hoved the door open。
Mr。 Varner gave me a dark look—he'd already started the lecture。 I hurried to
my seat。 Jessica didn't
look up as I sat next to her。 I was glad that I had fifty minutes to mentally
prepare myself。
This class flew by even faster than English。 A small part of that speed was
due to my goody…goody
preparation this morning in the truck—but mostly it stemmed from the fact
that time always sped up when
I was looking forward to something unpleasant。
I grimaced when Mr。 Varner dismissed the class five minutes early。 He smiled
like he was being nice。
〃Jess？〃 My nose wrinkled as I cringed； waiting for her to turn on me。
She twisted in her seat to face me； eyeing me incredulously。 〃Are you talking
to me； Bella？〃
〃Of course。〃 I widened my eyes to suggest innocence。
〃What？ Do you need help with Calculus？〃 Her tone was a tad sour。
〃No。〃 I shook my head。 〃Actually； I wanted to know if you would go to the
movies with me tonight？ I
really need a girls' night out。〃 The words sounded stiff； like badly delivered
lines； and she looked
suspicious。
〃Why are you asking me？〃 she asked； still unfriendly。
〃You're the first person I think of when I want girl time。〃 I smiled； and I
hoped the smile looked genuine。
It was probably true。 She was at least the first person I thought of when I
wanted to avoid Charlie。 It
amounted to the same thing。
She seemed a little mollified。 〃Well； I don't know。〃
〃Do you have plans？〃
〃No I guess I can go with you。 What do you want to see？〃
〃I'm not sure what's playing；〃 I hedged。 This was the tricky part。 I racked my
brain for a