Me & Mine

11. The Art of War

"I'm sorry I didn't call you yesterday," I plea. Harley is standing right in front of me, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised. I take some books from my locker and slam it shut. Before putting the books in my bag I take out a small box from the local bakery. "But I come bearing gifts," I say, opening the box in front of her face. Her body relaxes and she greedily takes the box from me. "You brought me donuts!" She chirps, and I smile. "Which I will devour alone," she adds, her face stern again, "as your punishment for breaking your promise." My heart skips a beat and I widen my eyes at her. Which of the two promises? Does she know? How could she know?

"Next time you bail on late-night telephone conversations, donuts won't do the trick," she points at my nose and stuffs a donut in her face. "And you still owe me a conversation!" She says with her mouth still full. I smile at her and tell her about how just-coffee turned into an afternoon of frivolous drinking. I tell her how fun Max and Travis are, how I learned a bit about their past and their friendship, and how I beat Travis in Mario Kart. I tell her everything that happened but the story of The Great Gatsby. Somehow, and I can't rationalize why, I want that part of the evening to be just mine.

"I must admit," Harley says while walking to our class, "that does sound quite lovely. And I forgive you for not calling me sooner." I smile at her and glance at the box of donuts. Harley shakes her head and moves the box away from me. "You still can't have one."

I laugh and put my arm over her shoulder. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

Today is yet another lovely, warm day. The skies are clear and the late summer sun shines brightly on the otherwise quite dull Ridgeview High. I make sure to sit close to the windows in every class that morning, letting the sun warm the back of my head and my shoulders. Harley and I silently plan our little picnic by the lake at the end of the week, most of which involves choosing between three near-identical sets of bikinis and whether to bring white or red wine. Such a summery day begs for a cool, white wine, but since we would not have the means to keep it cool, that could backfire soon.

"You should put it in the water," Max says, putting his bags down on the table behind us. It's third period and Harley and I were so busy talking we didn't even notice him coming in. "Hi," I say softly, smiling at him. He smiles back at me and straightens his light grey jumper. "Goodmorning beautiful," he says, sitting down casually and taking down his books, as if he has no idea that those two words just knocked me off my chair. I feel my cheeks getting red and curse myself for it. This is not the first time a boy called you beautiful, get it together. I notice Harley raising her eyebrows at me from the corner of my eye. I send her a quick "don't you dare say anything about this" widening of the eyes, before turning my attention to Max again. "In the water?" I ask, not really being able to formulate a clearer sentence. He nods. It makes his hair jump up and down. I have to stop noticing stuff like this.

"Yeah, we do it with beer in summer," he says, "the water keeps the bottle cool, just make sure it doesn't float of."

I smile. "See," I gesture to Harley, "he's smarter than he looks." Max smirks and Harley chuckles. She turns to face us and cocks her head to the side. "Actually," she says softly, looking over at Max, "you should join us! If you're free, of course. We're getting together Saturday to go swimming."

I glance over at Harley. Did she really just invite a guy she doesn't like to join our little picnic? For me?

"Hence the white wine predicament," I add hesitantly. Max smiles and nods. "Yeah, if you guys are sure it's okay, I'd love to!" He says. His enthusiasm makes me smile and I think Harley notices too. She nods resolutely. "That's settled then. You will join us and Travis can come too, if he wants. I know he and Amory got along pretty well, before–"