled. Waved.
    “Don’t gloat. Okay?”
    “That’s easy. I won’t.” Junie made her way down the little hall, her eyes on Wade the whole time. At the end of the hall, Tabitha grabbed her.
    “You might, though. Even if you don’t mean it.” Junie could tell by her words and the expression that went along with them that Tabitha was more hurt than she was letting on. Junie would have been too, if it had been her.
    She pulled Tabitha into a hug. “I won’t. Promise.” “Thanks.” Tabitha pulled away, her eyes red around the rims. “You go ahead. I’ll be there in a minute.”
    “Your drink will be cold.”
    Tabitha shrugged. “Doesn’t matter.”
    “Sorry, Tab.”
    She shrugged again. “Go on.”
    But then the weird thing was that once she was back at the table, her drink in hand, Wade hardly said one more word to her. He talked to Ollie, and Lulu, and even Tabitha when she finally came back to the table. But he didn’t say much to Junie, hardly even a goodbye when he dropped her and Tab off at Tabitha’s/Junie’s house.
    It had finally stopped raining. Junie and Tabitha stood on the sidewalk watching his van drive away. Tabitha looked at Junie. Junie shook her head.
    “Now what am I supposed to think?”
    Tabitha draped an arm across Junie’s shoulders. “Not sure. Playing hard to get?”
    “Here’s hoping,” Junie said with a shrug.

    As it turned out, Junie didn’t have to hope for long. The next Tuesday in World Studies, Wade asked if he could be her partner for the War History trivia game the class was putting together. Of course she said yes. But again, he didn’t say much. They were in charge of coming up with ten question cards about the Geneva Convention. They sat side by side at the computer, pulling up bits of the agreement they could use.
    “Ever hear of Stanley Kubrick?”
    “Sure.” Junie hadn’t. So why had she said so? Lying was becoming so normal to her that it came as easily as—if not more easily than—the truth. She didn’t like that about herself. She had plenty of big lies to take