Linger

S I X T Y - N I N E

"Mads, she won't do anything," Chelsea assured me as we headed down the hallway to our next class.

"How do we know that?"

"Because she hasn't done anything this whole time."

"It's not fair." I hugged my books closer to me as we squeezed between a few seniors who didn't seem in need of oxygen anytime soon. "She just gets too flirt with him all day while I have to keep my distance?"

"That's because anyone could spot from a mile away that Kelsey is basically embarrassing herself at this point." She shrugged. "The chemistry between you two though is undeniable."

"That's not a good thing either." I sighed. 

"Maddie, wait up!" 

Chelsea and I stopped, turning around to see Kelsey rushing up to us. 

"You dance, right?" 

I gave her a curious look. ". . . why?"

"I forgot to ask you in class but we're thinking of doing a little dance routine for prom. We just need a few more spots to fill and thought you might like to be in it." 

I shifted on my feet. "Is Tom somehow involved in this?" I knew I was asking way too many questions but the last time I was involved in a school dance production, it somehow got twisted against me. 

"No!" She shook her head immediately. "Goodness, no. There's no way I can even form a complete sentence around him. Forget dancing." 

The shrill ring of the bell filled the hall, prompting the crowd of students to scramble to their next class. 

"It's just a few of us from the cheer squad but we need more dancers!" she called out as she headed down the hallway. 

"We'll chat more at lunch," I told her with a smile before turning back to Chelsea, excitement already flowing through me at the thought of dancing again. 

"Why would Tom be in a dance show?" Chelsea asked as we made our way down the hallway to English.

"Because every time I get excited for something at school, it seems like he's behind it and ruins it." I sighed.

"No. Sasha ruined it," she corrected. "Tom saved you from her." 

I wrinkled my nose at the truth in her strange sentence. 

She scrunched up her own face. "I never thought I'd say that." 

"Me either." I let out a laugh as we stepped into the English classroom. 

I suddenly stopped in my tracks as my eyes landed on Daniel leaning against the teacher's desk, flipping through our literature book. 

"You're not our English teacher," I blurted out. 

He let out a chuckle as he pushed himself off the desk. "No, I'm not. But for today, I'll try my best." He closed the book. "If you don't like it, hopefully Mrs. Booth would be back tomorrow." 

"No way, dude," a skater boy in the front spoke up, shaking his head. "Anything is better than her." 

"She's a nightmare," his friend next to him chimed in.

"She called me an otter." 

Chelsea rolled her eyes, turning to him. "That was a metaphor." 

"Why are we learning about meteors in English class???"

I looked up at Daniel, giving him a small smile. "We have a long way to go. Good luck." 

He smiled back. "I'm afraid I'm no different."