Anything but Normal - Melody Carlson [35]
As it turned out, Mr. Young was right. The more distracted Sophie became with her new role as chief editor, the less she obsessed over other troubles. This was the first year the school had done both an online daily newspaper as well as the bimonthly printed one. Keeping up was a challenge.
“It’s almost like a full-time job,” she admitted to Wes as they put the paper to bed on Friday afternoon.
“But this experience is going to look really great on the college apps.” Wes turned off his computer. “Have you started applying yet?”
She shook her head.
“Well, you don’t want to put it off too long.”
“No . . .” She reached for her bag.
“So, are you going to the big game tonight?”
“As much as I’d like to just go home and sleep for a couple of days, I promised Carrie Anne I’d go with her.”
Wes grinned. “Great. See ya there then.”
She nodded, feigning a smile. “Yeah.”
“And, uh, my mom told me to ask you what color your dress is . . . you know, for tomorrow night’s dance.”
“Black.”
“Black?” His tone was curious.
“Yeah. You have a problem with black?” She was ready to lay into him if he did. She’d already taken enough grief from her friends about her choice of color. They were all going with tropical shades and felt like she was the spoiler for choosing black. But her mom had helped her find a dress that Sophie felt was appropriate. Well, for a pregnant girl anyway.
Wes held up his hands defensively. “Black is good.”
“Good.”
“So, I’ll see you at the game then.” He grabbed up his laptop case and hurried out of the journalism room.
“All finished?” Mr. Young asked as he locked his office door.
“Yep.” Sophie nodded.
“And you’re still glad you’re chief editor?”
“Well, it’s keeping me busy.”
He chuckled as he gathered up his briefcase and things. “And out of trouble?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right.”
“Have a good weekend. I’m sure you’ll be busy with all the homecoming activities.”
“Yeah, pretty much.” She didn’t bother to tell him that she wasn’t looking forward to all the activities or that she’d rather just take a long nap. Better yet, she wished she could just hibernate until, say, mid-May.
She felt even more tired that evening. Despite the fact that their team was winning—although the margin was shrinking in the second half—and the crowd was rowdy and loud and wound up, all Sophie wanted was to go home and sleep.
“Are you okay?” Wes asked. He’d invited himself to join her and her friends. Naturally she hadn’t told him no. Still, she knew that some friends were beginning to think they were really a couple, which was so not the case.
“I’m fine,” she snapped.
“Sorry.” He looked slightly wounded.
“Sorry,” she said more gently. “The truth is, I’m tired. It’s been a long week and—”
“Want to make a fast break and get out of here?” he said.
“Seriously?” Sophie stood up and nudged Carrie Anne. “Wes and I are getting outta here.”
“But the game’s not even—”
“I know.” Sophie rubbed her forehead. “But I have a headache and the noise is getting to me.” Now that wasn’t even a total lie.
“Okay.” Carrie Anne frowned. “See ya.”
As they walked across the parking lot, the night air felt cool and good against her face. “Thanks, Wes,” she told him. “I really was relieved to escape. But I hope I didn’t ruin your—”
“Hey, you know I’m not much of a sports fan.”
“Well, I know you’re not much of a sportswriter.” She socked him in the arm.
“Thanks a lot.”
As they got into his car, Wes asked if she was hungry. The truth was, she was hungry. But she told him no thanks and that she mostly wanted to get home. Fortunately he didn’t seem to mind.
“Thanks again,” she said as he pulled into her driveway. “And I’ll see you at Carrie Anne’s tomorrow night. It sounds like her mom’s got something really great for dinner.”
“Cool.” He smiled at her. “Can’t wait.”
She nodded and tried to look enthusiastic. Really, shouldn’t this be a fun time for her? Shouldn’t she be enjoying all this senior year stuff?
As she went