I pause. “My friend likes Will, so we’re keeping it a secret.”

“Which friend?”

“I can’t say. It’s not my place to tell.”

Dr. Salter uses his intercom. “Marti, please summon Will Whitfield to my office.”

I shut my eyes and wish Mom was here. We sit in silence for three minutes until Will comes rushing in the door. He slows down when he sees me, and drops into the chair next to mine.

“Hello, Dr. Salter. Mr. Shelton.” Will nods at them, then lays a hand on my arm. “You okay?” he whispers.

I nod slowly, relieved that he’s playing the part he doesn’t know he’s cast in. I hate myself for this. Hate. Tears prick my eyes. I sniffle. Then I put pressure on Will’s foot, giving him the only message I can. Help.

The principal starts, “Will, I’m sorry to bring you out of class like this—”

“Tell Dr. Salter the truth,” Dad says. “That you’re dating my daughter. Or maybe even doing more with her. I did catch you in her bed that day.”

My chin bobs against my chest, and I let out a low cry. Poor Will. He doesn’t deserve this.

“We’re not sleeping together. No, sir,” Will says quietly. His face turns the pinkest pink.

I step on his foot harder.

“But yeah, we’re dating,” Will says, looking from me to the principal.

“And you’re keeping it a secret?” Dr. Salter asks, rapping the paperweight against his desk. Jesus. The man should forget educating kids and become a detective.

Will glances at me. “Yes, sir. For a friend’s sake.”

“Really?”

“A mutual friend is interested in me,” Will says, then hesitates. “But it’ll never work out. We don’t want my friend to know yet.”

He didn’t say he or she. Will is a perceptive guy.

“Well, your story matches Coach Hoffman’s,” Dr. Salter says to me.

I pull a deep breath through my nose.

“What story?” Will asks, leaning forward.

“Laura Martin claimed she saw Coach Hoffman and Miss Shelton interacting in an inappropriate manner in the baseball equipment shed yesterday afternoon.”

“The equipment shed?” Will blurts. His voice squeaks.

“Yes…” Dr. Salter says, and Will laughs harshly. “What’s so funny?”

Will grabs my hand and kisses my knuckles. “Coach Hoffman caught us in the equipment shed yesterday, and then he told me I was acting inappropriately and asked me to leave. Did Laura see you when Coach Hoffman was lecturing you?” Will asks me. His blue eyes are hard. Angry.

“Um, yeah.”

“You were in the equipment shed with Corn Fritter?” Dad asks me.

“Corndog,” Will, Dr. Salter, and I say simultaneously.

“I think we’re through here for now,” the principal announces, standing to shake hands with Dad. “Miss Shelton? Can I talk to you and Coach Hoffman about your baseball managing duties?”

“Yes, sir,” I say, watching Dad and Will file out.

The principal comes out from around his desk. He avoids my gaze and opens his side door to reveal Brian sitting in an armchair, rapping his foot on the floor. He stands and makes his way into Dr. Salter’s office. We sit back down.

“Hi, Coach Hoffman,” I say softly.

“Hey, Parker.”

The principal runs a hand over his head, then sits behind his desk. He raps his paperweight. “I said your stories add up, but I’m afraid I still need to present this to the school board. I’m required to report any accusations against active faculty.”

“Sir—” Brian starts, looking freaked out.

“But Laura hates me,” I interrupt.

Dr. Salter looks at Brian. “If you did nothing wrong, you have nothing to worry about. They won’t find any evidence…right?”

“Evidence?” I ask quietly.

“If the board does an investigation, will they find evidence that you and Coach Hoffman have spoken outside of school activities?” Dr. Salter’s eyes bore into mine. “Have you talked on the phone? Over the Internet? Have you ever gone anywhere together?” He pauses. “If you’re telling me they’ll find nothing, we’ll remove the accusation from the coach’s file. But if there is any reason they might believe something is going on between you two—”

“Sir,” Brian says, pinching the bridge of his nose. “What can I do to make this stop right here? I’ll do anything.”

My eyes are watering. I sniffle. “I’ll give up being valedictorian.”

Brian shakes his head. “You don’t have to do that.”

The principal looks from me to Brian, and I know he knows the truth. “Coach, if you resign today, we’ll consider this matter closed.”

Brian doesn’t hesitate. “Done.”

We go into the hallway, where I clutch Dad’s elbow. My teeth are chattering. Will’s hanging his head, and I think he might cry.

“I’m sorry for the mess,” Dad says, shaking Brian’s hand. “I know your parents go to Forrest Sanctuary and that no son of theirs would ever do something wrong like this. My sincerest apologies.”

“Uh, yes, sir.” Brian releases Dad’s hand. Pain covers Brian’s face. “I’m sorry if this misunderstanding embarrassed you and your family, Mr. Shelton.” He heads down the hallway toward his office.

By resigning, Brian basically admitted guilt just now, and if and when people hear the rumors, I bet my family will be more embarrassed than ever.

Dad cups my neck with a hand. “I’m sure your being caught in the equipment shed with Corndog was a one-time occurrence. Right, Parker?”

“Yes, Dad.”

“Definitely. A one-time occurrence,” Will mutters, rubbing his eyes.

“We’ll pray about this and your brother later.” Dad shakes his head at me, gives Will a dirty look, and ducks into the bathroom across the hall.

Gee, thanks for the support, Dad. I press a palm to the trophy case and wipe a tear from my face. Brian’s resigning. Because of me. Jobs are hard to come by these days, and I ruined a good opportunity for him. And I lied. I sinned. I’m a terrible person. I miss Mom.

God, where are you? I’m sorry I keep doing these things. Can’t you help me be a good person? Please.

Will’s still standing next to me, silent.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“Why won’t you go to prom with me? The truth this time, please.”

“I didn’t say no. I need to take care of some things, I told you that.”

He stares at me sideways. “What are these things?” His voice is rough.

“I need to talk to Drew.”

“And?”

Tears are rolling down my face, and I don’t know what hurts worse: my heart, or that Will isn’t rushing to comfort me. He inches away from me, folding his arms.

“Is it true?” he asks. “What the principal said? About you and Coach Hoffman?”

I look over my shoulder, to make sure no one’s listening. Tears blur my vision. I don’t say anything. That should be enough of an answer for Will, the smartest guy I know.

“I thought you were someone else,” he says. “I came to the conclusion that you weren’t who I thought you were—a girl who gets around with every guy she sees. I thought I had it all wrong. But I guess I was right the first time. You messed with my friends. I don’t know why I was so damned stupid to think I’d be different—”

“But you are different—”

“Don’t.” Will shakes his head. “I’m just glad I never kissed you. Or worse, lost it to you. What a waste that would’ve been, huh?”

I lean against the trophy case. Tears soak my shirt. I feel my makeup melting off. “A waste?” I whisper. I never wanted this for me.

And worse, I threw Will under the bus. For nothing. Brian had to resign anyway.

The bell rings, and students start moving through the halls. Will stays next to me but says nothing. People are pointing at me. That’s when Drew comes rushing up. “What’d you do to her, man?” he asks Will. My best friend pulls me into his arms. I rest my chin on his shoulder. Will slams the glass door open and stalks toward the parking lot.

Dad exits the bathroom. “Parker,” he says quietly. “I love you and care about you, but I don’t want to be called away from work again because you got caught in the equipment shed with Corndog. Understand?”

“What?” Drew whispers. “You what?”

“Yes, Dad,” I say, sniffling, and he leaves, not looking back at me.

Drew’s face falls. “You lied to me? You’re really fooling around with him?”

“Corndog only pretended that,” I exclaim. “To cover for me. With Brian.” I move to fall back into Drew’s arms, but he scoots away from me. “We’ve never hooked up or kissed or anything.”

“You were messing around with both of them? Did you use Corndog to cover up who you’re really interested in?”

“No, no.” I reach for him again, but he steps backward. “Will lied. To help me. To help Brian.”

“I can’t believe you,” he whispers. “I stuck by you. Through everything. All your mood swings and cutting out the world. I told people you weren’t a freak. I told them you were shy and cared about school.”

“Drew—”

“And I told you my secret,” he whispers. “And then you took it from me.” His big brown eyes go glossy.

“Drew, that’s not what happened. Can you list—”

“Everything with you is such bullshit. You probably got Tate to talk to me so you could have Will all to yourself. Right?”

I tried to be a good friend…And now he won’t even listen. I had a chance with Will. I turned down a date to prom. A real date with a real guy who truly wanted me. All for a friend who won’t even hear me out.

I don’t have anything.

“I’ll see you later, then,” I whisper, and decide to skip school today. I leave to go home.

Wherever that is.

I run into Laura, Allie, and Mel on the way to the bike rack. They start whispering. So I start shouting.

“Thanks for turning me into Dr. Salter, Laura. I’ll pray for you. Lord knows you’d never do it for me because you’re so jealous. Judge thy neighbor, eh?”

They shut up and stare at me. I’ve never said anything like that before. And you know what? I didn’t get struck by lightning. I don’t even feel guilty.

I tell my eyes to stop crying. Fat chance of that.

alternative spring break

21 days until i turn 18

“Don’t call me again.”

Will hung up on me.

When I called Drew, he sounded like he was choking on his tears. “I can’t talk to you right now. I really can’t. Bye.”

When I called Brian, no answer.

He quit his job. Because of something I basically forced him into, something I was ready to give up the moment I had feelings for Will. Brian’s right. I am immature. I try calling his cell, but he doesn’t pick up. He’s not on Skype, and he defriended me on Facebook! And after a couple of hours, he doesn’t return any of my emails. It’s after 6:00 p.m., so I open the church directory I stole and find his parents’ address. I Google map directions, and I’m on my bike and pedaling down the road in less than a minute.