"Mr. Clark," the high school principal called out as she peeked her head into the teacher's classroom while he was packing up at the end of the school day. "I'm going to need you to take over Ms. Lewis's class during your prep period again tomorrow. I still haven't been able to find a sub."
"What about Mrs. Wilton?" he asked.
"I tried her, but she said no," Ms. Johnson shrugged before walking away.
Mason frowned. Alma had seemed to enjoy her time subbing at the high school before her long-term position came to an end. He wondered if her refusal to come back had to do with him and the kiss they shared after the winter play. Feeling guilty, he knew he was going to have to set things right.
* * * * *
"I cannot get used to the way you look," Maura said to Judith as they ran into each other in the hallway. She almost walked by her best friend without recognizing her. Judith's usually mousey light brown hair had been crimped and dyed a hot pink ombre and her eyes were heavily made up with dark eyeshadow and liner. "I kind of love it though. But I bet your parents didn't."
"Oh, they hate it so much," Judith replied, barely suppressing her amusement. "They insisted I change it back immediately, but they were afraid too much bleaching and dying would make my hair fall out, so they have to wait until it grows out on its own."
"I hope you like it enough to keep it for that long."
"I do like it," Judith said honestly. The stares and whispers of some of her classmates had her feeling overly conspicuous and self-conscious, but her new look made her feel like a whole new person. Sure, some of her classmates were making fun of her, but others who had never noticed her before were suddenly nodding to her in the hallway and saying hello. She was determined to be the kind of person who didn't care what anyone else thought, especially her parents.
"I'm glad it was worth it. How long are you grounded for this time?" Maura sighed.
"Two more weeks. I'm just glad they let me stay after school while Jeremy is at basketball practice, so I can delay going home as long as possible."
"Okay, I'm going to need you to stop getting grounded. Natalie and I are planning a birthday party, and I need my best friend to be there."
"When is it?"
"We're still working on a date. I'm going to check with Jeremy this afternoon to see which evenings he has free before we can decide. He's always so busy, it seems like I never get to see him anymore, so I have to make sure that he can make it to the party. It is super important."
* * * * *
Julian was on his way to the gym when he ran into Meghan in the front hallway. When he saw her, he couldn't help smiling.
"Hey," he said casually. "How have you been?"
"Good. I'm just waiting to see where we can have our dance rehearsals since boys' basketball has taken over the gym."
"Sorry about that. I'm on my way to practice now. It's good to see you." He felt awkward admitting that he was happy to see her, but the way Meghan's face lit up with his words made it worthwhile. "It's weird not seeing you - and your dad - at the house every day."
"Yeah, I know," she agreed.
"How are things at your mom's?"
"It's good. I mean, I liked living at my dad's with you and my cousins nearby, but I'm glad to be with my mom again."
"That's cool," Julian replied. He wondered if it would be weird to tell her that he missed her or to invite her to hang out sometime, but before he could decide, Meghan's attention was drawn away by someone calling her name.
Meghan waved to her friend, Jasmyn, who was beckoning her over. "It looks like we found a place to practice. Got to go. See you around."
"Yeah, see ya." Julian watched as Meghan walked away. He couldn't deny that he was disappointed that she had seemed eager to take off so soon. He found himself wishing she could have stayed around to chat a little longer.
Before Julian could walk away, someone called out his name. He looked up to see Sara coming down the stairs.
"Hey, long time no see." She took pause, noticing the dejected expression on his face. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, yeah," he said, trying to look and sound more cheerful, but his eyes betrayed him as he glanced toward Meghan and Jasmyn, who were laughing and chatting as they walked away.
"I'm glad I ran into you," Sara said. "I owe you an apology. We've all been acting like jerks these past few months, especially towards Meghan."
"Maybe you should apologize to her then."
"I might," Sara said, taking him up on the suggestion. "Ever since Melanie started dating the star of the football team, she's been all about hanging out with his senior friends and has no time for anyone outside of their sphere. Now I understand what we must have put Meghan through earlier this year. Losing all my friends probably serves me right."
"Do you still hang out with Elden?"
"Ugh, no. We mostly tolerated him because he was your friend. With you out of the group, it just fell apart. I feel like all of my friendships are gone."
"Me too," Julian admitted sadly.
"If I promise to try and be a better person and nicer to people like Meghan, do you think you and I could hang out again?"
Julian studied Sara as if seeing her for the first time. They had known each other for years, but always as a part of a larger group. Melanie seemed to be the force that kept them in each other's orbit. Without Melanie around, maybe they could get to know each other better. "Yeah, I'd like that."
* * * * *
"This is amazing," Mr. Gregory said as he flipped through Vince's art portfolio. "Great work."
"Thanks."
"You could seriously submit this to any art school you want, and you would have a good chance of getting accepted. How are your grades in your other classes? Are you passing and making up your missing credits?"
"I'm working on it," he promised.
"We all want to see you graduate this spring," Mr. Gregory said as he walked Vince to the hallway. "Make your mom and your sister proud."
Natalie ran up to Vince as soon as she saw him in the hallway.
"How did it go?" she asked eagerly. "Did he like the portfolio?"
"He did."
"I'm not surprised. You are really talented."
"Thanks again for helping me put it all together."
"No problem." Planning a birthday party and going through Vince's artwork wasn't how she had planned to spend her weekend, but she enjoyed staying over at Vince and Maura's house and spending time with both of them. "I was wondering if you would do some artwork for the yearbook. We still need a cover."
"I could try," he agreed.
"Great." Natalie fell in step next to Vince as he walked down the hall. "I know I keep saying it, but thanks for rescuing me last weekend."
Vince sighed. "You really shouldn't be thanking me."
"Of course I should. I'm glad that you were there for me."
"Maybe you shouldn't be," Vince snapped, his tone coming off more harsh than he meant it to be. She had been looking at him so admiringly, like he had longed for her to look at him since the beginning of the school year, but now it just made him feel guilty. The startled look on her face when he snapped at her made him feel even worse. As much as he wanted to keep spending more time with her, he knew what he had to do. "I'll work on some ideas for the yearbook for you, and I'll probably see you around when you're hanging out with my sister, but I don't think we should hang out together."
"Oh," she said quietly. Her face fell with disappointment, and she slowed her pace, falling a few steps behind him.
He turned forward, unable to look at her. "I'm sorry," he mumbled as he continued to walk on without her. He closed his eyes tightly for a moment, steeling himself. He hated to do this, but he knew it was for the best.
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