How to Fall Apart

Chapter Fourteen

Alissa wasn't at school on Monday and didn't answer any texts. I realized it was the first day I hadn't had some kind of contact with her since that day she approached me at lunch several months before. It seemed like nearly a third of the school was out with a nasty stomach bug so I just figured she was home sick.

In English class Mr. Mason announced a partner project. He seemed pretty excited about it, way too excited for an English assignment but no more excited than Ms. Rylie was about art. But I liked art so I had been excited right along with her. I did not like English so much.

I had been working on a few ideas for the mural and was feeling confident that my design stood a chance of being chosen by the faculty. Thinking about it made me want to fast forward through English and right on to Art. Especially with Alissa being gone, I'd be eating alone.

We had been studying Shakespeare in English and Mr. Mason announced that we would be rewriting a scene from a Shakespearean play in a new setting. I'd always hated group and partner projects for two reasons. First, I wasn't really much of a people person and I had to find time outside of class to work with someone else that I didn't want to be around in the first place. And second, I hated relying on others for my grade. However, before I had too much time to worry about it Nate leaned over toward me with a raised eyebrow.

"Partners?" He asked. I didn't say anything at first, I was a little surprised. Nate had other friends in the class and yet he sat next to me every day and asked me to partner up with him on this project. That part, at least, I could understand. His buddies in the class seemed to be the stereotypical jocks that might not pull their weight in the assignment. But there were also girls like Lily something or other who was sitting on the other side of him waiting to catch his attention. I was pretty sure with the way she was looking at him she'd do the whole assignment for him. But he'd asked me and he was waiting, eyebrow raised in question so I finally just nodded. I was rewarded with a flash of his dimple. A few minutes later Lily asked him, in many more words than had just secured our partnership.

"So, Nate. I was thinking," she smiled and batted her heavily mascaraed eyelashes at him, "we could be partners. I love Shakespeare and I know you're busy with basketball so I could probably do a lot of the work." She was really selling herself hard. I cringed, he needed to put her out of her misery already.

"Oh, yeah, um..." he ran his hand through his hair and puffed up his cheeks, blowing the air out in a kind of sigh. "Sorry, I already asked Veda." I tried to keep my victory smile modest. Not that it meant anything, I reminded myself. It was an English assignment, not prom. And it wasn't like I was even interested in Nate, I already had a semi non boyfriend.

Alissa was MIA again on Tuesday. I almost got busted in chemistry trying to text her but she didn't reply, just like the day before. When I'd talked to Kenny I'd asked him if he knew where she was but he said he hadn't seen or talked to her either. I'd been about to ask him if her car was home but he hurried to get off the phone before I could.

In English class Nate and I went through scenes from A Midsummer Night's Dream to figure out which scene we wanted to rewrite. Each pair had been given a different play and I was happy with the one we were given as it was one of the only Shakespeare plays I'd already read. The assignment was due in the middle of the following week but we decided to get together the next day to just get it done. There was no school because of Thanksgiving break and I was supposed to just go home with Carly after we worked the open to four shift at Dairy Queen and one of them would take me home after Nate and I finished.

I had to work after school and on my way I tried to call Alissa. Her phone went straight to voicemail. She always had her phone on and on her, I didn't think a flu bug would change that. I was starting to worry.