I make a note in my spiral then look over to Carson. He’s staring at me. When I look over, he blinks.

“Oh, yeah Fridays are out for me. But I get out of practice at six on Monday, so I could do that.”

“Does that work for you, Pete?” I ask.

He’s looking at his phone, probably checking his calendar.

“No good. I Dungeon Master for RPG club on Monday.”

Lucy pipes up. “What about before school?”

The rest of the table groans.

I pat her hand gently.

“Mornings are a good idea, but that’s a little too early for the ones who wear themselves out at practice every night.” I look around the table. Leena has sat back in her seat and folded her arms under her chest. She’s grinning at me like she knows I’m up to something. “What if we meet up on the first Saturday of the month at Pablo’s coffee at ten am?”

“Do you think that’s enough time? Once a month?” Pete asks, his eyebrows furrowing behind his big glasses.

“I think it’ll be fine. And we can always keep in touch via email and text for things that can’t wait.” I offer.

Lucy claps excitedly. “I love that idea.”

I’m just about to make a snide remark about her excitability level but thankfully Leena does it for me.

“Lucy, switch to decaf. Seriously. Before you explode.”

I grin. Why aren’t Leena and I friends again? Then she turns to me, her voice dripping with venom and I remember.

“Fine. But my breakfast comes out of the budget. No way am I paying to share a meal with you guys.”

I look over at Pete who nods.

“Okay then. We will meet again next Saturday at ten am.” I make another note. “Now we just need to decide on the date and theme for Homecoming. Ideas?”

This time it’s Carson who is tapping away on his phone.

“First home game of the season is October 1st, Saturday night.”

“So we plan the dance for Friday?” I ask and they all agree.

“I think we should do a sports theme,” Carson says, smacking his hand on the table like a gavel.

“Noooooo,” Lucy says flatly.

“I agree with Lucy, for once,” Leena adds.

“What about a dragon theme?” Peter suggests. Leena balls up a piece of paper and throws it at his head, knocking his glasses askew.

“Forget it elf-boy.”

“I like the idea of a fairy tale theme,” Lucy says dreamily.

Visions of pink tutus dance in my head and I shudder.

“Do you have any suggestions Leena?” I ask. She eyeballs me suspiciously then leans forward.

“What about a Venetian Masked Ball?”

As soon as she says it, I’m in. It sounds cool and unique and something we haven’t done before. I can tell from his expression that Carson isn’t sold, so I speak up.

“So classy and sleek. Guys look all 007 with those cool black masks, girls in lace and satin. I like it.”

I may not know much about guys, but I do know that the slightest mention of James Bond can convince them that anything is a good idea.

“Vote?” Pete says. “All in favor of Leena’s idea raise your hand.”

Everyone but him raises their hand. He sighs. “Motion passed.”

Lucy claps again.

“Great, I’ll make the announcement to the Dance Committee and let the principal know.”

“Any other business?” Pete asks before slamming his notebook closed. “Then meeting adjourned. See you guys next weekend.”

Leena dashes off, but the others mill around just a bit. Peter puts his hand on my shoulder as he’s leaving. “Good meeting, madam secretary.”

I tilt my head in thanks. He’s right. It’s the first time we got through a whole meeting without me insulting someone or Leena losing her shit and making Lucy cry or Carson getting distracted by his phone and tuning out completely.

Diplomacy. Who knew?

Carson walks over to the stacks, looking for a book.

“That was amazing,” Lucy says, scooping up her bag.

“What?” I ask.

“You. You just walked in and owned the place. I’ve never seen you look so good.”

I shrug, tugging at the hem of my skirt. “Thanks. It’s new.”

She leans over further, her face really setting off my personal space alarms.

“It’s not the clothes Zoe. It’s you, how you carried yourself today. I’ve never seen you look so confident.” She sits back, looking day-dreamy, like she might burst out in a sonnet or something. “It’s like you’ve been this weird, angry caterpillar. But now you’re a kind, lovely butterfly.”

That’s too much. I literally throw up in my mouth a little. Forcing a smile I pat her hand.

“Thanks Lucy.”

She grins and leaves me to gather the last of my things and throw away the empty drink cup she left behind. I turn and nearly barrel into Carson.

“She’s right. You were awesome today.”

“Thanks,” I murmur and step around him, tossing the cup in the trash and sliding my purse onto my shoulder.

I leave and he jogs to catch up with me. “So, who do you have for Advanced Bio this year?”

I pause, trying to recall the schedule I’d gotten in the mail only last week. “Um, Wells, I think. You?”

“I have Wells too. Fifth period?”

“Yep.”

He grins, running his hand through the back of his light blonde hair. “So, do you wanna be lab partners again?”

I freeze. Last year we’d been paired up in class, quite unwillingly as I recall. Only after a few months had he warmed up enough to talk to me outside of class. Yet here he is, asking me to partner up again. I’m far from a genius, but I hold my own in all my AP classes, so of course he’d want me for a partner.

So why does it feel like he’s asking me on a date?

“Yeah. Sure.”

“Cool.”

We wave goodbye and he heads off. I make my way through the empty school toward the practice field. I open the door to the bright daylight and see that Logan is standing on the sidelines, watching. The expression on his face is serene. I walk up next to him and pull the phone from my pocket, holding it to my ear.

“What are you doing?”

I sigh. “I’m pretending to talk on my phone so if anyone sees me here with my lips moving they just think I’m taking a call.”

“Oh. Good idea.”

“I know.”

He claps as Bruno saves a particularly nasty looking goal.

“You okay?” I ask, watching as his face goes from proud to sad. His smile slips and he drops his hands.

“Nope. Not even a little.”

A pang of grief drives into my heart like a spike. My hand twitches, the instinct to reach over and take his hand is so strong I barely catch myself. Then I laugh dryly.

“What’s funny?” He asks, his voice irritated.

I shake my head. “I was just wishing I could hug you or something.”

He stares at me for a second, then he laughs too. “Probably not a good idea. You don’t want to look like a crazy person in front of all those witnesses.” He jerks his head, indicating the small crowd sitting on the metal bleachers.

Fair enough.

I put my phone away and cross the sidelines, taking a seat on the lower bleacher. Leena sits down, scooting beside me.

“Since when do you watch practices?”

“I’m meeting up with Bruno after,” I say, squinting against the bright sunlight.

I can feel her appraising me. “You know, I always thought you had a thing for Carson.”

“Carson? No. No way.”

She snorts, “You say that like he’s beneath you.”

I take a deep breath, trying to actually consider my words before they fly out of my mouth.

“No, it’s not that. It’s just that Carson is a friend. Besides, he was totally head over heels for you.” There. Maybe a little flattery will appease the beast.

She flips her hair, exposing the long line of her neck. “Well, that’s over now. So, are you going after him?”

That surprises me enough that I turn to her. “No. I’m not.”

She looks at me, weighing my words. “Okay. Not that I care but, you know.”

No. I have no idea why she’s trying to get into a pissing match over a guy she’s not even seeing anymore. I almost say as much too, but she cuts me off before I can.

“I still care about him. And the way you walked into the room today, it was like you were a tiger on the prowl.”

I make a face and she rolls her eyes.

“Trust me, I’ve perfected that strut over the years. It’s the I’m a hot piece of woman and every male in this room is going to want me walk.”

I shake my head. “Well, that’s not what I was going for.”

She leans back like she’s sunbathing. “I get that now. You really don’t know what your little sashay did to those poor helpless boys. But you better learn, and quick. Before you have more guys barking up your tree than you can handle.”

She lowers her head, “And do me a favor, keep Carson in the friend zone, okay?”

I’m tempted to tell her exactly what I think of her weird, bullshit request, but from the corner of my eye I see Bruno watching so I just smile and nod.

She nudges me. “Cool. You know, maybe we should hang out sometime.”

“That sounds great.” I almost choke on the words.

Turning back to Bruno I see that tryouts are winding down.

“Wave at him and smile,” Logan demands. He’s sitting behind Leena, staring down her shirt.

Obeying, I wave as subtly as I can, making Bruno break into a grin like nothing I’ve ever seen. You’d have thought I just gave him a million dollars and the key to my chastity belt.

“You’re a natural,” Leena says, sounding remarkably pleased, probably glad I’m flirting with Bruno and not Carson. She stands up, wiping off the butt of her short white shorts with a seductive wiggle and heads over to the field where the team has gathered in a large bunch while Coach Mason makes announcements.