Just when I thought I'd moved on from the whole I want Hadley Jamison to leave me alone thing, I was now purposely avoiding her. Childish, maybe, but there was no getting around the fact that I was still pissed over what happened.

Fortunately, I didn't have any classes with Ritter this year, but that hadn't stopped him from going out of his way to give me grief, and he did. He must have worked fast, spreading the word amongst his group of cronies; for the next two days, anytime one of his idiot friends passed me in the hallway, I was catcalled and affectionately called a few choice expletives.

So, there was that.

I kept my head down and went through the motions at school like I'd always done. The only difference was that I was now hiding out in the library during lunch and avoiding the cafeteria like the plague. 

I was one day into my self-imposed exile before I figured out what the heavy weight that had seemed to permanently fix itself to my shoulders was.

Unless I was misinterpreting everything -- and a part of me hoped I was -- I actually...missed Hadley. Okay, maybe not her exactly, but that blissful mindlessness that came whenever I was caught up trying to figure out what her deal was. 

Why that was, I still had no idea. 

I told myself at first it was because I just missed the free steak fries at lunch. I realized when I'd had to stop myself from heading to the cafeteria at lunch, it was because I'd already grown accustomed to this new routine I'd unexpectedly found myself in.

Something had shifted in just a matter of a few days. There was already a part of myself that was looking forward to seeing Hadley and witnessing her little...quirks, and I didn't know where it was all coming from.

When the anger over that stupid lunchtime showdown with Ritter finally started to dissipate, it was quickly replaced with something that felt a lot like fear. 

Because I wasn't supposed to be feeling this way over anyone, least of all a girl from a completely different universe than my own -- feeling like maybe I actually did want a friend. And that was very, very stupid of me.

I'd gotten by well enough on my own these past few years without a friend and I knew well enough I'd never handled any kind of change easily, so there was no reason to go and change my entire dynamic at school. Right? 

When my phone rang after seventh period and I saw that the incoming call was from my grandmother, I knew whatever she had to tell me would likely turn my entire evening upside down.

"You need to get Rosie from preschool," my grandmother said the moment I answered her call.

"I'm on the schedule for tonight," I said, slamming my locker shut. "I thought you were supposed to get Rosie."

"Yes, well, plans change," my grandmother said with a sniff. "And now the plan is that you are going to go pick your little sister up from school."

Usually, my aunt Karin picked Rosie up because their place was closer to her preschool than ours and then my grandmother would get her from their old brownstone my uncle Art inherited from his dad.

I held in a sigh, knowing there was no point in arguing with my grandmother. "And the reason for this is because...?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, boy!" my grandmother exclaimed, followed by a few curse words. "Your cousin got one of those little green Army soldiers stuck up his nose, so your aunt is taking him to urgent care. I agreed to watch the other kids until either they get back or your uncle gets home from work. That leaves you as the only option to go pick up Rosie."

"Fair enough," I grumbled unhappily. "You're telling my mother though."

"Yes, yes, I know," my grandmother said, and then ended the call without so much as a goodbye.

It was hard not to feel overly annoyed at the unexpected change of events; I'd never done well with sudden changes like this, however small and inconsequential they might seem. But I couldn't be too angry — this was my little sister we were talking about. She'd be thrilled to no end that I was the one picking her up. 

The preschool that Rosie went to in the afternoon three days a week was courtesy of her other grandparents, otherwise we never would've been able to afford the insane tuition. The school was also a pain to get to. 

I stuffed my earbuds in once I was outside and set off for the train. I tried to pull out some homework once I settled in for the ride, but it was like pulling teeth trying to focus. My brain wouldn't stop replaying the stupid conversation from the other day and that look on Hadley's face when I'd snapped at her.

There were a million and a half other things I could be thinking about and yet that was the moment I kept returning to. I was yanked out of my depressing thoughts when my phone chirped, signaling the arrival of a new text message – from my aunt Rebecca again.

This time, it was just a simple: how's it going?

Unlike a few days ago when I'd last gotten a text from her, I felt the urge to reply. Suddenly I was wanting to know what she would think of all this. 

I liked Rebecca and she was my dad's sister, which was about as close to my dad as I could get at this point, wasn't it? My dad sure as hell would know what to do.

But that thought was immediately followed by, but your dad is dead. So, I didn't respond to Rebecca's message. I shut my phone off instead and stuffed it back in my pocket, counting down the seconds until I could get off the train.

There were two things that stood out plainly to me when I walked inside Mama Rosa's later with Rosie and my grandma. The first was that judging by the number of dirty mugs and bowls scattered everywhere, there must've been an insane five o'clock rush.

And secondly? Hadley Jamison was laughing at something my mother was saying as she wiped down the front counter, looking like she was having the time of her life — looking like maybe she belonged there in an apron, sleeves rolled up to her elbows. 

"Jamison?" I came up short by the front counter, trying to keep my jaw from dropping. "What are you doing here?"

A flush was quickly spreading across Hadley's cheeks as stumbled over her response. "Oh, I was just --"

"Hadley was just giving me a hand during the evening rush," my mother cut in, giving me a steely-eyed look.

My grandmother swept past me with a grunt of, "Hadley. How nice. Sorry we're late," she added for my mom. "One of the trains broke down."

Rosie's excited squealing at seeing our mother and effectively pulling Hadley into conversation gave me a few moments to get my act together as I went around gathering up the remaining dirty mugs and plates.

What was Hadley doing here? Had my going out of my way to avoid her at school not been clear enough? Anyone else would've taken the hint, surely. Granted, this was a public place and all, and I supposed I couldn't stop Hadley from ordering a cup of coffee if she wanted, but obviously the real reason behind her unexpected visit was that she was here to see me. Why else?

I dumped the pile of dirty dishes I'd collected into the Tupperware bin my mother left at the far end of the counter. Over the top of the pastry case, I could see Hadley bent down to Rosie's level as Rosie whispered something to Hadley. Hadley looked stunned for a second and then smiled, looking like she was trying not to laugh as she bit her bottom lip.

"Rosalia, what nonsense are you saying now?" I asked, leaning over the counter to fix Rosie with a stern look. 

"Nothing!" Rosie said with a bright, angelic smile – clearly a lie.

I scooped Rosie up in my arms after I'd cleared the counter, tickling her. Rosie was squealing and giggling, pretending to struggle in my arms like she always did when she got tickled. The entire time I could see Hadley watching like she couldn't quite believe what she was seeing.

"Alright, alright!" My mother said loudly over Rosie's laughter. "I think that's enough, you two."

I set Rosie down on her feet and turned to Hadley as my little sister scampered off and my mom and grandma struck up a conversation in Italian.

"What are you really doing here, Hadley?" I asked in an undertone. "And I know you didn't show up just to help my mom out."

Hadley grimaced, crossing her arms as she shifted uncomfortably. "Look, I..." She sucked in a deep breath, not quite meeting my gaze. "I came here because I wanted to --"

"Listen, Hadley," my mother cut in, coming to my side. "Would you like to join us for dinner? As a thank you for helping me this evening."

"Oh, Hadley can't stay for dinner, ma," I said quickly. "She has to --"

"I'd love to stay for dinner, Regina," Hadley said, smiling brightly at my mother. "Thank you."

"Great!" my grandmother barked while I tried to bite back the objection on the tip of my tongue. "Now that we've settled all that, let's actually go upstairs and have dinner, shall we?"

Great.