The Everafter by Amy Huntley Read Free Book Online

wedding.
    That and the rumor I heard earlier today that he’s planning to ask me out.
    By the time I turn around, he’s helping Sandra pick up the mess on the floor.
    “Thanks,” she says as he hands her a pile of papers that’s fallen out of a book. I’m such an idiot. Why am I standing here instead of helping them?
    Useless now. They’re done.
    Gabe turns toward me. As his eyes meet mine, mystomach lurches crazily.
    Gabe says, “So, I hear Kristen and John get back from the honeymoon in a few days.”
    I should be able to handle a few sentences of small talk, right?
    My eyes skitter away from his, and I look to Sandra for help, but she’s kneeling in front of her locker, going through papers on the locker floor. She hasn’t bothered to clean anything in there all year. She’s obviously trying to eavesdrop.
    She’s also obviously not going to bail me out.
    “Yeah,” I say. I’m such a brilliant conversationalist. I scour my brain for things to add to this exchange.
    “Hawaii…wow, what a great honeymoon.”
    “Yeah.”
    “That’s an encouraging streak,” he says.
    “What do you mean?” I ask.
    “A couple of ‘yeahs’ right in a row. Shall I go for another one?”
    Dread descends.
    “So there’s a party this Friday at Allan Redford’s house. Want to go with me?”
    Yeah, I do. Only I can’t say that because I also don’t want to go.
    Sandra’s behind Gabe’s back making go-for-it-girl gestures at me.
    “Well, actually, I can’t. My family has plans and mymother really expects me to be there….” I can tell from his face that he’s not buying it.
    “Oh, well, then. Maybe another time?”
    I swallow and this time manage, “Yeah.” But then feel compelled to add, “Maybe.”
    Gabe doesn’t waste any time getting away from me. “Later, then,” he says, and walks away.
    I turn to face Sandra. The look she’s giving me is even worse than the look my mother gave me when I got caught cheating on a test in fifth grade. “For God’s sake, why’d you do that? Are you crazy? You’ve had a crush on Gabe since, what, like, seventh grade?”
    “Sixth,” I mumbled.
    “Which just makes it worse! What are you thinking?”
    “It’s just, well…it’s—I’m not so sure…. Well, you know how when you’ve been eating something right before you get the flu and then every time you even think about that kind of food—for, like, the next year—you think you’re going to be sick again?”
    Sandra looks at me as if I’m crazy. It takes her a minute to put the pieces together. “Wait. Are you trying to tell me that Gabe makes you feel nauseated? ”
    “Uhmm…yeah? Well, not exactly him. Just the memory of him at the wedding.”
    “Oh, for God’s sake, Maddy. Take some Pepto-Bismol or something. But get over it. That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Sandra slams her locker and glares at me.
    I can’t quite explain everything to her. She wouldn’t understand that Pepto-Bismol might help with the nausea, but it’s not going to help with all the other things that are roiling inside me.
    Like total embarrassment over falling out of my dress in front of Gabe.
    Or fear of picking up a rebound boyfriend and losing him within days—the way I did in eighth grade. Two weeks of going with me was enough to drive Paul back to a girl who’d only been his girlfriend for a couple of months. What chance do I have of keeping a hot guy like Gabe, who’s had the same girlfriend for two years? And, okay, so she’s one of the witchiest girls I’ve ever met. Still, she must have some redeeming qualities if Gabe stayed with her that long.
    And then there’s that awful kiss I shared with Paul back in eighth grade. I’ve kissed a few boys since then, but no one that I actually liked. They were just guys at a party looking for someone to make out with. What if I kiss Gabe and he laughs at me because I’m doing it wrong?
    I’d rather be lonely every Friday night for the rest of my life.
    But