There were leather chairs just outside the store by the escalators. I plopped down on one and waited for Mom.
“You guys stay here,” a familiar girl’s voice said. “I’ll be right back. I mean it. Don’t go anywhere.”
I turned my head and saw Tony, his sister, and some guy I didn’t know.
Tony’s sister ducked into the coffee shop. Tony and his friend headed over to the seats, shoving each other off balance and laughing like it was the funniest thing in the world.
When he got a few feet away, Tony noticed me. “Oh, hey,” he said. I couldn’t tell if he was happy to see me or surprised or what.
“Hi,” I said.
The kid next to Tony snickered and punched his shoulder. “Who’s your girlfriend?”
Tony looked as uncomfortable as I felt. “Uh. This is just Eliza,” he said. “Not my girlfriend.”
I turned to the stranger. “Who are you?”
“This is Kevin,” Tony said. “He’s on the basketball team.”
“Did you go to a different school?” I asked Kevin. He didn’t look familiar.
“He’s gonna be an eighth-grader,” Tony explained.
An eighth-grader? Wow. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised. Everyone liked Tony. He was cool.
He didn’t look so cool at the moment, though. Tony shifted from foot to foot and kept looking back and forth between me and Kevin. Why was he nervous?
It suddenly occurred to me Tony was trying to impress Kevin. Trying out for the basketball team was really important to Tony, and maybe Kevin was helping him practice. Maybe Tony thought I’d do something embarrassing. He’d never cared what people said about me before, but maybe it was different now.
I decided to show him he had nothing to worry about. I could act casual. That’s what friends did in a pinch. Even friends who were mad at each other.
“So how’s the taekwondo class going?” Tony asked.
I shrugged. (Shrugging was casual. Right?) “Good,” I said. “How ’bout your class?”
“It’s fun,” Tony said. “Um, anything else interesting going on?” he asked.
“Nope.” I was so proud of myself for not rambling on about the miniature cakes and seeing Sweet Caroline at the festival.
Tony looked around. “You here by yourself?” he asked.
I pretended to be looking at something over his shoulder. “I’m waiting for my mom.”
Tony motioned to Kevin. “We’re waiting for my sister.”
I stopped myself from saying I already knew that. See. I could be cool when I needed to be. This was going so well! I hoped Tony appreciated it.
Kevin sighed. “Come on,” he said as he tugged on Tony’s sleeve. “Let’s go down and get samples at the cheese shop before your sister comes back.”
Tony hesitated and looked at me. “Well, see ya,” he said.
I tried to remember what Sam and his friends said when they were saying good-bye to each other. “Whatever,” I said. As soon as it was out of my mouth, I knew the word I was really looking for was later. But I hoped it was close enough. I’d tell Tony I was sorry for messing it up when I went to his birthday party.
Tony let Kevin pull him onto the escalator. Right before the two of them disappeared, I got a glimpse of Tony’s face. I don’t know why, but something about his expression made me feel sad.