Chapter 2
I spent the whole afternoon lost in my own world.
In literature class, while the teacher was explaining classical texts, I kept scribbling his name all over my scratch paper, filling up the whole page, then crossing it all out.
During math, when we were working on solid geometry proofs, I doodled little stick figures on the edge of my worksheet. One held the other's hand, with "Mr. Carter and Ms. Evans" written next to them.
In history, when the teacher started talking about ancient wedding customs, I buried my face in my arms on the desk, while Coco was shaking with laughter beside me.
As soon as the bell rang, I bolted straight for the restroom.
The girl in the mirror had rosy cheeks, and her eyes were shining so brightly.
I tried to fix my bangs, but they looked messy, so I pinned them all back, revealing my forehead.
I looked kind of bald.
So I let my bangs fall back down.
Just as I was fussing with my hair, the bathroom stall door opened, and Sophie Taylor stepped out.
She was the queen bee, and the whole grade thought she was a total goddess.
She had flawless skin, big eyes, and two cute dimples when she smiled. Her voice was gentle and velvety, almost impossible to resist.
The guys secretly voted, and she won by a landslide as the girl they'd most want to date.
She smiled at me. "Lily, are you here to fix your makeup?"
"I'm not wearing any makeup," I said.
"Oh, right, you don't wear makeup," she said, leaning in close to the mirror and carefully reapplying her lipstick.
When she finished, she pressed her lips together. "Do you think this color is too much? Ethan says I look good in mauve, but I think this one makes me look better."
Ethan?
My stomach dropped, but I kept a straight face. "Looks great."
"Really?" She checked herself out in the mirror from every angle. "That's a relief. By the way, Lily, are you free after school today?"
"Nope," I said.
"Oh, okay," she said, smiling softly as she put her lipstick away. "I was gonna ask you to hang out at the field. I heard someone is making a confession there today. It should be a lot of fun."
My hand trembled, and I nearly blasted the faucet wide open.
"Who... who told you that?" I asked.
"Oh, I can't really remember," she said, blinking, something sly flickering in her eyes. "I think I overheard someone talking about it. Wait, you know about it too?"
"No," I replied, turned off the faucet, and grabbed some paper towels to dry my hands. "I'll head back to class now."
"Alright, I'll head back after I finish my makeup," she said, flashing me a smile in the mirror. "Lily, your skin is so nice, but it looks a little tired. Want me to recommend some brightening products?"
I didn't bother to respond, pushed the door open, and left.
The hallway was drafty, and the wind chilled the back of my neck.
I always knew Sophie and Ethan were tight.
They'd been classmates since middle school, and since they lived near each other, they always walked to and from school together.
Everyone said they were a couple, but Ethan never admitted it, and Sophie never bothered to deny it.
If they really were together, there was no way Ethan would've sent me something like that.
But what if Sophie put him up to it?
It was April Fool's Day, after all.
Wasn't pranking people what April Fool's was all about?
I stood at the end of the hallway, the wind whipping my bangs all over the place.
My phone sat silent in my pocket.
The message was still there.
He still hadn't unsent it.
I took a deep breath and made up my mind: no more overthinking.
Didn't matter if it was a prank or not. I was going to meet him.
Even if there was only a one-in-a-million shot, I was still going.