at the same time.
âAre you okay, Amber?â Mrs. Early leans over her.
Devon and C.A. squat down and put her arms over their shoulders. âHere, weâll take you to the nurse.â
Iâm standing there not doing anything, not sure where I fit, when Amber looks at me.
âAre you okay?â I take a step closer.
She looks away, tears in her eyes, her face filled with pain and something else. Embarrassment? âIâm okay,â she says, but her voice is choked with tears. When she tries to put pressure on the ankle she hurt a week ago, Amber crumples.
âOh.â C.A. leans in and puts a hand to her mouth.
I step in. âHere, let me help.â I take the arm C.A. had and Amber grips my shoulder. We take her, en masse, tothe nurseâs office. I guide her onto the examination table while Devon explains what happened to the nurse.
Mrs. Early and C.A. leave once theyâre sure sheâs in good hands but me and Devon hang out.
âSo what happened back there? Why were you running?â I slide onto the table next to her, desperately wanting to put my arm around her and make the pain disappear.
Devon looks over. âKush is talking trash about her.â
Amber shudders back a sob. âWhy would he do that?â She presses a Kleenex to her eyes, then her nose.
Devon shrugs. âMaybe because you rejected him? Because he thinks you picked Sean instead?â
âThinks?â I look between them. Now Kush is after Amber, too?
Amber starts crying.
Devon huddles close. âYeah. Itâs my fault. I asked for her or C.A. to kiss Kush.â He nudges me. âYou know, as a test .â
Amber sucks in a breath as the nurse touches her ankle. Or is it because of what Devon said?
âDid you?â I ask. âKiss him?â Every time I think Iâm finally going to say what I need to say to this girl, another wrench gets thrown in the works.
âYes,â she says. âI did. But itâs not what you think.â
âBut you kissed him.â I need the facts.
Volcano girl reappears. âItâs not like I have a boyfriend, even if I had been into it. Which I wasnât.â
The nurse shoos us out of the room before I can say anything else.
âDevon?â Itâs the only question I need as we walk away, toward the cafeteria.
âSheâs not into Sean. I checked. And sheâs telling the truth. You should get her to tell you the whole story. Itâs messed up and now Kush is being a total douche bag. Makes me extra glad I didnât keep barking up that tree.â
Okay. So she kissed the dude. But she doesnât like him: it was a dare. And sheâs right. Sheâs not my girlfriend.
âSo are you going to ask her out, or what?â Devon hands me a tray as we reach the front of the food line.
âYou donât care?â
âI told you I didnât.â
âDo you think sheâs interested?â
Devon rolls his eyes at the lunch lady and mouths âboys.â She winks at him and smirks at me. âI donât know, Will. Should I send her a note? Check yes if you like my brother.â
âWould you?â
He stops the line and stares at me for a full five seconds without blinking.
I shake my head. âOkay, stop. I know.â I take the pizzathe lunch lady offers.
Devon huffs. âYou sound like a whipped dog. But, yes, I will ask her if she likes you.â
We punch in our student account numbers at the register.
âToday?â
He cranks his head around and goes all bug-eyed and annoyed. âYes, Will. Today. Iâll ask her today.â
âGeez. You donât have to be so testy.â But even as I growl the words, I canât stop the smile from creeping onto my face.
Before lunch ends I text Amber to see if sheâs okay. Turns out her ankle was broken not sprained and sheâs getting a cast, but I ask about our tentative practice plans