100 DAYS OF MAYBE

CHAPTER 2: HOMECOMING WEEK

"DAYS 8-14 - HOMECOMING WEEK"

PART 1 OF 3

[SCENE 1: DAY 8 - MONDAY - THE BANNER]

Monday morning hit like a cold splash of ocean water.

The banner across the front of Ridgewood High: *HOMECOMING WEEK! VOTE FOR ROYALTY!*

Underneath, in black sharpie: *DAY 8 OF 100: AVA + NOAH*

Great.

"Morning," Noah said at our lockers. #247 and #248.

He had two coffees.

"For me?"

"For Maya," he lied. "She texted me."

Maya was not here.

"Thanks," I mumbled. Black. No sugar.

Our fingers brushed.

Day 8 and my heart still did the stupid traitor thing.

By 2nd period: *CUTEST PLATONIC COUPLE* nominations were posted. Us.

By 3rd period: Chloe’s i********: story. Her and Noah at practice yesterday. *My homecoming date? 😉*

At lunch I sat with Maya.

Noah came over anyway and sat down. Didn’t eat.

"You saw it?"

"Don’t care."

"Liar."

"You’re allowed to go," I said, stabbing lettuce. "It’s your 100 days."

"It’s not a date."

"Didn’t say it was."

Silence.

Maya kicked me. "Apologize."

"For what?"

"For being dumb."

I didn’t.

After school:

"Walk to calc?" Noah asked.

"No. Yearbook."

"Oh. Okay."

He walked away.

*[SCENE 2: DAY 9 - TUESDAY - PEP RALLY DARE ]*

Tuesday. Pep rally. Gym packed. Bleachers shaking.

Principal Reyes: "And now! A special game for our nominees: Cutest Platonic Couple!"

Jake whooped from the top row. I was going to murder him.

Noah and I were dragged to the floor. 400 people watching.

"Rules: 60 seconds! 3 tasks! NO TOUCHING!"

*Task 1: Feed each other a cupcake.*

Noah held it to my mouth. I took a bite. Frosting on my lip.

He reached to wipe it. Stopped.

"Day 9," he whispered.

*Task 2: Tie each other’s shoe.*

We knelt. Knees brushed. Neither moved away.

*Task 3: Whisper a secret.*

"45 seconds!"

Noah leaned in. His breath warm on my ear.

"Day 9. I don’t hate this."

Buzzer.

We won.

He held out his hand for a high five.

I slapped it.

My palm burned.

After, in the hallway:

"That was..." he started.

"Stupid?"

"Yeah. Stupid."

But he was smiling.

---

END OF PART 1 OF 3

"DAYS 8-14 - HOMECOMING WEEK"

PART 2 OF 3 - AVA'S POV

[SCENE 3: DAY 10-11 - WED-THURS - THE SILENT FIGHT]

DAY 10 - WEDNESDAY

I avoided him.

On purpose.

I sat with Maya at lunch. Took a different route to Calc. Didn’t go to our lockers at the same time.

It was childish. I knew it was childish.

Noah texted once:

_Noah_: you good?

_Me_: busy

That was it.

By 3rd period people were noticing.

"Y’all fighting?" Jake asked.

"No," I said. "It’s a deal. Not dating."

"Looks like dating," Maya muttered.

After school I stayed late in yearbook. Alone.

At 5:30 I walked out and Noah was by my car. Leaning on it.

"You’re mad," he said.

"I’m not mad."

"Then why are you acting like I have the plague?"

"Because of Chloe."

"Because of Chloe?" He laughed, but not in a good way. "I didn’t say yes to her."

"You didn’t say no either."

"I said I was busy."

"Busy is not no."

He stared at me. "You’re right. I’m sorry."

I didn’t say anything. Got in my car and drove away.

*DAY 11 - THURSDAY*

No coffee at my locker.

No "walk to calc."

No texts.

It was worse than fighting.

In AP Lit, Chloe raised her hand. "Can I present my homecoming proposal? It’s about unity."

She looked right at me.

Principal Reyes nodded.

Chloe’s slideshow: Photos of couples. Last slide: her and Noah at practice.

"And I think the perfect example of Ridgewood spirit is..."

She didn’t finish. The bell rang.

But everyone got it.

That night I cried in the shower. Stupid.

_Noah_: you mad?

_Me_: no

_Noah_: you’re lying

_Me_: busy

_Noah_: with what

_Me_: college apps

_Noah_: right

_Noah_: night ava

I didn’t answer.

*[SCENE 4: DAY 12 - FRIDAY - BONFIRE + TRUTH]*

Friday night. Small bonfire. Just 8 of us.

Noah was already there when I got there. Sitting on the log alone.

"Can I sit?" I asked.

"Yeah."

We didn’t talk for 10 minutes. Just listened to the waves.

"My sister’s surgery is Monday," Noah said finally.

"Oh."

"Emma. She’s 9. Appendicitis."

"I’m sorry."

"I’m scared," he admitted. "She’s scared of hospitals. I promised I’d be there the whole time."

Rule #2: No deep stuff.

"Screw the rules," I said.

He looked at me. "You don’t have to come."

"I want to."

"You don’t have to—"

"I want to, Noah."

He nodded. Looked away fast. Like he was blinking too much.

When he drove me home, he reached for my bag on the seat between us.

His hand brushed my cheek.

Rule #1: No touching.

"Sorry," he whispered.

"It was an accident."

"Yeah."

But we both knew it wasn’t.

At my door:

"Thanks, Ava."

"For what?"

"For... not being mad anymore."

"I wasn’t mad. I was scared."

"Of what?"

"Of Day 100."

He didn’t answer. Just nodded and left.

*11:23 PM*

_Noah_: day 12

_Me_: i know

_Noah_: tomorrow. 9am. hospital

_Me_: i’ll be there

_Noah_: thank you

Day 12. Down.

88 to go.

---

END OF PART 2 OF 3

"DAYS 8-14 - HOMECOMING WEEK"

PART 3 OF 3 - AVA'S POV

[SCENE 5: DAY 13 - SATURDAY - HOSPITAL]

Saturday. 8:47 AM. Ridgewood General.

I showed up with coffee. Two cups. And a Spider-Man band-aid in my pocket. Stupid, but I couldn’t help it.

Noah was in the waiting room. He looked like he hadn’t slept. Gray hoodie. Dark circles.

"You came," he said.

"For Emma."

"She’s asleep. Surgery’s at 10."

We sat. Side by side. Not touching.

The TV was on mute. Some morning show.

Every few minutes a nurse would walk by and Noah would sit up straighter.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked.

"About what?"

"Anything. Or nothing."

He ran a hand through his hair. "I’m scared I’ll say the wrong thing to her. Or that I’ll cry in front of her."

"You won’t."

"How do you know?"

"Because you’re Noah. You’re the guy who got me Spider-Man band-aids in 4th grade."

He looked at me. "You remembered that?"

"Yeah."

At 9:30 a nurse came. "Bennett family?"

We stood.

"Just me," Noah said. "She’s my sister."

The nurse smiled. "You can go back with her."

He looked at me.

"Go," I whispered. "I’ll be here."

3 hours.

I did homework in the waiting room. Drank cold coffee. Texted Maya updates.

At 12:15 he came out.

"She’s okay. Surgery went fine. She’s groggy but okay."

He sagged. Like he’d been holding his breath for hours.

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"Yeah. For 5 minutes."

Emma was small in the big bed. IV in her arm.

"This is Ava," Noah said. "She’s my... friend."

"Hi Ava," Emma mumbled. "You’re pretty."

"Thanks, you too. I brought you this." I held out the Spider-Man band-aid.

Emma giggled. "I love Spider-Man."

On the drive home Noah was quiet.

"Thanks for coming," he said at my house.

"Anytime."

"Day 13."

"Day 13."

He didn’t get out of the car. Just sat there.

"Night, Ava."

"Night, Noah."

*[SCENE 6: DAY 14 - SUNDAY - YEARBOOK ROOM + THE QUESTION]*

Sunday. Rain. Yearbook room.

The room was empty except for the hum of the heater and rain on the windows.

I was sorting senior portraits when the door opened.

Noah. Soaked. Holding my hoodie.

"You left this Friday."

"Thanks."

Silence.

He sat on the desk next to me. Water dripping onto the floor.

"Day 14," he said.

"86 to go."

More silence.

"Ava."

"Yeah?"

"What if on Day 100... I don’t want to stop?"

My heart stopped.

The rain got louder.

"Then the deal’s over," I said. My voice was steady. I was proud of that.

"I know."

"So what are you asking?"

"I’m asking... what if on Day 100, I want to keep going? Past 100. Past prom. Past graduation."

I looked at him. Really looked.

Gray eyes. Wet hair. The scar on his eyebrow.

The boy who taught me to ride a bike. Who brought me hot chocolate in August. Who sat with me in a hospital for 3 hours.

"I don’t know," I whispered. "I haven’t let myself think that far."

"Me neither."

For a second I thought he was going to kiss me.

I wanted him to. God, I wanted him to.

Rule #1. No kissing.

But rules felt stupid right now.

The door opened.

Maya. Holding two coffees.

"Oh. Sorry. Rain check?"

Noah stood. "Yeah. Rain check."

He looked at me one more time. Then left.

Maya sat down. "So?"

"So nothing."

"Liar."

That night I wrote in my journal:

_Day 14. I think 100 days isn’t enough. I think 100 days is too many. I think I’m already in trouble._

*11:59 PM*

_Noah_: day 14

_Me_: i know

_Noah_: 86 to go

_Me_: noah

_Noah_: yeah?

_Me_: nothing. night

_Noah_: night ava

I stared at the ceiling until 3 AM.

Day 8: The banner.

Day 9: Pep rally.

Day 10-11: The fight.

Day 12: The bonfire.

Day 13: The hospital.

Day 14: The question.

86 days left.

And "maybe" was starting to sound a lot like "please don’t let this end."

END OF CHAPTER 2