The Life I'm Running From

46\ The Life I'm Choosing

The school bell rang, a noise so sweet and so perfect. The whole class stood up, packing up their books and pencils, despite Mr. Bluffe's attempts to get us to wait one more minute. We were out of there, and I was not sticking around. Because technically, Easter vacation had started. And I wasn't going to waste one second of it in a cold fluorescently-lit classroom.

The hallways were chaos, but I kept pace. My backpack was bumped and I was nearly hit in the head with one kid's skateboard. Two girls were shrieking for joy. The teachers were packing up their things, hurrying out of here even faster than us. Except for Mr. Bluffe. He just looked sad that no one stuck around.

The guy I had a locker beside was just leaving when I arrived, meaning his face would continue to be a mystery to me. Oh well. I spun the dial, and unlocked my locker. A sheet of paper fell out, landing beside my fake Vans.

Before it was trampled by some junior with muddy sneakers, I bent down to grab it. The paper was folded into neat quarters, with my name scrawled on the outside. I smiled. His penmanship was unmistakable to me.

Hey. Can't wait to see you later. Sorry I couldn't meet you now, there was a little trouble down on 27th street. I promise I'll be back in time. Does it matter what I wear? Should I wear something certain? I should've asked you earlier. Well, if I need to wear something, text me. My number is You know my number. Well have a good day afternoon.

Peter (your boyfriend)

I bit my lip to stop myself from laughing. After putting away my textbooks—we all knew I wasn't studying over the break—I texted him back.

You're a dork. And no, you don't need to wear something certain. Also I'll kill you if you're late. It seemed a little harsh, so I added a winky face at the end.

The hallways were still busy with all of the students rushing home, so I closed my locker and leaned back on the cool metal. My hair got stuck in one of the hinges, and I yanked it out. As I rubbed my scalp, I watched the people passing.

Bradley Quinton walked past, grabbed a girl I'm sure he didn't know, and kissed her. The girl brought her knee into his crotch. Hard. As he reeled back, I whooped out loud. The girl looked around and saw me, so I gave her a thumbs up. She deserved all the compliments in the world for retaliating against Bradley.

After Bradley limped away, Gwen Richards and Zoe Lucky walked past. I hadn't seen Zoe since we'd been partners in Physics. I'd never really talked to Gwen either, except when I hung out with Neha.

Last week, Percy and Annabeth had left New York. They wanted to stay—Percy said his college classes were killing him—but they were taking Neha to Camp Half-Blood. After the explosion on the street she agreed with us that she needed training. It took some convincing to get her father on board, but she was now going to stay at Camp Half-Blood for the time being.

Of course Percy hadn't left before violently threatening Peter so much that Peter didn't even look at me for the following hour, until I cornered him and reminded him why he liked me. He forgot about Percy after that.

I fixed my backpack's shoulder strap, smiling happily. Passing through the hallways in front of me now was Devin. I raised my hand to wave—but then I saw Carter and Harley.

My eyes followed them subtly as they walked through the hallway. Harley was laughing at something Carter had said, and I could see a streak of Taylie's makeup on Carter's face. It reminded me of hanging out with them, in Harley's car and around the city. Out of everything I had lost from the breakup that hurt the most.

Just when I thought they would pass without seeing me, Harley turned his head. His dark brown eyes stayed on me, and his feet stopped moving. Carter and Devin asked him what he was doing, until they saw me. Harley ran a hand through his hair—just like he had done since the day I knew him. This time it wasn't out of embarrassment, flirtiness, or happiness. It was out of frustration, which he used to mask his pain. I didn't want to see the pain in his eyes. But it was there.