DISCONTINUED

Chapter 11

Luna had spoken to Olivia throughout the week, sometimes several times a day and often late into the night. And Olivia had been at Julia's memorial service too. So had Bo. But going back to school and seeing them and all the other kids in such a "normal", familiar setting, when nothing about her life seemed normal anymore, was really hard. Harder than she could have imagined.

After enduring a morning of silent stares, pointed whispers and well-meaning but awkward comments from students and teachers alike, Luna made her way to the cafeteria to meet up with Olivia and Bo at their usual table.

"Hey Lu, how's it going?" said Bo, apologetically grimacing as soon as the words left his mouth. Olivia kicked him under the table. "I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing to say."

Luna just sat there staring at her food, seeming to not even hear what Bo had said. Bo and Olivia exchanged a quick, worried look. After a long period of silence Luna started slowly packing up her food.

"I can't do it guys. I can't stay here. I've got to get away from all of these 'I'm really sad for you but I'm also really glad it wasn't me' faces. I think I'll go down to the beach."

"Well you're certainly not going alone" piped up Olivia. "I'm coming with you."

"Thanks Liv, but I'll be fine, really. Besides, don't you have a biology make-up test after lunch?"

"Shoot! You're right. And I'm just borderline passing that class now. You know what? Screw it. Who cares? My best friend needs me. I'm skipping."

"No Olivia. Don't. You'll fail the class and your parents will kill you."

"She's right Liv" said Bo.

Olivia screwed up her face, knowing that they were right. "Arg. But isn't this more important?" she said, trying to convince herself as much as anyone else. She paused, thinking. "OK, how about this then? Bo will go with you instead."

Luna's heart jumped a little as she hastily argued. "No, no... it's ok guys, I'll be fine" at the same time that Bo was saying "Yea, for sure... great idea. I'll go with you...her. I mean I'll go with you Lu. Happy to."

"Guys, seriously..."

"Stop it Lu. If you're skipping - which, by the way, I happen to think is a great idea - then my Teddy Bear is going with you and that's final."

Olivia gathered her things and stood up to leave. "Now, I'm going to go study for my makeup test. You kids get out of here and enjoy the beach, ok?" She hugged / playfully choked Bo around the neck from behind. "Bo, you take good care of my best friend, you hear? See you later." She kissed him on the cheek and then turned and walked away.

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A half an hour or so later Luna and Bo stepped off the bus. It had been a pretty quiet ride there. Quiet, but not awkwardly so. Bo was always good that way. He wasn't the kind of person that felt the need to fill empty spaces with conversation. She had always liked that about him.

She figured that any apparent uneasiness on her part Bo could and almost certainly would attribute to the fact that she was grieving, which was good because her vow of having no feelings towards him really wasn't going well at all. She really was an emotional wreck... dealing with the loss of her Mom and trying desperately to avoid thinking of her best friend's boyfriend as nothing more than, you know, HER BEST FRIEND'S BOYFRIEND!

As they approached the top of the sand dunes the noise of the surf crashing on shore intensified and a cool, moist breeze swept over them. Bo jumped down a small drop and stopped and held out his hand for Luna.

"Seriously Bo? Have you looked at your hands lately? They're disgusting."

"Hey, gimme a break. You sound like Olivia. She's always complaining about the grease stains that I get on my hands from auto mechanics class. Did I tell you we're working on an old internal combustion engine, trying to get it going again?"