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Chapter 11

“Ally, why don’t you ride with me again tonight,” Alex led me out of the room.

“I don’t want to.”

“I think you should, give your Dad some time to process it all, okay?”

It hurt that Nick just walked out.

“Can I use your laptop?” I was still banned from using my own, but I wanted to get my mind off it and see if Chelsea was online. He handed me his laptop and went to change. I still had my bag on his bus so at least I wouldn’t have to sleep in jeans.

Allygator: Chels!
ChelsBug: OMG Ally, did your dad give you property rights to your laptop again?
Allygator: No, Alex is letting me borrow his. I wish I could call you, something big has happened.
Chelsbug: Are you okay? I mean, Nick told my mom what happened and why I couldn’t come out, even though I think it’s totally unfair.
Allygator: I know, you and I could be out in Rome right now.
ChelsBug: Damn, I love Italian men too *pouts*
Allygator: My mother contacted Nick.
ChelsBug: WHAT! Holy shit, when?!?
Allygator: Well technically she contacted my aunt BJ, but she apparently wants to meet me and tell me why she left.
ChelsBug: Holy shit Al. You’ll have to tell me EVERYTHING that happens when you meet her.
Allygator: I’m not going to meet her. I told Nick that I didn’t want to, and for some reason he’s not talking to me now.
ChelsBug: you’re not? I thought you always wanted to meet her.
Allygator: My priorities have changed. I don’t want to talk about it right now okay?
ChelsBug: Subject change :) You get your grades yet? The ranks have been posted too! I’m 15 out of 158, not bad! I’m sure it won’t match yours Miss Smarty Pants
Allygator: Oh shut up, no I haven’t checked, I haven’t had access to a computer. I’ll do it soon.
ChelsBug: Ugh, I gotta go Ally, I have to work, sucks big time. I MISS YOU!
Allygator: I miss you too Bug! 5 weeks left!

I closed the chat, grateful I had been able to catch her. She always made me feel better. I had met Chelsea when I was six. Her last name was Caywood, so on the first day of class, our seat assignments were right next to each other. We’d been best friends ever since. While she still got good grades, she always teased me that I took it a little too serious.

But Nick had always been completely serious when it came to school. I wasn’t allowed to stay home unless it was a legitimate excuse, and for motivation to do well, he said he’d give me one hundred dollars for every A I received. Of course the motivation worked, I knew I was in the top of my class; I had never gotten anything below an A. I wanted Nick to be proud of me, and working extremely hard in school was a way for him to be. I shook my head and went to the school’s website. I grinned when I saw all A’s but gasped when I saw my rank. My counselor told me to expect my rank to be high but I wasn’t expecting it to be one. I wanted Nick to be here.

“Are you doing something you’re not supposed to be doing?”

“No.”

“Then why’d you gasp?” He sat across from me and sipped his tea.

“Just looking at my grades and rank. All A’s of course. Nick owes me $500 bucks again.”

Alex laughed, “Good job. What’s your rank?”

I blushed, “one.”

His eyes widened and my blush deepened, “…as in Valedictorian?” I nodded. “Ally, that’s great!” He sat next to me and hugged me.

“Thanks.”

“You’re not excited?”

“No, I am.” And I was. But I wanted to share it with Nick and he didn’t want to talk to me right now. He didn’t even say goodbye, he just walked out of the room and onto his bus.

“You’re just worried about Nick,” he said. I nodded. “I’m proud of you, you know. The way you handled the situation and your decision. You weighed all your options and looked at all points before deciding what you thought was right. You’re not a kid anymore, as much as I don’t want to admit it,” I couldn’t help it; I laughed at that. “Nick honestly thought you’d want to bring her back into your life.” I shook my head. I was standing by my decision. “He just needs some time to grasp it.” I knew that. But it still hurt. We both looked back at the screen when we heard the chat screen.

TheCarter: What is your screen name doing signed online?
Allygator: Checking my grades, they’re posted.
TheCarter: How much do I owe you this time?
AllyGator: $500. Do I get anything extra for valedictorian?
TheCarter: Seriously?
AllyGator: Seriously.
TheCarter: Why are you not on my bus so I can hug the shit out of you right now?
AllyGator: You can swear but I can’t? Not fair.
AllyGator: You just walked out of the room, I thought you were angry with me.
TheCarter: Next stop you’ll switch busses and we’ll talk okay?
TheCarter: Now get off the laptop, your punishment still stands.



I woke up to find myself in my bunk. I don’t remember getting back to our bus. Nick smiled when I sat across from him. “How did I get back here?”

“You walked.”

“I don’t remember it.” I opened the tiny refrigerator and giggled when I saw a jar of green olives. “Did you get these for me?”

“I wouldn’t touch those, you know that.”

I popped an olive into my mouth. “So you want to talk about it?”

“About what?”

“Why you walked out of the room last night.”

“Not right now,” he sighed, “but I’m not mad at you Ally, okay?”

I nodded. I could live with that for now. “What time will we be at the venue?”

“Day off today,” he grinned. “I figured we could explore.” I just stared at him. “Rome, I hear it’s a great city, want to check it out?”

“You serious?”

He grinned, “We can celebrate your valedictorian with some chocolate gelato.”

I could live with that.