The Mayfair Moon by J. A. Redmerski Read Free Book Online Page B

reason, which of them knew more than they were letting on.
    “Maybe they just want to hang out,” said Harry. “We should ask them.”
    Tori’s face scrunched up into an ugly grimace. “Definitely not ,” she scoffed. “They look like trash.”
    Harry frowned. “What does a trash look like exactly?” He and Sebastian glanced at each other privately, agreeing that she had said something that neither favored. “You’re way too judgmental of people, girl.”
    “Whatever, Harry,” Tori snapped back.
    I liked Tori—or, maybe I just tolerated her—but I probably would never have befriended her on my own if she wasn’t already part of the group I hung out with. We may have all been pretty diverse, but she was least like the rest of us.
    “Have any of you ever talked to them?” I said; my first attempt at obtaining some clues.
    “I haven’t,” said Harry. “But I see the girl near my Art class every day.”
    Sebastian reached up and rubbed his temples in a circular motion with his thumb and index finger as if soothing a headache. Tori laid her head in his lap then. Her petit arm, dressed in jingling bracelets came up where she gently brushed the side of his face with her fingers. “Baby have a headache?” she said.
    I think Harry’s eyes almost rolled right out of the sockets.
    Sebastian braced his hands upon the picnic tabletop and leaned his head back further. Her fingers fell away.
    “I’ve never met the girl,” said Julia. “But I’d like to meet that guy standing against the Jeep.”
    Tori and Sebastian left shortly after. Sebastian was the only one among us that didn’t answer my question, so naturally I began zoning in on him. But then again, it was natural for Sebastian to be so apathetic.
    “I told Sebastian that Tori was a handful,” said Harry as we sat on the edge of the skate bowl.
    The Jeep was still parked across the lot, and by now all four of the passengers were sitting on or leaning against it.
    I never really stopped watching them as they watched us.
    “Seriously, Harry,” I urged, “what did you really say about her?”
    “Huh?”
    “Oh, come on,” I said, smirking. “I know guys don’t tell other guys a girl is a ‘handful’. You’re just trying to be polite, which I appreciate, don’t get me wrong.”
    Harry nearly blushed. “Ah, okay, you got me on that one,” he said. “I told him she was a soulless bitch.”
    His posture changed uncomfortably after the B-word. It was apparent that maybe he had been brought up in a super-strict family with good morals and all that stuff. A bit different than my family where curse words were integrated into everyday conversation. Except with me and Alex. Really, it was just mom’s boyfriends that brought in the bad habits.
    “Hey, it’s cool,” I said, “I don’t get offended easily.”
    Harry smiled and left it at that.
    “Sebastian is my best friend,” he said. “He’s a smart guy; I don’t know what he was thinking when he started dating her .”
    “She’s pretty,” I admitted.
    Harry’s expression soured. “If you say so,” he disagreed. “But I think Sebastian’s realizing I was right about her.”
    “What makes you think that?”
    “They’ve been dating for like five months,” Harry said, “but lately he’s not been as into her as much as he used to be.”
    I pictured Sebastian and Tori at lunch and around the school, even just minutes ago. “I don’t know how they were before,” I said, “but now that you mention it; their relationship does seem a little one-sided.”
    Harry’s sour face brightened then. “You see it too?” he said eagerly. “I hoped it wasn’t just me.”
    “No, I think you’re onto something,” I said. “Tori definitely seems more into him than he is into her.”
    A skater zipped up the side of the bowl and landed heavily right next to me with a clack . I jumped and squealed; thankful my fingers weren’t crushed. He smiled apologetically and took off again in a