Starlight (Book 1)

18: I Think Jax Is Jealous

That week was officially the slowest week of my life, but I wasn't going to try to force it to go any faster.

The longer it took to get to this weekend, the better, so to a point, I was almost glad when Tuesday morning took ten million and three years to get over with.

When I finally got my way to lunch, I was dreading my last period classes. Jax was my saving grace when it came to chemistry, and without him helping me out, I could practically sense my grade slipping.

I bumbled my way down to eat at the same place I had chosen the previous day, hoping that it wouldn't be taken, since that was one of the only spots quiet enough to be bearable.

Luckily, it was free, but I had to walk past the cafeteria to get there. That wouldn't normally be a bad thing, but Jax and Vivian were sitting at one of the tables near the partition between the two different kinds of floor tiles that I often joked I'd never crossed more than five times total in my three years at Astral High. Keeping my eyes fixed to those tiles, I steered my steps towards the bench as quickly as I possibly could.

It was me who'd dragged Jax away from the cafeteria, I realized. It was me who'd forced him.

I'm the worst friend. The thought chanted inside my head, getting louder and louder until those four words enveloped all the outside noise and reduced the din to buzzing in my ears.

You're a terrible friend, a terrible friend, terrible, terrible— "Kacie, right?"

I looked up. I must have stared at the girl standing there for a pitifully long amount of time before the connection clicked and I finally recognized her as Eleni.

"Oh, hi," I said, wondering why she was talking to me. I hadn't defaulted to making excuses for a long time, but I felt it necessary to say, "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

"No, don't worry about it," replied Eleni, waving me off eagerly. "Are you doing anything?"

What does it look like? "Not unless you count sitting here and eating lunch," I said testily. "Why?"

Her smile grew a little. "Lily and another one of my friends, Aisha, are all going out for a coffee run. Want to come with us?"

"You... have a car?"

"What, do you think we would make you walk?" joked Eleni. "Yeah, I'm driving. So, what do you say?"

"Um, sure."

She smiled as I stood up and followed. "It's just this way," she told me, pulling on one of the side-doors and stepping out into the cold. Weather was testy for Astral City, so I shrugged my sweater closer to my neck and wondered when Dad would suggest it was time to break out the winter coat. "Parking spaces are such a chore in this place, aren't they? Aisha always says the band kids are going to stage an uprising."

She gestured ahead of us to a sleek black car with a violet stripe running down the side. There were two girls standing with their backs against the car, one of whom I knew was Lily. The other, Aisha, wore white combat boots with socks up to her calves and a patterned flannel. The grouchy expression on her face faded for a moment as she waved. "Hey loser, what took you so long?"

"Shut your mouth," said Eleni as we approached. To Lily, she said, "If you demand that I recruit newbies, then who I am to refuse?"

"I'm going to throw up," taunted Aisha, rolling her eyes. "Can you cut the crap and spare me the gag-worthy saga of your mating rituals?"

"Don't you dare throw up in my car," threatened Eleni, tossing herself into the driver's seat with ease. "I'll sue your sorry ass for damages."

"I can't believe this," cried Aisha, pointing to Lily, who was getting into the passenger's side. "It's my damn turn—"