"Are you kidding? Are you— Mike, I'd just have to turn around and come back."
"Yeah, I guess... So are you going this weekend? To my beach party? The one where no jerks are invited?" While he spoke, he flashed another glare toward Fredward, who was standing against the cluttered counter, motionless as a sculpture, staring off into space.
I tried to sound as friendly as possible. "Sure, I said I was in."
"We're meeting at my dad's sporting goods store, at ten." His eyes flickered to Fredward again, wondering if he was giving out too much information. His body language made it clear that Fredward was one of the uninvited.
"I'll be there," I promised. Maybe I didn't promise. Maybe it was just something I said I'd do. Who knows what the heart wants, Mikey-boy.
"I'll see you in Gym, then," he said, moving toward the door with a bounce in his step.
"See ya," I replied casually. He looked at me once more, his round face slightly pouting, and then as he walked slowly into the door, his shoulders slumped. A swell of sympathy washed over me. I pondered seeing his disappointed round face again... in the gym.
"Gym," I groaned. The bane of my existence. Gym class. I thought about all of the ways in which a basketball could bounce off of my head.
"I can take care of that." I hadn't noticed Fredward moving to my side, but he spoke now in my ear. A shiver ran down my spine. "Go sit down and look pale," he whispered into my conch.
That wasn't a challenge; I was always pale, had been since birth, and my recent swoon had left a slight sheen of sweat all over my face. I sat in one of the creaky, haunted folding chairs and rested my head against the wall with my eyes closed. Fainting spells, of which I'd had my fair share, always exhausted me.
I heard Fredward speaking softly to the counter.

102

Chapter 5

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