Biography of Someone Else

Chapter 8: Totally Not Listening

I don't like group projects. We got one in social studies today, but luckily we got to chose groups. Usually I get stuck with do-nothings and then I have to do the whole project. Since we got to pick our groups though, I'm with Kira since we're in the same class. And Jae. I didn't notice he was in that class until today. Kira and I were just going to try for a group of two instead of the recommended three, but Jae was going to get stuck in a random group anyway so he came by us. I don't know what happened to all his friends. It seems like just last week everyone wanted to be his friend, the way people are with new kids before they pick friends and make enemies.

Come to think of it, he's been talking to me even more lately. He talked to me in math on Monday, and almost walked with me after before realizing his class was the other way. And then today he joined our project group. Not that I'm keeping track or anything. Something must have happened to his other friends, or maybe that all was just chatter from his being new. Either way, it seems like a lot of people avoid him like the plague. It's weird. Maybe Kira knows if something happened. I'll have to ask her, just not when Jae is around.

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Isaiah and Palmer sitting at our table has become a common occurrence. Gracie and Isaiah always sit next to each other and make goo goo eyes, while Palmer and I just try to awkwardly not look at them. It's better when Kira is here, because at least she never runs out of conversations. Today is one of those days.

After she tells four funny band stories, talks about three school relationships on rocky ground, and shows me a bunch of cool quote pictures, I finally remember that I have a question for her.

"Hey Kira."

"Hmm?" she asks absentmindedly, her thoughts surely elsewhere.

"I was wondering..."

She snaps out of her thoughts and pays me more attention, narrowing her eyes. "You're going to ask me something about Jae, aren't you?"

"Wait, what?" She gives me her signature I-know-you're-lying look to stop my protests. "How did you know?"

"A little bird told me you were interested in him."

"Gracie?"

"Yup."

I shoot her a halfhearted glare even though she's too busy staring into Isaiah's eyes to notice. "I'm not interested," I mumble, even if I'm not sure how true it feels.

"Sure, sure. Whatever you say Stella. Whatever makes you feel better."

"So anyway, as I was going to ask you, why does everyone hate him all the sudden? What did he do?"

Kira blinks in surprise. "You mean you don't know?"

I shake my head. "You're pretty much the only person I know who is in the gossip chain."

She laughs. "Oh, I can't believe you don't know! This is great. So-" She cuts herself off, looking surprised at something behind me. I turn around to see, and there he is. The topic of our conversation. And he seems to be coming right for our table.

Before I know it, he's at my side. "Is this seat taken?" he asks quietly.

"No," I say, surprised he's sitting by us.

Apparently, one of the only things that can snap Gracie out of staring into her boyfriend's eyes is the prospect of fangirling over her friend's relationship. It takes her a moment to register the situation, but once she realizes what's going on, I can tell she's trying hard not to go into fangirl mode.

"Hi," he says.

"Hi, I reply. Neither of us really has anything to say after that, so we just eat our lunches quietly.