Part 3 (1/2)
”I really wasn't,” Hannah says.
The six of them circle around the table and feast together. Clay and Luke end up with powdered sugar on their mouths and chins and Wally loses his coffee cup to the mercy of the group, all of whom drink from it without asking. Wally catches Hannah's eye and rolls his eyes up into his head, pretending to be annoyed, but Hannah can tell he's not bothered in the slightest.
”Y'all hear about Cooper?” Clay asks. ”He sent his deposit in to Alabama.”
”He's going to Alabama?” Luke says. ”Are you kidding me?”
”He said LSU losing the champions.h.i.+p pushed him over the edge. Said he'd rather root for the Tide for the next four years. a.s.shole.”
”I always thought that kid was an idiot,” Joanie says.
”Okay, to be fair, both his parents went there,” Wally says.
”Yeah, but he grew up here,” Clay says. ”Anyway, the h.e.l.l with him. I'm glad I don't have to spend another four years dealing with his s.h.i.+t. He always challenged just about every decision I made as captain.”
”G.o.d forbid,” Hannah says, smirking.
Clay crumples up his napkin and tosses it at her. ”You know what I mean.”
”I'm just kidding. You know I don't like Cooper anyway. Not since that time I saw him lock Marty in a storage closet the first time Marty got drunk.”
”Or when he kicked that dog at our community service site,” Baker says, her voice bitter.
”Tell me this, Han,” Clay says. ”Have you decided on LSU yet?”
”I told you, I'm waiting to hear back from the other schools I applied to.”
”It won't matter,” Clay says, sprawling back in his chair. ”When it comes down to it, you'll want to go to LSU with Baker and me.”
”Can we not have this conversation right now?”
”Don't pressure her,” Baker says.
”I'm not pressuring,” Clay grins. ”Just predicting.”
Hannah opens her mouth to retort, but just then, the lounge door opens. The six of them, taken by surprise with their fingers still covered in powdered sugar, swing their heads around to the front of the room. Michele Duquesne stands in the doorway, one hand on the metal door handle and the other hanging limply at her side. ”Oh,” she says, her eyes narrowing as she spots the beignets on the table. ”Am I interrupting?”
Clay, his mouth hanging open in uncertainty, rakes his eyes over the group before he s.h.i.+fts in his chair to face Michele. ”Not at all,” he says. ”We were just having a delayed celebration. You know, for the big win last week.”
”Are you all on una.s.signed?” Michele asks.
”Yep,” Clay says, pulling his lips together.
She frowns at him. ”You don't have to lie to me, Clay.”
”Are you on una.s.signed?” Hannah asks.
Michele stares at Hannah as if trying to decide whether Hannah is worth her words. ”I am, actually,” she says after a moment. ”But I think it's better to spend my una.s.signed period helping in the front office, rather than leaving campus illegally.” She flits her eyes away from the group and continues, in a lofty voice, ”Father Simon asked me to come pick up the rosary bags. We have prayer group after school today. Maybe you all should come.”
”Mm, maybe not,” Hannah says.
Michele glares at her before flas.h.i.+ng her eyes in Baker's direction. ”I thought you said you had una.s.signed during fourth block.”
Baker tightens her mouth and looks into the corner of the room.
”Isn't that what you said?” Michele presses. ”So you could take care of student council stuff at the end of the day?”
Baker raises her eyes. ”Yes. That was the plan.”
Michele hikes her eyebrows as she crosses the room to fetch the rosary bag. ”Probably should set a better example for the student body,” she says under her breath.
Baker tenses. Clay pokes his tongue into his cheek and says, ”Come on, Michele. We're just taking a five-minute break.”
”I have to get back to the front office,” Michele says, clearing her throat. ”But y'all have yourselves a lovely time. And Clay-you're welcome to come back to prayer group whenever you're ready.”
Clay pulls his lips together again and nods. Luke, who sits with his back to the door, mimes throwing up on the table.
”See you later,” Michele says. ”Oh-but Joanie? I'm not trying to be mean, but the lounge is exclusively for seniors. If we start letting selective juniors in, then all the other undercla.s.smen will think they're ent.i.tled to use the lounge, too, and it kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think?”
Joanie's face flushes red as crawfish. ”Yep,” she says, her voice p.r.i.c.kly.
”Thanks,” Michele smiles. Then she shuts the door behind her and leaves.
Joanie slumps down in her chair. ”That dumb b.i.t.c.h.”
”Don't listen to her,” Luke says.
”Everyone knows you're basically a senior anyway,” Wally says.
”She's not trying to be a b.i.t.c.h,” Clay says. ”She's just kind of a rule girl.”
Hannah trades looks with the other four. Clay crosses his arms and asks, ”What?”
Hannah shakes her head. ”Thank G.o.d you dumped her.”
”Seriously,” Baker says.
”Aw, come on,” Clay laughs. ”She's not that bad.”
”She's pretty bad,” Luke says.
”Wally,” Clay says, gesturing to him, ”You always liked her, didn't you?”
Wally balances on the back of his chair and tilts his head in thought. ”I could never figure her out.”
”She's gonna tell Ms. Carpenter that I was skipping,” Baker says, raking her hair back as she adjusts her headband. ”She'll probably tell her before I even get to the student council office.”
”She needs to get over her jealousy,” Hannah says. ”I mean, how long ago was that election? Like four months, at this point?”
”Yeah,” Joanie says, ”but between that and Clay dumping her a.s.s, I doubt she's gonna be our best friend anytime soon.”