Chase
Allie Jo and I sit on the backseat of the city bus. Everyone knows the best ride is in the back—you get all the bumps. “Thanks for not saying anything about my mom.”
She nods. “How do bees get to school?” she asks. “On the school buzz.” When I don’t laugh, she looks down at her hands, folded in her lap. Then she asks, “What’s it like not having a mom?”
I take a big breath and sigh. “I don’t know.” How would I? Nothing to compare it with. “It’s kind of an empty house, you know. I’m alone a lot.”
She acts like she knows what I’m talking about. “I don’t have a lot of friends either.”
“I didn’t say I don’t have a lot of friends; I said I don’t have a mother.”
Good going, Chase. I can see the hurt in Allie Jo’s eyes.
“Why did the turkey cross the road?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes at me.
“He didn’t,” I say. “He was too chicken.”
“Ha, ha,” she says.
I elbow her. “C’mon, you know you’ll be telling that one later.”
She goes, “I do have friends, you know. Just not a whole bunch. And definitely not those girls we saw.”
“That’s why you wanted to ride the bus, right? You didn’t want those girls to see you. You’re hiding.”
Her mouth opens and an expression crosses her face before she switches on an angry look. Too late; I already saw it—the look of truth.
“You shouldn’t be bothered by them. Why do you even care?”
“Because they’re popular.” Her eyes bug out, like this means something.
The bus stops and picks up two dudes wearing skullcaps and black T-shirts. Warm air whooshes in when the door closes after them. They pass us; one dude nods at me after seeing my skateboard.
“Those girls probably pick their noses when no one’s looking and breathe in each other’s farts.” I crack up. Boogers and butts usually work, but farts are always funny. Allie Jo must be picturing it too because she starts laughing.
“Hey,” she says, “are you coming to Taste of Hope? Sophie will be there.”
“Sophie’s going?”
She smiles. “She’s helping me pass out samples.” Then she slaps her leg. “You should help too! It’s really fun and there’re all kinds of food, which you get for free of course, and some places even give stuff out like little flashlights or key chains and—”
“Yeah, yeah! I’ll come.” It sounds like fun. Besides, “Does Sophie like me?” Oh, dude. You totally blabbed. I try to play it cool, shift my skateboard and stuff. I steal a glance at Allie Jo.
“I can’t tell you,” she says, doing that lip-scrunching thing girls do. “I never tell secrets.”
I nod and don’t say another word, but if she can’t tell me, that means only one thing—Sophie does like me! A weird sensation floods my chest and I suddenly feel like I do when I’m flying off a ramp.
I feel so good, it doesn’t even bother me when we get off at the hotel and Allie Jo’s mom walks off the porch and gives her a hug. It doesn’t bother me at all.