Love and Fame Games (Book 1)

09

"Everything okay, Adrian?" Alex asked in the last remaining minutes of lunch period. She was parked in front of the mirror mounted inside her locker door, freshening up while I kept her company. She turned to me and I met her gaze with a vacant stare. "You seemed really upset earlier at lunch."

"Well, they already explained everything. So it's all good."

"Yeah, but before that, were you mad at me, too?" A slight crease appeared between Alex's eyes. "You know, because I was there."

"What? No," I told her immediately; there was no need to think about it, but she looked unconvinced."

"I should have made you come with me," she said, her voice full of regret.

"It's not that simple..." I leaned back, against the lockers beside hers, and stared at the floor.

"Your parents owe you a trip, anyway." Alex pointed out, and I grimaced, knowing where she was headed with that remark.

"I mean, even if, by some miracle my Mom had said yes-and that's a big if-I don't think I could have gotten ready for that at such short notice..." I paused and frowned. "Ugh."

Where was this calm, rational girl earlier? She could have saved me and my friends a lot of embarrassment and indigestion.

"I mean, my parents leave me home alone all the time, too." Alex continued, oblivious to my epiphany, too preoccupied with fretting over a different matter. "I don't mind because it's for work. Like, who cares, right? But if it's for vacation, and they're taking my sibling..."

"You're an only child." I laughed and tried to lighten the mood. "For the rest of us who aren't so lucky, there's this nasty thing called compromise: It's what we do when we can't get everything we want."

"I know what compromise means, okay?" Alex said, huffing, her volume rising a few notches. "It's not asking for a car when you're already getting a posh vacation. That way, there's enough money for the whole family to go on the vacation."

"Money wasn't the issue," I said, feeling indignant at first, and then guilty about the need to stress that point. Maybe I was a stuck-up bitch, after all. "It was Summer's Sweet Sixteen, not mine. Why should I get a free trip?"

That was how it had been explained to me all those years ago. It made sense at the time; it still did, as long as Alex didn't make a fuss.

Unfortunately, she always did and this time was no exception. I frowned, noticing her mouthing my excuse, word for word.

"I didn't want to go, anyway." I shrugged. "Frankly, I'm glad I didn't."

Alex was a real sweetheart. She was fairly new in town and we were only starting out as friends at the time. I knew it was a big favor to ask, but I needed to find a place to stay for a week at the very last possible minute.

She had opened her doors to me and we had so much fun that I almost wished I could have stayed longer. I didn't dare because my family was at sea and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if that wish actually came true.

I was a pretty paranoid kid.

Still, it had been six years and I would really rather move on from all that unpleasantness. I hated having people feel sorry for me as much as I hated feeling sorry for myself. Especially when the reason for it was so petty.

"No kidding. Your sister's such a grandma." Alex rolled her eyes. She always made a point of acting thoroughly unimpressed with anything that related to my sister. "I bet she just played shuffleboard the whole time."

I hummed instead of saying any more. I was trying to pacify her, not egg her on.

"Meanwhile, you're still car-less at seventeen, and have you ever even been out-of-state?"