Relying On Ben and Jerry (Waltham #1)

Chapter Forty-One: Uneventful

Norma surprised me by being the one that grabbed me a shook me, screaming, “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?”

“Norma,” Kline giggled, so amused her grin was nearly bigger than her entire face. “Calm down, sweetie. You’re going to kill her.”

“I’m worried!” Norma snapped before turning to me, concern true to form flooded over her face, shining in her eyes, as easy to read as words on a page in the creases of her forehead. “Lena, what’s going on? Why aren’t you all . . . dressed up?”

Since I didn’t really know how to answer her, I just shrugged really lamely.

“Not good enough!” Kline exclaimed, throwing her hands up dramatically. Since we were literally in the middle of the hallway, a hallway that happened to be crowded with a bunch of teenagers, her dramatics was only drawing even more unneeded attention, and I winced as more heads turned curiously in our directions. No one was really recognizing me today, but that hadn’t really been a bad thing until now when my friends were set on me like a bunch of hunting dogs. Kline started closer to me, and I grimaced automatically. “Don’t you make that face at me! I want to know what is going on!”

“You were fine on your date,” Norma began, frowning. “You even had on those adorable yellow rain boots. I don’t understand what made you change your mind.”

“You ran out of school yesterday,” Kline murmured, her face falling as true concern and worry overtook her normally goofy expression. “Does that have something to do with it?”

“Did someone say something to you?”

“If they did, I’ll beat them up.”

“Yeah—we’ll beat them up. I’m tough; I scare people.”

Kline made a face at Norma. “Who do you possibly scare?”

“People at the beach,” Norma replied easily. “Some woman thought I was a ghost, I was so pale.”

The two fist-bumped before turning back to me, their eyes accusatory. I was too busy biting back my laughter at their bantering to think to turn and make a run for it while they were busy, a mistake I would never make again. They had been best friends for a long time, and it showed in the practiced heat of their double glare.

I grimaced. “Guys, I don’t know why you think it is such a big deal.”

“Because this was your Thing!” Kline exclaimed, pulling at her hair. “That was just what you did! You got all dressed up in the coolest outfits imaginable and showed everyone who was boss! You weren’t afraid to make a statement and that was such an amazing thing about you! You were just . . . Lena!”

I frowned.

“Not that you aren’t Lena anymore,” she immediately added, “but now you’re more . . . uneventful.”

“What Kline is trying to say and failing,” Norma said, rolling her eyes, “is that dressing up and mismatching colors and doing all of these dares . . . That was just the Lena it seemed you loved to be, the Lena that you made yourself. Without it, it’s just . . . strange. It’s like you’re not even you anymore.”

I looked down at the floor, gripping at the book in my hand, hoping they couldn’t see the moisture filling in my eyes, the tears I was hoping I would be able to blink back. I didn’t look up until I had chewed on my lip so much I wasn’t even sure if it was there anymore, letting them see my face only when I was sure there weren’t tears tracing down my cheek.

“I’m Lena no matter what I wear or what dares I do,” I told them, frowning, hoping they couldn’t see that it was bothering me. “I’m just Lena.”