“Just dropping off something for my math teacher. What are you doing?”

“Going to choose the picnic basket assortment for French weekend.”

“Take me with you? I didn’t do my math homework.”

“Sure, why not?” I look down at the note. “She didn’t put my name on it.”

We check out with the office and he offers to drive.

“I saw Brooke was sitting with you today.”

“Yeah, and, surprisingly, Whitney was really cool about it. But I guess she’s all into Shark. Is it me, or is that kind of a weird match?”

“Shark gets a lot of girls. He’s cute.”

“Yeah, but . . .”

“I agree. It’s kinda surprising. But he complimented her Court dress, and I watched her blush. Shark has charisma. And he’s super smart. He’s the kind of guy that will go places in life.”

“True. And Whitney would like that.”

“I don’t think that’s what they’re about though. I think he turns her on.”

“Shark kind of reminds me of her dad,” Dawson laughs.

“I’ve never heard about him.”

“She doesn’t talk about him much. Her parents went through a nasty divorce sophomore year. Her mom told her that her dad never wanted to see either of them again.”

“So the guy at Homecoming that looked perfect. That wasn’t her dad?”

“Stepdad. Her mom was remarried within six months.”

“I didn’t care much for her mother. Or her bitchy sister.”

“They think their shit doesn’t stink. They aren’t very nice to Whitney. I always felt bad for her.”

“It would suck.”

“Speaking of suck,” Dawson says with a laugh. “Is it me or does that night at the Cave seem like so long ago.”

“A lot has happened since then.”

“I’m glad we’re still friends.”

“I am too. Dawson, did Chelsea text you over break?”

“No.”

“Did she text Riley?”

“No. And I think he would have said something because it would’ve pissed him off.”

“She texted Aiden. At lunch, he wouldn’t tell me what she said. He said we’d talk about it later.”

“And you’re freaking out, assuming it’s going to be something bad?”

“Kind of. Logan told us what Chelsea said and he let Maggie read what he said back. It made her happy. Aiden didn’t tell me that she texted him. And that bothers me.”

“Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you. Did you have fun together on your trip?”

“Yeah, it was really nice. And it felt like we figured things out. How to communicate better. How not to jump to conclusions. How not to get mad and walk away.”

“Does he still speak to your soul?”

“Yeah. And that’s why he scares me.”

“Keatie, don’t let it.”

“Does Brooke speak to your soul?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know. She’s fun to kiss.”

I roll my eyes at him.

He smirks. “But, then, you were fun to kiss, too. That’s what I loved about our relationship. It was fun and easy. No drama.”

I raise an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, there was some drama. But it was outside drama, not drama with us. Until the Whitney thing.”

“More like Whitney things. Do you think she’s changed?”

“I actually think she has. What she did for you was pretty cool. And, today, she didn’t say anything bitchy about Brooke sitting with us.”

Dawson parks in front of The Market.

“I already asked Brooke to be my date this weekend. I want to impress her with a kickass picnic. You’re going to do some extravagant options, right?”

“I am now,” I laugh.

Not as fun without you.

Dance

“What’s wrong, Maggie?”

She’s putting her pompoms in her locker slowly and staring at them like she’ll never see them again.

She sits down, slumps her shoulders, and drops her head. “I think this will be my last semester at Eastbrooke. I don’t know where I’m going to go or what I’m going to do.” Her voice cracks. “I haven’t told Logan and it’s killing me. And I half hoped he would’ve said something to Chelsea so I could get mad and break up with him. That way it will be easier when I have to leave.”

I sit down next to her and put my arm around her. “Maggie! You can’t leave! Why would you want to?”

“I don’t want to. You know how I went to Logan’s for most of Thanksgiving break?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t tell him why.”

“What happened?”

“You know that my mom got remarried a few years ago?”

“Yeah, you’ve mentioned that.”

“When I go home, I feel like an outsider. Like I don’t belong. Last summer was horrible. I was so desperate I wanted to go live with my dad.”

“Why would that be desperate?”

She looks down again and starts crying. “My mom comes from a pretty well-off family. She fell in love with my dad but her family never liked him. Said he was worthless. I think eventually he started feeling that way. I remember when we’d go to my grandparents’ for holidays. They were never really nice to him. And my dad would always drink a lot. He started using drugs. My mom found out. He was spending a lot of money on them, I guess. I was only eleven when they divorced. Mom got full custody of me, and I’m hardly allowed to see him.”

“Did he show up at Thanksgiving or something?”

“No. I don’t like her new husband and I’m pretty sure the feeling is mutual. It’s all about them and their baby. Their family. Apparently their families have known each other forever and my grandparents love him. I don’t know why. He’s a lazy ass when he’s at home. Mom has a nanny for my little brother, so she doesn’t have to deal with—and I quote—the dirty parts of raising a child. So, of course, I go home and the nanny is off for the holiday. My stepdad was on my ass the entire time. Like it was my job to take care of him. And I was glad to help. I adore the kid. So I fed him, rocked him to sleep, and was right in the middle of texting Logan when he woke up and started crying. When I didn’t jump up to get him, my stepdad grabbed my phone out of my hand and blew up. He told me I was lazy! While he was sitting on his ass! He decided I was grounded from my phone. I told my mom it was bullshit. She took his side, and I lost it. I got my little brother out of his crib, gave him a kiss, handed him to my stepdad, took my phone back, and marched out the front door.”

“And you went to Logan’s house?”

“Sorta. I was just crying and driving. Two hours later, I ended up there completely unannounced. His family was amazing. He hadn't told them we got back together because he didn't want them to get their hopes up. I felt more at home there than at my own house. My mom sent me a text and told me that Harry decided they weren’t going to pay for me to go to Eastbrooke anymore and not to bother to ask my grandparents for money because they agreed I shouldn’t behave that way.”

“Oh, Maggie,” I say softly, pulling her into a hug. “We’ll figure something out.”

“I’ve been on pins and needles waiting to get called to the office and kicked out of here, but right before dance I looked up the tuition policy. They had to pay for this semester in advance and there are no refunds. So at least I know I’ll get to finish up the semester. My mom says she's not sending my allowance anymore either, so I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I have some money saved, but not enough for tuition.”

“What about a scholarship? I bet they have those.”

“They do, but they’re given out at the beginning of each school year. I could apply for next year, but not next semester. And my grades aren’t that great. Like, I’m a solid B student. Not smart enough for a scholarship.”

“You need to tell Logan.”

She gets tears in her eyes again. “We just got back together and now I’m going to have to leave him.”

I pat her back. “We’ll figure out a way for you to finish school here. Stop worrying about it. I promise, something will work out.”

“I can’t tell him. He’ll try to fix it. And his parents already make sacrifices so he can come here. It’s not like they can pay for me, too.”