Ticktock Love

[20] The Kissing Youth

Before that dreadful Monday, the longest Amber and I had gone without talking was fifteen hours and twenty minutes.

By the time clock struck four on September first, we had already beaten the record by ten hours.

It wasn't for the lack of adamance on my side. I had tried to approach Amber before homeroom, willing to bite my tongue and pretend everything was completely my fault. But as soon as she spotted me approaching, she struck up a conversation with Ezra of all people. She even fake-giggled at one of his jokes, which might have been believable if she hadn't chosen the wrong half of the Olsen twins' pairing. The highest form of wit Ezra could muster was sarcasm, and that was on his good days – on his bad ones, he was simply an asshole.

Grace wasn't treating me much better either. We had Ms. Green together, but she had sat on the other side of the classroom, bolting out the door the second I attempted to approach her. She was back to wearing oversized, unflattering clothes, and her usually flawless makeup was now non-existent, as if she was trying her hardest not to attract any more written notices.

At least Julia was still on speaking terms with me.

"You just need to give them some time," she told me after I finished my self-pitying rant at Canary, now slurping my flat soda through a gray paper straw.

"I'm trying," I sighed, wincing at the overly artificial taste. "Does it not look like that?"

Julia pulled out her phone, opened the group chat, and silently slid the device toward me.

Liz: Guys, I'm sorry, seriously.

Liz: I really didn't expect this to happen.

Liz: And I'm sorry if I said something wrong yesterday.

Liz: And for not telling you sooner, Grace.

Liz: Can we talk?

Liz: Please?

I cringed when faced with my desperation, aware it wasn't a good look for me. "Okay, so maybe I need to wait a bit longer. But I didn't want them to think that I don't care or something."

Julia leaned over the round table and flicked my forehead with her index finger.

"Ouch! What was that for?"

"I'm trying to knock some sense into you. Without actually knocking you out, that is."

"That's only a metaphorical expression," I grumbled as I rubbed the sensitive spot, convinced her short nail had left an indent.

Julia mounted the chair directly across me and looked at the spot above my head, her eyes glazed over like she was weighing her words. The place was completely empty this time, devoid even of pre-dinner tea-sippers – I was actually beginning to worry about Ms. Baggs's business. Unless she was running a money-laundering service in the back, there was no way that her coffee shop was lucrative.

"You did something stupid, Liz," Julia informed me like I didn't already know it. "Grace is too proud to just get over it like that. Amber is... Amber."

"Like I'm Judy Garland and she's the tornado that snatched me up in the sky, basically."

Julia raised her eyebrows.

"Really? The Wizard of Oz? You need to watch more movies, Jules. Your knowledge is deteriorating."

She rolled her eyes and reached for her glass of iced tea, and for a second I thought she was going to dump it all over my head. She didn't, though. "I'll check the CliffsNotes later. Also, see? This is why you annoy people."