Page 73 of On His Schedule
I put the spoon in my mouth and nod. She stares at me like she doesn’t like the sound of it.
She takes the tub of ice cream and scoops. “I don’t know if I like this, Lucy.”
I swallow the ice cream in my mouth. “Like what?”
“That you’re getting close to her brother,” Mara says. Gianna nods with the spoon in her mouth. “Where have you been? G is so overprotective of him ever since––”
Gianna lifts her head with a mouthful and shouts, “Don’t remind me. Please.”
I look between the two of them, scooping out more ice cream across Mara. “I don’t think I heard this story.”
“It was just high school drama,” Gianna mutters. She finishes the ice cream in her mouth and adds, “But just in case I didn’t make it clear, Benson is off limits.”
I nod, understandably, trying to hide the way I want to run and hide. “Of course.”
She turns to the TV, ignoring me now. Mara whispers something about the girls on the screen while my bones tremble. I cannevertell her about the kiss. My God. If I get up and leave the room right now, it’s going to be highly suspicious behavior. Instead, I shovel another spoonful of ice cream into my mouth. I don’t ever want to lose Gianna as a bestie or ruin this friendship right before we graduate. I have to tread lightly; maybe even talk to Benson about whether or not this is worth it. The girl on the TV starts yelling across the room, so my thoughts fall quiet as I watch the drama unfold, thankfully.
For dinner, we order Vietnamese from the place downstairs. Ten minutes later, I’m downstairs at the front door of the restaurant in my sweats and a hoodie with my hair in a low bun, paying for three orders of pho, an order of spring rolls, and an order of vermicelli with grilled chicken because Mara cannot pick a single meal and has to combine.
We carry it upstairs. Gianna puts the ice cream away and clears off the coffee table. We open the containers, and the steam comes up, and the apartment smells like broth and basil. Gianna turns the lights down so the only light in the living room is the lamp by the bookshelf and the glow of the TV. We turn the show back on and settle in to eat.
Gianna has chosen a couple to be invested in and has started shushing Mara during the confessional segments. I’m holding a spring roll in one hand and laughing so hard my eyes are watering. In this episode, the couple she’s invested in gets shattered right at the end. She won’t stop hitting Mara.
“Mara!”
Mara says, “I see it!”
“Why is he so stupid?”
I say, “He is — wait, what is he—”
She scoffs. “He is going to ruin his entire week.”
“Oh.”
“There he goes.”
He ruins everything, so Gianna pauses it to talk our ears off about how he’s a charming narcissist. We listen and nod in agreement. With the show paused, Mara takes this moment to go to the bathroom, and Gianna turns to me on the couch as soon as the bathroom door closes.
“Your face looks so much better.”
“Yeah. It feels better.”
“Did you end up telling my brother about it?”
When she asks, my heart rattles. I can’t help but notice that she keeps sayingmy brotherinstead of his name. “Yeah, I did.”
“What did he say?”
Are we talking boys now? I feel uncomfortable as she watches me. “He told me that Percy puts mango chunks in the punch.”
She snaps her fingers. “I knew it. From now on, you’re going to be on all their radars.”
Guilt consumes me. I know I just said I can never tell her, but I should. I absolutely should tell her that Benson kissed me. I open my mouth to say it, and then Mara runs into the room and sits between us.
She shouts, “Turn it back on.”
The moment’s gone, and I go red. I eat a spring roll and then lean back on the couch, thinking about seeing Benson tomorrow. I need to talk to him.
