MY COCKY BASKETBALL PLAYER

Chapter 20

Monday morning.

I was walking toward the school building, eyes on the ground. I always looked at the ground now. It was easier. Fewer faces. Fewer whispers. Fewer phones pointed in my direction.

I didn't see her until she hit me.

Books went flying. Papers scattered. A pencil rolled under a bench.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!"

I looked up. A girl. New. I'd never seen her before. She was already on her knees, grabbing at her things. Her hair was pulled back in a messy bun. She was wearing a bright yellow jacket. Too bright for this school.

I knelt down. I started helping her pick up her books.

"Thanks," she said. "I wasn't looking where I was going. I'm still trying to figure out where everything is."

"Me neither," I said.

She looked at me. "You're not new."

"No. I'm just... not looking."

She laughed. Not at me. With me. Like I'd said something funny. I didn't know what to do with that.

She stood up. She brushed off her knees. She looked at me. "I'm Ruby."

"Nora."

"Thanks for the help, Nora."

She said my name like it was normal. Like it wasn't something people whispered in hallways. Like it was just a name.

***

She looked at her schedule. A crumpled piece of paper.

"Hey, do you know where Room 214 is? I'm supposed to be there for first period."

Room 214. English. My English class.

"Yeah. I'm heading there now."

"Perfect. Lead the way."

She walked with me. She talked the whole time. About her old school. About moving. About how much she hated the cold. She didn't pause. She didn't wait for me to answer. She just talked.

I didn't say much. But I listened.

It was nice. To listen to someone who didn't know anything about me. Someone who didn't look at me and see a video. Someone who didn't look at me and laugh.

We walked into the building together. A few people stared. But they weren't staring at me. They were staring at her. The new girl. The one with the yellow jacket.

I didn't mind.

***

We walked into English. Mrs. Carter was already at her desk. She looked up when we walked in. She looked at Ruby. New student. Then she looked at me. Then she looked away.

Ruby found a seat. Right next to mine.

"Is this seat taken?"

"No."

She sat down. She pulled out a notebook. It had stickers all over it. Flowers. Stars. A little cat.

"I like your stickers," I said.

"Thanks. I made them."

She smiled. I almost smiled back.

***

Class started. I tried to focus. I couldn't. I kept thinking about the video. About the meme. About everyone who'd seen it.

But Ruby didn't know about any of that.

She just sat there. Taking notes. Drawing little doodles in the margins. She didn't look at me differently. She didn't look at me at all.

It was nice.

***

Lunch.

I sat with Gemma at our usual table. I wasn't hungry. I never was anymore.

Then Ruby walked in. She saw me. She walked over.

"Hey. Can I sit with you guys?"

Gemma looked at me. I nodded.

Ruby sat down.

"I'm Ruby. I'm new."

"Gemma," Gemma said.

Ruby looked around the cafeteria. She saw the stares. The whispers. She saw people looking at me. Then looking away.

"What's everyone's problem?" she asked.

I didn't answer.

Gemma didn't either.

Ruby looked at me. "Seriously. Why is everyone staring at you?"

I still didn't answer.

She didn't push. She just said, "Okay. Not my business. But for the record, they're being weird."

She pulled out her sandwich. She started eating.

Gemma looked at me. I looked at her. Neither of us said anything.

Ruby talked about her old school. About her favorite teacher. About a dog she used to have. She didn't ask me anything else. She didn't ask about the stares. She didn't ask about the whispers.

She just talked.

I didn't know why, but I was grateful.

***

The rest of the day was the same.

People stared. People whispered. People showed each other their phones.

But Ruby was there. In English. In the hallway. She didn't know she was doing anything. She just walked with me. She sat with me. She talked to me.

She treated me like a person.

It had been a long time since anyone did that.

***

I got home. I sat on my bed.

I thought about Ruby. Her stickers. Her laugh. The way she said my name.

She didn't look at me like I was broken. She didn't look at me like I was a joke.

She just looked at me like I was a person.

I didn't check my phone.

I lay down. I stared at the ceiling.

I didn't think about him.

I didn't.