Ace of Hearts

8| a paycheck's a paycheck

    I clutch my books to my chest as Nyara and I walk through the school parking lot. We're walking slowly, because I can see my car in the distance and I'm not yet ready to go to work.

    Nyara is rambling about an argument she got into on a tiktok comment section. I'm nodding, trying to think of how to mention the baby shower news to her without mentioning anything that will break her rule about discussing Ace.

    There's no way to tell the story without mentioning him... it's about him. But, I can't make it look like I dislike him too much, or she'll get mad at me.

    "So," I say, "not to cut you off, but Anson and Indie wanted me to thank you for the card."

    "Oh!" She exclaims, clearly she has forgotten about that.

     "They're having a boy." I tell her with a grin.

    She stops walking for a second.

   "Wow."

  I know, right.

   I start walking again. Her arm bumps into mine. "So, how did the shower go?" She questions.

    Here's my chance.

   "It went good, but something big happened." My voice trails off when I think about how to proceed.

    Her soulful, dark eyes look worried.

   "Ace is moving in with Anson and Indie."

    "What?!" She nearly chokes. Her hand covers her mouth.

    I let my news sink in.

    "Is.. is this a joke?" She stutters. I shake my head gravely.

    "It's true." I sigh, "Ace is the little brother of Indie's friend Caroline. And Caroline is engaged to Bryce, Anson's and Indie's so-close-he-could-be-a-brother, best friend."

    "This is insane!" Nyara hisses. Her tight ringlets bounce, as if to accent her words.

    I nod. "Dislike aside," I admit, "I feel weird about it."

    "I don't blame you." She exhales. I notice we have finally made it to the parking spot my car sits in. We stand next to it.

    "You spend a lot of time at your sister's, don't you?"

   I nod quickly. "Yeah- my mom works like crazy. She's hardly ever home, so of course I crash at Anson and Indie's."

   "Having Ace there is gonna make that difficult."

    Exactly. She totally gets it.

   "I mean- he's the quarterback. He's probably one of the most popular kids in our school!" I exclaim, "how do I act normal after seeing him strut around in the hallways so much?!"

    She gives me an uneasy shrug.

    "I don't get it." I lean against my car. "First, there's the writing contest. Then, the party incident. Finally, the baby shower. What's next?"

    Nyara bites her lip. "Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something?"

    The universe. I make a pssshht noise.

    "The universe needs to lay off!"

   "Don't say that." She warns me, "it can hear you."

    "I don't care." I tell her, "Ace Abbot is invading my life,