I’m happy because of my time with The Girl. It looks like she is here to stay. But I’m also scared because The Other Guy is still unfolding and pushing my guts around. Beth’s friends are not on the bus today, so she sits across the aisle, her arms tight against her chest. She stares out the window, but once in a while she glares over at me. She thinks I ratted her out to Mom and that’s why she had to endure the humiliation of having Mom come pick her up at the café by the high school where she was sharing an energy drink with Dylan. And then this morning we both had to sit down at the end of the driveway in Mom’s car and wait for the bus to come. It looks like Mom is on a divide-and-conquer mission. I worry that Beth might spill the beans about my medicine. “It’s not my fault,” I whisper hoarsely. But Beth only turns her head slowly and frowns at me again. “I didn’t say anything. Honest.” She turns back to the window. Her fingers clench into a fist and then relax.
