The Whale - 8. Part I, chapter 8

- VIII -

Luke never came to school the next day, and I was wondering if he left for Minnesota with Faith. I couldn't believe how much it bothered me. I couldn't concentrate on anything that day. And then next morning, when he actually showed up, I felt such enormous relief that I almost started laughing. Roxy poked me in the side, and when I looked at her, she mouthed angrily, "Stop it!" I sighed and pulled my notebook out of my backpack.

Luke slammed his book on the desk and sat down, throwing his backpack on the floor. I immediately looked at Roxy, and she closed her eyes. I looked at Luke. His expression was beyond gloomy. He was fuming. Finally, the door opened and some guy in his mid-thirties walked in. He was wearing big round glasses that made him look really dorky.

"Hey, all," he said. "I am Steve McKay, and I'll be your substitute for this week. I understand your teacher had some sort of family emergency?"

"Yeah," someone sighed. "Her Uncle is really sick."

"Right before the holidays," McKay winced. "That's tough... Well, I hope I won't be much worse than her during this week and..."

SLAM!!!

McKay jumped up, his glasses slid down his nose. He and everyone else in the classroom stared at Luke, who just slammed his math book on the top of the desk. He raised his head and looked around with puzzlement in his eyes. Then he looked down at his own hands that still held the math book in a death grip, and blinked several times. "Oh my God," I thought in astonishment. "He didn't even realize he did it..."

"Spider," he grinned finally. "I hate spiders."

"Right..." McKay cleared his throat. "Well, let's get started then..."

It was almost the end of the class, when Luke's cell phone started to ring. McKay looked at him with a frown and blinked rapidly when Luke flipped his phone open and pressed it against his ear.

"Excuse me," McKay said quietly to him. "Could you please, put that away?"

Luke just waved his hand at him impatiently.

"Hello?" he muttered into the phone.

"Excuse me!" McKay repeated louder, while his cheeks started turning pink.

"Oh, for God sake..." Luke glared at him. "Speak up, will you? I can't hear you..."

I thought that McKay was about to strangle him. Russell looked like he couldn't care less about that.

"What?!" he suddenly straightened up, his eyes insanely happy. "Are you serious?! Oh my God, that's awesome!! Yeah, I'll be right there!"

He shut the phone and got up.

"Gotta go," he grinned and grabbed his book. "Have fun subbing, Steve!"

He walked out so quickly like he was about to miss his train. McKay looked like he was having a heart attack. Kelly Lynn coughed delicately.

"Ignore Luke," she said in a soothing voice. "He is just weird."

I turned to Roxy, my heart beating wildly.

"Oh my God!" I whispered into her ear. "I bet you anything, it was her on the phone! She didn't go to Minnesota! Roxy, it was..."

"Shut up," she hissed nervously. "Amy, just drop this, okay? Even if it was, it's..."

"...none of my business," I finished bitterly, and she nodded feverishly.

"Exactly! This is..."

The bell rang and I was really happy about that.

"Roxy," I said after I shoved my books away. "Let's skip the rest of the day, okay?"

"Oh, God," she moaned. "It's because Russell left, isn't it...?"

"Doesn't matter," I said darkly. "It's almost the holidays week, nobody will care! Let's go hang out somewhere! Please?"

"Oh, for crying out loud..." she muttered. "Fine, let's go..."

We went to her house, because she said it would probably be better, since she was sure nobody was there. I didn't know if my mom took today off or not. I knew that she wouldn't be very happy if she found out I skipped almost an entire day of school though. Roxy's offer sounded more than great.

Roxy made some tea and climbed on the couch.

"Seventy more pounds to go," I sighed.

Roxy looked at me with a silent question.

"I set my weight goal to a hundred-and-twenty," I explained. "I got down to one-ninety!"

"That's great!" She beamed. "Amy, you are not doing anything weird, are you?"

I frowned.

"Weird? Well, I am running for two hours every night now instead of just one, but I don't know if it qualifies as weird..."

She shifted uncomfortably on the couch.

"I mean..." she coughed. "Sorry if it will offend you... You are not throwing up, are you?"

I stared at her.

"You mean, am I bulimic?" I asked incredulously, and Roxy immediately turned pink. "God, Roxy! No! Of course, not! I would never do something like that!"

"Sorry," she said in a small voice. "It's just some girls do and..."

"Don't worry about it," I laughed. "I think it's beyond disgusting. I threw up a lot when I was a kid. I was sick all the freaking time. So the very idea of throwing up gives me heebie-jeebies..."

"Okay," she smiled with relief. "Hey, wanna watch TV?"

"Sure," I nodded. "You have any apples? I am hungry..."

She grinned.

"Amy," she said. "I have apples, and cherries, and other veree healthy snacks..." she squinted her eyes in a funny way, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Roxy went into the kitchen, and I sighed and closed my eyes. This is ridiculous, I thought. Just get over it, Amy! Concentrate on your health, school, your mom, and your friend. Forget Russell. He would probably still torture me and make my life miserable if not for Connor, I thought bitterly. I would hate his guts right now. I gritted my teeth when I remembered that insane happiness in his eyes after he shut his phone.

Roxy came back into the living room with a huge bowl of fruit, and I forced out a happy smile. Russell no more, I decided. Time for me to start thinking clearly.