"He's a breath of fresh air. The happiness to my sadness. The calm to my anxiety. He's an equal and opposite force, blocking me from the course of self-hatred I've been hurdling down my entire life."
◊ ◊ ◊
Mikaela Martin is almost certain quarterbac...
"What do you know about Mikaela Martin?" I ask Robbie. I hung around on the field after practice to ask. I'm the king of lingering lately, like some kind of lost puppy.
"Uh, she's friends with Sarah," he replies with a shrug. "Not much. She doesn't really talk a lot."
"Have you ever hung out with her before?" I press.
"Not really. With Sarah a couple times, but I don't think she said much. Why?"
"She's hot."
Robbie blinks a few times. "Huh. Never thought about it. I think she's one of those smart girls who doesn't leave time for fun, you know?"
"Yeah, probably." I think she has a fun side, but I'm not trying to share my Mikaela theories with Robbie. He's been hung up on Sarah Singh for almost two years now.
"She seems nice. Don't do anything to piss Sarah off, like fuck with her nice friend."
"Yeah, yeah." My intentions aren't to fuck with her, or anyone for that matter. Would Sarah or Mikaela see it like that if I started talking to her? Seems like kind of an overreaction. "Can you find out about her for me?" I blurt out.
He raises an eyebrow. "What? No."
"Just find out what she's like. That's all."
"Yeah, Sarah will love if I start asking questions about her friend."
"Just hang around when Mikaela's there. Don't they always have lunch together? Sit with them a couple times."
Robbie rolls his eyes.
"I'll give you fifty bucks," I offer.
"A hundred."
"Seventy-five."
"Deal, you fucking weirdo."
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A week later, Robbie's back with details. Shitty details. I definitely didn't get my money's worth, but it's more information than I had before.
"There's not a lot, but here you go," Robbie starts. "She loves animals. I think she works at the animal shelter on weekends."
"She volunteers," I correct.
"See? You didn't need me," Robbie mutters.
"No, keep going."
"Uh, she likes math. And reading. Her mom sounds kind of annoying. She hates Mrs. Payne. She calls her Mrs. Painful. She's really nice. She gets more talkative with her friends." He sighs. "This is weird."
"I paid you," I remind him.
"Fine. Yeah, she's nice. She hates sports. She full-on panics before gym. I kind of feel bad, actually."
I'm in her gym class. I wonder if I can change that.
