How Many Heroes

3- Tips

  "So we have a pop quiz today, a massive project due Monday, and three quarter finals next week?" Jesse whispered to me. "I knew it. They're trying to kill us."

I couldn't help but laugh. Usually all that schoolwork would make me crumple with stress, but I would do that later. Today was a good day- a Friday with blue skies and classes that seemed to pass blissfully quickly. After school, Maria, Hathaway, Jesse, Luke, and I would be going to Buffer's, the family-owned diner, a few blocks from my house.

"Jesse, is there something you would like to say to the class?" Ms. Smith called from the front of the class, frowning in our direction.

"No, Ms. Smith," he said, throwing her a sweet smile. When she turned around, he made a finger gun and pointed it at his head.

Rolling my eyes, I picked up my pen and tried to actually pay attention. Aside from a few sparse notes, there were only Jesse's doodles on my page. Jesse, however, had no interest in listening to the lecture; he shoved his note paper over mine and wrote: DO U NEED A RIDE.

I shook my head. No doubt he'd be riding in Hathaway's red Bentley, and I didn't want that kind of attention. Jesse flicked his shiny black hair and gave me a your-loss-not-mine look that made me laugh.

The bell rang and the class erupted in the familiar uproar that signaled the end of the day. Knowing my discomfort in large crowds, Jesse hung back with me for a while as I slowly packed my stuff, then we went to the small parking lot together.

Hathaway was already in his car, somehow looking cool and flustered at the same time. Speech and Debate was his last class, so he probably had gotten in a heated debate with some poor student and still needed to work off steam.

"Hey Beth," he said when he saw me. "You're still on for Buffer's, right?"

"Yeah. I'll see you at six," I said as Jesse got in the car.

"Bye Beth!" Jesse said as they drove off. Through the back window of the car I could see Jesse waving his arms wildly as he told Hathaway some facet of his day.

A horn honked behind me. Turning, I saw my mom gesturing at me in our little Toyota. I got in, still feeing oddly happy.

"How was your day, sweetheart," my mom asked.

"Not bad," I said.

When we got home, I roamed around my house, not really doing anything until a quarter to six. Then I changed into what I hoped was a fun outfit and got into my mom's car.

At six sharp my mom dropped me off on the corner before Buffer's, the agreed meeting place. Everyone was already there but Luke. Already I could hear Maria and Hathaway arguing about who was paying for the dinner.

"I don't need your charity. I can pay for my damn self," Maria said vehemently.

"Stop twisting my words! I'm taking you out, so I'm paying! You probably haven't heard of this, but it's called manners," Hathaway said.

"You're not 'taking me out', the five of us are just hanging out-"

"Well, it was my idea so-"

"Guys!" Jesse interrupted. "How about this: Hath pays for dinner, Maria covers the tip, and the rest of us enjoy free food."

I burst out laughing. The three of them turned at stared at me, evidently not realizing I had arrived.