Page 3

Chapter 3

Julia

“Can I do your hair?” Chloe asks, while I lay on my bed, staring at my closet without really seeing anything. The fan creaks a little, spinning fast enough that I’m worried it could fall from the ceiling onto my yellow bedspread. I turn my head so I can see Chloe sitting in the chair in the corner. She’s spinning back and forth, using my desk as an anchor, switching from looking at my shelf to looking out the window.

“Sure. Wanna get me my clothes too? I’m too tired to get up.”

“Tired?” Chloe scoffs. “Try lazy.”

“Fine. I am too lazy, and if I have to get up to pick out my clothes, I’ll use all the drive I have, and I won’t make it to the football game tonight. So if you want me to go, you have to pick out my clothes.”

“Well, with logic like that!” Chloe bounces off my desk chair over to the closet. “Definitely need to go with orange. Duh. School colors.” Chloe spends the next twenty minutes digging through the closet, scoffing and rolling her eyes at most of the outfits.

“Uhm, are you trying to hurt my feelings? If so, you are crushing it,” I say. “There are some super cute things in there. Besides, football game. I don’t need to be fancy. Pass me a school shirt and some jeans.”

“Ha! No. Leave it to me,” Chloe says, as she unearths a denim skirt from the giant pile. I need to clean out my closet, I think as I watch Chloe hold up shirt after shirt.

“Okay. Here you go: jean skirt, school shirt, Converse shoes. Cute, casual, appropriate for a football game. I’m a genius, meeting in the middle. And this outfit will definitely make a certain someone pay attention.” She passes me the clothes and ushers me into the bathroom to change before I can respond. “I’ll heat up the curling iron.”

A few minutes later, I am sitting at the desk in my room, listening to Chloe gush about the boys on the football team while she does my hair and makeup. I want to tell her that I don’t care if Graham notices me, but I know her. First, she’ll say, “If you don’t care, why did you bring it up?” And then she’ll say, “Who said anything about Graham?” I chew on my lip, trying to focus on what she’s saying.

“I love football games—the muscles, the aggression, the tight pants.” She wiggles her eyebrows in the mirror.

“What about the actual sport?” I tease.

“Meh. It’s a means to an end. If it’s the only way I can see those boys, then I’m a fan! Besides, you know that I don’t really like sports. Just boys.” She drops the last piece of hair from the curling iron. “Okay! Beautiful. And you know who else is going to think you’re gorgeous? Grah-am!” Chloe sings his name as she spins me around to see my reflection.

“Well, I am sure he’ll tell me so. And every other girl there,” I grumble, taking in my hair and makeup.

“Why can’t you just admit you like him? I know you do. Just say it. It’ll be cathartic.”

“I don’t. I can’t.”

“You can’t?” Chloe asks. “I am pretty sure you can. Repeat after me. I…” She pauses, waiting for me to copy her.

“I… am not doing this. I can’t,” I huff, frustrated.

“You can’t?” Chloe scoffs.

“Yes, I can’t. Leave it.”

“Ha. Well, your loss. He’s a great guy. I know, I know, you’ve heard it all before,” Chloe says. “But it obviously didn’t stick. He’s awesome and hot. You’re awesome and hot. Match made in high school heaven.”

I turn to pick up my shoes and slowly stand up, feeling my face flush. I quickly bite my lip to stop the smile I can feel coming on, the smile that always appears when I think about Graham.

“Hey, Julia?” Chloe says, after a minute of silence.

“Yeah?” I look up while putting on my shoes.

“You know there’s a mirror right there? I could see your face. That was a very telling smile.” Chloe smirks.

“Julia! Chloe! Let’s go!” Nathan yells from downstairs.

Saved by the brother. Man, I love him.

Chloe and I grab our stuff and chat mindlessly about our day, making our way down the stairs. I smile at Nathan before I see Uncle Kai and Aunty Emily, Graham’s parents, in the living room with my parents. I stand there, waiting for a pause in the conversation so I can say hi.

“Kai, want a soda?” my dad calls, grabbing a Coke for himself.

“Sure,” he calls over his shoulder, eyes still on the television. Uncle Kai and my dad are equal opportunity sports enthusiasts— hockey, baseball, football, soccer, curling—you name it, they’ll watch it.

“Oh! Julia, Chloe, you look beautiful!” Aunty Em gushes, rushing towards us to give us hugs and fix our hair. Does it need to be fixed? I doubt it but that won’t stop her.

“Chloe, what’s your dad up to? Does he want to come watch the game?” Uncle Kai calls from the couch.

Chloe snorts. “You know he’s not into sports. Besides, he’s with my mom.” She rolls her eyes and smirks.

We all know what that means. I’ve never seen a couple more obsessed with each other than the Jameses, and I go to public high school.

Uncle Kai hums. “Maybe next time. We need to hang out with him more. Especially since our kids are all going to fall in love.”

My dad laughs. “Do I really want Graham to date my daughter? I’d rather she date someone me or Nathan could take, in case they break her heart.” It would be hilarious if he was talking about someone that wasn’t me. He’s well over six feet. Add that to his enthusiastic personality and naturally grumpy face, and he can be pretty intimidating. If Uncle Kai wasn’t Hawaiian, I think people would think he and my dad were brothers. He is a really nice guy, truly, but people don’t often get to that point. Graham is no slouch, but just based on size alone, I think my dad would do okay.

“That’s true. Do we really want them to all intermingle? It could make these nights awkward with Em and Theresa trying to make small talk around the elephant in the room.”

“Don’t worry!” Aunty Em interrupts. “I already had a talk with Graham and told him that he needs to be careful because I will not let him ruin this friendship.” She waves her hands between her and my mom to emphasize the point. Nathan, Chloe, and the parents all chuckle but the blood drains from my face. I look at my shoes and clear my throat, forcing out a strangled chuckle. I know they think it’s a big joke, but it’s really not. What if we did date and broke up? It would be awkward. They don’t believe it, but how could it not be? They wouldn’t want to stop spending time together, but since it’d be weird, they would naturally stop reaching out, and their friendship would turn into greetings by the mailbox and when they pull in the trash cans. I can’t let that happen.

“J?” Chloe asks. “You okay?” She’s at the front door, and I see Nathan on the porch, looking at us, obviously waiting for me to move.

“Oh, sorry. I’m coming. Bye parents! Have fun. I hope your team wins,” I call, closing the door behind me.