Chapter 174

“Why can’t you breathe?” Zayd asks as he swaggers up to us, his tie missing (he probably got a mark for that from Ms. Felton), his sleeves rolled up and showing off his glorious collection of tattoos. He reaches up to muss around with his fiery orange hair as he looks between the three of us.

“We’ve both just asked her out,” Zack declares, pushing off the locker and standing up straight, his letterman jacket on his broad shoulders. He has football practice three times a week now (has been having practices in Cruz Bay since before school even started), so he probably can’t stick around too much longer. He won’t be able to have dinner with us until the season’s over. And even then, only until track and field starts.

“You asked her out?” Zayd sputters as Zack moves around us and heads toward the back door and the golf carts waiting to drive him and the other boys out to the field. In about two weeks, I’ll have cheerleading practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Since I tried o