We left the next day, right after lunch. Everyone packed and had their things stowed away on the ferry, then we left. Jared wasn't hovering, exactly, but he was never beyond shouting distance. Of course, Emma and Lilian figured I must be traumatized since, he found me like that. After all I apparently hated him and he hated me. Whatever.
When we got to shore, the bus drove us back to school so our parents could pick us up. We were all really hyped up, what with the end of the school year and summer practically on us. Everyone was planning some sort of party or other. Pool parties, birthday parties, bowling parties, slumber parties, party parties. I didn't talk with them, since Lilian, Emma, and I were never very popular with the other girls. Gradually, though, parents arrived in convertibles, little cars, minivans, and just about any other vehicle that could carry a passenger and baggage. Once Lilian and Emma had left (with about half the school), Jared gathered up his things and headed toward a little blue car that had pulled up. As he passed, he pressed a piece of paper into my hand, not looking at me as he got into the car and slammed the door.
When he was gone, I glanced discreetly at the paper. It took me a minute to realize that the numbers were a phone number, written above an e-mail address. Jared wasn't kidding. It seemed he wanted to hold a steady relationship, even through the summer. My mom's gold minivan pulled up, and I gathered my junk. I climbed into the passenger seat, flinging my overnight bag into the backseat.
The next day was the beginning of the last week of the school year. Everyone was in high spirits, even me. Especially me. I had a boyfriend. So it was Jared. So what? He seemed to really and truely like me. And he didn't pick on me anymore. I saw him in the halls all the time, and he would smile at me. We had a few classes together. I used to hate my math class, but now it didn't seem so bad. I didn't have lunch with Emma that day, and Lilian had decided to skip (it was the last week; what was the point?), so I sat with Jared. He told a guy friend of his, Michael, I think, to go somewhere else, and I felt special. We talked for a bit until I noticed Michael staring at us from a few tables away.
"Your friend is staring," I said.
"He's probably just mad I'm not sitting with him," Jared said, not bothering to look. "It doesn't matter. I'd rather sit with you anyway."
That cheered me up. But I couldn't help thinking that something was off. We'd only really been "together" for a day or so. Why would he be so devoted to me when his friends were right there? After all, he used to hate me. A thought crossed my mind, but I pushed it aside. Still, I had to think on it.
Did he still hate me? Was this just a setup?
