I knew someone had told me, but I couldn’t remember what they had said.
I gripped my head and tried to focus, force myself to remember, but it was a blur.
This was stupid!
What else was I forgetting? When you forget something, it's not like you know you forgot it. It was just poof, gone, and you don’t realize the information you wanted isn’t stored in your head anymore until you actually needed it!
At this point, my faulty memory was getting more frustrating than anything else.
I wrote a note down in my notebook about the water bottles and hopefully, I would remember to ask Jason at lunch.
At the sound of a throat being cleared, I glanced up from my notebook and met the eyes of the girl in front of me.
“Are you okay?” she whispered.
I nodded.
“It’s just that you looked pretty constipated. Do you need me to help you to the bathroom?”
“No, that’s kind of you to offer though. Just a hard math problem.” I said, going with the first thing that popped into my head.
“Okay. If you need anything, I’d be happy to help.”
“Thanks, um…?” I reached, wondering if this girl had always sat next to me in study hall.
“Kayla!” She exclaimed, offering me her hand.
Slowly, I took her hand to shake then quickly let go. “Thanks, Kayla. I’m Atalanta.”
She giggled. “I know, you’ve been the talk of the school for a while now.”
“Oh.”
“Are you healing up okay?” She asked. “I heard you got into an accident.”
I blinked, taken aback by the genuine question whereas all of the other students so far had been much more shallow in their line of questioning. Had I really tried to elope with one of the guys? Was I dating Hip or Jason? Was it true my sister was dead? It was nice to know they weren’t all self-centered teenagers.
I smiled. “It was an accident, but despite the bandages I’m healing up quite alright.”
“That’s good to hear.”
I studied the girl. I believe she was in my gym class as well, which means she had more than likely seen what I had done to those girls several weeks ago. She didn’t appear scared, though. I wasn’t surprised we’d never spoken before, as it was easier to stay inconspicuous when I didn’t make any close connections. I had failed pretty miserably at that this time around.
Could this be my chance to actually make a friend?
I was not going anywhere any time soon, but…no, even if I couldn’t leave, that didn’t mean that he wasn’t still out there looking for us.
I gave Kayla a muttered thanks and went back to pretending to do homework.
Chapter Sixteen
Jason
Just two more minutes. That’s, like, ten seconds twelve times? Easy peasy.
I couldn’t stand another second listening to Mr. Stevens ramble on. What did they call it? Senioritis? I suppose I could blame my distracted mind on that, but the obvious answer was being separated from Atalanta was deeply affecting me. It had only been forty minutes, and already I had been starting to feel too hot and my muscles were beginning to feel achy. A feeling that had been my constant companion for the last few days.
I could admit to myself that leaving her with Percy and then Theseus was somehow easier than leaving her completely alone at school, but it seemed there was only so much my instincts could handle yesterday. Before I knew it I was driving over to where I knew Theseus had taken Atalanta on her date. Did I feel bad about interrupting them? Maybe, but by the point I was walking into that theater, the pain, the need to be near her was crippling.
It wasn’t like I could push her to be around me all the time, though. Atalanta was her own person and I couldn’t very well be her shadow for the rest of her life.
I would just have to learn how to deal.
A minute, twenty-four seconds.
Train myself to deal with the pain.
Tapping my pencil on the desk, I glanced over to Hip, who had his nose in a D & D manual through the whole lesson. Completely ignoring Mr. Stevens when he would berate him. I doubted the book was that interesting as he hadn’t changed the page at all, his eyes glazed over. I had caught him glancing up at the clock several times.
Did he feel the same thing I did?
I’d have to ask him about it when I got a moment.
At the glorious sound of the bell, I sprang out of my seat and tried my best not to full out run for the door. Hip was right with me. The two of us were out the door in seconds and heading down the hall to the room we knew Atalanta was in.
My shoulders relaxed when she came through the doorway, a small smile on her face.
Giving her my own smile, I held out my hand for her to take. When her skin touched mine, it was like a hit of my favorite drug, all my muscles releasing tension as a tingle raced up my arm.
I noticed that her own shoulders fell and her smile grew wider as she stared up at us.
She turned that smile to Hip and I tightened my lips so the slight disappointment that bubbled up in my chest didn’t show on my face. It was getting a bit easier, I guess, and maybe one day I’d be okay with sharing that smile.
The three of us met up with Davie and Margo and made our way to our usual spot, Hip breaking off as he usually did to go buy food from the cafeteria. Before my ass hit the bench I realized that Atalanta I hadn’t brought lunch either.
I stood back up. "I forgot to pack lunch, I’ll be right back.”
I looked to Atalanta, silently asking if she wanted me to get her anything. Her eyes flicked over to Margo and Davie, who were swapping their lunches, and back to mine before giving the smallest of nods. I mouthed ‘Do you want to come?’ and was surprised when she shook her head, sporting a smile.
Looking closely, I could see she was fidgeting with the sleeves of her jacket but otherwise she looked confident. My brave girl.
I would need to find out what about Margo made her nervous. Well, there were a lot of things about Atalanta North that I still had to discover, like her real name for example. As curious as I was, it wasn’t smart to push her on it. Luckily we had all the time in the world now.
I didn’t venture into the cafeteria often; it was crowded and the eyes on me were numerous.
Smile, just smile.
I waved to some of the guys who were on the swim team.
“Hey, Monroe! Come over and sit with us!”
I shook my head. “Sorry, Brett, I’m just popping in for some food.”
Getting in line, I looked over at Hip who was a few people ahead of me. “Seems we all forgot to pack something.”
He shrugged and gave up his spot to stand next to me. “I usually just buy.”
“Wouldn’t it be cheaper to just bring something from home?”
“Too much of a hassle. There’s usually a ton of chores I have to do in the morning. Besides,” he actually broke eye contact with me. "I’m on the school’s meal plan.”
I frowned. I knew he wasn’t super well off, but to be on a meal plan? Those were also pretty restrictive, on top of the fact that he had been giving Atalanta lunches before. Knowing him, he was probably charming the lunch lady, but still.
“You want me to get us all lunch today?” I offered.
Hip glared at me, going on the defensive. “I think I’m good.”
“I just know it would be easier on you. I don’t mind, seriously.”
He stepped forward, moving with the line and grabbing a tray. “What’s your angle, Jason?”
“No angle, seriously. Think of it as an olive branch. You were right the other day, we’ve spent years at each other's throats, for what? Because we didn’t know the other’s life?”