leopard-print hoodie, jeans and his trademark fedora. Theyâre melded together in a parting kiss, with her hand on his waist and his arm stretched to her shoulder, since sheâs taller than him. Sheâs leaning down to reach his lips.
Since I have to walk right past them, I figure, what the hell? Why not break the silence?
I tug my sleeve down lower over my cast and say, âHey, Jamarlo.â
Maybe I call to him out of habit. Maybe I just miss him too much.
I keep walking, since I donât want to hassle them or deal with Jamarloâs wrath, but before I get much distance between us, Jamarlo and Carmen pull apart, looking startled.
Carmen blinks rapidly, as if sheâs just waking up. âCheck out that cast!â she says, disentangling from Jamarlo and drying her lips on the back of her hand.
âWhoa!â Jamarlo says, as if he hasnât been refusing to talk to me for weeks. âWhat happened to your arm?â He plays with Carmenâs bobbed, white-blond hair, twirling it between his fingers like heâs proud to have access.
âUhâ¦itâs my hand.â Iâm thrown off by how easy it was to get him to talk to me. âI slipped on the soap,â I lie. âShowering is a dangerous occupation.â
âDid you hit your head too?â Carmen points to the cut above my ear. Obviously, my concealer is failing.
âUh, shaving accident,â I say.
âYeah?â Jamarlo links fingers with Carmen and tugs her closer. He glances up and down the hall as if heâs checking out whoâs noticing them together.
âUh, yeah.â Iâm glad heâs got a girlfriend, but he could at least pay attention to me when Iâm trying to make up with him.
Carmen cracks her gum. I donât want to know where she stashed it when they were making out. âI never got why you shaved your head,â she says.
Carmen can be tacky and insensitive, like when she told Alena that she would be pretty if she wore more makeup. I also blame Carmen for inviting Matt to her party. But Iâll endure her for Jamarlo.
âJust a haircut that got out of hand,â I say.
âTori likes the tough-girl look.â Jamarlo grins, but his tone has a raw edge to it. âShe thinks she can beat up guys twice her size.â He pretends to punch me.
I pretend to duck. Itâs our usual game, even if it feels a bit off. âSize doesnât matter.â I keep my tone playful, teasing. âYou should know that, Jamarlo.â
Carmen laughs. Jamarlo loses his grin. I guess weâre not back to joking yet.
âIâm kidding, Jamarlo.â I force a laugh too, but it sounds as if Iâm choking.
âI know that.â His dark eyes are on mine. He frowns.
âYeah, well,â I manage to say, âIâve got to get to class. See you later.â
He nods, still frowning.
I duck into World History and head to the back of the room. What just happened? Jamarlo and I may be talking again, but weâre not okay.
A few minutes later, Carmen enters the room and slides into a seat beside me. I wish sheâd sit somewhere else, but Iâm not that lucky.
âSettle down, class.â Mr. Hadley pulls down the screen at the front of the room. âToday weâre going to talk about some of the key passive-resistance movements that occurred after 1945 .â
I usually like Mr. Hadleyâs discussions, but today Iâm hoping for a long movie so I can think about what happened with Jamarlo.
Carmen leans over to me and whispers loud enough for others to hear, âSo do you and Matt want to come over this weekend? Jamarlo and I are having a few couples to my place since my parents are away.â
Hell, no.
My throat goes dry. I swallow hard. âWe broke up,â I say. Obviously, Jamarlo hasnât been sharing info about me.
Mr. Hadley sits on the edge of his desk. âThe best-known movements are those led by