“Tell the truth,” she said. “You’re one of those vegetable people, aren’t you.”
I colored. “Well, yes.”
She sighed. “You could have said. I’m not in the habit of wasting food. I won’t get upset if you tell me honestly you don’t like something. I’d rather make food that gets eaten. Alright?”
I blinked. She was...I think she was actually trying to be nice. My heart warmed. “Yes, ma’am,” I said, earnestly, “thank you, this looks really good.”
“It’s just vegetables,” she said, mollified.
“Covered in butter,” I said, smiling.
“That’s called compromise, Juliet,” she said, and I thought I saw a hint of a smirk.
Maybe I had her all wrong. Maybe I had home all wrong. I ate my plate of vegetables covered in butter, and at least for tonight, I was happy.
Chapter 10
Camille
At school Monday morning, Camille found herself the recipient of more than her usual allotment of attention.
She slid into her desk at the front of Tailor’s classroom and was immediately approached by someone who’d never addressed her directly before.
“Where’s Graham?” Rhys Ryan demanded. He stood over her, pale eyes narrowed, arms folded. He could have been handsome, she supposed, if it weren’t for his permanent look of superiority. And his clothes were too clean and pressed, like he’d stepped out of a magazine. Probably hadn’t climbed a tree or a fence in his life.
Camille shrugged. What made him assume she knew Jul’s whereabouts?
“She called in sick,” Sakamoto said, coming in from the hall. He twirled an apple deftly with the fingers of one hand.
“How do you know that?” Ryan asked, then shook his head in annoyance. “Never mind.”
“Oooh, are you worried about her?” Sakamoto asked, following him to their usual seats in the back of the room. “Is it true love? We could double date. People would talk.”
“Is there a soap opera that lives in your brain?” Ryan snapped.
“So that’s a yes. How do you feel about bowling?”
“You are a moron.”
“Mini golf?”
Camille blocked out their continuing argument. Any event that kept Sakamoto away from her was good, as far as she was concerned.
She was disappointed that the other girl was away, though. Gabriel had said to keep an eye on her, and besides that, they needed to figure out when they were going to put together this lame experiment display for the school festival. They only had two weeks to get it in order, and Camille wasn’t exactly an expert on group dynamics. She hoped Jul returned soon so that she wouldn’t have to manage both boys on her own.
By the time chemistry came around, though, Sakamoto’s attention had wandered again.
He sat down next to her in Jul’s empty chair. “I miss Jul. This is boring. Hey, are you ticklish?”
“No,” she said flatly. She would end his life if he tried anything.
“Scary scary,” he said. “So the metal arm thing, I think I’ve got it figured out. You’re actually a cyborg, am I right?”
She tried to ignore him, like Ryan seemed to. Maybe she needed to learn how to hide behind a book like he did. She was already down Jul’s help - all the equations in science class were hard enough without Sakamoto being even more ADD than usual.
“Robots are antisocial, you’re antisocial,” he went on, oblivious. “Plus it would explain how freakishly strong you are.”
What? Her eyes zipped to him, but he just wore that same small, unreadable smile. She thought it genuinely strange that for all his chatter he never seemed to have much of an expression.
“Cyborg, right?” he said.
“Yes,” she said, cautiously. “Cyborg.”
“No, I don’t like that either,” he said, leaning back. “Cyborgs don’t get mad. How about a Hulk? Wait, can there be more than one of those? I could ask the nerds, they’d know...”
Was he toying with her or was he really just an idiot?
“He’s just an idiot,” Ryan said, apparently able to read her expression. That’s when she noticed what he was reading. It looked exactly like the journal Jul had, but hers had been blank. What he was holding was full of sprawling ink sketches. They couldn’t be the same, but the cover was identical. Noticing her attention, he immediately shut it and put it away.
On the way to the cafeteria, she was surprised to spot Jul hovering around her locker, looking indecisive. So she’d come to school after all. Camille considered just walking past. Jul’s business was none of hers, and realistically she didn’t have the vocabulary to carry on a real conversation. And yet...
“You’re sick?” Camille asked her.
Startled, Jul looked down at her. “Oh,” she said, with some relief, “well, yes. Just a cold. I went for um, a walk in the rain, and I guess it got the better of me. I thought I should stay home, but Bea - I mean, my grandmother - she said a little cold wasn’t anything worth skipping school over, so...” she looked over her shoulder anxiously. “Here I am, I guess.”
Something had the girl on edge, but Camille couldn’t think of a good way to inquire. So instead she just said, “Lunch?”
“Oooookay,” Jul said distractedly, glancing around again. “Before the rush. Yeah. Good idea.”
They picked up trays and got in line. The cafeteria generally had two or three choices, different every day. Despite her dislike of the principal, having Japanese leadership was probably the reason they sometimes had things like ramen, katsudon, and beef curry on the menu. They didn’t taste quite like they did in Japan, but she had to admit it was nice to get some of her favorite comfort foods on occasion. Today, however, she was out of luck. Spaghetti, hamburgers, and some kind of chicken and vegetable pie. She distrusted the pale sauce that oozed from the crust.
Jul also looked disappointed at the menu.
“Could I get the spaghetti without any meatballs?” she asked meekly.
The lunch lady just scooped up a serving and handed her a plate.
“Thanks anyway,” Jul sighed, shoulders drooping.
Camille got a plate of the same and moved on to the drink fountain.
“Hey...um...” Jul said, picking up a bottle of water. “Can I sit with you? I’d rather not, um, sit alone. If you don’t mind.”
Camille saw her flick a glance to the end of the line, where Ryan and Sakamoto were at odds again. Jul had always sat alone until now. She was avoiding one of them? Her money was on Sakamoto. It must be because of what he’d done to her journal.
“Okay,” Camille said, getting a cup of some kind of fruity red drink claiming to be from Hawaii.
Once they sat down, Jul relaxed slightly, though she continued to survey the room, sipping absently on her water. Camille wondered what Jul’s purpose had been, asking for her company specifically. Was she supposed to be intimidating? Or had she just been the closest person at the time? Camille twirled her fork in her spaghetti, thinking that this really shouldn’t bother her. It didn’t matter either way, right? She was just supposed to keep an eye on the girl, for Gabriel. She didn’t need a friend.
Suddenly Jul went rigid. Camille glanced over her shoulder; Ryan was headed in their direction, carrying a tray, attention zeroed in on Jul. Camille looked at her, baffled.
“Umm...ahh...” Jul stalled, then her gaze landed on the two closest people. “Mac! Destin!” she said with forced cheer. “You guys should sit with us. You know. Take up all the chairs.”
Mac Dupree seemed too excited by her invitation to notice her unusual phrasing. “Absolutely!” he said, sliding his tray onto the table. His tall friend was more hesitant, but sat down as well.