Unforgettable by Loretta Ellsworth Page B

instant relief. My stomach is no longer queasy and everything is okay, even the fact that I’m a Peeping Tom and totally unworthy of her.
    She reminds me of Daisy at that moment, so I respond the way Fitzgerald would have written it in Gatsby . “The whole school is desolate. They were planning to paint their notebooks black until you returned.”
    She removes her hand. My skin tingles at the memory of her touch.
    Halle scrunches up her nose. “You’re kind of odd sometimes, Baxter.”
    I flash a blank look back. Did she see me peeking in her window yesterday?
    Then her eyes turn playful. “Want to go out to lunch with me?”
    â€œWe have different lunch periods. I have second and you have third.”
    â€œAnd your point is?”
    â€œYou want me to …?”
    â€œSkip.” The word rolls off her tongue like a challenge.
    I let out a nervous laugh.
    â€œDon’t tell me you’ve never skipped before.”
    I think back to my days with Coyote. A private tutor is best left unmentioned. “I was homeschooled for the last three years,” I say instead. “It’s hard to skip there.”
    She shakes her head. “See what you’ve missed? It’s absolutely expected in high school. What classes do you have after lunch?”
    â€œPhys Ed and Lit.”
    Mrs. Ball makes a shushing sound as she writes on the board. Halle sits down and murmurs, “Everyone skips Phys Ed. And you can definitely skip Shaw’s class. Meet me in the south parking lot at twelve-thirty.”
    Like a gypsy who’s satisfied with the spell she’s cast, Halle opens her book and doesn’t so much as glance my way the rest of the period. I spend the entire morning in a nervous rush, weighing the consequences of skipping. But the debate going on in my head isn’t a fair one. I’m going to skip; I can’t deny the pull Halle has on me. If it was anyone but her I wouldn’t do it. I’m too much of a wimp.
    But there are other things to consider. Mom, if she finds out. My teachers, who already think I’m a slacker because I barely take notes, and even though I’m getting better grades, I’m still careful not to ace my quizzes. And there’s the concern that Halle and her friends are a bit on the extreme side. Eddie seems like a hothead, and if Halle really smashed in a pop machine in junior high, what’s to say that smashing down a taconite-plant fence won’t soon follow? I was released by the police because I ratted out Dink and I was only twelve years old. But I don’t need unnecessary attention.
    At 12:28 I stand outside the door and lean against a brick wall warmed by the sun, trying to look like I’m waiting for a ride, like I’m supposed to be here. I’ve never cut class before, and never had a girl invite me to lunch, either. Two firsts. I’m not sure how to act. Is this a date? Should I pay? I only have ten dollars on me.
    Halle bursts out the door with a bright smile on her face, as if skipping school is the best thing in the world. She looks at me and clicks her tongue. “If it will make you feel better, we’ll talk about Gatsby during lunch. Then you won’t feel so guilty.”
    â€œIs it that obvious?”
    â€œCompletely,” she says and her voice sparks of glee. “Come on.” She pulls me up a grassy hill toward a street leading downtown. I don’t know where we’re going but I don’t really care. Carefree . The word flits through my mind, making a new connection.
    â€œWere you sick yesterday?” I ask.
    She shakes her head. “Sick, tired, burned out. I know; it’s only the second week of school.”
    â€œWhy do you hate school so much?”
    â€œI don’t hate it. I’m just not all that into it. When I was a little girl I was so excited to go to kindergarten. I thought it was going to be this great adventure I’d heard my sister