Broken Beautiful Hearts

15. Warriors

The front office is small and cozy. Framed motivational quotes written and looped calligraphy and a collection of Beanie Babies crowd the counter. Cam chats up Miss Lonnie, the grey-haired lady behind the counter while she hunts for my schedule. The rosy circles of blush on her cheeks match her silk blouse perfectly.

I tune out until Ms Lonnie says something that grabs my attention. "I hate to say it but I'm worried." She toys with one of her huge pearl earrings, "A team without a quarterback isn't any different than having no team at all."

I don't remember anyone getting injured at Friday night's game, not that I saw much of it. With all the football talk afterward, wouldn't the Twins have mentioned it?

"Only thing worse would be a team without its linebackers," Cam says.

"Always looking for a pat on the back." She shakes her head at him. "Know your worth, Cameron. Don't rely on other people to remind you."

He looks away.

"Did the quarterback on your team get hurt?" I ask, rescuing my cousin from an awkward moment.

"Everyone on the team is fine as far as I know," Cam says. "Why?" I drop my backpack on the floor. The extra weight - which isn't much since I don't have any books - has my knee aching. "She was talking about an injured quarterback. Was he from your team?"

Miss Lonnie smacks her hand on the counter and cackles. "No. He's the quarterback on my fantasy football team."

Fantasy football? Is she serious? This woman must be pushing 75.

"It wouldn't be fun if you win every year," Cam teases.

"It would be for me." She thumbs through the papers in front of her, plucks out of thick white card, and pushes it across the counter. "Here's your class schedule. Cameron knows where to find everything, since he's always roaming the halls when he's supposed to be in class."

The rotary phone on the counter rings. Miss Lonnie removes her gigantic clip-on earrings before she answers it. She shoos us out with a wave. "Black Water High School, how can I help you?"

I scan my schedule as we leave the office. Precalculus first, followed by AP English, chemistry, and lunch. European history and photography round out the afternoon. Who chose these classes? I don't know anything about photography, and precalc first period Requires being alert at eight o' clock in the morning.

Cam reaches from my schedule. "Let me see."

I turn away before he snatches the paper. "I'm reading it."
He circles behind me and reads over my shoulder. "I want to see which classes you have with me or Christian."
I rattle off my schedule. "Happy now?"

"You don't have any classes with either of us. Just lunch, l" he complains.

"Are you worried that I can't find my way around to this gigantic campus?" Knowing Cam, it's probably true.

I follow him around the corner to the vending machines, which are so old they don't take credit cards. Cam hunts and his pockets for change. One machine is stocked with package donuts and baked goods and the other one is full of candy and chips.

"No soda machine?" Weird.

"We've got to at the end of the hall. When the machines were delivered, the building supervisor, Mr. Kent, Wasn't paying attention. He didn't notice where the delivery guys put them until after they left." Cam finds some change in his jacket and drops the coins into the slot. "Now he pretends this is where he wanted them all along."

I glance down the hall.
Owen is standing at a soda machine.

He's wearing earbuds and he seems oblivious to the noise around him. He pushes up the sleeve of his thermal, punches a number on the vending machine, and then down to grab a soda out of the compartment. Is forearm is covered with dark patches.