-Off Bet & The Car

POPPY

count

hen the floor started making my legs go numb. I counted the cracks in the paint on my wall twice, listened to Lila's music cut ou

UV wa

fake bright after reading it like nothing was wrong. I climbed out of bed once to write in my diary, my handwriting wobbly in the dim lamp light, pressing another tiny white rose between the pages even though

ed downstairs, yawning so wide my jaw cracked. She lowered her sp

you fought a raccoon and lost. Did you stay up all night writ

cold lemon Gatorade I'd stuffed in the fridge the night before for Asher, tucking it into my ba

om our house for an hour and smokes like a villain in a bad movie. Sure. Tell yourself that. But if we end

head and ran for the door bef

ax standing on top of a lunch table, waving a neon orange rejection cert

red-faced freshman ran away covering his f

s lifting a misbehaving golden retriever. Jax flailed, kicking his feet, and immediately tried to twist around to put Asher in a headlock.

his feet, brushing dirt off his jeans. His grin was bright, the same stupid perfect one he always had-but I noticed the way his eyes darted to

r half a second, and my stupid heart did that stupid flip it always did. "You're a lifesaver. Practice

twelve points, I'm at eleven. That's it. I'm challenging you to a cook-off duel. Winner gets five extra Reje

rincipal's voice cut him off, blaring over t

FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS PER TEAM MEMBER, A FEATURE IN THE CAPE COD LOCAL PAPER, AND EXTRA COLLEGE APP CR

right red, sinking a little in his seat. "That was ONE TI

rk like she didn't care. "Please. You turned a box of mac and cheese into

e turned to me, eyes sparkling, and grabbed both my hands before I could think

E COOK-OFF. YOU AND ME. WE ARE GONNA WIN. YOU'RE THE BEST COOK IN THE W

Wait-what? Asher, last time you tried to make toast you set of

e have a secret weapon: you. Also I bought a new apron that says 'KISS TH

WE'RE THEIR RIVALS! WE'RE GONNA MAKE THE BEST MAC AND CHEESE THIS SCHOOL

bsolutely not. I'm not letting you near a stove. You'l

out of his backpack, holding them up like a peace offering. "I

it out of his hand. "Fine. But if you so much as look at a match wrong I

Jax threw such a fit about it the librarian threatened to ban him from the library forever. But every time I looked at Asher, I saw the cracks in his act: the way he kept checking over his shoulder every tw

y was almost empty. He was shoving textbooks into his bag, moving

hat note. And the car I saw last night. The black SUV. Lila's

found the note. "It's nothing, Pops. I promise. Just some stupid prank from the St. John's kids. We've had a rivalry with their b

bushes when we were twelve, the same look he got when he was trying to be brave so no one would worry about him. But before I c

amous lobster mac and cheese. She left all the ingredients out on the counter. And I bought that vanilla ic

lone. But he was looking at me with those big stupid green eyes, holding the door open for me like he was

, even as my chest felt all warm and stupid. "But if you burn th

k by the school, the grass still dewy from the morning rain, kids laughing on the playground a few yards away

as obvious they weren't just going home, was t

umbled. He stopped immediately, turning to look at me, his

he sa

could see the muscle jump in his cheek. He stepped in front of me a little, not enough to be obvious, but enough that I was hal

was steady, but I could feel the slight shake in his arm when it brushe

heard the SUV crawl past us slow, so slow I could make out the faint outline of a man's silhouette in t

only breathed out a long shaky sigh when the gate clicked shut behind us, locking out the rest of the world. He leaned his b

second I thought he was gonna rip it up, throw it in the bushes, pretend it didn't exist again. Instead he folded it small, shoving it

sday night. I just... I didn't wanna tell anyone. Dad's already so stressed about the merger, Mo

. "Can we wait till after the cook-off to tell anyone? Just two more days. I don't want this stupid thing ruining the first

at me like I was the only person in the whole world he trusted, and I'd do almost anything for that

d I saw all the ingredients laid out neat on the counter just like he'd said, even the vanilla ice cream he'd bought

chest but quieter now, pushed to the back by the warmth of the kitchen

same kitchen practice would lead to the biggest f

s pocket would stop be

f Cha